Actor, 82, said her new role as an alien in the sci-fi series has made ‘an old woman very happy’

Miriam Margolyes will feature in one of the 60th-anniversary episodes of Doctor Who that will air this November, the BBC has announced.

Margolyes, 82, who has appeared in Blackadder, Babe and the Harry Potter films, will be the voice behind the Meep – or Beep the Meep – the furry and seemingly adorable alien adapted from the Star Beast comic strip in a special for the series. The creature will feature in an episode with the same name.