Doctor Who and exuberant sidekick Donna team up following their successful series opener - which attracted nine million viewers - to battle it out in ancient Rome next week.

Newly released pictures show the Doctor and Donna squaring up to a series of outrageous baddies in notorious volcano hotspot Pompeii.

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Reunited: Time travellers Doctor Who and new sidekick Runaway Bride Donna Noble will square up to baddies in ancient Rome this week

This week's show will include cameos from Peter Capaldi - of satire The Thick of It - and Quadrophenia's Phil Davis.

The series four opener on Saturday wiped the floor with the competition, attracting nine million viewers, 300,000 more than episode one of series three last year.

BBC One's programme Casualty recorded 7.1m viewers, while its latest musical talent show I'd Do Anything, plus the National Lottery each secured 6.8m viewers.

ITV's long running clip show You've Been Framed recorded 4.7m while Harry Hill's TV Burp secured 5.5m and Duel 5.6m.

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Exotic: Donna and the Doctor will meet even more weird and wonderful characters in episode two

Rome is burning: The popular programme's opening episode attracted nine million viewers

Saturday's episode saw the Doctor reunited with Catherine Tate as the Doctor's new companion Donna, reprising her role from the 2006 Christmas Special The Runaway Bride.

The latest series secured an audience share of 39.4 per cent.

Billie Piper also made a surprise appearance in the initial episode as Rose Tyler.

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Reunited: Catherine Tate reprised her role from the 2006 Christmas Special The Runaway Bride

A BBC spokesperson said: "This is a great start for the new series of Doctor Who. The show kicked off a fantastic night of family entertainment on BBC One which pulled in big audiences across the evening."

The previous third series of the show secured an average 7.03 million viewers.

The series will also see Billie Piper returns as Rose Tyler and Freema Agyeman will also re-appear as Martha Jones.

Meanwhile, someone who should know a thing or two about being the daughter of a timelord is actress Georgia Moffett.

The daughter of former Doctor Who actor Peter Davison, is to star in the hit BBC1 show.

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Bizarre: Georgia Moffett, daughter of former Dr Who timelord Peter Davison (left), will play the part of a woman who claims to the daughter to the current timelord David Tenant

Bizarrely she will play the part of a woman who claims to be the child of the current timelord, played by David Tenant.

Moffett, 23, who is the daughter of Davison and his former wife, squeaky voice US actress Sandra Dickinson, makes an appearance in the sixth episode.

Insiders are saying very little about her part other than she claims to be the daughter of Doctor Who, a claim of which the sci-fi hero is "dubious".

Moffett has had a colourful life already having seen her parents marriage fall apart when she was eight and then herself falling pregnant at 16.

Daddy Doctor: Georgina as she appears as the Doctor's alleged daughter

She has since carved out a successful acting career having starred in ITV shows The Bill, Where The Heart Is and Bonkers.

The mother, whose son is called Ty, has previously starred alongside her 56-year-old dad in BBC sitcom Fear, Stress and Anger.

Moffett, whose character is called Jenny, grew up with Doctor Who as a child when her father played the role.

She became pregnant at 16 during her GCSEs after taking antibiotics while on the pill, not realising they can negate its contraceptive effects.

By the time she found out she was having a baby she was no longer with the father.

At the time she had waited three months to tell her parents eventually presenting her mum with a picture of her ultrasound scan as she broke the news.

She did not have the courage to tell her dad, so she told her stepmother.

Bizarrely her best friend at school was the daughter of Colin Baker, the actor that succeeded Davison as the timelord.

She is said to be still close to both her parents, but has admitted that her mother and father do not talk to each other.

Her mother famously starred in The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy and she even starred alongside Davison in a stage production of The Owl and The Pussycat.

Davison, as well as Doctor Who, is famous for his appearances in All Creatures Great And Small, At Home With The Braithwaites.