Friday, August 21, 2015

A Christmas Carol

"I would like a hat like that!"
One episode (A Christmas Carol)
First broadcast Dec 25 2010
Average audience for story: 12.11m (13.1m approx with iPlayer)

REGULAR CAST

Matt Smith (The Doctor) Born Oct 28 1982 Click here for Matt Smith's entry on The End of Time

Karen Gillan (Amy Pond) Born Nov 28 1987 Click here for Karen Gillan's entry on The Fires of Pompeii

Arthur Darvill (Rory Williams) Born Jun 17 1982 Click here for Arthur Darvill's entry on The Eleventh Hour

GUEST CAST

Micah Balfour (Co-pilot) Born Jul 18 1978
Career highlights
Debuted in The Time of Your Life (2007), then Holby City (2011), Diana (2013), Young Dracula (2014), Utopia (2014), The Musketeers (2015), The Children Act (2017), Trust (2018), White House Farm (2020) and The Trial of Christine Keeler (2020). He also played PC Benjamin Gayle in more than 100 episodes of The Bill (2007-10), and Dr Jermaine Bailey in almost 100 episodes of soap Emmerdale (2015-16).

Laurence Belcher (Young Kazran) Born Dec 27 1995
Career highlights
Laurence made his credited debut at the age of 12 in The Shadow Within (2007), followed by roles in Hell bent for Leather (2007), Little Dorrit (2008), Missing (2012), Diana (2013), Silent Witness (2014) and A Song for Jenny (2015). He also played the 12-year-old Charles Xavier in the film X-Men: First Class (2011), with an uncredited appearance as the same in X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014).

Leo Bill (Pilot) Born Aug 31 1980
Career highlights
Debuted, aged four, in Eh Brian! It's a Whopper (1984), then took roles in Broke (1991), Gosford Park (2001), Attachments (2002), Celeb (2002), 28 Days Later (2002), Spooks (2003), Vera Drake (2004), The Fall (2006), Jekyll (2007), Ashes to Ashes (2008), Me and Orson Welles (2008), Alice in Wonderland (2010), The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2011), The Borgias (2013), The White Queen (2013), Mr Turner (2014), Alice Through the Looking Glass (2016), Taboo (2017), Peterloo (2018), The Long Song (2018), Rare Beasts (2019), Hitmen (2020), Cruella (2021), War of the Worlds (2021) and Becoming Elizabeth (2022).
Facts
Leo's parents are actors Sheila Kelley and Stephen Bill, who might be best remembered as Honky and Finger in the 1976 Mike Leigh TV play Nuts in May (Stephen is also a TV scriptwriter). Here's Leo on Twitter.

Michael Gambon (Kazran Sardick & Elliot Sardick) Oct 19 1940 to Sep 27 2023 (pneumonia)
Doctor Who credits
Played: Kazran Sardick in A Christmas Carol (2010)
Played: Elliot Sardick in A Christmas Carol (2010)
Career highlights
Michael made his screen debut in a 1965 adaptation of Shakespeare's Othello, after which he appeared in Much Ado About Nothing (1967), Fraud Squad (1969), Eyeless in Gaza (1971), Kate (1972), Arthur of the Britons (1973), Zodiac (1974), The Beast Must Die (1974), Chalk and Cheese (1977), Tales of the Unexpected (1980), Oscar (1985), Bergerac (1987), The Rachel Papers (1989), A Dry White Season (1989), The Storyteller (1991), Toys (1992), The Browning Version (1994), The Innocent Sleep (1996), The Wings of the Dove (1997), The Gambler (1997), Sleepy Hollow (1999), Gosford Park (2001), Sylvia (2003), Being Julia (2004), Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow (2004), Layer Cake (2004), The Omen (2006), Cranford (2007), Emma (2009), The Book of Eli (2010), The King's Speech (2010), Quartet (2012), Quirke (2014), The Casual Vacancy (2015), Dad's Army (2016), The Hollow Crown (2016), Fearless (2017), Kingsman: The Golden Circle (2017), Little Women (2017), Johnny English Strikes Again (2018) and Cordelia (2019). Regular character roles include Gavin Ker in The Borderers (1968-70), Brian Bryant in The Other One (1977-79), Philip Marlow in The Singing Detective (1986), the title character in Maigret (1992-93), Professor Albus Dumbledore in the Harry Potter film franchise (2004-11) and Henry Tyson in Fortitude (2015-18).
Awards
1986: Olivier Award for Best Comedy Performance (A Chorus of Disapproval)
1987: BAFTA TV Award for Best Actor (The Singing Detective)
1987: Olivier Award for Best Actor (A View from the Bridge)
1990: Olivier Award for Best Comedy Performance (Man of the Moment)
1990: Commander of the order of the British Empire (CBE) for services to drama
1998: Knight Bachelor (substantive) for services to drama
2000: BAFTA TV Award for Best Actor (Wives and Daughters)
2001: BAFTA TV Award for Best Actor (Longitude)
2002: BAFTA TV Award for Best Actor (Perfect Strangers)
Facts
Michael, who is an expert on antique weaponry, auditioned for the role of James Bond after George Lazenby left the role in 1969. Michael is a reluctant interviewee and admits to lying in interviews to make him seem more interesting. He was once asked if he minded playing a gay man in one of his roles; he replied that he did not mind as he used to be a homosexual, but had to quit as it made his eyes water! In 2015, Michael announced his retirement from stage acting due to his failing memory; previously, he had relied upon an earpiece to feed him his lines. Michael is secretive about his private life: he married wife Anne Miller in 1962, but when asked in interviews about her, he responds: "What wife?". His son with Anne is Fergus Gambon, a ceramics and porcelain expert on BBC1's Antiques Roadshow. In 2002, Michael moved out of the marital home after his relationship with his new "girlfriend" Philippa Hart was revealed. The two moved in together in 2006, and in 2007 had a child, Tom. In 2009, Hart gave birth to a second child, Will.

Danny Horn (Adult Kazran) Born 1989
Career highlights
Danny made his professional screen debut in Doctor Who, landing the role of Kazran just days after graduating from drama school. Further work includes MI High (2011), Boogeyman (2012), Scar Tissue (2013), Vera (2015), Hetty Feather (2015), Beautiful Devils (2017) and playing Ray Davies in the documentary film The Kinks: Echoes of a World (2018). He also had the recurring role of Darren Thompson in soap Emmerdale (2015).
Facts
Danny is also a singer/ songwriter as part of Danny Horn and the Shared Myths - hear him on Soundcloud. Danny reprised the role of Kazran Sardick for Big Finish in 2016. Here he is on Twitter.

Katherine Jenkins (Abigail Pettigrew) Born Jun 29 1980
Career highlights
Katherine is not known for her acting, although other credits include A-List (2006), Emmerdale (2007) and Under Milk Wood (2014). She is first and foremost a singer, specifically a lyric mezzo-soprano, who is trained as a classical singer but who has also worked variously as a model, a London Eye guide, and a freelance singing tutor. Her breakthrough came after being named the Face of Wales in 2000, and securing a recording contract which saw her release her debut album Premiere in 2004. She sold more than four million copies of her albums between 2004-08, and she has had 12 number 1 albums on the UK Classical chart. She has also had three albums in the US Classical Top 20 chart and in 2017 was named the best-selling classical artist of the previous 25 years in the UK. In 2010, she was a judge on ITV1's Popstar to Operastar, and in 2012 was a contestant on US TV's Dancing with the Stars (she was runner-up in the contest).
Awards
2005: Classical Brit Award for Album of the Year (Second Nature)
2006: Classical Brit Award for Album of the Year (Living a Dream)
2014: Officer of the order of the British Empire (OBE) for services to music and charity
Facts
In 1999, Katherine was attacked, beaten and robbed by an unknown assailant who attempted to rape her while she was studying at the Royal Academy of Music. She also began to take drugs at this time ("the biggest regret of my life"). Around the time Katherine was in Doctor Who she was in a relationship with TV presenter Gethin Jones, but in 2014 she married American artist and actor/ director Andrew Levitas. Here she is on Twitter.

Nick Malinowski (Eric) Born 1975
Career highlights
Debuted in Hetty Wainthropp Investigates (1998), then Sunburn (1999), Dinnerladies (1999), Keen Eddie (2003), The Bill (2005), Lewis (2009), Paradox (2009), Steppin' Out with Katherine Jenkins (2012), Chasing Shadows (2014), A Very English Scandal (2018), Turn Up Charlie (2019) and We Hunt Together (2020).
Facts
Here's Nick's website and Twitter.

Steve North (Old Benjamin) Born Jan 20 1965
Career highlights
Steve's other work includes Woof! (1993), South West 9 (2001), Murphy's Law (2005), Midsomer Murders (2007), The Whistleblowers (2007), Doctors (2012), The Private Lives of Private Eyes (2014), I Am Hooligan (2016), Unforgotten (2021) and The Essex Serpent (2022). He also had regular roles as Colin Parrish in 37 episodes of London's Burning (1990-93), Cosmic Bob in 28 episodes of Is Harry on the Boat? (2002-03) and Detective Bernard in EastEnders (2003-06). Steve was also the writer and associate producer of South West 9, and a producer on The Football Factory (2004).
Facts
Steve has written two books about his beloved Brighton and Hove Albion Football Club - Build a Bonfire (1997) and We Want Falmer (2011).

Meg Wynn Owen (Old Isabella) Nov 8 1939 to Jun 2022 (dementia)
Career highlights
Meg made her debut in a 1961 episode of Dixon of Dock Green, and then appeared in Z Cars (1962), The River Flows East (1962), Lorna Doone (1963), Dr Finlay's Casebook (1965), Inheritance (1967), Smith (1970), Under Milk Wood (1972), The Song of Songs (1973), The Duellists (1977), Scarecrow and Mrs King (1984), A Woman of Substance (1985), The Lifeboat (1994), Gosford Park (2001), Love Actually (2003), Vanity Fair (2004), Pride and Prejudice (2005), The Jury (2011), The Scarf (2014) and Young Memphis (2021). She also regularly played Hazel Bellamy in Upstairs, Downstairs (1973-74).
Facts
Between 1967-87, Meg was married to the Australian artist William Wright. In November 2022, months after her death, it came to light that Meg had been swindled out of her £65,000 life savings by her so-called friend, Brian Malam. Meg spent her final days in a care home suffering from dementia, and Malam (who worked as a costume designer on Doctor Who video games) was made her power of attorney to look after her estate. Instead, he spent her savings on himself (his own design company as well as alcohol), leaving her with an overdraft of £1,750 in one bank account, £229 in a second account, and a total of 93p in a third and fourth account. With no money forthcoming, the care home staff had to dress Meg in the clothes of dead residents and cut her hair themselves. Malam was jailed for two years and eight months.

Bailey Pepper (Young Benjamin/ Boy)
Career highlights
Bailey's other work includes Doctors (2009), Guess with Jess (2009), The Bleak Old Shop of Stuff (2011) and Rumpelstilzchen (2021).

Tim Plester (Servant) Born Sep 10 1970
Career highlights
Tim debuted in 2001's The Residents, then took roles in Shooters (2002), Shoreditch Twat (2002), Dalziel and Pascoe (2002), Silent Witness (2003), Sea of Souls (2004), Eyes Down (2004), It's All Gone Pete Tong (2004), Murder City (2004/06), Hogfather (2006), Life on Mars (2007), Murphy's Law (2007), City of Vice (2008), Shifty (2008), Moving Wallpaper (2009), Kick-Ass (2010), Lockout (2012), Game of Thrones (2013), WPC 56 (2013-14), Galavant (2015), Wolf Hall (2015), Cuffs (2015), Game of Thrones (2013-16), Taboo (2017), The Halcyon (2017), Bohemian Rhapsody (2018), After Life (2019), Ghosts (2019), The Sister (2020), Britannia (2021) and Worzel Gummidge (2019-21, as scarecrow Clarty). Tim also writes, directs, produces and edits his own material, including Ant Muzak (2002), Blake's Junction 7 (2005), World of Wrestling (2007), Way of the Morris (2011) and The Ballad of Shirley Collins (2015).
Facts
Tim was second choice to play Gareth in the UK version of sitcom The Office (Mackenzie Crook got the role).

Pooky Quesnel (Captain) Born Apr 30 1966
Doctor Who credits
Played: Captain in A Christmas Carol (2010)
Played: Dorothea Ames in Class (episodes 4, 5, 7 & 8) (2016)
Career highlights
Pooky - real name Joanna - made her debut in The Hawk in 1993, followed by roles in A Woman's Guide to Adultery (1993), Cardiac Arrest (1994), Finney (1994), Thief Takers (1996-97), A Christmas Carol (1999), Sunburn (2000), Cold Feet (2000), Family Affairs (2001), The Golden Hour (2005), Skins (2007), True Dare Kiss (2007), Ashes to Ashes (2009), Paradox (2009), Five Days (2010), EastEnders (2007-10, as Rachel Branning), Accused (2010), Shameless (2011), Starlings (2012), Great Expectations (2012), Truckers (2013), Waterloo Road (2014-15), Pride and Prejudice and Zombies (2016), The Living and the Dead (2016), W1A (2017), The Queen and I (2018), Ransom (2019), Ladhood (2021), Wolfe (2021) and Ralph and Katie (2022). She also played Louise Wilson in 18 episodes of The A Word (2016-20).
Facts
She has also written scripts for the soaps Family Affairs and Doctors. In the 1980s Pooky sang in the jazz band Vile Bodies at London's Ritz Hotel. Here's her Twitter feed.

Laura Rogers (Isabella) Born Mar 10 1979
Career highlights
Laura debuted as Chastity Green in The Sins (2000), followed by Rockface (2002), Bad Girls (2005), Missing (2010), Dates (2013), Law and Order UK (2014), EastEnders (2017) and Doctors (2007/10/19). She also appeared as herself in the documentary Casting About (2005).

CREW

Steven Moffat (writer) Born Nov 18 1961 Click here for Steven Moffat's entry on The Empty Child

Toby Haynes (director)
Doctor Who credits
Directed: The Pandorica Opens/ The Big Bang (2010), A Christmas Carol (2010), The Impossible Astronaut/ Day of the Moon (2011)
Toby also directed the TARDIS scene shown on screens at the 2010 Doctor Who Prom.
Career highlights
Toby's directing debut came with the short Looking for Al Bowlly (2003), followed by Lost and Found (2003), Hollyoaks (2007), MI High (2007-08), Spooks: Code 9 (2008), Being Human (2009), Five Days (2010), Sherlock (2012), The Musketeers (2014), Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell (2015), Black Mirror (2017), Utopia (2020) and Andor (2022). He also executive produced Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell and Utopia.
Awards
2011: Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation - Short Form (Doctor Who) - shared with Steven Moffat
Facts
Toby is the first director ever to helm three consecutive Doctor Who stories (The Pandorica Opens/ The Big Bang; A Christmas Carol; The Impossible Astronaut/ Day of the Moon - equalling five consecutive episodes, plus the Proms TARDIS scene in the middle!).

Sanne Wohlenberg (producer) Born Aug 9 1968
Doctor Who credits
Produced: A Christmas Carol (2010), The Doctor's Wife (2011), Night Terrors (2011)
Career highlights
German Sanne was first credited as a line producer on Men Only in 2001, then became producer on Lucky Jim (2003, as Sanne Craddick), Murphy's Law (2003, as Sanne Craddick), Funland (2005), The Whistleblowers (2007), Mad Dogs (2013), Wallander (2010-15), Vikings (2016-17), Black Mirror (2016-17), Chernobyl (2019) and Andor (2022, as executive producer).
Awards
2019: Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Limited Series (Chernobyl) - shared with production team

Lindsey Alford (script executive) Click here for Lindsey Alford's entry on Daleks in Manhattan

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