BBC's 'Doctor Who' movie casts Second Doctor

Oh my giddy aunt! The BBC television movie about the early days of Doctor Who has added a key cast member.

Reece Shearsmith ("Psychoville") has been cast to play actor Patrick Troughton, the man who would take over the titular role after his first regeneration.

"An Adventure in Space and Time" revolves around the early days of the long-running science fiction series, including the trials and tribulations in getting it to air. Shearsmith joins David Bradley (the "Harry Potter" film series) who portrays William Hartnell, the actor who inhabited the role of The Doctor from the series inception until 1966. As the film is said to revolve around the behind the scenes atmosphere in the series' earliest days, it certainly makes sense to see the series creators' working around Hartnell leaving the role leading to Troughton stepping in.

Shearsmith has previously collaborated with Gatiss on the comedy series "The League of Gentlemen," and the writer was delighted with the casting, which he said was a long time coming. "I first asked Reece about 12 years ago when I started thinking about this project. We were in the midst of League of Gentlemen and I just remember thinking, if anyone plays Patrick Troughton, it should be Reece. Like the second Doctor, he’s small, saturnine and a comic genius. The complete package. He thought it was a fantastic idea and I’ve kind of nurtured it all this time."