The Time of the Doctor

Farewell to the Eleventh Doctor
(Matt Smith). And his clothes...

One episode (The Time of the Doctor)
First broadcast Dec 25 2013
Average audience for story: 11.14m + 1.89m iPlayer = 13.03m

REGULAR CAST

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

Jenna Coleman (Clara Oswald) Born Apr 27 1986 Click here for Jenna Coleman's entry on Asylum of the Daleks

GUEST CAST

Ken Bones (Voice of the General) Born Jun 11 1947
Doctor Who credits
Played: The General in The Day of the Doctor (2013), The Time of the Doctor (2013, voice only), Hell Bent (2015)
Career highlights
Ken made his credited debut in 1977's Jubilee, followed by roles in Fox (1980), Spearhead (1981), Frankie and Johnnie (1986), Bellman and True (1987), London's Burning (1988), Jack the Ripper (1988), Seekers (1993), Cutthroat Island (1995), Crime Traveller (1997), Cold Feet (1998), In Deep (2002), Hustle (2004), Troy (2004), The Virgin Queen (2006), Doctors (2007), Law and Order UK (2009), Any Human Heart (2010), The Hour (2011), Upstairs Downstairs (2012), Da Vinci's Demons (2013), The World's End (2013), Tyrant (2015), Medici (2016), Versailles (2018), Baghdad in My Shadow (2019), Des (2020) and A Discovery of Witches (2018-22). He regularly played Melas in Atlantis (2013-15) and Annas in A.D. The Bible Continues (2015).

Orla Brady (Tasha Lem) Born Mar 28 1961
Career highlights
Irish born Orla made her acting debut on screen in So You Think You've Got Troubles (1991), then Minder (1993), Absolutely Fabulous (1994), Dangerfield (1995), Pie in the Sky (1996), Out of the Blue (1995-96), The Vicar of Dibley (1996), Noah's Ark (1997), Pure Wickedness (1999), Fogbound (2002), Servants (2003), Proof (2004-05), Revelations (2005), Protect and Serve (2007), Shark (2007-08), Wallander (2008), The Deep (2010), Fringe (2010-12), Eternal Law (2012), Jo (2013), The Price of Desire (2015), Banished (2015), Odyssey (2015), Collateral (2018), A Girl from Mogadishu (2019), American Horror Story (2019), The South Westerlies (2020), Death in Paradise (2022) and Star Trek: Picard (2020-22). She also regularly played Siobhan Dhillon in Mistresses (2008-10) and Lydia in Into the Badlands (2015-19).
Facts
Orla is married to director and photographer Nicholas Brandt, who has directed music videos for Michael Jackson (including the Grammy-nominated Earth Song), Moby, Jewel, XTC and Badly Drawn Boy. In the 1980s Orla was a model for a series of photographic figure studies, one of which was used by artist Jack Vettriano as the basis for the woman in the red dress in his painting The Singing Butler (1992). Here she is on Twitter.

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

Mark Anthony Brighton (Colonel Albero) Born 1971
Career highlights
Debuted in The Bill (2000), then My Hero (2002), Ready When You Are, Mr McGill (2003), Casualty (2005), The Golden Hour (2005), Missing (2010), The Tunnel (2013), Not Going Out (2014), Kidz Time TV (2015), Doctor Strange (2016) and The Lady of Heaven (2021).

James Buller (Clara's dad) Born Apr 4 1970
Career highlights
Debuted in EastEnders (1996), followed by Strange But True? (1996), Grafters (1998), Babes in the Wood (1998-99), Sunburn (1999-2000), Sea of Souls (2004), The Grid (2004), Doctors (2006), Jonathan Creek (2013), The Coroner (2015), The Head Hunter (2016) and Coronation Street (2022).

Peter Capaldi (The Doctor) Born Apr 14 1958 Click here for Peter Capaldi's entry on The Fires of Pompeii

Aidan Cook (Cyberman) Click here for Aidan Cook's entry on The Rings of Akhaten

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

Tom Gibbons (Young man)
Career highlights
Debuted in Coronation Street (2010), then Scott and Bailey (2011), The Body Farm (2011), Emmerdale (2014), The Driver (2014), Residue (2015), Funny Cow (2017) and Time Away (2018). He also played Ryan in Young Dracula (2011-12).

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

Sonita Henry (Colonel Meme) Born Jan 23 1977
Career highlights
Sonita debuted in The Fifth Element (1997), then Out of the Darkness (2001), Garden Party (2008), Star Trek (2009), NCIS (2009), Cold Case (2010), Chuck (2011), Law and Order LA (2011), Young Dracula (2014), Olympus (2015), Motherland (2016), The Good Karma Hospital (2018), Vera (2019), Chimerica (2019), Krypton (2018-19), Breeders (2020), Absentia (2020), The Chelsea Detective (2022) and Surfside Girls (2022).
Facts
Sonita has also worked in motion capture for various video games, and has performed in a plethora of TV commercials for everything from XBox, Land Rover and M&Ms to Burger King, Red Baron Pizza and Hyundai. Sonita has her own special feature on the Star Trek DVD showing her transformation for the role of the Starfleet doctor who delivers baby James T Kirk. Here she is on Twitter.

Jack Hollington (Barnable) Born Jul 2 2001
Career highlights
Jack's other work includes Casualty (2014), The Go-Between (2015), Beowulf: Return to the Shieldlands (2016), Brimstone (2016) and Fearless (2017).

Rob Jarvis (Abramal) Born 1965
Career highlights
Debuted in Call Red (1996), then The Brittas Empire (1996), Among Giants (1998), Ultraviolet (1998), The Darkest Light (1999), Heartlands (2002), The Last King (2003), Two Pints of Lager and a Packet of Crisps (2003-04), Grownups (2006), Lead Balloon (2008), New Tricks (2009), Luther (2010), Monroe (2012), Hunted (2012), Southcliffe (2013), Endeavour (2014), Vera (2015), Father Brown (2016), Marcella (2016), David Brent: Life on the Road (2016), Guerrilla (2017), Save Me (2018), Sanditon (2019), Emmerdale (2021), Anne (2022) and Anatomy of a Scandal (2022). He also played Eddie in 47 episodes of Hustle (2004-12).
Facts
Rob also works as one of the principal continuity announcers for the National Geographic channel in the UK.

Ross Mullan (Silent) Born Jan 5 1967
Doctor Who credits
Played: Silent in The Time of the Doctor (2013)
Played: The Teller in Time Heist (2014)
Played: Wraith in Hell Bent (2015)
Career highlights
Canadian Ross, who is 6ft 4in, debuted in the 2002 short film Blow Job, followed by work in Clash of the Titans (2010), When the Lights Went Out (2012), Bloody Cuts (2014-15), Howl (2015), Il Sonnambulo (2016), Charismata (2017), Zoo-Head (2019) and A Pocketful of Bread (2022). He also played a White Walker in Game of Thrones (2012-14), and is the puppeteer and voice of Neville in 77 episodes of Bear Behaving Badly (2007-10) and the Numbertaker in Numberjacks (2008-09).
Facts
Here's Ross on Twitter.

Kayvan Novak (Voice of Handles) Born Nov 23 1978
Career highlights
Kayvan got his first credit in The American Embassy in 2002, after which he appeared in Judge John Deed (2002), Holby City (2004), Spooks (2004), Syriana (2005), Be More Ethnic (2007), The Blue Tower (2008), Four Lions (2010), Sirens (2011), Hacks (2012), Full English (2012), Skins (2013), Inside No.9 (2014), Cuban Fury (2014), Puppy Love (2014), Paddington (2014), Asylum (2015), SunTrap (2015), Top Coppers (2015), Prevenge (2016), Quacks (2017), The Day Shall Come (2019), Men in Black: International (2019), A Christmas Carol (2019), Cruella (2021) and Toast of Tinseltown (2022). He is also a prolific voice artist, having given his talent to Talented Mouse (2007), Headcases (2008), A Turtle's Tale (2010), The Pirates! Band of Misfits (2012), Danger Mouse (2015-19), Thunderbirds Are Go (2015-20, as Brains), Counterfeit Cat (2016-17), Archer (2020-21) and Mickey Mouse Funhouse (2021-22). He will be best known, however, for his comedy series Fonejacker (2007-08) and Facejacker (2010-12), which he also wrote and directed, and for playing Nandor in the comedy series What We Do in the Shadows (2019-21).

Awards

2008: BAFTA TV Award for Best Comedy Programme (Fonejacker) - shared with production team

2010: British Comedy Award for Best British Comedy Performance in Film (Four Lions)

Facts

Kayvan is married to actor Talitha Stone.

Tessa Peake-Jones (Marta) Born May 9 1957
Career highlights
Tessa first appeared in Fallen Hero in 1978, after which she took roles in Telford's Change (1979), The Danedyke Mystery (1979), Pride and Prejudice (1980), Bergerac (1983), Charters & Caldicott (1985), Tickets for the Titanic (1987), Hard Cases (1989), Anything More Would Be Greedy (1989), Fish (2000), The Lost World (2001), Marchlands (2011), Casualty (2012), Bonobo (2014), The Devil Went Down to Islington (2016) and After Louise (2019). Tessa has had various regular roles, including Maria in sitcom Up the Garden Path (1990-93), Sally Rokeby in sitcom So Haunt Me (1992-94), Mrs Hunter in The Demon Headmaster (1996-98), Sue Bond in Doctors (2009/11) and Mrs Maguire in Grantchester (2014-22), but she will be best known as Del Boy's partner Raquel in sitcom Only Fools and Horses (1988-03).
Facts
Between 1985-2013, Tessa's partner was the actor Douglas Hodge (who, awkwardly, played a grown-up version of her character's son Damien in Only Fools and Horses in 1996!). Look out for her in the video for Culture Club's 1982 single Do You Really Want to Hurt Me?

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

Sheila Reid (Clara's gran) Born Dec 21 1937
Doctor Who credits
Played: Etta in Vengeance on Varos (1985)
Played: Clara's gran in The Time of the Doctor (2013), Dark Water (2014)
Career highlights
Sheila's earliest TV credit was in Mr Nobody (1960), after which she appeared in The Alphabet Murders (1965), A Flea in Her Ear (1967), Three Sisters (1970), Justice (1973), Moll Flanders (1975), Flickers (1980), Get Lost! (1981), The Home Front (1983), Miracles Take Longer (1984), Brazil (1985), The Lonely Passion of Judith Hearne (1987), American Friends (1991), Oliver's Travels (1995), Where the Heart Is (1998), Mrs Caldicot's Cabbage War (2002), Sea of Souls (2006), Bones (2008), Holby City (2009), Psychoville (2009/11), Psychobitches (2012-14), Containment (2015), The Bad Education Movie (2015), Humans (2018), All About Eve (2019), The Man in the Hat (2020), Big Boys (2022) and Love Without Walls (2022). Her most memorable role is as mobility scooter driver Madge Harvey in 45 episode of the comedy drama Benidorm (2007-16), and she also played Mildred in the trilogy Murder on the Blackpool Express, Death on the Tyne and Dial M for Middlesbrough (2017-19).
Facts
Sheila's first husband was the actor Julian Curry, best known as Claude in Rumpole of the Bailey.

Elizabeth Rider (Linda) Born 1958
Doctor Who credits
Played: Mistress Ellen in The Sarah Jane Adventures: Lost in Time (2010)
Played: Linda in The Time of the Doctor (2013)
Career highlights
Elizabeth made her screen debut in Testament of Youth (1979), followed by Breakaway (1980), Sacred Hearts (1985), Hard Cases (1988), Civvies (1992), Dangerfield (1996), Where the Heart Is (1999), At Home with the Braithwaites (2001), Red Cap (2003), Sweet Medicine (2003), A Thing Called Love (2004), Hotel Babylon (2006), The Street (2007), Casualty (1995/2008-09), Law and Order UK (2010), Marchlands (2011), Lewis (2014), The Casual Vacancy (2015), Lady Chatterley's Lover (2015), Midsomer Murders (2016), Vera (2018), Informer (2018), Doc Martin (2019), Line of Duty (2019-21), Shadow and Bone (2021), True Things (2021) and Grace (2022). Elizabeth has enjoyed a handful of recurring roles too, including Sheila Thwaite in The Lakes (1997-99), two roles in Coronation Street (Ashley Peacock's biological mother Kathleen Gutteridge (1999) and Genna (2006)), two roles in EastEnders (Nurse Jill (2004) and Nurse Green (2007-08)), Maureen Smith in Waking the Dead (2009/11) and DCI Lynette Driver in more than 75 episodes of daytime soap Doctors (2005-17).

Dan Starkey (Sontaran) Born Sep 27 1977 Click here for Dan Starkey's entry on The Sontaran Stratagem

CREW

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

Jamie Payne (director)
Doctor Who credits
Directed: Hide (2013), The Time of the Doctor (2013)
Career highlights
Jamie's earliest directing work was on the short film The Dance of Shiva (1998) and Rough Magik (2000), before graduating to series such as The Bill (2002), New Tricks (2004), Distant Shores (2005), Primeval (2007-08), Survivors (2008-10), Ashes to Ashes (2010), Outcasts (2011), Call the Midwife (2012), The Hour (2011-12), Da Vinci's Demons (2013), The Bletchley Circle (2014), Indian Summers (2015), Legends (2015), The White Princess (2017), The Alienist (2018), Luther (2019), Invasion (2021) and Outlander (2020-22). Jamie also conducted producer's duties on Legends, The White Princess and The Alienist.

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

Derek Ritchie (script editor) Born 1978
Doctor Who credits
Script edited: The Time of the Doctor (2013), Deep Breath (2014), Into the Dalek (2014), The Caretaker (2014). Derek also script edited the 50th anniversary sketch The Five(ish) Doctors (Reboot) (2013)
Produced: The Doctor's Meditation, Under the Lake/ Before the Flood, The Girl Who Died, The Woman Who Lived (all 2015), Class (2016). He also produced Strax's cinema introduction for Deep Breath (2014)
Career highlights
Derek first worked as a locations assistant on The Book Group (2003), and has also edited scripts for Wizards vs Aliens (2012-13). He also produced that series in 2014. As an assistant director he has worked on The Planman (2003), AfterLife (2003), Shoebox Zoo (2004), The Last King of Scotland (2006), Still Game (2002-07), Identity (2010), Frankenstein's Wedding... Live in Leeds (2011), Becoming Human (2011) and Being Human (2008-12). Production work includes Luther (2019), The Capture (2019) and Then You Run (2022).

The Day of the Doctor

The Moment (Billie Piper), the Doctor (David
Tennant, John Hurt and Matt Smith) and Clara
(Jenna Coleman) with a Big Red Button!

One episode (The Day of the Doctor)
First broadcast Nov 23 2013
Average audience for story: 12.80m + 2.81m iPlayer = 15.61m

REGULAR CAST

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

Jenna Coleman (Clara Oswald) Born Apr 27 1986 Click here for Jenna Coleman's entry on Asylum of the Daleks

GUEST CAST

Tristan Beint (Tom) Born 1980
Career highlights
Tristan debuted in Afterlife (2005), then The Bill (2007), Shadows in the Sun (2009), EastEnders (2013), Downton Abbey (2013), The Musketeers (2015), Father Brown (2016), Elton John: Ten Days That Rocked (2019) and The Great (2020-21).
Facts
Tristan's grandfather is actor Michael Beint, while his brother is actor Lyndon Ogbourne. If you wonder what sort of Doctor Tristan would make, check this out. Here he is on Twitter.

Ken Bones (The General) Born Jun 11 1947
Doctor Who credits
Played: The General in The Day of the Doctor (2013), The Time of the Doctor (2013, voice only), Hell Bent (2015)
Career highlights
Ken made his credited debut in 1977's Jubilee, followed by roles in Fox (1980), Spearhead (1981), Frankie and Johnnie (1986), Bellman and True (1987), London's Burning (1988), Jack the Ripper (1988), Seekers (1993), Cutthroat Island (1995), Crime Traveller (1997), Cold Feet (1998), In Deep (2002), Hustle (2004), Troy (2004), The Virgin Queen (2006), Doctors (2007), Law and Order UK (2009), Any Human Heart (2010), The Hour (2011), Upstairs Downstairs (2012), Da Vinci's Demons (2013), The World's End (2013), Tyrant (2015), Medici (2016), Versailles (2018), Baghdad in My Shadow (2019), Des (2020) and A Discovery of Witches (2018-22). He regularly played Melas in Atlantis (2013-15) and Annas in A.D. The Bible Continues (2015).

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

Philip Buck (Arcadia father)
Career highlights
Philip has also appeared in Londongrad (2015), Silent Witness (2018), EastEnders (2018) and Grantchester (2022)
Facts
Here he is on Twitter.

Aidan Cook (Zygon) Click here for Aidan Cook's entry on The Rings of Akhaten

Peter De Jersey (Androgar) Born 1965
Career highlights
Debuted in The Choir (1995), then Out of Depth (2000), Urban Gothic (2000), The Merchant of Venice (2001), Waking the Dead (2004), Sugar Rush (2006), The Bank Job (2008), Without You (2011), The Hollow Crown (2012), Coronation Street (2013), Lightfields (2013), The Smoke (2014), Doctor Foster (2015), Catastrophe (2015), Agatha Raisin (2016), Line of Duty (2019), Warrior Nun (2020) and The Wheel of Time (2021). Regular roles include Steve Waring in Holby City (2000-03), Jerome Taylor in The Bill (2004), SOCO Brian Young in Broadchurch (2013-15) and Goran in Atlantis (2014-15).

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

Chris Finch (Time Lord soldier) Born 1979
Doctor Who credits
Played: Time Lord soldier in The Day of the Doctor (2013), The Last Day (minisode, 2013, uncredited)
Career highlights
Chris debuted as Karl Foster in 46 episodes of the soap Coronation Street (2003-04) before further work in Dead Man's Cards (2006), Grange Hill (2007), Waterloo Road (2007-08), Spooks: Code 9 (2008), Paradox (2009), The Dumping Ground (2014), Home Fires (2016) and Bar Stewards (2020).
Facts
Chris's character in Coronation Street was the gay lover of Bruno Langley's character (Bruno played Ninth Doctor companion Adam Mitchell in 2005). Here's Chris on Twitter.

John Hurt (The War Doctor) Jan 22 1940 to Jan 25 2017 (pancreatic cancer)
Doctor Who credits
Played: The War Doctor in The Name of the Doctor (2013), The Night of the Doctor (2013), The Day of the Doctor (2013)
Career highlights
John is one of the world's busiest and most respected actors, having made his screen acting debut in Probation Officer in 1961, followed by roles in Z Cars (1962), Young and Willing (1962), This is My Street (1964), A Man for All Seasons (1966), Before Winter Comes (1969), 10 Rillington Place (1971), Little Malcolm and His Struggle Against the Eunuchs (1974), The Ghoul (1975), Shades of Greene (1976), The Sweeney (1976), Midnight Express (1978), The Shout (1978), Watership Down (1978), The Lord of the Rings (1978), Alien (1979), The Elephant Man (1980), Champions (1984), Nineteen Eighty-Four (1984), The Black Cauldron (1985), White Mischief (1987), Spaceballs (1987), The Bengali Night (1988), Scandal (1989), King Ralph (1991), Even Cowgirls Get the Blues (1993), Rob Roy (1995), Contact (1997), Watership Down (1999-2000), Tabloid (2001), Captain Corelli's Mandolin (2001), Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (2001), Hellboy (2004), The Skeleton Key (2005), V for Vendetta (2005), The Alan Clark Diaries (2004-06), The Oxford Murders (2008), Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008), Hellboy II: The Golden Army (2008), Outlander (2008), Brighton Rock (2010), Harry Potter and the Deathly hallows Parts 1 and 2 (2010-11), Whistle and I'll Come to You (2010), The Confession (2011), Immortals (2011), The Hollow Crown (2012), Only Lovers Left Alive (2013), Hercules (2014), The Last Panthers (2015), ChickLit (2016), My Name is Lenny (2017) and Damascus Cover (2017). Some of his most memorable roles include Quentin Crisp in The Naked Civil Servant (1975) and its sequel An Englishman in New York (2009), Caligula in I, Claudius (1976), the title character in The Storyteller (1987-88) and the voice of the Dragon in Merlin (2008-12).

Awards

1976: BAFTA TV Award for Best Actor (The Naked Civil Servant)

1979: BAFTA Film Award for Best Supporting Actor (Midnight Express)

1979: Golden Globe Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role - Motion Picture (Midnight Express)

1981: BAFTA Film Award for Best Actor (The Elephant Man)

1985: Evening Standard British Film Award for Best Actor (Nineteen Eighty-Four, Champions, The Hit)

2003: British Independent Film Awards' Richard Harris Award

2004: Commander of the order of the British Empire (CBE) for services to drama

2009: British Film Institute Fellowship

2012: BAFTA Film Award for Outstanding Contribution to British Cinema

2015: Knight Bachelor of the order of the British Empire (KBE) for services to drama
Facts
John, whose narration can be heard in The Art of Noise's 1999 concept album The Seduction of Claude Debussy, had a distinctive voice which was used as voiceover on hundreds of productions over the years, notably the 1987 AIDS awareness campaign Don't Die of Ignorance (1987). In the music world, he can also be seen in the video for Paul McCartney's Take It Away (1982) and Suede's Attitude (2002 - in drag!). You can also hear him reading Shakespeare Sonnet No.147, When Love Speaks, here, and a clip of dialogue from Nineteen Eighty-Four can be heard at the start of the Manic Street Preachers' Faster (1994). John was married four times - his first marriage was to actress Annette Robinson (who was in The Massacre of St Bartholomew's Eve), while his fourth marriage was to casting director Anwen Rees-Myers. In 1983, his then girlfriend of 16 years, the French model Marie-Lise Volpeliere-Pierrot, was killed in a horse riding accident.  John's brother Michael later became known as Brother Anselm, a Benedictine monk and writer at Glenstal Abbey in Ireland. In 2015, John announced he was suffering from early-stage pancreatic cancer, but later confirmed he was in remission. In 2015, John reprised the role of the War Doctor in the first of a series of audio adventures. Apparently, he holds the record for the most amount of on-screen character deaths in film history (at least 47; followed by Bela Lugosi, Vincent Price and Sean Bean).

Orlando James (Lord Bentham)
Career highlights
Orlando's other work includes There's Always One (2016), The Winter's Tale (2017), Wonder Woman 1984 (2020) and Chloe (2022).
Facts
Orlando had this to say about his Doctor Who part when interviewed in 2014: "It was amazing! It was my television debut so I was nervous. I knew my scene was with John Hurt, Matt Smith, David Tennant and Joanna Page! Luckily everyone was so nice, I had my little chair next to John Hurt's chair, they really looked after me. The show has such a huge fan base and I was bowled away by the amount of letters I got sent. It's a really lovely thing to be a part of. I did a play over the summer and there were people at the stage door who had Doctor Who things. It's like you become a part of a family!" Here he is on Twitter.

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

Tom Keller (Atkins)
Career highlights
Tom debuted in LA Streetfighters (1985), then Grange Hill (1986), Ladybird Ladybird (1994), Kavanagh QC (1996), Melissa (1997), Maybe Older (1999), Bad Girls (2002), Dream Team (2003), Hustle (2006), Wire in the Blood (2008), The Borgias (2013), Cilla (2014), Call the Midwife (2017), Back to Life (2021) and The Moment Trap (2021).

Sophie Morgan-Price (Time Lord)
Career highlights
Sophie's other work includes The Indian Doctor (2013) and Black Mountain Poets (2015).
Facts
Here's Sophie on Twitter.

Ingrid Oliver (Osgood) Born Feb 25 1977
Doctor Who credits
Played: Petronella Osgood in The Day of the Doctor (2013), Death in Heaven (2014), The Zygon Invasion/ The Zygon Inversion (2015)
Career highlights
Ingrid debuted in the 2005 TV movie Footprints in the Snow, followed by work in Doc Martin (2005), Biffovision (2007), The Gym (2008), Peep Show (2008), Angus, Thongs and Perfect Snogging (2008), The Wrong Door (2008), Plus One (2009), The Persuasionists (2010), Material Girl (2010), Lead Balloon (2011), GameFace (2014), Plebs (2016), Silent Witness (2019), Last Christmas (2019), Transference (2019) and The Watch (2021). She has also played two characters in The Increasingly Poor Decision of Todd Margaret (2012/16 - including Yancy McPickles and Vanessa Blojabditz!). Ingrid also had her own comedy sketch series between 2012-13 called Watson & Oliver, co-starring Lorna Watson.
Facts
In 2014, Ingrid took part in a series of TV commercials for Maltesers. Ingrid's mother is Conservative politician Jo Gideon. In 2022, Ingrid married TV presenter and author Richard Osman. Here's Ingrid on Twitter.

Jonjo O'Neill (McGillop) Born Jul 11 1978
Career highlights
Jonjo debuted in Extremely Dangerous (1999), followed by parts in Sunburn (2000), Band of Brothers (2001), I Fought the Law (2003), Fakers (2004), Defiance (2008), The Assets (2014), The Fall (2014-16), Dragonheart 3: The Sorceror's Curse (2015), Constantine (2014-15), Fortitude (2015), Vera (2017), On Chesil Beach (2017), Rare Beasts (2019), Homeland (2020), Pennyworth (2019-21), The Irregulars (2021), Stephen (2021) and Dalgliesh (2021).
Facts
Here's Jonjo on Twitter.
In 2016 Toby Hadoke released his Who's Round interview with Jonjo here.

Joanna Page (Queen Elizabeth I) Born Mar 23 1977
Career highlights
Debuted in Miss Julie (1999), followed by David Copperfield (1999), Very Annie Mary (2001), The Cazalets (2001), From Hell (2001), Love Actually (2003), Mine All Mine (2004), Bye Bye Harry! (2006), Agatha Christie's Marple (2010), Bedlam (2011), The Syndicate (2012), Gates (2012), Breathless (2013), Home from Home (2016), Midsomer Murders (2019), Dial M for Middlesbrough (2019), Dolittle (2020) and Dream Horse (2020). Her voice can also be heard as Fly in Mist: Sheepdog Tales (2009), the title character in Poppy Cat (2011) and Oopsy in Q Pootle 5 (2013-14). In 2021 she began co-presenting the consumer programme Shop Well for Less, and the animal programme The Pet Show. However, she is best known for playing Stacey Shipman in the sitcom Gavin & Stacey (2007-19) opposite fellow Doctor Who alumni James Corden.
Facts
Since 2003 Joanna has been married to actor James Thornton. She can be seen in the music video for Mark Owen's single Makin' Out (2005). In 2006, Joanna was diagnosed with hypothyroidism, for which she takes daily medication. Here she is on Twitter!

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

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

Jemma Redgrave (Kate Stewart) Born Jan 14 1965 Click here for Jemma Redgrave's entry on The Power of Three

David Tennant (The Doctor) Born Apr 18 1971 Click here for David Tennant's entry on The Parting of the Ways

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

Richard Cookson (script editor)
Doctor Who credits
Script edited: The Night of the Doctor (2013), An Adventure in Space and Time (2013), The Day of the Doctor (2013), The Last Day (2013), Robot of Sherwood (2014), Time Heist (2014), Flatline (2014)
Wrote: Strax's cinema introduction to The Day of the Doctor (2013, uncredited)
Career highlights
Richard began as a production assistant on biographical dramas such as The Curse of Steptoe (2008), Hughie Green, Most Sincerely (2008) and Frankie Howerd: Rather You Than Me (2008), graduating to script doctoring work on productions such as Criminal Justice (2009), Survivors (2010), Five Daughters (2010), The Fades (2011), Ripper Street (2012-13), Peaky Blinders (2013), Grantchester (2016-17) and Man in an Orange Suit (2018). He later became producer of Grantchester (2019-21), and even wrote a couple of episodes. 

Facts
Between 2012-13, Richard was also responsible for all of Doctor Who's spin-off fictional content through BBC Books, Penguin Books, IDW Comics, Immediate Media, Big Finish and Audio Go.

The Name of the Doctor

Introducing... the War Doctor
(John Hurt)

One episode (The Name of the Doctor)
First broadcast May 18 2013
Average audience for story: 7.45m + 2.06m iPlayer = 9.51m

REGULAR CAST

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

Jenna Coleman (Clara Oswald) Born Apr 27 1986 Click here for Jenna Coleman's entry on Asylum of the Daleks

GUEST CAST

Rab Affleck (Archie) Born Jan 30 1953
Career highlights
Rab debuted in The Big Man (1990), followed by Down Among the Big Boys (1993), Bad Boys (1996), Postmortem (1998), The Bill (1998), Gangs of New York (2002), Layer Cake (2004), Alexander (2004), Taggart (1998/2005), Still Game (2005-06), Stardust (2007), Made of Honor (2008), Doors Open (2012), A Royal Night Out (2015) and Outlaw/ King (2018).
Facts
Before becoming an actor Rab earnt a living as a semi-professional boxer, competing for the British Heavyweight title in 1979 (he lost to Bunny Johnson). Rab's experience of bare-knuckle fighting brought him to the attention of The Big Man's producers. In 1994, Rab's brother Thomas was shot (but not killed) outside his home in Irvine, Scotland. In 2003, Rab's stepson Drew was jailed for life (a minimum of 27 years) after using a petrol bomb to set fire to a house in Irvine, killing two women and a 12-year-old girl.

Eve De Leon Allen (Angie) Born 1997
Doctor Who credits
Played: Angie in The Bells of Saint John (2013), The Crimson Horror (2013), Nightmare in Silver (2013), The Name of the Doctor (2013)
Career highlights
Eve's other work includes playing The Boss in the 2008 series Nuzzle and Scratch, and Acacia in the 2018 short film Bloodbound.

Facts

Her agency lists Eve as non-binary, female presenting.

David Avery (Fabian) Born Apr 6 1986
Career highlights
Debuted in No Way Through (2009), then Missing (2010), Love Tourettes (2011), The Inbetweeners Movie (2011), Pini (2012), Starred Up (2013), The Dumping Ground (2013), 24: Live Another Day (2014), Kosmos (2015), The Night Manager (2016), Strike (2017), Borderline (2016-17), Troy: Fall of a City (2018), London Kills (2019), Bancroft (2020), Gangs of London (2020), We Are Lady Parts (2021), Stath Lets Flats (2021) and Hanna (2020-21). He played Marcus Graham in 14 episodes of Brothers with No Game between 2012-14.
Facts
Until 2011, David was credited with the name David Chrysanthou. In June 2012, David won Monologue Slam UK, reciting Nowhere in America by Bathsheba Doran. Here he is on Twitter.

Sophie Downham (Young Clara) Born 2000
Doctor Who credits
Played: Young Clara in The Bells of Saint John prelude, The Name of the Doctor (both 2013)
Career highlights
Sophie's other work includes Unforgiven (2009) and Appropriate Adult (2011).
Facts
Her brother Jack also acts - he played the young Robin in the 2010 film Robin Hood, and has portrayed Noah Sharma in the soap Emmerdale since 2009.

Richard E Grant (The Great Intelligence) Born May 5 1957
Doctor Who credits
Played: The Doctor in Scream of the Shalka (2003, animation)
Played: Dr Simeon/ The Great Intelligence in The Snowmen (2012), The Bells of Saint John (2013), The Name of the Doctor (2013)
He also played the Doctor in the 1999 Comic Relief Doctor Who spoof The Curse of Fatal Death
Career highlights
Born in Swaziland as Richard Grant Esterhuysen, he made his screen acting debut in Sweet Sixteen (1983), after which he landed his breakthrough role as Withnail in the film Withnail & I (1987). After this he appeared in Hidden City (1987), Codename: Kyril (1988), How to Get Ahead in Advertising (1989), Warlock (1989), LA Story (1991), Hudson Hawk (1991), Dracula (1992), The Age of Innocence (1993), Absolutely Fabulous (1994), Hard Times (1994), Jack and Sarah (1995), Franz Kafka's It's a Wonderful Life (1995), Karaoke (1996), Cold Lazarus (1996), The Portrait of a Lady (1996), Spice World (1997), The Match (1999), A Christmas Carol (1999), The Scarlet Pimpernel (1999-2000), Gosford Park (2001), Posh Nosh (2003), Bright Young Things (2003), Frasier (2004), Color Me Kubrick (2005), Penelope (2006), Mumbai Calling (2008), The Crimson Petal and the White (2011), Rev (2011), The Iron Lady (2011), Girls (2014), Downton Abbey (2014), Psychobitches (2014), Dig (2015), Jekyll and Hyde (2015-16), Game of Thrones (2016), Logan (2017), The Hitman's Bodyguard (2017), Hang Ups (2018), A Series of Unfortunate Events (2019), Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker (2019), The Spine of Night (2021), The Hitman's Wife's Bodyguard (2021), Loki (2021) and The Outlaws (2021-22). He has also occasionally acted as a host/ presenter, including at the 1996 BAFTAs, The Works (1996), MTV Europe Music Awards (1996), BBC Proms (2007), The History of Safari (2010), Dirty Weekenders in France (2014) and Hotel Secrets (2012-14).
Facts
Richard had many brushes with Doctor Who before being in the programme itself. In 1987, he starred opposite Eighth Doctor Paul McGann in Withnail & I, and 20 years later co-starred with him again in the short film Always Crashing in the Same Car. In 1995, Richard played the title role in the Oscar-winning short film Franz Kafka's It's a Wonderful Life, directed by Twelfth Doctor Peter Capaldi. Richard also appeared as himself in the 2001 film Strictly Sinatra, which was written and directed by Capaldi. In 2003, he shared billing with Tenth Doctor David Tennant on no fewer than four productions - two episodes of Posh Nosh (incidentally also starring Big Finish audio Doctor Arabella Weir), the film Bright Young Things, and the BBC animated Doctor Who story Scream of the Shalka, in which Richard provided the voice and likeness of the Doctor (subsequently labelled an 'alternative Ninth Doctor'), and David voiced the caretaker. And, of course, Richard also appeared as one of the many incarnations of the Doctor (an 'alternative Tenth Doctor', in fact) in the 1999 Comic Relief Doctor Who spoof The Curse of Fatal Death, written by Steven Moffat.
Until her death in 2021, Richard was married to dialogue/ dialect coach Joan Washington, who worked on productions such as Crimson Peak, the Star Wars prequels (she is responsible for Ewan McGregor's impression of Alec Guinness...) and Schindler's List. Richard's father Henrik was the last Minister of Education in the British colony of Swaziland before its independence in 1968. Richard was a guest at the wedding of Prince Charles and Camilla Parker-Bowles in 2005. Ironically, bearing in mind his role in Withnail & I, Richard is allergic to alcohol (he can only keep it down for 10 minutes before being ill for 24 hours). Richard has kept a daily diary since the age of 10, inspired to do so after witnessing his mother commit adultery with his father's best friend on the back seat of a car. In 2014, Richard launched his own fragrance, JACK. Here's Reg (as he's also known) on Twitter.

John Hurt (The War Doctor) Jan 22 1940 to Jan 25 2017 (pancreatic cancer)
Doctor Who credits
Played: The War Doctor in The Name of the Doctor (2013), The Night of the Doctor (2013), The Day of the Doctor (2013)
Career highlights
John is one of the world's busiest and most respected actors, having made his screen acting debut in Probation Officer in 1961, followed by roles in Z Cars (1962), Young and Willing (1962), This is My Street (1964), A Man for All Seasons (1966), Before Winter Comes (1969), 10 Rillington Place (1971), Little Malcolm and His Struggle Against the Eunuchs (1974), The Ghoul (1975), Shades of Greene (1976), The Sweeney (1976), Midnight Express (1978), The Shout (1978), Watership Down (1978), The Lord of the Rings (1978), Alien (1979), The Elephant Man (1980), Champions (1984), Nineteen Eighty-Four (1984), The Black Cauldron (1985), White Mischief (1987), Spaceballs (1987), The Bengali Night (1988), Scandal (1989), King Ralph (1991), Even Cowgirls Get the Blues (1993), Rob Roy (1995), Contact (1997), Watership Down (1999-2000), Tabloid (2001), Captain Corelli's Mandolin (2001), Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (2001), Hellboy (2004), The Skeleton Key (2005), V for Vendetta (2005), The Alan Clark Diaries (2004-06), The Oxford Murders (2008), Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008), Hellboy II: The Golden Army (2008), Outlander (2008), Brighton Rock (2010), Harry Potter and the Deathly hallows Parts 1 and 2 (2010-11), Whistle and I'll Come to You (2010), The Confession (2011), Immortals (2011), The Hollow Crown (2012), Only Lovers Left Alive (2013), Hercules (2014), The Last Panthers (2015), ChickLit (2016), My Name is Lenny (2017) and Damascus Cover (2017). Some of his most memorable roles include Quentin Crisp in The Naked Civil Servant (1975) and its sequel An Englishman in New York (2009), Caligula in I, Claudius (1976), the title character in The Storyteller (1987-88) and the voice of the Dragon in Merlin (2008-12).

Awards

1976: BAFTA TV Award for Best Actor (The Naked Civil Servant)

1979: BAFTA Film Award for Best Supporting Actor (Midnight Express)

1979: Golden Globe Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role - Motion Picture (Midnight Express)

1981: BAFTA Film Award for Best Actor (The Elephant Man)

1985: Evening Standard British Film Award for Best Actor (Nineteen Eighty-Four, Champions, The Hit)

2003: British Independent Film Awards' Richard Harris Award

2004: Commander of the order of the British Empire (CBE) for services to drama

2009: British Film Institute Fellowship

2012: BAFTA Film Award for Outstanding Contribution to British Cinema

2015: Knight Bachelor of the order of the British Empire (KBE) for services to drama
Facts
John, whose narration can be heard in The Art of Noise's 1999 concept album The Seduction of Claude Debussy, had a distinctive voice which was used as voiceover on hundreds of productions over the years, notably the 1987 AIDS awareness campaign Don't Die of Ignorance (1987). In the music world, he can also be seen in the video for Paul McCartney's Take It Away (1982) and Suede's Attitude (2002 - in drag!). You can also hear him reading Shakespeare Sonnet No.147, When Love Speaks, here, and a clip of dialogue from Nineteen Eighty-Four can be heard at the start of the Manic Street Preachers' Faster (1994). John was married four times - his first marriage was to actress Annette Robinson (who was in The Massacre of St Bartholomew's Eve), while his fourth marriage was to casting director Anwen Rees-Myers. In 1983, his then girlfriend of 16 years, the French model Marie-Lise Volpeliere-Pierrot, was killed in a horse riding accident.  John's brother Michael later became known as Brother Anselm, a Benedictine monk and writer at Glenstal Abbey in Ireland. In 2015, John announced he was suffering from early-stage pancreatic cancer, but later confirmed he was in remission. In 2015, John reprised the role of the War Doctor in the first of a series of audio adventures. Apparently, he holds the record for the most amount of on-screen character deaths in film history (at least 47; followed by Bela Lugosi, Vincent Price and Sean Bean).

Samuel Irvine (Messenger boy) Born 2002
Samuel's only other credit is in the short The Fable of Forsaken (2015). He can also be seen in the music video for the White Lights single Campfires in Winter (2013). His brother Noah and father Barry are also actors.

Michael Jenn (Clarence DeMarco) Born Oct 1959
Doctor Who credits
Played: Clarence DeMarco in The Name of the Doctor (2013), Clarence and the Whispermen (DVD extra scene, 2013)
Career highlights
Michael made his debut in Another Country (1984), followed by Dance with a Stranger (1985), Call Me Mister (1986), Sky Bandits (1986), Maurice (1987), Bugs (1996), Quills (2000), Unleashed (2005), Valiant (2005), Empire (2005), Casualty 1907 (2008), Sherlock Holmes (2009), Merlin (2008/10), World War Z (2013 - he's the zombie in the notable final scene), The White Queen (2013), Atlantis (2013), The Musketeers (2014), Cinderella (2015), The Limehouse Golem (2016), The Lost City of Z (2016), Christopher Robin (2018), Surge (2020) and Bulletproof: AI (2020).

Kassius Carey Johnson (Artie)
Doctor Who credits
Played: Artie in The Bells of Saint John (2013), The Crimson Horror (2013), Nightmare in Silver (2013), The Name of the Doctor (2013)
Career highlights
Other work includes Gigglebiz (2009-10), Man Down (2013), Hank Zipzer (2015), Mowgli: Legend of the Jungle (2018) and Grantchester (2019).

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

Alex Kingston (River Song) Born Mar 11 1963 Click here for Alex Kingston's entry on Silence in the Library

Neve McIntosh (Madame Vastra) Born Apr 9 1972
Doctor Who credits
Played: Alaya in The Hungry Earth/ Cold Blood (2010)
Played: Restac in Cold Blood (2010)
Played: Madame Vastra in A Good Man Goes to War (2011), The Great Detective (2012, uncredited), Vastra Investigates (2012, uncredited), The Snowmen (2012), The Battle of Demon's Run - Two Days Later (2013, uncredited), The Crimson Horror (2013), The Name of the Doctor (2013), Deep Breath (2014)
Neve also played Vastra at the 2013 Doctor Who Prom
Career highlights
Debuted in Renegade (1993), then The Leading Man (1996), Plunkett and Macleane (1999), Psychos (1999), Gormenghast (2000), The Hound of the Baskervilles (2002), The Trouble with Men and Women (2005), The Ghost Squad (2005), Low Winter Sun (2006), Sea of Souls (2007), Law and Order UK (2010), Single Father (2010), Lip Service (2012), Ripper Street (2013), Dracula (2013), Critical (2015), Death in Paradise (2016), Guerrilla (2017), Lucky Man (2018), The Small Hand (2019), Traces (2019-20), Tin Star (2020) and Shetland (2018-21). She also enjoyed the recurring role of Donna Rix in 17 episodes of Bodies (2004-06).
Facts
Neve (real name Carol) divorced her husband Xandy Sahla - a prolific TV and film cameraman - in 2009, after meeting on the set of Psychos in 1999. Here's Neve's Twitter account.

Dan Starkey (Strax) Born Sep 27 1977 Click here for Dan Starkey's entry on The Sontaran Stratagem

Catrin Stewart (Jenny) Born Jan 29 1988
Doctor Who credits
Played: Jenny Flint in A Good Man Goes to War (2011), The Snowmen (2012), The Crimson Horror (2013), The Name of the Doctor (2013), Deep Breath (2014)
Catrin also played Jenny in the minisodes The Great Detective (2012), Vastra Investigates (2012) and The Battle of Demon's Run - Two Days Later (2013)
Career highlights
Catrin's other work includes Hearts of Gold (2003), Crusade in Jeans (2006), All Shook Up! (2010), Misfits (2010-11), Frail (2012), The Library Suicides (2016), Lifelines (2020) and One for the Road (2021). She also played Emma in 34 episodes of Stella (2012-17) and DS Gina Jenkins in Bang (2017-20).

Nasi Voutsas (Andro) Born 1991
Career highlights
Nasi's only other acting role is in Holby City (2015).
Facts
Nasi is a former member of the rock/ hip-hop band Archean Soundtrack. He can also be seen in Kate Nash's music video for the single 3am (2013), and is a founder of the Antler Theatre Company. He is also one half of the performance duo Bert and Nasi. Here he is on Twitter.

CREW

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

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.

Denise Paul (producer) Click here for Denise Paul's entry on Closing Time

John Phillips (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.

Nightmare in Silver

The new look Cybermen!

One episode (Nightmare in Silver)
First broadcast May 11 2013
Average audience for story: 6.64m + 1.89m iPlayer = 8.53m

REGULAR CAST

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

Jenna Coleman (Clara Oswald) Born Apr 27 1986 Click here for Jenna Coleman's entry on Asylum of the Daleks

GUEST CAST

Zahra Ahmadi (Missy) Born 1983
Career highlights
Zahra debuted as DC Imelda Folks in Trial and Retribution in 2006/07, then found roles in Britz (2007), Doctors (2009), Bellamy's People (2010), Tamara Drewe (2010), The Thick of It (2012), The Mimic (2013), The Job Lot (2013), Black Mirror (2014), Babylon (2014), Porridge (2016-17), Berlin Station (2016), Death in Paradise (2018), Tracey Breaks the News (2017-18), Tracey Ullman's Show (2016-18), Marcella (2020), The Beast Must Die (2020-21), The Bay (2022) and Dodger (2022). She's also had a handful or recurring roles, including Shabnam Masood in 63 episodes of soap EastEnders (2007-08), Mehtap in The Increasingly Poor Decision of Todd Margaret (2010-12/16) and Sinem in Count Arthur Strong (2013-17).
Facts
In 2008, the Sun newspaper reported that Zahra quit her role in EastEnders after the producers refused to give her "meaty" storylines.

Eve De Leon Allen (Angie) Born 1997
Doctor Who credits
Played: Angie in The Bells of Saint John (2013), The Crimson Horror (2013), Nightmare in Silver (2013), The Name of the Doctor (2013)
Career highlights
Eve's other work includes playing The Boss in the 2008 series Nuzzle and Scratch, and Acacia in the 2018 short film Bloodbound.

Facts

Her agency lists Eve as non-binary, female presenting.

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

Aidan Cook (Cyberman) Click here for Aidan Cook's entry on The Rings of Akhaten

Warwick Davis (Porridge) Born Feb 3 1970
Career highlights
Warwick made his acting debut as Wicket the Ewok in Return of the Jedi (1983), a role he reprised in two Ewok feature films - Caravan of Courage (1984) and The Battle for Endor (1985). After this, he appeared in Labyrinth (1986), Willow (1988), The Princess and the Dwarf (1989), Zorro (1991), Gulliver's Travels (1996), Prince Valiant (1997), The 10th Kingdom (2000), Murder Rooms (2001), Dr Terrible's House of Horrible (2001), Skinned Deep (2004), Ray (2004), The Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy (2005), Extras (2006), Agent One-Half (2008), Merlin (2010), The Unbroken (2012), Jack the Giant Slayer (2013), Life's Too Short (2011/13), Dwarves Assemble (2013), Get Santa (2014), Catherine Tate's Nan (2015), Ghost Busters (2016, as a motion-captured Stay Puft Marshmallow Man), Jonathan Creek (2016), Maleficent: Mistress of Evil (2019) and Willow (2022). Warwick's association with the Star Wars universe extends beyond the 1980s too: he had three small roles in The Phantom Menace (1999), Wollivan in The Force Awakens (2015), Weeteef Cyubee in Rogue One (2016), Wodibin in The Last Jedi (2017), the voice of Rukh in Star Wars Rebels (2017-18), Weazel in Solo: A Star Wars Story (2018) and Wicket W Warrick in The Rise of Skywalker (2019). He was also a mainstay of the Harry Potter film franchise between 2001-09, playing Professor Flitwick and Griphook. Warwick also played Reepicheep in two adaptations of the books of CS Lewis - Prince Caspian and the Voyage of the Dawn Treader (1989) and The Silver Chair (1990), and played Nikabrik in the 2008 film Prince Caspian. On top of all that, Warwick has played the title character in the Leprachaun film franchise (1993-2003), and provided the voice for Sniff in Moominland (2019-22). Warwick is also a writer, penning Agent One-Half, Life's Too Short and Dwarves Assemble (the latter of which he also directed and produced). In 2014, he turned his hand to presenting the show Celebrity Squares, and in 2016 got his own game show called Tenable.

Facts
Warwick was born with the condition spondyloepiphyseal dysplasia congenital (SED), which caused his dwarfism (he was 2ft 11in tall at the age of 13, and is 3ft 6in tall as an adult). Warwick was originally cast as an Ewok extra in Return of the Jedi, but when Wicket actor Kenny Baker (aka R2-D2) fell ill, Warwick stepped in (the Ewok was then renamed Wicket Wystri Warrick). Warwick is married to fellow short actor Samantha Davis, whose father is dwarf actor Peter Burroughs (he appeared in The King's Demons in 1983). Together, Warwick and his father-in-law Peter run Willow Management, an acting agency for actors under 5ft and over 7ft tall. Warwick also runs the Reduced Height Theatre Company. Warwick and Samantha have two children - their son is named Harrison, after Warwick's Star Wars co-star Harrison Ford. The couple also had two more children, but both died in infancy as a genetic result of their combined conditions - Warwick's SED and Samantha's achondroplasia.

Calvin Dean (Ha-Ha) Born May 21 1985
Doctor Who credits
Played: Chris in The Sarah Jane Adventures: The Gift (2009)
Played: Ha-Ha in Nightmare in Silver (2013)
Career highlights
Calvin's CV includes The Duchess (2008), Casualty (2008), Demons (2009), Tormented (2009), Law and Order UK (2011), Dancing on the Edge (2013), Freak of Nurture (2015), Howl (2015), Agatha Raisin (2016), Trauma (2018) and It's a Sin (2021).

Kassius Carey Johnson (Artie)
Doctor Who credits
Played: Artie in The Bells of Saint John (2013), The Crimson Horror (2013), Nightmare in Silver (2013), The Name of the Doctor (2013)
Career highlights
Other work includes Gigglebiz (2009-10), Man Down (2013), Hank Zipzer (2015), Mowgli: Legend of the Jungle (2018) and Grantchester (2019).

Eloise Joseph (Beauty) Born 1987
Career highlights
Debuted in Primeval (2008), then The Color of Magic (2008), The Bill (2009), Casualty (2009/18), Married Single Other (2010), Mad Dogs (2011), The Inbetweeners Movie (2011), Skins (2011-12), Spy (2012), Youngers (2014), The Lodge (2017), Waffle the Wonder Dog (2018), The Feed (2019) and Doctors (2016/22).

Will Merrick (Brains) Born Apr 9 1993
Career highlights
Will's breakthrough role was playing Alo Creevey in Skins (2011-12), after which he found work in In with the Flynns (2012), About Time (2013), Atlantis (2013), Count Arthur Strong (2015), The Rack Pack (2016), Brief Encounters (2016), Poldark (2017-18) and Dead Pixels (2019-21).

Awards

2012: Royal Television Society Award for Best Actor (Skins)
Facts
In 2009, Will was in the Top 10 of 50,000 candidates in the UK national GCSE examinations for Drama. He is a founding member of the No Prophet Theatre Company. Here he is on Twitter.

Tamzin Outhwaite (Captain) Born Nov 5 1970
Career highlights
After making her TV debut presenting the youth series No Limits in 1987 (billed as Tammi Outhwaite), she made her acting debut in The Mystery of Mr Martinu (1993), then Men Behaving Badly (1995), Da Ali G Show (2000), Hustle (2004), Walk Away and I Stumble (2005), Vital Signs (2006), Paradox (2009), Silent Witness (2012), Great Expectations (2012), Agatha Christie's Marple (2013), Inside No 9 (2017), Murdoch Mysteries (2017), Midsomer Murders (2018), Dun Breedin' (2020), The Haunting of Alice Bowles (2020), Ridley Road (2021) and We Hunt Together (2022). Regular roles include Melanie Healy/ Owen in 605 episodes of EastEnders (1998-2019), Sergeant Jo McDonagh in Red Cap (2003-04), Rebecca Mitchell in Hotel Babylon (2006-07), Rose Chamberlain in The Fixer (2008-09) and DCI Sasha Miller in New Tricks (2013-15).

Awards

1999: National Television Award for Most Popular Newcomer (EastEnders)

1999: British Soap Award for Sexiest Female (EastEnders)

2000: British Soap Award for Sexiest Female (EastEnders)
Facts
Tamzin is a popular actress for TV commercials for the likes of Wrigley's Doublemint chewing gum (1987), Anadin (1995), Avon cosmetics (2003-05) and Belle Color from Garnier (2011), while in 1992, Tamzin appeared as a dancer in the music video for U2's Even Better Than the Real Thing. Between 2006-14 Tamzin was married to actor Tom Ellis (who appeared in Last of the Time Lords (2007)) - Tamzin cited Ellis's infidelity in divorce papers. Tamzin's cousin is TV producer Daniel Baldwin, husband of presenter Holly Willoughby. Here she is on Twitter.

Jason Watkins (Webley) Born Oct 28 1962
Career highlights
Jason debuted in EastEnders as Gerry Fairweather in 1987 and 1988, then found roles in High Hopes (1988), Soldier Soldier (1991), The Good Guys (1993), The Buddha of Suburbia (1993), Annie's Bar (1996), Grown Ups (1997), Tomorrow Never Dies (1997), Duck Patrol (1998), Onegin (1999), Sex Traffic (2004), Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason (2004), Conviction (2004), Funland (2005), The Romantics (2006), Confetti (2006), Housewife, 49 (2006), Five Days (2007), Life on Mars (2007), The Life and Times of Vivienne Vyle (2007), The Golden Compass (2007), Wild Child (2008), Little Dorrit (2008), Murderland (2009), Nativity! (2009), Psychoville (2011), The Hour (2011), Dirk Gently (2010/12), Nativity 2: Danger in the Manger (2012), Call the Midwife (2013), Atlantis (2013), Our Zoo (2014), Nativity 3: Dude, Where's My Donkey? (2014), The Lost Honour of Christopher Jefferies (2014), W1A (2014-15), The Secret (2016), The Hollow Crown (2016), Are You Being Served? (2016), Taboo (2017), Line of Duty (2017), Safe House (2017), Hold the Sunset (2018-19), The Crown (2019), Des (2020), Around the World in 80 Days (2021), McDonald and Dodds (2020-22) and Anansi Boys (2022). He also regularly played Herrick in Being Human (2009-11) and Gavin in 67 episodes of Trollied (2011-18).

Awards

2015: BAFTA TV Award for Best Leading Actor (The Lost Honour of Christopher Jefferies)
Facts
In January 2011, Jason's two-year-old daughter Maude died of sepsis, a whole-body inflammatory response to infection. His wife is jewellery designer and actress Clara Francis. Jason is an accomplished clown and can walk on his hands and practice mime. Here's Jason on Twitter.

CREW

Neil Gaiman (writer) Born Nov 10 1960
Doctor Who credits
Wrote: The Doctor's Wife (2011), Nightmare in Silver (2013), Rain Gods (Series 7 DVD minisode, 2013)
Career highlights
Neil is one of the UK's foremost fiction authors, having started out writing non-fiction books on subjects such as Duran Duran and The Hitch-Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy. He has also written comic books since the late 1980s, such as 2000 AD, Judge Dredd and Batman, and also created his own comics, most notably The Sandman series. His first fiction book was a project with Terry Pratchett called Good Omens in 1990, after which he has written many more, including Neverwhere (1996), American Gods (2001), Coraline (2002), Anansi Boys (2005) and Eternity's Wheel (2015). There have also been many children's books, including The Day I Swapped My Dad for Two Goldfish (1997) and The Sleeper and the Spindle (2014), and short story collections such as Angels and Visitations (1993), Fragile Things (2006) and Trigger Warning (2015). He also wrote the Doctor Who digital short story Nothing O'Clock in 2013.
Several of his works have been adapted into TV or film projects, including Neverwhere (1996), MirrorMask (2005), Stardust (2007), Coraline (2009), American Gods (2017-21) and Good Omens (2019-22). He has also written new material for TV, including Babylon 5 (1998), and appeared in Arthur (2010) and The Simpsons (2011).

Awards

2002: Hugo Award for Best Novel (American Gods)

2003: Hugo Award for Best Novella (Coraline)

2004: Hugo Award for Best Short Story (A Study in Emerald)

2009: Hugo Award for Best Novel (The Graveyard Book)

2012: Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation (Short Form) (Doctor Who)

2013: National Book Award for Book of the Year (The Ocean at the End of the Lane)

2016: Hugo Award for Best Graphic Story (The Sandman: Overture)

2020: Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation (Long Form) (Good Omens)

Facts
Neil is a very good friend of the American singer songwriter Tori Amos, and they pop up in each other's work - Neil wrote a character based upon her in his novel Stardust, while Tori has referred to Neil in several of her songs since 1991. Neil has written stories for some of Tori's album and tour literature, and is her daughter Tash's godfather. Neil is married to songwriter and performer Amanda Palmer, one-time vocalist with The Dresden Dolls. The couple have an open marriage. This is his website and this is his Twitter.

Stephen Woolfenden (director) Born Apr 25 1966
Career highlights
Stephen's behind-the-cameras CV stretches back as far as being a runner on 1986's Lady Jane, followed by stints as trainee, second or first assistant director on productions such as Return to Treasure Island (1986), We Are Seven (1991), The Jazz Detective (1992), Telltale (1993), The Lifeboat (1994), The Englishman Who Went Up a Hill But Came Down a Mountain (1995), Shine (1996), Murder Most Horrid (1996), Neverwhere (1996), The Governess (1998), Hideous Kinky (1998), The Martins (2001), Charlotte Gray (2001), Happiness (2003), State of Play (2003), Prime Suspect 6 (2003), the Harry Potter film franchise (2007-11), Strike Back (2012), Warm Bodies (2013), The Legend of Tarzan (2016), Pokemon Detective Pikachu (2019) and the Fantastic Beasts film franchise (2016-22). Stephen's first directing credit was on The Mysti Show (2004-06), followed by Dream Team (2006), Echo Beach (2008), Trinity (2009), Strike Back (2013), DCI Banks (2014), Beowulf: Return to the Shieldlands (2016), The Halcyon (2017), Poldark (2017), Outlander (2019-20), Fate: The Winx Saga (2021) and Willow (2022).
Facts
Stephen is married to camera operator Chyna Thomson, whose father is Alex Thomson, Director of Photography on such films as The Keep (1983), Legend (1985), The Krays (1990), Alien 3 (1992) and Demolition Man (1993). Stephen's father is TV and film composer Guy Woolfenden. Here's Stephen on Twitter.

Denise Paul (producer) Click here for Denise Paul's entry on Closing Time

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.

The Crimson Horror

Mr Sweet, looking a bit ruddy

One episode (The Crimson Horror)
First broadcast May 4 2013
Average audience for story: 6.47m + 1.83m iPlayer = 8.30m

REGULAR CAST

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

Jenna Coleman (Clara Oswald) Born Apr 27 1986 Click here for Jenna Coleman's entry on Asylum of the Daleks

GUEST CAST

Eve De Leon Allen (Angie) Born 1997
Doctor Who credits
Played: Angie in The Bells of Saint John (2013), The Crimson Horror (2013), Nightmare in Silver (2013), The Name of the Doctor (2013)
Career highlights
Eve's other work includes playing The Boss in the 2008 series Nuzzle and Scratch, and Acacia in the 2018 short film Bloodbound.

Facts

Her agency lists Eve as non-binary, female presenting.

Jack Oliver Hudson (Urchin boy [Thomas Thomas])
This is Jack's only credit.

Kassius Carey Johnson (Artie)
Doctor Who credits
Played: Artie in The Bells of Saint John (2013), The Crimson Horror (2013), Nightmare in Silver (2013), The Name of the Doctor (2013)
Career highlights
Other work includes Gigglebiz (2009-10), Man Down (2013), Hank Zipzer (2015), Mowgli: Legend of the Jungle (2018) and Grantchester (2019).

Neve McIntosh (Madame Vastra) Born Apr 9 1972
Doctor Who credits
Played: Alaya in The Hungry Earth/ Cold Blood (2010)
Played: Restac in Cold Blood (2010)
Played: Madame Vastra in A Good Man Goes to War (2011), The Great Detective (2012, uncredited), Vastra Investigates (2012, uncredited), The Snowmen (2012), The Battle of Demon's Run - Two Days Later (2013, uncredited), The Crimson Horror (2013), The Name of the Doctor (2013), Deep Breath (2014)
Neve also played Vastra at the 2013 Doctor Who Prom
Career highlights
Debuted in Renegade (1993), then The Leading Man (1996), Plunkett and Macleane (1999), Psychos (1999), Gormenghast (2000), The Hound of the Baskervilles (2002), The Trouble with Men and Women (2005), The Ghost Squad (2005), Low Winter Sun (2006), Sea of Souls (2007), Law and Order UK (2010), Single Father (2010), Lip Service (2012), Ripper Street (2013), Dracula (2013), Critical (2015), Death in Paradise (2016), Guerrilla (2017), Lucky Man (2018), The Small Hand (2019), Traces (2019-20), Tin Star (2020) and Shetland (2018-21). She also enjoyed the recurring role of Donna Rix in 17 episodes of Bodies (2004-06).
Facts
Neve (real name Carol) divorced her husband Xandy Sahla - a prolific TV and film cameraman - in 2009, after meeting on the set of Psychos in 1999. Here's Neve's Twitter account.

Brendan Patricks (Edmund & Jonas Thursday) Born Dec 3 1980
Doctor Who credits
Played: Edmund Thursday in The Crimson Horror (2013)
Played: Jonas Thursday in The Crimson Horror (2013)
Career highlights
Brendan made his acting debut in The Curse of King Tut's Tomb (2006), followed by Heroes and Villains (2006), Sherlock Holmes and the Baker Street Irregulars (2007), Gavin & Stacey (2007), Horne and Corden (2009), The Legend of Dick and Dom (2011), Blandings (2013), Skins (2013), The Wrong Mans (2013), Mr Sloane (2014), In the Club (2014-16), Bad Education (2014), Outlander (2016), Fearless (2017), Kiri (2018), Traitors (2019), Gentleman Jack (2019), Breeders (2020) and Devils (2022). He also played the semi-regular role of Evelyn Napier in Downton Abbey (2010/13/15).
Facts
As well as being an actor, Brendan is also one half of a magic double act with comedian Nick Mohammed. Here's Brendan on Twitter.

Diana Rigg (Miss Gillyflower) Jul 20 1938 to Sep 10 2020 (lung cancer)
Career highlights
Diana made her screen acting debut in a 1959 TV adaptation of A Midsummer Night's Dream, followed by The Sentimental Agent (1963), Women Beware Women (1965), The Assassination Bureau (1969), On Her Majesty's Secret Service (1969, as the first woman to marry James Bond), Theatre of Blood (1973), Three Piece Suite (1977), Oresteia (1979), Hedda Gabler (1981), The Great Muppet Caper (1981), Evil Under the Sun (1982), Bleak House (1985), The Worst Witch (1986), Mother Love (1989), The Haunting of Helen Walker (1995), Rebecca (1997), Parting Shots (1998), The Last King (2003), Extras (2006), The Painted Veil (2006), You, Me and the Apocalypse (2015), Professor Branestawm Returns (2015), Breathe (2017), Victoria (2017), All Creatures Great and Small (2020), Black Narcissus (2020) and Last Night in Soho (2021). Regular roles include Emma Peel in 51 episodes of The Avengers (1965-68), Diana Smythe in Diana (1973-74), Adela Bradley in The Mrs Bradley Mysteries (1998-2000), Olenna Tyrell in Game of Thrones (2013-17) and Veronica in Detectorists (2015-17).

Awards

1988: Commander of the order of the British Empire (CBE) for services to drama

1990: BAFTA TV Award for Best Actress (Mother Love)

1992: Evening Standard Theatre Award for Best Actress (Medea)

1994: Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Play (Medea)

1994: Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE) for services to theatre and film

1996: Evening Standard Theatre Award for Best Actress (Mother Courage/ Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?)

1997: Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Miniseries or Special (Rebecca)

2000: BAFTA Special Award (The Avengers) - shared with Honor Blackman, Joanna Lumley and Linda Thorson
Facts
In 2003, Diana was awarded more than $63,000 in damages after two newspapers accused her of being an embittered woman who held British men in low regard. Diana's first husband was Israeli artist Menachem Gueffen, while her second was theatre producer Archie Stirling (whose uncle founded the Special Air Service (SAS)). This marriage ended in divorce after Stirling had an affair with actress Joely Richardson. Diana and Archie's daughter is actress Rachael Stirling, who plays Diana's daughter in The Crimson Horror (Rachael is married to Elbow lead singer Guy Garvey). Diana was a lifelong smoker, but gave up in 2017 following heart surgery during which her heart temporarily stopped. Diana, who was the first Dame to act in Doctor Who, was a supporter of assisted dying, and in 2023 her daughter Rachel wrote a powerful and moving article for the Guardian about her mother's final days and why she held these views.

Dan Starkey (Strax) Born Sep 27 1977 Click here for Dan Starkey's entry on The Sontaran Stratagem

Rachael Stirling (Ada Gillyflower) Born May 30 1977
Career highlights
Rachael debuted in Still Crazy (1998), followed by Maybe Baby (2000), Complicity (2000), The Triumph of Love (2001), Tipping the Velvet (2002), Hotel Babylon (2006), The Haunted Airman (2006), The Young Victoria (2009), Centurion (2010), Women in Love (2011), Salmon Fishing in the Yemen (2011), Snow White and the Huntsman (2012), The Bletchley Circle (2012-14), The Game (2014), Detectorists (2014-17), Churchill's Secret (2016), The Bletchley Circle: San Francisco (2018), Wild Bill (2019), Life (2020), Love in the Lockdown (2021), Grantchester (2021) and Hollington Drive (2021).
Facts
Rachael is the daughter of her Crimson Horror co-star Diana Rigg and theatre producer Archie Stirling (Stirling is also Laird of the Keir Estate in Perth and Kinross, Scotland, which makes Rachael descended from King Charles II). Rachael is also a distant relative of former British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, and actor Rupert Everett. Between 2007-12, she was in a relationship with fellow actor Oliver Chris. In 2016 Rachael married singer Guy Garvey, from the band Elbow.

Catrin Stewart (Jenny) Born Jan 29 1988
Doctor Who credits
Played: Jenny Flint in A Good Man Goes to War (2011), The Snowmen (2012), The Crimson Horror (2013), The Name of the Doctor (2013), Deep Breath (2014)
Catrin also played Jenny in the minisodes The Great Detective (2012), Vastra Investigates (2012) and The Battle of Demon's Run - Two Days Later (2013)
Career highlights
Catrin's other work includes Hearts of Gold (2003), Crusade in Jeans (2006), All Shook Up! (2010), Misfits (2010-11), Frail (2012), The Library Suicides (2016), Lifelines (2020) and One for the Road (2021). She also played Emma in 34 episodes of Stella (2012-17) and DS Gina Jenkins in Bang (2017-20).

Michelle Tate (Abigail)
Career highlights
Debuted in Bleak House (2005), then Harry Hill's TV Burp (2006, recreating her guest role from that week's The Bill), Casualty (2008), Dread (2009), Harry Brown (2009), Moving On (2010), The Case (2011), Borgia (2013-14), The A Word (2016-17) and Doctors (2010/12/15/17/19).
Facts
You can see Michelle audition for a part in a production of The Crucible here (it gives a little insight into what auditioning can be like!).

Graham Turner (Amos) Born 1951
Career highlights
Debuted in Brett (1971), followed by Spearhead (1981), The Prisoner of Zenda (1984), Grange Hill (1988), A Touch of Frost (1994), McCallum (1997), Insiders (1997), Little Voice (1998), Dinnerladies (1999), Baddiel's Syndrome (2001), Bad Girls (2002), Mersey Beat (2002), The Trial of Tony Blair (2007), Luther (2010), Waking the Dead (2011), Silent Witness (2020) and Housebound (2020). He also played Walter Charlton in Where the Heart Is (1997-2000).
Facts
He was once married to actress Jacqueline Leonard, best known for playing Lorraine Wicks in EastEnders, Dr Caroline Powers in Doctors and Lydia Murdoch in River City. Graham's son is actor Ben Turner, who played King Louis in The Girl in the Fireplace.

Olivia Vinall (Effie) Born c.1990
Career highlights
Belgian-born Olivia's earliest acting screen credit was in Doctors (2011), then Casualty (2012), Holby City (2014-15), Midsomer Murders (2016), Apple Tree Yard (2017), The Woman in White (2018), Queens of Mystery (2019), Roadkill (2020) and A Beautiful Curse (2021).
Facts
Olivia's parents named her after the character in Shakespeare's Twelfth Night (her sister Miranda was named after a character from The Tempest). As her father was a diplomat, she grew up in the UK, Belgium and the US. Here she is on Twitter.

CREW

Mark Gatiss (writer) Born Oct 17 1966 Click here for Mark Gatiss's entry on The Unquiet Dead

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

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.

Journey to the Centre of the TARDIS

A Time Zombie, yesterday

One episode (Journey to the Centre of the TARDIS)
First broadcast Apr 27 2013
Average audience for story: 6.50m + 1.89m iPlayer = 8.39m

REGULAR CAST

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

Jenna Coleman (Clara Oswald) Born Apr 27 1986 Click here for Jenna Coleman's entry on Asylum of the Daleks

GUEST CAST

Jahvel Hall (Tricky van Baalen) Born 1990
Career highlights
Other work includes The Bill (2008), Casualty (2012) and Fast Girls (2012). In 2022, he wrote an episode of soap EastEnders.
Facts
Here's Jahvel on Twitter.

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

Sarah Louise Madison (Time Zombie) Born c.1994
Doctor Who credits
Played: Weeping Angel in The Time of Angels/ Flesh and Stone (2010, uncredited), Good As Gold (2012, uncredited), The Angels Take Manhattan (2013, uncredited), The Time of the Doctor (2013, uncredited). Sarah also played the Weeping Angel seen in the 2010 3D Doctor Who cinema trailer
Played: Time Zombie in Journey to the Centre of the TARDIS (2013)
Career highlights
Sarah's other work includes Night of the Living Dead: Resurrection (2012), The Amityville Asylum (2013), Theatre of Fear (2014), Cops and Monsters (2014) and Twisted Showcase (2014/17).
Facts
Sarah can also be seen in the music video for Siri Valberg Saugstad's Moments of Love (2012).

Ruari Mears (Time Zombie) Born 1975 Click here for Ruari Mears' entry on The Doctor's Daughter

Mark Oliver (Bram van Baalen) Born 1979
Career highlights
Debuted in The Token King (1993), followed by Outlaws (2004), No Angels (2006), Elvis Pelvis (2007), Moses Jones (2009), Casualty (2011), PhoneShop (2013), Still Life (2013) and Swipe Right (2021). He also acted in, as well as wrote, directed and produced, the short film The Deal (2015).
Facts
Here's Mark on Twitter.

Ashley Walters (Gregor van Baalen) Born Jun 30 1982
Career highlights
Ashley made his uncredited debut at the age of 10 in The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles (1992), then secured the role of Andy Phillips in 10 episodes of Grange Hill (1997). After this he found work in The Murder of Stephen Lawrence (1999), Urban Gothic (2000), Born Romantic (2000), Dark Realm (2001), Top Buzzer (2004), House of 9 (2005), Get Rich or Die Tryin' (2005), Alex Rider: Operation Stormbreaker (2006), Hustle (2007), Sugarhouse (2007), Speed Racer (2008), Five Days (2010), Bedlam (2011), Outcasts (2011), Anuvahood (2011), Inside Men (2012), Sinbad (2012), Family Tree (2013), Truckers (2013), Transporter: The Series (2014), Cuffs (2015), The Aliens (2016), Safe House (2017) and I Am (2021). He also played Dushane in Top Boy (2011-22) and Ronnie Pike in Bulletproof (2018-21, also creator) - for both of these series Ashley was also an executive producer.

Awards

2004: British Independent Film Award for Most Promising Newcomer (Bullet Boy)
Facts
Ashley is also a musician, notably being a member - as Asher D - of the rap collective So Solid Crew when it enjoyed chart-topping success with the single 21 Seconds in 2001, as well as Top 10 singles They Don't Know and Haters. Since 2002, Ashley has released a number of singles, albums and mixtapes as Asher D, collaborating with the likes of Mutya Buena, Chipmunk and Alesha Dixon. In 2001, following an argument with a traffic warden, Ashley was found to be carrying a loaded air pistol modified to fire live ammunition and was eventually jailed for 18 months in a young offenders' institution. In 2014, Ashley was fined £600 after admitting assaulting a security guard the previous year, and was also fined £1,250 for possession of cannabis. In 2015, he denied racially abusing staff at a hotel in Islington. Here's Ashley on Twitter.

CREW

Steve Thompson (writer) Born 1967
Doctor Who credits
Wrote: The Curse of the Black Spot (2011), Journey to the Centre of the TARDIS (2013), Time Heist (2014)
Career highlights
Steve's screen writing career began with a stint on Doctors in 2005, followed by work for The Whistleblowers (2007), Mutual Friends (2008), Silk (2011), Upstairs, Downstairs (2012), Sinbad (2012), Sherlock (2010-14), Jericho (2016, which he also created), Deep State (2018-19), Leonardo (2021) and Vienna Blood (2019-21, which he also created). He also executive produced Jericho, Leonardo and Vienna Blood.

Facts

Before becoming a writer, Steve worked as a maths teacher in London. He is married to media and information lawyer Lorna Skinner QC.

Mat King (director) Born Feb 3 1975
Career highlights
Australian born Mat made his directorial debut with the 1997 short Devil in the Detail, followed by work on The Fairies (2005), Angela's Decision (2006), Star Runners (2009), Spirit Warriors (2010), MI High (2009-11), DCI Banks (2012), Law and Order UK (2011-14), Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries (2015), House Husbands (2015), The Wrong Girl (2016-17), My Life is Murder (2019), How to Stay Married (2020-21) and Wentworth Prison (2017-21).

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.