Miriam Margolyes joins Doctor Who as the voice of infamous comics character The Meep

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The character was co-created by Watchmen's Dave Gibbons

The Meep from Doctor Who
(Image credit: BBC)

We've known for a while now that fondly-remembered Doctor Who comics character Beep the Meep is making the leap from page to screen for the sci-fi show's upcoming 60th anniversary. Now it's finally been revealed who will be voicing the cute little critter: Miriam Margolyes.

The veteran actor will appear in The Star Beast, the first of three special episodes starring David Tennant and Catherine Tate. Her character - now seemingly simply known as The Meep - was created in 1980 in Doctor Who and the Star Beast, a comic strip for Doctor Who Weekly, written by Pat Mills and John Wagner, and drawn by Watchmen artist Dave Gibbons.

Margolyes said, with typically amusing candour, "I'm relieved I got to work on Doctor Who before I died. With sci-fi you never know. Thank you for making an old woman very happy."

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Miriam Margolyes

(Image credit: BBC)

Possible Doctor Who anniversary spoilers ahead

In the original strip Beep is the leader of the Meeps - a once peaceful race who have now turned nasty. Beep's cutesy outside appearance masks a malevolent streak and a cunning intellect.

We already know that his enemies from the comic, The Wrarth Warriors, will also be making an appearance in the episode - they're the bug looking creatures in the trailer - and it will be interesting to see if the rest of The Star Beast is a direct remake of the classic comic.

There's no word as of yet on exactly when the new episode will air, though sometime in November is a safe bet. Until then, you can read Doctor Who and the Star Beast in the Iron Legion trade paperback, published by Panini.

Here's how you can watch Doctor Who online from anywhere in the world.

Will Salmon
Will Salmon
Streaming Editor

Will Salmon is the Streaming Editor for GamesRadar+. He has been writing about film, TV, comics, and music for more than 15 years, which is quite a long time if you stop and think about it. At Future he launched the scary movie magazine Horrorville, relaunched Comic Heroes, and has written for every issue of SFX magazine for well over a decade. His music writing has appeared in The Quietus, MOJO, Electronic Sound, Clash, and loads of other places too.