Doctor Who Guest Star Rylan Clark on "The Interstellar Song Contest"

How did you come to be cast in "Doctor Who"? As a massive Whovian, I have always loved the show so much. I bumped into Russell at the Attitude Awards a few years previous, and I was too nervous to say "Hi." Instead, I sent a message to say I wanted to say hello, and I'm such a big fan. He replied straightaway, saying, "I adore you, I wish you came to say hello". We stayed in touch, I joked about wanting to be in Doctor Who, he joked that I absolutely should be.

One day I was flying back from Italy from a shoot and my manager said to me, "Oh, Doctor Who has just come in", in the meantime Russell texted saying "Check your emails" and I opened my phone. It was the full script and a really full part. I'm not gonna lie, I started crying. It was unreal, I was so delighted.

You play yourself in the episode. Did you put on any type of persona for the part, or did you just act as yourself?

I did a little bit. I played myself but also added a bit of Caesar from The Hunger Games for good measure.

What was it like working with Ncuti and Varada? Working with the two of them was amazing, they both welcomed me with open arms – I met them both in the makeup truck, and Varada was there, and we just laughed straightaway. Me and Ncuti were chatting about friends we have in common. With Varada and it being her first season as the companion, it still felt really new for her, so it was so nice to gauge how she was feeling, too. They are both so lovely – and we still message now!

What can audiences expect to see from this episode? People can expect to see everything they love about Doctor Who. Also, from working on actual Eurovision itself, there were so many similarities – the attention to detail was amazing. Expect the unexpected – it's probably the most twisty one of the whole season.

If you had to describe the episode in one word or phrase, what would it be? Out of this world – literally.