Yet another one of the prospective candidates vying to replace Steve Carell in last May’s season finale of The Office is returning for the current season. James Spader reprised his role from the finale and is now a regular on the show, and now British comedian Catherine Tate is coming back as well. Tate was a standout amongst the guest stars who popped up in May’s finale, which included Jim Carrey, Ricky Gervais, and Ray Romano. Tate’s character will be hired by Chairman of the Board Jo Bennett (played by Kathy Bates) as a special projects manager who works directly for the corporate office. Tate came to prominence in England with her sketch comedy show The Catherine Tate Show, and has also appeared on Doctor Who and in the Jack Black-enhanced Gulliver’s Travels. Hit the jump to read the full press release.

Here’s the full press release:

UNIVERSAL CITY, Calif. – October 21, 2011 – British Comedy Award winner and BAFTA nominee Catherine Tate (BBC’s “The Catherine Tate Show”) returns to “The Office” this season reprising her role as Nellie Bertram. Joining the second half of the current season, Tate’s Bertram is hired by friend and Chairman of the Board Jo Bennett (Kathy Bates, not seen) as a misguided special projects manager working directly for the corporate office and who very much enjoys the favoritism received from Bennett.

Tate was introduced to “The Office” audience in last season’s finale episode as one of the candidates interviewing for the regional manager position left vacant by Michael Scott.

"Catherine is hysterical. We introduced her briefly in last season's finale and knew she had to be a part of the show somehow. We'll meet her again as corporate's special projects manager, and her relationship with Robert California (James Spader) will be far from professional. We're thrilled that she's joining the cast," said executive producer Paul Lieberstein.

Tate’s acting credits include the multi-award-winning BBC series, “The Catherine Tate Show,” which showcased her chameleon-like talent for character transformation. In addition to playing Donna Noble (the Doctor’s companion) in the 4th series of BBC’s “Doctor Who.” Tate also co-starred in the feature films “Gulliver’s Travels,” “Monte Carlo,” “Mrs. Ratcliffe’s Revolution,” “66” and “Starter for Ten.”

Theatre work includes the lead role of Belinda in the National Theatre production “Season’s Greetings" and Beatrice in the West End production of "Much Ado About Nothing," David Eldridge's "Under the Blue Sky," "Some Girls" and "A Servant to Two Masters" for the Royal Shakespeare Company. Tate wrote, directed and co-starred in the acclaimed short film "My First Nativity" for the Sky "Little Cracker's" season. In addition to being the key writer for her own series, Tate has a feature script currently in development.

From Deedle-Dee Productions, Reveille and Universal Television comes the multi-award-winning comedy series "The Office," the hilarious documentary-style look into the humorous and sometimes poignant foolishness that plagues the world of 9-to-5 in the half-hour. A fly-on-the-wall "docu-reality" parody about modern American