Friday, February 27, 2015

The Empty Child/ The Doctor Dances

Are you his mummy?
The Empty Child
(Albert Valentine)
Two episodes (The Empty Child, The Doctor Dances)
First broadcast May 21 to 28 2005
Average audience for story: 6.99m

REGULAR CAST

Christopher Eccleston (The Doctor) Born Feb 16 1964 Click here for Christopher Eccleston's entry on Rose

Billie Piper (Rose Tyler) Born Sep 22 1982 Click here for Billie Piper's entry on Rose

John Barrowman (Captain Jack Harkness) Born Mar 11 1967
Doctor Who credits
Played: Captain Jack Harkness in The Empty Child/ The Doctor Dances (2005), Boom Town (2005), Bad Wolf/ The Parting of the Ways (2005), Torchwood Series 1 (2006-07), Utopia/ The Sound of Drums/ Last of the Time Lords (2007), Torchwood Series 2 (2007), The Stolen Earth/ Journey's End (2008), Torchwood: Children of Earth (Days 1-5) (2009), The End of Time Part Two (2010), Torchwood: Miracle Day (episodes 1-10) (2011), Fugitive of the Judoon (2020), Revolution of the Daleks (2021)
Career highlights
Scotsman John's screen acting career began uncredited in The Untouchables (1987), followed by roles in Shark Attack 3: Megalodon (2002), De-Lovely (2004), The Producers (2005), Hotel Babylon (2008), My Family (2009), Desperate Housewives (2010), Hustle (2012), Zero Dark Thirty (2012), All Stars (2013), Scandal (2013), Gilded Lilys (2013), Reign (2016), Glamorous (2019) and Holby City (2020). He has had recurring roles as Peter Fairchild in CPW (1995-96), Peter Williams in Titans (2000-01) and played Malcolm Merlyn in 68 episodes of Arrow (2012-19), as well as episodes of The Flash (2015/17) and DC's Legends of Tomorrow (2016-17).
However, John is nothing if not multi-talented and prolific, and has also presented a great many TV shows, such as Live and Kicking (1993-94), The Movie Game (1994-95), The Kids are All Right (2008), Tonight's the Night (2009-11), Animals at Work (2011), Attack of the Show! (2012), Pressure Pad (2013), Sing Your Face Off (2014) and Small Animal Hospital (2014). He was also a judge on the talent search shows How Do You Solve a Problem Like Maria? (2006), Any Dream Will Do (2007), I'd Do Anything (2008) and Dancing on Ice (2020), and a contestant on Dancing On Ice (2006), Strictly Come Dancing Christmas Special (2010) and I'm a Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here! (2018).
John also has a well-established career in musical theatre, appearing in everything from Anything Goes and Miss Saigon to Sunset Boulevard and The Phantom of the Opera. He has also recorded several of his own albums, including Songs from Grease (1994), Aspects of Lloyd Webber (1997), Music Music Music (2008), You Raise Me Up (2014) and A Fabulous Christmas (2019).
He has also, along with his sister Carole, written fiction books, including Hollow Earth (2012), Torchwood: Exodus Code (2012), Bone Quill (2013) and The Book of Beasts (2014).
Awards
2014: Member of the order of the British Empire (MBE) for services to light entertainment and charity
Facts
John made the final three in auditions for the role of Will in the US sitcom Will and Grace; when he asked why he didn't get the part and straight actor Eric McCormack did, he was told he "wasn't gay enough"! He also auditioned to play the Ninth Doctor in 2004.

GUEST CAST

Cheryl Fergison (Mrs Lloyd) Born Aug 27 1965
Career highlights
Cheryl made her screen debut in Covington Cross (1992), then 'Allo 'Allo (1992), Middlemarch (1994), Interview Day (1996), Cold Enough for Snow (1997), Little Britain (2004/05), The IT Crowd (2006), Bad Girls (2006), The Life and Times of Vivienne Vyle (2007), The Spa (2013) and Big School (2014). However, she will be most recognised as playing Heather Trott in over 380 episodes of soap EastEnders (2007-16).
Facts
Cheryl appears in the 2006 video for Keane's Atlantic. In 2010, Cheryl appeared on All-Star Family Fortunes with friends masquerading as her relatives, causing some controversy. She got married to a Moroccan goat-herd in 2011. In 2012, she was a contestant on Celebrity Big Brother, and was the second to be evicted. Here she is on Twitter.

Robert Hands (Algy)
Career highlights
Robert's earliest role was in The Wars of the Roses (1991), followed by Ashenden (1991), Grange Hill (1992), Demob (1993), The House of Eliott (1994), Shine (1996), Anna and the King (1999), Charlotte Gray (2001), Killing Hitler (2003), Doctors (2013), The Lesson (2015), Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell (2015), EastEnders (2015-17), X Company (2017), Dark Heart (2018), Endeavour (2019) and Breeders (2020).
Facts
Robert played Robin in the original London cast of the musical Spamalot. He is also a member of the all-male Shakespeare company Propeller.

Kate Harvey (Nightclub singer)
Career highlights
Kate is a professional singer and music teacher who has also performed in Riverdance and for the Carl Rosa Opera.

Florence Hoath (Nancy) Born Jul 12 1984
Career highlights
Debuted aged nine in The Secret Rapture (1993), then A Pin for the Butterfly (1994), The Haunting of Helen Walker (1995), The Demon Headmaster (1996), FairyTale: A True Story (1997), The Governess (1998), Tom's Midnight Garden (1999), The Cazalets (2001), Goodbye Mr Chips (2002), Bike Squad (2008), Doctors (2008) and Lost in Austen (2008). She also played George Fitzgerald in 50 episodes of soap Family Affairs (2005).
Facts
Florence got into acting by accident when her actress mother Tina Martin went for an audition for The Secret Rapture, but couldn't find a babysitter so took Florence with her. By chance, the producers were looking for a child actor and cast Florence. She has since retired from acting.

Vilma Hollingbery (Mrs Harcourt) Jul 21 1932 to Sep 11 2021
Career highlights
Vilma's earliest credit was Champion House in 1967, followed by Secret Army (1977), Babylon (1980), When the Boat Comes In (1981), The Krankies Elektronik Komik (1987), The Management (1988), The River (1988), Maigret (1992), Waiting for God (1992), A Touch of Frost (1995), Time After Time (1995), Gimme Gimme Gimme (2001), Grass (2003), Coupling (2004), Funland (2005), Little Britain (2006), Horne & Corden (2009), Silent Witness (2011), Psychoville (2009-11), Derek (2012), The Spa (2013), Not Going Out (2011/14), Inside No 9 (2015) and Motherland (2017). She regularly played Kitty in the sitcom Sitting Pretty (1992-93).
Facts
Vilma's husband was The War Games actor Michael Napier Brown. Their daughter is actor Kate Napier Brown.

Noah Johnson (Voice of the Empty Child)
Career highlights
Other work includes Legion and the Watcher (2005) and Youth Pastor Kevin (2012).

Brandon Miller (Alf)
This is Brandon's only known credit (there is another actor by the same name who is US-based but they are different people).

Jordan Murphy (Ernie) Jan 14 1988
Career highlights
Jordan's debut came in The Project (2002), after which he found work in Conviction (2004), Love Soup (2005), The Street (2006), Grownups (2009), Two Pints of Lager and a Packet of Crisps (2009), Hollyoaks (2009), Spike Island (2012), The Passing Bells (2014) and The Other One (2020). He also regularly played Chop in My Mad Fat Diary (2013-15).
Facts
Here he is on Twitter.

Dian Perry ([Captain Jack's] Computer voice)
Career highlights
Dian is an accomplished vocal actor, and has given her skills to Corneil and Bernie (various voices in 48 episodes between 2003-04), Nelly Nut Live! (playing Ray Bling in 30 episodes between 2004-05), Watch My Chops (2003-06), Dork Hunters from Outer Space (2008), Thunderbirds are Go (2020) and a number of video games, including Micro Machines (2002), Sacred (2004) and Pursuit Force (2006). In her time she has worked with Aardman Animations, BT Global and Disney.

Damian Samuels (Mr Lloyd) Born Dec 7 1972
Career highlights
Debuted in Foot in the Door (1998), then Keen Eddie (2003/04), Provinceworld (2005), EastEnders (2007), Love Matters (2013), Birds of a Feather (2014), Sherlock (2015) and Hold the Sunset (2019). He also writes, directs, produces and appears in his own shorts, including Fish! (2011) and The Five Wives and Lives of Melvyn Pfferberg (2015). He also plays the band manager in the video for the Basement Jaxx single Where's Your Head At? (2001).
Facts
Damian runs his own Rent-a-Santa agency. Here he is, on Twitter.

Joseph Tremain (Jim) Born Oct 11 1991
Career highlights
Joseph debuted uncredited in Veronique (2002), followed by Morris 2274 (2003), Waking the Dead (2003), A Christmas Carol: The Musical (2004), Oliver Twist (2005), Half Moon Investigations (2009), MI High (2009), Cusp (2014), The Receptionist (2016) and The Human Solution (2021).
Facts
Joseph made his West End stage debut as Nathan in 2002 in The Full Monty.

Albert Valentine (The Child) Born Jul 12 1997
Career highlights
Albert's only other screen work is New Tricks (2006).
Facts
He is the son of actress Alison Bettles, most famous for playing Fay Lucas in Grange Hill in the 1980s.

Richard Wilson (Dr Constantine) Born Jul 9 1936
Career highlights
Debuted (with his real name of Iain Wilson) in Dr Finlay's Casebook in 1965, then appeared in The Revenue Men (1967/68), My Good Woman (1972), The Tommy Cooper Hour (1974), Soldier and Me (1974), Victorian Scandals (1976), Yanks Go Home (1977), The Sweeney (1978), Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em (1978), Strangers (1980), Andy Robson (1982-83), A Passage to India (1984), Emmerdale Farm (1986), Howards' Way (1986), High and Dry (1987), Tutti Frutti (1987), Hot Metal (1988), Whoops Apocalypse (1988), How to Get Ahead in Advertising (1989), Cluedo (1991), Selling Hitler (1991), Mr Bean (1992), Carry On Columbus (1992), Under the Hammer (1994), The Man Who Knew Too Little (1997), Duck Patrol (1998), Life Support (1999), High Stakes (2001), Life as We Know It (2001), Kingdom (2007/08), New Tricks (2009), Danny and the Human Zoo (2015), Trollied (2015) and The Crystal Maze (2019). Richard's regular roles include Jeremy Parsons QC in Crown Court (1973-78), various roles in A Sharp Intake of Breath (1977-80), Gordon Thorpe in the sitcom Only When I Laugh (1979-82), Chaplain Toby Duckworth in Room at the Bottom (1986-88) and Dr Donald Newman in Born and Bred (2004-05). But there are two roles for which he will always be remembered: Victor Meldrew in 44 episodes of the sitcom One Foot in the Grave (1990-2001) and Gaius in 65 episodes of Merlin (2008-12). He has also presented travel series such as Britain's Best Drives (2009) and Richard Wilson On the Road (2015).
Awards
1991: British Comedy Award for Best TV Comedy Actor (One Foot in the Grave)
1992: BAFTA TV Award for Best Light Entertainment Performance (One Foot in the Grave)
1994: BAFTA TV Award for Best Light Entertainment Performance (One Foot in the Grave)
1994: Officer of the order of the British Empire (OBE) for services to drama
2013: BAFTA Scotland Outstanding Achievement Award
Facts
Richard was best man at the 2005 civil partnership of fellow actor Sir Anthony Sher, and is godfather to the son of Angus Deayton. You can hear Richard's narration on the Strawbs track The Man Who Called Himself Jesus (1968). In 2016, Richard suffered a heart attack just prior to reprising the role of Victor Meldrew at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival.

CREW

Steven Moffat (writer) Born Nov 18 1961
Doctor Who credits
Wrote: The Empty Child/ The Doctor Dances (2005), The Girl in the Fireplace (2006), Blink (2007), Time Crash (2007), Silence in the Library/ Forest of the Dead (2008), The End of Time Part Two (additional dialogue, uncredited, 2010), The Eleventh Hour (2010), The Beast Below (2010), The Time of Angels/ Flesh and Stone (2010), The Pandorica Opens/ The Big Bang (2010), A Christmas Carol (2010), The Impossible Astronaut/ Day of the Moon (2011), A Good Man Goes to War (2011), Let's Kill Hitler (2011), The Wedding of River Song (2011), The Doctor, the Widow and the Wardrobe (2011), Asylum of the Daleks (2012), The Angels Take Manhattan (2012), The Snowmen (2012), The Bells of Saint John (2013), The Name of the Doctor (2013), The Night of the Doctor (2013), The Day of the Doctor (2013), The Time of the Doctor (2013), Deep Breath (2014), Into the Dalek (co-writer, 2014), Listen (2014), Time Heist (co-writer, 2014), The Caretaker (co-writer, 2014), Dark Water/ Death in Heaven (2014), Last Christmas (2014), The Magician's Apprentice/ The Witch's Familiar (2015), The Girl Who Died (co-writer, 2015), The Zygon Inversion (co-writer, 2015), Heaven Sent/ Hell Bent (2015), The Husbands of River Song (2015), The Return of Doctor Mysterio (2016), The Pilot (2017), Extremis (2017), The Pyramid at the End of the World (co-writer, 2017), World Enough and Time/ The Doctor Falls (2017), Twice Upon a Time (2017)
As well as being writer of these TV episodes, Steven also wrote several of the minisodes and preludes accompanying them, as well as the 1999 Comic Relief special, The Curse of Fatal Death.
Executive producer: Series 5-10 (2010-17)
As well as being executive producer of these TV episodes, Steven also produced several of the minisodes, preludes and Adventure Games accompanying them, as well as Doctor Who Confidential (2010-11) and the Doctor Who spin-off Class (2016).
Career highlights
Steven's writing career stretches back to Stay Lucky in 1990, after which he wrote Exam Conditions (1992), 43 episodes of Press Gang (1989-93), Joking Apart (1991-95), The Office (1996), Chalk (1997), Murder Most Horrid (1994-99), Privates (1999), 34 episodes of Coupling (2000-04), Jekyll (2007), The Adventures of Tintin (2011), Sherlock (2010-17) and Dracula (2020). He has also acted as producer on Chalk, Coupling, Jekyll, Sherlock, An Adventure in Space and Time (2013) and Dracula.
Awards
1991: BAFTA TV Award for Best Children's Programme (Entertainment/ Drama) (Press Gang) - shared with Sandra C Hastie
2006: Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation - Short Form (Doctor Who) - shared with James Hawes
2007: Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation - Short Form (Doctor Who) - shared with Euros Lyn
2008: Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation - Short Form (Doctor Who) - shared with Hettie Macdonald
2008: BAFTA TV Award for Best Writer (Doctor Who)
2008: BAFTA Cymru Award for Best Screenwriter (Doctor Who)
2011: BAFTA TV Award for Best Drama Series (Sherlock) - shared with Mark Gatiss, Sue Vertue and Beryl Vertue
2011: Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation - Short Form (Doctor Who) - shared with Toby Haynes
2011: Royal Television Society Award for Best Drama Series (Sherlock) - shared with Mark Gatiss
2011: Broadcast Award for Best Drama series or Serial (Sherlock) - shared with Mark Gatiss
2012: BAFTA Special Award
2012: BAFTA TV Award for Best Writer (Sherlock)
2012: BAFTA TV Craft Award for Best Writer (Sherlock)
2013: Royal Television Society Award for Best Drama Writer (Sherlock)
2014: Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing for a Miniseries, Movie or Dramatic Special (Sherlock)
2015: Officer of the order of the British Empire (OBE) for services to drama
2015: British Screenwriters' Lifetime Achievement Award (Doctor Who & Sherlock)
2016: Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding TV Movie (Sherlock) - shared with Mark Gatiss, Beryl Vertue, Sue Vertue and Rebecca Eaton
Facts
Steven is married to TV producer Sue Vertue (whose mother is TV producer Beryl Vertue).
In 2014 Toby Hadoke released his Who's Round interview with Steven here. He released a further Who's Round with Steven in 2017 here.

James Hawes (director)
Doctor Who credits
Director: The Empty Child/ The Doctor Dances (2005), The Christmas Invasion (2005), New Earth (2006), School Reunion (2006)
Career highlights
James's earliest directing work was The Earth in Balance (1990, featuring Prince Charles), followed by Against All Odds (1994), Staying Alive (1996), The Bill (1996-98), Holby City (1999), The Mrs Bradley Mysteries (2000), Sea of Souls (2004), The Chatterley Affair (2006), Miss Marie Lloyd (2007), Fanny Hill (2007), Merlin (2008), The 39 Steps (2008), DCI Banks (2010), The Suspicions of Mr Whicher (2011), Mad Dogs (2012), The Mill (2013), Penny Dreadful (2014), Undercover (2016), The Mist (2017), Black Mirror (2016/19), Snowpiercer (2020), Raised By Wolves (2020) and Slow Horses (2021). However, he'd started out as a member of the production team on Crimewatch in the late 1980s, as well as producer on the series Did You See...?, and was also an executive producer on Snowpiercer.
Awards
2006: BAFTA Cymru Award for Best Drama Director (Doctor Who)
2006: Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation - Short Form (Doctor Who) - shared with Steven Moffat
2014: Royal Television Society Award for Best Single Drama (The Challenger) - shared with Kate Gartside, Mark Hedgecoe and Laurie Borg
Facts
James was originally announced as the producer on series one of Torchwood, but he backed out after deciding that directing was where his real passion lay. Here he is on Twitter.

Phil Collinson (producer) Born Aug 26 1970 Click here for Phil Collinson's entry on Rose

Helen Vallis (associate producer) Click here for Helen Vallis's entry on Rose

Helen Raynor (script editor) Born Mar 27 1972 Click here for Helen Raynor's entry on The Unquiet Dead

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