Thursday, November 26, 2015

Dinosaurs on a Spaceship

Amy (Karen Gillan) with her new team,
Riddell (Rupert Graves) and Queen
Nefertiti (Riann Steele)
One episode (Dinosaurs on a Spaceship)
First broadcast Sep 8 2012
Average audience for story: 7.57m + 1.77m iPlayer = 9.34m

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

David Bradley (Solomon) Born Apr 17 1942
Doctor Who credits
Played: Voice of Shansheeth Blue in The Sarah Jane Adventures: Death of the Doctor (2010)
Played: Solomon in Dinosaurs on a Spaceship (2012)
Played: William Hartnell in An Adventure in Space and Time (2013)
Played: The Doctor in The Doctor Falls, Twice Upon a Time (both 2017)
Career highlights
David made his debut in the sitcom Nearest and Dearest (1971), then secured the role of Colin Woodcock in A Family at War the same year. After that, he found work in The Professionals (1978), The Frisco Kid (1979), One By One (1985), Prick Up Your Ears (1987), Between the Lines (1992), The Buddha of Suburbia (1993), Martin Chuzzlewit (1994), Our Friends in the North (1996), Cracker (1996), Reckless (1997-98), Our Mutual Friend (1998), Tom's Midnight Garden (1999), Shades (2001), The Intended (2002), Nicholas Nickleby (2002), Exorcist: The Beginning (2004), Blackpool (2004), Red Mercury (2005), Sweeney Todd (2006), Hot Fuzz (2007), The Color of Magic (2008), Ideal (2006-08), Ashes to Ashes (2009), Harry Brown (2009), Waking the Dead (2011), Captain America: The First Avenger (2011), Benidorm (2012), Broadchurch (2013), Prisoners' Wives (2012-13), The World's End (2013), The Young Messiah (2016), Medici (2016), The Lodgers (2017), Await Further Instructions (2018), Les Miserables (2018-19), Gangs of London (2020), Jolt (2021) and The Responder (2022). His most memorable roles include Argus Filch in the Harry Potter film franchise (2001-11), Old Jake in Wild West (2002-04), Charlie in Mount Pleasant (2012-14), Abraham Setrakian in The Strain (2014-17), Druid Quane in Britannia (2018-21), Tony's Dad in Afterlife (2019-22) and of course, the much reviled Walder Frey in Game of Thrones (2011-17).
Awards
1991: Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role (King Lear)
2014: BAFTA TV Award for Best Supporting Actor (Broadchurch)
2021: British Short Film Award for Best Actor (Roy)
Facts
David can be seen in the music video for Louise and the Pins' Bell Jar (2012). Since 2018 David has played his version of the First Doctor for Big Finish audios.

Noel Byrne (Robot 1 operator)
Career highlights
Noel's only other credit is playing Matthew King in The Real Dick Turpin (2007). However, he is a member of the Box Tale Soup theatre company, and has worked in motion capture as well as done voiceover work. He is also a street performer and can often be seen entertaining in London's Covent Garden.
Facts
Noel is married to actor Antonia Christophers, who has appeared in Game of Thrones and The Hour.

Rudi Dharmalingam (ISA worker) Born May 11 1981
Career highlights
Debuted in Cutting It (2003-04), then The Bill (2007), Hollyoaks (2010), Coronation Street (2011), Casualty (2010/14), Rellik (2017), Electric Dreams (2017), Our Girl (2017), Strike Back (2019), Dark Money (2019), Tin Star (2020), Wakefield (2021), The Split (2018-22) and Extinction (2022).
Facts
Here he is on Twitter.

Richard Garaghty (Robot 2 operator) Born 1975
Doctor Who credits
Played: Senator in Death Comes to Time (2001-02, audio)
Played: Soldier in Death Comes to Time (2001-02, audio)
Played: Civilian in Death Comes to Time (2001-02, audio)
Played: Man in Death Comes to Time (2001-02, audio)
Played: Robot 2 in Dinosaurs on a Spaceship (2012)
Career highlights
Richard's other credits include Back to the Garden (2013), Machine Stopped Working (2014) and Dumbo (2019). He is principally a street performer, having appeared at the Edinburgh Festival, Covent Garden and at the National Theatre. He is one half of the comedy duo Garaghty and Thom, with Goronwy Thom. Here's a video of Richard's juggling unicycle act at Covent Garden.

Rupert Graves (Riddell) Born Jun 30 1963
Career highlights
Rupert debuted in Return of the Saint in 1978, aged 15, then found work in The Famous Five (1979), Vice Versa (1981), Puccini (1984), A Room with a View (1985), Maurice (1987), Fortunes of War (1987), The Children (1990), Damage (1992), The Madness of King George (1994), Bent (1997), Room to Rent (2000), The Forsyte Saga (2002-03), Spooks (2005), V for Vendetta (2005), Clapham Junction (2007), The Dinner Party (2007), Wallander (2010), Made in Dagenham (2010), Garrow's Law (2009-11), The White Queen (2013), Last Tango in Halifax (2014-15), The Family (2016), Native (2016), 12 Monkeys (2017), Krypton (2018), Swimming with Men (2018), The War of the Worlds (2019), Riviera (2020), Smyrna (2021) and Washington Black (2023). He also regularly plays Inspector Lestrade in Sherlock (2010-17).
Facts
Rupert worked as a circus clown before getting into serious acting, as well as in a shoe shop and a chip shop. In 2020 he opened up about attempting suicide at the age of 15, when he struggled with his body image.

Richard Hope (Bleytal) Born Oct 11 1953
Doctor Who credits
Played: Malohkeh in The Hungry Earth/ Cold Blood (2010), The Wedding of River Song (2011)
Played: Bleytal in Dinosaurs on a Spaceship (2012)
Career highlights
Richard debuted in Secret Army (1977), then Crown Court (1978), Heartland (1979), Brideshead Revisited (1981), Scandalous (1984), Bellman and True (1987), Piece of Cake (1988), Victoria Wood (1989), Boon (1991), The Riff-Raff Element (1993-94), Band of Gold (1995), Alive and Kicking (1996), Bramwell (1997), The Demon Headmaster (1998), Rhona (2000), High Stakes (2001), A is for Acid (2002), The Forsyte Saga (2003), MIT: Murder Investigation Team (2003/05), Chromophobia (2005), The Shell Seekers (2006), The Wild West (2007), EastEnders (2008), Last Love (2013), The Smoke (2014), Poldark (2015-19), Broadchurch (2017), The Village in the Woods (2019) and Mandy (2022).
Facts
Richard may also be remembered for his appearance in a number of TV commercials for Uncle Ben's rice, as well as John Smith's lager (there's also several to view on his own website here). He is married to prolific make-up artist Louise Fisher. Here he is on Twitter.
In 2016 Toby Hadoke released his Who's Round interview with Richard here.

David Mitchell (Robot 1 voice) Born Jul 14 1974
Career highlights
David is best known as one half of the comedy act Mitchell and Webb (with Robert Webb), making his debut on The Jack Docherty Show in 1997, then making appearances in Comedy Nation (1998), Bruiser (2000), Fun at the Funeral Parlour (2001), tlc (2002), Look Around You (2005), All About George (2005), Magicians (2007), Jam and Jerusalem (2006-09), The Bleak Old Shop of Stuff (2011-12), Ambassadors (2013), Professor Branestawm Returns (2015), Gun Shy (2017), Greed (2019), Upstart Crow (2016-20), Back 2017-21) and The Cleaner (2021). David and Webb also starred in and wrote their own comedy sketch shows - The Mitchell and Webb Situation (2001), That Mitchell and Webb Sound (2003-07, on radio), and That Mitchell and Webb Look (2006-10) - and also had their own sitcom, Peep Show (2003-15). David also wrote material for The Armstrong and Miller Show (1999), Bruiser, TV to Go (2001), Big Train (2002), David Mitchell's Soap Box (2009-12), 10 O'Clock Live (2011-13) and Outsiders (2021), as well as having appeared on comedy/ panel shows such as Fanorama (2001-02), FAQ U (2005), The Best of the Worst (2006), Mock the Week (2005-09), The Bubble (2010), 10 O'Clock Live, Was It Something I Said? (2013), Have I Got News for You (2005-21), Would I Lie to You? (2007-22), QI (2005-21), Outsiders (2021) and The Last Leg (2015-21).
Awards
2007: BAFTA TV Award for Best Comedy Programme (That Mitchell and Webb Look) - shared with production team
2007: British Comedy Award for Best TV Comedy Actor (Peep Show)
2008: Royal Television Society Award for Best Comedy Performance (Peep Show) - shared with Robert Webb
2009: BAFTA TV Award for Best Comedy Performance (Peep Show)
Facts
David is married to Victoria Coren-Mitchell, best known as a newspaper columnist and presenter of the quiz show Only Connect. Before he broke the big time, David worked in the cloakroom on the Channel 4 variety show TFI Friday. It's interesting to watch the Kids' Stuff episode of David's web series Soapbox from 2010 in the light of the fact he a) gave his voice to Robot 1 two years later, and b) now has a child of his own. He criticises 21st century Doctor Who for being aimed too much at adults, and prefers the 20th century version's focus on the younger audience. Here's David on Twitter.

Sunetra Sarker (Indira) Born Jun 25 1973
Career highlights
Debuting as Nisha Batra in the soap Brookside (1988-90/2000-2003), Sunetra then appeared in sitcom Bread (1991), Cracker (1993), Wing and a Prayer (1999), Playing the Field (2000), Emmerdale (2003), Holby City (2004), The Smoking Room (2004), Mobile (2007), Ideal (2005-08), Puppy Love (2014), Death in Paradise (2017), Broadchurch (2017), Safe House (2017), Informer (2018), The Bay (2021), Cockney and Scouse (2022) and Sherwood (2022). Regular roles include Anji Mittel in No Angels (2004-06), Clare Burnes in The Chase (2006-07), Dr Zoe Hanna in more than 330 episodes of Casualty (2007-18) and Kaneez Paracha in Ackley Bridge (2017-21). She also directed episodes of Casualty in 2010 and 2012, produced episodes of Casualty and Ackley Bridge in 2021. In 2014, she was a contestant on Strictly Come Dancing, partnered with Brendan Cole, finishing sixth.
Facts
In 2012, Sunetra and her husband Scott Carey founded the  eco-friendly food firm Keep Me Fresh, which markets the BerryBreeze device. Sunetra's mother Bisakha was awarded the MBE in 2013 for her contribution to Indian classical dance. Here she is on Twitter.

Riann Steele (Queen Nefertiti) Born Apr 25 1981
Career highlights
American-born Riann debuted in Hamlet (2009), then Pete Versus Life (2010), 360 (2011), In the Flesh (2013), The Tunnel (2013), Misfits (2013), Casualty (2014), Scrotal Recall (2014), Critical (2015), Lovesick (2014-16), Crazyhead (2016), NCIS: New Orleans (2018), Ant-Man and the Wasp (2018), The Magicians (2020) and Debris (2021). She also played Lauren Minster in 12 episodes of Holby City (2009-10).

Robert Webb (Robot 2 voice) Born Sep 19 1972
Career highlights
Robert is best known as one half of the comedy act Mitchell and Webb (with David Mitchell), making his debut on The Jack Docherty Show in 1997, then making appearances in Comedy Nation (1998), Bruiser (2000), Fun at the Funeral Parlour (2001), People Like Us (2001), My Family (2003), Blessed (2005), Confetti (2006), Magicians (2007), The Bleak Old Shop of Stuff (2011-12), Threesome (2012), Fresh Meat (2011-12), Marple (2013), Ambassadors (2013), Cold Feet (2016), Back (2017-21) and Frayed (2019/21). He also appeared in the sitcom The Smoking Room as Robin (2004-05). Robert and Mitchell also starred in and wrote their own comedy sketch shows - The Mitchell and Webb Situation (2001), That Mitchell and Webb Sound (2003-07, on radio), and That Mitchell and Webb Look (2006-10) - and also had their own sitcom, Peep Show (2003-15). Robert also wrote material for The Armstrong and Miller Show (1999), Bruiser, TV to Go (2001), Big Train (2002) and Robert's Web (2010). In 2011 he appeared on Celebrity Mastermind, his specialist subject being the novels of Ian McEwan (he came third out of four).
Awards
2007: BAFTA TV Award for Best Comedy Programme (That Mitchell and Webb Look) - shared with production team
2008: Royal Television Society Award for Best Comedy Performance (Peep Show) - shared with David Mitchell
2018: National Film Award for Best Supporting Actor (Back)
Facts
Robert is married to actress and comedy writer Abigail Burdess. In 2017 he published his first memoir, How Not to Be a Boy, and his first novel, Come Again, was published in 2020. That same year Robert underwent emergency heart surgery for a mitral valve prolapse, which he put down to alcohol-dependency. Here he is on Twitter.

Mark Williams (Brian Williams) Born Aug 22 1959
Doctor Who credits
Played: Brian Williams in Dinosaurs on a Spaceship, The Power of Three (both 2012)
Career highlights
Mark's debut came in 1982's Privileged, followed by High Season (1987), Tumbledown (1988), Red Dwarf (1988), Alexei Sayle's Stuff (1988-89), Great Expectations (1991), Merlin of the Crystal Cave (1991), Kinsey (1992), The Smell of Reeves and Mortimer (1993-95), 101 Dalmatians (1996), The Borrowers (1997), Shakespeare in Love (1998), Gormenghast (2000), The Strangerers (2000), Happiness (2001), The Final Curtain (2002), Grass (2003), Carrie and Barry (2004-05), Stardust (2007), Sense and Sensibility (2008), Merlin (2010), The Indian Doctor (2010), Being Human (2012), Blandings (2013), Still Open All Hours (2013-15), Golden Years (2016), Hospital People (2017), Sister Boniface Mysteries (2022) and Surprised by Oxford (2023). He will be best remembered for playing various roles in the sketch show The Fast Show (1994-2000, which he also wrote material for), Albert Weasley in the Harry Potter film franchise (2002-11), or the title character in Father Brown (2013-22). Mark has also presented his own programmes, including Mark Williams On the Rails (2004), Industrial Revelations (2002-05) and game show The Link (2014-15).

CREW

Chris Chibnall (writer) Born Mar 21 1970 Click here for Chris Chibnall's entry on 42

Saul Metzstein (director) Born Dec 30 1970
Doctor Who credits
Directed: Good as Gold (2012), Pond Life (2012), Dinosaurs on a Spaceship (2012), A Town Called Mercy (2012), The Snowmen (2012), The Crimson Horror (2013), The Name of the Doctor (2013)
Career highlights
Saul's earliest work behind the camera was as a production runner on the film Shallow Grave (1994, which starred future Doctor Christopher Eccleston). Other roles include location assistant on Trainspotting (1996) and second unit director on the films Dredd (2012), Black Sea (2014) and Suffragette (2015). As an outright director he debuted on the short Santa/ Claws (1997, which he also wrote), followed by Late Night Shopping (2001), Guy X (2005), Micro Men (2009), Upstairs, Downstairs (2010), The Musketeers (2014), Ripper Street (2014), You, Me and the Apocalypse (2015), Living the Dream (2017) and Brassic (2020).
Awards
2002: BAFTA Scotland Award for Best Feature Film Director (Late Night Shopping)
Facts
Saul's father was architect Isi Metzstein, who helped design a number of notable churches in and around Glasgow, as well as Robinson College, Cambridge. Here he is on Twitter.
In 2013 Toby Hadoke released his Who's Round interview with Saul here.

Marcus Wilson (producer) Born Jul 4 1973 Click here for Marcus Wilson's entry on The Impossible Astronaut

Lindsay Grant (script supervisor)
Doctor Who credits
Script supervisor: A Good Man Goes to War (2011), Dinosaurs on a Spaceship (2012), A Town Called Mercy (2012), The Woman Who Fell to Earth (2018)
Career highlights
Lindsay started out as a production assistant on Casualty in 1990, and also worked in this capacity on EastEnders (1993) and Between the Lines (1993-94), before overseeing continuity on Silent Witness (1996), The Ebb-Tide (1998) and Hustle (2005-06). She has been a script supervisor on shows such as Ballykissangel (1996), North Square (2000), The Last Detective (2005), Five Days (2007), Paradox (2009), Lewis (2008-10), Whitechapel (2009-12), Silk (2011-12), Sherlock (2014), You, Me and the Apocalypse (2015), Lucky Man (2016), Love, Nina (2016), Silent Witness (2017), Dark Heart (2018), The Durrells (2017-19), Dracula (2020) and Killing Eve (2019-22).

Monday, November 16, 2015

Asylum of the Daleks

The Doctor (Matt Smith) with a Dalek.
Or is it somebody else in there...?
One episode (Asylum of the Daleks)
First broadcast Sep 1 2012
Average audience for story: 8.33m + 2.19m iPlayer = 10.52m

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

Jenna Coleman (Oswin Oswald) Born Apr 27 1986
Doctor Who credits
Played: Oswin Oswald in Asylum of the Daleks (2012)
Played: Clara Oswald [Victorian splinter] in The Snowmen (2012)
Played: Clara Oswald [contemporary splinter] in The Snowmen, The Bells of Saint John, The Rings of Akhaten, Cold War, Hide, Journey to the Centre of the TARDIS, The Crimson Horror, Nightmare in Silver, She Said, He Said, The Name of the Doctor, The Day of the Doctor, The Time of the Doctor, Series 8, Last Christmas, Series 9, Twice Upon a Time (2012-15 & 2017). Jenna also played Clara in the DVD extra Clara and the TARDIS (2013, uncredited) and the Doctor Who Prom (2013).
Credited as Jenna-Louise Coleman between The Snowmen and The Name of the Doctor; Jenna Coleman after that
Played: Bonnie in The Zygon Invasion/ The Zygon Inversion (2015)
Career highlights
Jenna debuted in the regular role of Jasmine Thomas in 180 episodes of rural soap Emmerdale (2005-09), followed by roles in Waterloo Road (2009), Captain America: The First Avenger (2011), Titanic (2012), Room at the Top (2012), Dancing on the Edge (2013), Death Comes to Pemberley (2013), Me Before You (2016), The Cry (2018), Inside No 9 (2020), The Serpent (2021) and The Sandman (2022). She also played Queen Victoria in 25 episodes of Victoria (2016-19).
Awards
2019: Logie Award for Most Outstanding Actress (The Cry)
Facts
Jenna was named after the character played by Priscilla Presley in US soap Dallas. Jenna dated actor Richard Madden between 2011-15. She was rumoured to be dating Prince Harry in 2015, but denied this, claiming they were just friends; she subsequently became involved with her Victoria co-star Tom Hughes. Here she is on Twitter.

GUEST CAST

Nicholas Briggs (Voice of the Daleks) Born Sep 29 1961 Click here for Nicholas Briggs' entry on Rose

Barnaby Edwards (Dalek operator) Born Aug 20 1969 Click here for Barnaby Edwards' entry on Dalek

David Gyasi (Harvey) Born Jan 2 1980
Doctor Who credits
Played: Hospital patient in Torchwood: Combat (2006)
Played: Harvey in Asylum of the Daleks (2012)
Career highlights
David made his debut in 2003's What a Girl Wants, followed by roles in Goal (2003), Murder City (2004), Sea of Souls (2005), The Brief (2005), Mike Bassett: Manager (2005), Dream Team (2005-06), Coming Up (2007), Waking the Dead (2008), Apparitions (2008), Demons (2009), White Heat (2012), The Dark Knight Rises (2012), Cloud Atlas (2012), Interstellar (2014), Containment (2015), Man in an Orange Shirt (2017), Hunter Killer (2018), Carnival Row (2019), Hell on the Border (2019), The A Word (2020) and Ear for Eye (2021). He also provided the voice of loco Mtambo in the children's series Chuggington (2008-20).
Facts
David was originally cast as the lead character of Ash in the BBC series The Interceptor (2015), but had to drop out through illness (O.T Fagbenle - who appeared in Silence in the Library in 2008 - got the role instead). Here's his Twitter feed!

Anamaria Marinca (Darla von Karlsen) Born Apr 1 1978
Career highlights
Romanian-born Anamaria made her credited debut in Sex Traffic (2004, after which she appeared in Hotel Babylon (2006), 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days (2007), The Last Enemy (2008), Storm (2009), The Countess (2009), Perfect Sense (2011), Wallander (2012), The Politician's Husband (2013), Fury (2014), Floride (2015), River (2015), The Girl with All the Gifts (2016), Maigret (2016), Ghost in the Shell (2017), Nico, 1988 (2017), Mars (2016-18), Tin Star (2019), Temple (2019-21), Invasion (2021), The Chelsea Detective (2022) and Deadline (2022). She also appeared as a presenter at the 2008 European Film Awards, and was a juror for the 2009 Sarajevo Film Festival and the 2016 Berlin International Film Festival.
Awards
2005: BAFTA TV Award for Best Actress (Sex Traffic)
2005: Royal Television Society Award for Best Actor - Female (Sex Traffic)
Facts
Here's Anamaria on Twitter.

Nicholas Pegg (Dalek operator) Click here for Nicholas Pegg's entry on Bad Wolf

Naomi Ryan (Cassandra) Born May 24 1977
Career highlights
Naomi made her debut in 66 episodes of soap Coronation Street playing Bobbi Lewis (2000-02, occasionally credited as Naomi Russell), then appeared in Holby City (2005), Echo Beach (2008), The Bill (2009), EastEnders (2007/09), Guardians of the Galaxy (2014), Mr Selfridge (2015), From Darkness (2015), Guilt (2016) and Still Star-Crossed (2017). She also regularly played Lehann Evans in 39 episodes of the sitcom Mile High (2003-05), and Ashleigh King in 31 episodes of Dream Team (2005-06).
Facts
Here's Naomi on Twitter.

CREW

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

Nick Hurran (director) Born 1959
Doctor Who credits
Directed: The Girl Who Waited (2011), The God Complex (2011), Asylum of the Daleks (2012), The Angels Take Manhattan (2012), The Day of the Doctor (2013)
Career highlights
Nick started out as a floor manager on the children's anthology series Dramarama (1983-84), as well as Lytton's Diary (1985), Chance in a Million (1984-86) and The Bill (1987/88). His screen directing career began on the quiz show Telly Addicts in the late 1980s, after which he secured work on Never the Twain (1989-90), Big Break (1991), Boon (1992), Outside Edge (1994-96), Virtual Sexuality (1999), The Last Detective (2003), Bonekickers (2008), The Prisoner (2009), Sherlock (2014/17), Fortitude (2015), Minority Report (2015), Childhood's End (2015), Travelers (2016), Altered Carbon (2018) and Devils (2020). Nick has also acted as director/ producer on Walk Away and I Stumble (2005) and A Class Apart (2007), as well as The Last Detective (2003-07).
Facts
Nick's wife is TV producer Michele Buck. Here's Nick on Twitter.

Marcus Wilson (producer) Born Jul 4 1973 Click here for Marcus Wilson's entry on The Impossible Astronaut

John Phillips (Assistant script editor)
Doctor Who credits
Assistant script editor: Asylum of the Daleks, The Power of Three, The Angels Take Manhattan, The Snowmen, The Bells of Saint John, The Rings of Akhaten, Cold War, Hide, Journey to the Centre of the TARDIS, The Crimson Horror, Nightmare in Silver (2012-13)
Script editor: The Name of the Doctor (2013)
Career highlights
John has also acted as production associate on Lip Service (2012) and MI High (2013), and script editor on Midsomer Murders (2013-14), Our Zoo (2014) and The Job Lot (2014). As a producer, he has worked on Lucky Man (2017), Endeavour (2018), Origin (2018) and Three Pines (2022).
Facts
In 2011 John gave some advice on script editing to The Ideas Tap.

Monday, November 02, 2015

The Doctor, the Widow and the Wardrobe

The Wooden King
(Spencer Wilding)
One episode (The Doctor, the Widow and the Wardrobe)
First broadcast Dec 25 2011
Average audience for story: 10.77m + 0.84m iPlayer = 11.61m

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

Alexander Armstrong (Reg Arwell) Born Mar 2 1970
Doctor Who credits
Played: Mr Smith (voice) in The Sarah Jane Adventures: Invasion of the Bane, The Sarah Jane Adventures Series 1-5 (2007-11), The Stolen Earth/ Journey's End (2008)
Played: Reg Arwell in The Doctor, the Widow and the Wardrobe (2011)
Career highlights
Actor and comedian Alexander debuted in A Breed of Heroes in 1994, after which he appeared in There's No Business (1994), The Thin Blue Line (1995), Never Mind the Horrocks (1996), Brass Eye (1997), Is It Legal? (1998), Plunkett and Macleane (1999), Cinderella (2000), Murder Rooms (2001), Dr Terrible's House of Horrible (2001), I Saw You (2002), tlc (2002), Match Point (2005), Saxondale (2006), Scoop (2006), The Trial of Tony Blair (2007), To the Manor Born (2007), Mutual Friends (2008), Skellig: The Owl Man (2009), Rev (2010), Reggie Perrin (2010), Hacks (2012), Hunderby (2012-15), Not Going Out (2014), Cockroaches (2015), Years and Years (2019), Horrible Histories: The Movie (2019) and Banking on Mr Toad (2022). Alexander has also had a number of recurring roles, including Nick in sitcom Beasts (2000-01), various characters in The Armstrong and Miller Show (1997-2001 & 2007-10, which he also wrote for and produced), Phil Mee in Life Begins (2004-06), the voice of Danger Mouse (2015-19) and narrator of Hey Duggee (2014-18). He is also known as a presenter, having worked on The Best of the Worst (2006), Don't Call Me Stupid! (2007-09), Have I Got News for You (2003-21), Epic Win (2011), Alexander Armstrong's Big Ask (2011-13), The One Show (2010-11), and most famously of all, the game show Pointless (since 2009).
Awards
2010: BAFTA TV Award for Best Comedy (Programme or Series) (The Armstrong and Miller Show) - with Ben Miller, Caroline Norris and Dominic Brigstocke
Facts
Alexander's long-time comedy partner is Ben Miller (who appeared in Robot of Sherwood in 2014). In 2008, he appeared in a TV commercial for Pimm's, and in 2011 recorded a series of adverts for Direct Line car insurance with Chris Addison (who had a recurring role as Seb in Doctor Who's 2014 series). Alexander is brother-in-law to broadcaster Giles Coren, quiz show host Victoria Coren-Mitchell and comedian David Mitchell. He is a descendant of William the Conqueror. Alexander is a supporter of the Countryside Alliance and appears in their publicity promoting countryside shooting. Alexander's second cousin is actor Imogen Stubbs. He has released three albums (2015-17), the first two of which were Top 10 sellers and the first of which (A Year of Songs) went gold.

Bill Bailey (Droxil) Born Jan 13 1965
Career highlights
Bill is principally a stand-up comedian and TV personality whose earliest screen appearance as an actor was in Tygo Road (1990), followed by roles in Blue Heaven (1994), Saving Grace (2000), Spaced (1999/2001), Jonathan Creek (2001/03), Wild West (2002-04), Hot Fuzz (2007), Skins (2008), Nanny McPhee and the Big Bang (2010), Hustle (2009/12), It's Kevin (2013), Midsomer Murders (2018), In the Long Run (2017-20), My Life is Murder (2021) and Worzel Gummidge (2021). He also played Manny in the sitcom Black Books (2000-04). In his stand-up persona he has appeared on the quiz show Space Cadets (1997), Is It Bill Bailey? (1998), Wild Thing: I Love You (2006), Never Mind the Buzzcocks (1998-2008), Bill Bailey's Birdwatching Bonanza (2010), Have I Got News for You (1999-2021) and QI (2003-21). He has also released several of his own live stand-up videos/ DVDs, including Bewilderness (2001), Tinselworm (2008), Dandelion Mind (2010), Qualmpeddler (2013) and Limboland (2018). In 2020 he was a contestant on Strictly Come Dancing, which he won alongside partner Oti Mabuse (and becoming the show's oldest winner at 55).
Awards
1999: British Comedy Award for Best Live Stand-Up
Facts
Bill auditioned for the role of Gimli in The Lord of the Rings films, and also has a plant named after him (Nepenthes x Bill Bailey). Here's Bill on Twitter.

Paul Bazely (Ven-Garr) Born May 6 1968
Career highlights
Debuted in Making Out (1991), then Resnick (1992-93), Medics (1993), Heartbeat (1998), Vanity Fair (2004), Chopratown (2005), The IT Crowd (2008), Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides (2011), Critical (2015), Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales (2016), The Hollow Crown (2016), Black Mirror (2016), Damascene (2017), Star Wars: The Last Jedi (2017), Waiting for the Barbarians (2019), The Good Karma Hospital (2019), Four Kids and It (2020), Quiz (2020), The Sister (2020), Cruella (2021), Feel Good (2021), Murder in Provence (2021) and The Ipcress File (2022). He also played Troy Ganatra in 34 episodes of Benidorm (2007-17).
Facts
Paul's wife is playwright and screenwriter Charlotte Jones. Here's his Twitter feed.

Maurice Cole (Cyril Arwell) Born 2002
Career highlights
Maurice debuted in Foster (2011), then secured a regular role as Arthur in the series Spy (2012). He also plays John in the TV movie Peter & Wendy (2015).

Holly Earl (Lily Arwell) Born Aug 31 1992
Career highlights
Holly made her debut aged five playing Louise Creegan in Touching Evil (1997-98), then found roles in Red Dwarf (1999), My Hero (2000), Wild at Heart (2006), Casualty (2010-11), Skins (2012), Dracula: The Dark Prince (2013), Benidorm (2014), The Musketeers (2014), Cuckoo (2012-16), Beowulf (2016), Our Ex-Wife (2016), Humans (2018), Once Upon a Time in London (2019) and Last Train to Christmas (2021).
Facts
Holly's sister is actress Elizabeth Earl. If you've ever wanted to see Holly dance to Hello by Dragonette in her underwear, click here! Here she is on Twitter.

Paul Kasey (Wooden Queen) Born Aug 5 1973 Click here for Paul Kasey's entry on Rose

Claire Skinner (Madge Arwell) Born Oct 7 1965
Career highlights
Claire made her screen acting debut in 1988's South of the Border, followed by work no The Rachel Papers (1989), Life is Sweet (1990), Naked (1993), Chef! (1993), Coogan's Run (1995), Brass Eye (1997), Sleepy Hollow (1999), Bridget Jones's Diary (2001), Bedtime (2001), Trevor's World of Sport (2003), The Trial of Tony Blair (2007), Sense and Sensibility (2008), Trinity (2009), Homefront (2012), Silk (2014), Critical (2015), Inside No 9 (2015), Power Monkeys (2016), Next of Kin (2018), Vanity Fair (2018), Ted Lasso (2021) and Kate & Koji (2022). She also played Clare in the series Life Begins (2004-06), but will be best remembered as long-suffering mum Sue Brockman in the 35 episodes of the sitcom Outnumbered (2007-16).
Awards
1995: Critics' Circle Theatre Award for Best Actress (The Glass Menagerie)
Facts
Between 2001-16, Claire was married to director Charles Palmer, who directed four episodes of Doctor Who in 2007 and two in 2017. Since 2017, she has been in a relationship with her Outnumbered co-star Hugh Dennis.

Sam Stockman (Co-pilot) Born May 19 1982
Career highlights
Sam debuted as a ten-year-old in B&B (1992), then The Upper Hand (1993), Hard Times (1994), Wire in the Blood (2008), Scoop (2009), Crime Stories (2012), The Coroner (2015), Undercover (2016) and Suspects (2016). Recurring roles include Lewis Davenport in 87 episodes of soap Family Affairs (2002-04), DC Emerson Kent in 18 episodes of Whitechapel (2009-13) and James Hope in 17 episodes of Holby City (2006-07/14).
Facts
Sam is also a musician and has played in bands called Shepherd's Pi (with fellow actor Rupert Hill), The Circus Electric, and Colour of Bone.

Arabella Weir (Billis) Born Dec 6 1957
Career highlights
Arabella was born in San Francisco and made her acting debut in a minor role in The French Lieutenant's Woman (1981), followed by Othello (1981), Jury (1983), The Frog Prince (1986), Shades of Darkness (1986), The Corner House (1987), Les Girls (1988), Traffik (1989), KYTV (1992), One Foot in the Grave (1993), Takin' Over the Asylum (1994), Shooting Fish (1997), Ted and Ralph (1998), The Creatives (1998-2000), Posh Nosh (2003), Skins (2007-08), Citizen Khan (2013), House of Fools (2014), Drifters (2013-16), Nurse (2015), Colette (2018) and Pure (2019). She was also a regular performer on the comedy sketch show The Fast Show (1994-2000/2014), and regularly played Beth in sitcom Two Doors Down (2016-21). Arabella has also written for the TV, including The All New Alexei Sayle Show (1995), The Fast Show (1994-96) and Posh Nosh.
Facts
In 2003, Arabella played an alternative Doctor in the Big Finish audio play Exile. She has also appeared in TV commercials for Weetabix, Bran Flakes, Nescafe and Alpen, and in 1998 wrote the book Does My Bum Look Big in This? (which became a one-woman live show in 2019 called Does My Mum Loom Big in This?). In the 1970s Arabella sang backing vocals in the punk band Bazooka Joe, which also featured future Adam Ant Stuart Goddard on bass. Arabella's father was former British ambassador to Egypt Sir Michael Scott Weir, while Tenth Doctor David Tennant is godfather to one of her children (Tennant lodged with Arabella for five years when he first moved to London from Scotland).

Spencer Wilding (Wooden King) Born Jul 26 1972
Doctor Who credits
Played: The Creature (minotaur) in The God Complex (2011)
Played: Wooden King in The Doctor, the Widow and the Wardrobe (2011)
Played: Skaldak in Cold War (2013)
Played: Quill Goddess in Class: The Metaphysical Engine, or What Quill Did (2016)
Played: Lead Dreg in Orphan 55 (2020)
Career highlights
At two metres (6ft 7in) high, Spencer specialises in playing creatures and supernatural beings. He started out playing a werewolf in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004), after which he appeared in The Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy (2005), Batman Begins (2005), Eragon (2006), Stardust (2007), The Golden Compass (2007), The Wolfman (2010), Game of Thrones (2011), Wrath of the Titans (2012), Atlantis (2013), The Legend of Hercules (2014), Guardians of the Galaxy (2014), Jupiter Ascending (2015), Pan (2015), Victor Frankenstein (2015), Men in Black International (2019) and Hobbs & Shaw (2019). He also played Darth Vader in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016).
Facts
Spencer is on Twitter. He was once crowned British/ Welsh kickboxing champion. To see a photo of 6ft 7in Spencer with 7ft actor Phill Martin and 3ft 8in Jimmy Vee (also a Doctor Who alumni), click here.

CREW

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

Farren Blackburn (director)
Doctor Who credits
Directed: The Doctor, the Widow and the Wardrobe (and its prelude) (2011), The Rings of Akhaten (2013)
Career highlights
Debuted as a director on shorts Looters (2000) and The Game (2000), before securing work on Panorama (2004), Waterloo Road (2007), Doctors (2005-07), Rock Rivals (2008), Holby City (2007-09), Survivors (2010), The Fades (2011), Hammer of the Gods (2013), Luther (2013), Daredevil (2015), The Interceptor (2015), Iron Fist (2017), The Defenders (2017), The Innocents (2018), A Discovery of Witches (2021) and Dream On (2022). Farren also executive produced The Innocents and A Discovery of Witches.
Awards
2012: BAFTA TV Award for Best Drama Series (The Fades) - shared with production team
Facts
As a young man Farren was on the books of Cambridge United FC and represented England at youth level. He is married to actress Verona Joseph, who appeared in Partners in Crime (2008). Here he is on Twitter.

Marcus Wilson (producer) Born Jul 4 1973 Click here for Marcus Wilson's entry on The Impossible Astronaut

Caroline Henry (script editor) Click here for Caroline Henry's entry on The Impossible Astronaut