SARAH Lancashire has come a long way since her days as Coronation Street's dizzy barmaid Raquel Watts.

Now she plans to call time on Doctor Who as the time-rover returns in a new series of the sci-fi hit.

Oldham-born Sarah plays an `enigmatic and powerful businesswoman' in the first episode - Partners In Crime - screened on BBC1 this Saturday.

The mysterious Miss Foster is a villain who threatens the Time Lord (David Tennant) and new companion Donna (Catherine Tate).

"Miss Foster is essentially a nanny, a guardian to some rather unusual children," Sarah, 43, tells the latest issue of Doctor Who Magazine.

"I see her as a slightly warped Mary Poppins. She's a strong woman. When I first read the script, I thought, `Oh, well, of course she's a baddie'.

"But the more I read it, I thought, `No, she's doing what she's doing for legitimate reasons'. You can't blame her at all."

For all the latest news from the world of television, check out Ian Wylie's blog, The Life of Wylie .

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