Doctor Who legend cast in surprise key role in The Diplomat season 4

*Warning - contains major spoilers for The Diplomat season 4 episodes 1-5.*

Netflix's political drama The Diplomat sure does love a cliffhanger, and oh boy, did the fourth episode of season 4 deliver one.

The latest season of the show is now available to stream in full, and episode 4 ended with a spiralling Nicol Trowbridge, Rory Kinnear's Prime Minister, announcing his resignation.

This came after Keri Russell's Kate had effectively blackmailed him with the recording she had of him throttling Celia Imrie's Margaret Roylin back in season 2, after he found out about her role in the bombing of HMS Courageous.

Of course, this left a power vacuum, one which had to be filled quickly. After an intra-party contest which was ultimately cut short, it was announced that Bethan Vaughan had won and become party leader, as well as the Prime Minister.

At this point we had yet to meet Vaughan, but she was seen as a moderate, and someone Kate and the US administration more generally could work with.

A meeting between Kate, Bradley Whitford's Todd Penn and Bethan later took place, where it was revealed that the Prime Minister was being played by none other than Doctor Who's Jodie Whittaker.

Throughout the rest of the episode, things took a frostier turn, suggesting that Bethan and Kate's dynamic wouldn't be as rosy as the latter had been hoping.

Whittaker's role in the series was first revealed briefly in the season 4 trailer, but it was not at that point known who she was playing, nor was her role in the show officially announced.

As well as her role in Doctor Who, Whittaker is also known for starring in series such as Black Mirror, Broadchurch, Time, Toxic Town, Frauds and Dear England, plus films including St Trinian's, Attack the Block, One Day, Journeyman, That Christmas and Office Romance.

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Along with Russell, Kinnear, Whitford, Imrie and now Whittaker, The Diplomat also stars Ato Essandoh, Ali Ahn, Nana Mensah and Allison Janney.

The ending of episode 3 also delivered a shocking revelation, with David Gyasi's Foreign Secretary, Austin Dennison, revealed to have been killed off screen in a helicopter crash.

The Diplomat season 4 is available to stream in full on Netflix now. You can sign up to Netflix from £7.99 a month. Netflix is also available on Sky TV and Virgin Media.

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Authors

James Hibbs is a Drama Writer for Radio Times, covering programmes across both streaming platforms and linear channels. He previously worked in PR, first for a B2B agency and subsequently for international TV production company Fremantle. He possesses a BA in English and Theatre Studies and an NCTJ Level 5 Diploma in Journalism.