A Christmas Carol

"I would like a hat like that!"

One episode (A Christmas Carol)
First broadcast Dec 25 2010
Average audience for story: 12.11m (13.1m approx with iPlayer)

REGULAR CAST

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

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

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

GUEST CAST

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

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

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

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

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

Katherine Jenkins (Abigail Pettigrew) Born Jun 29 1980
Career highlights
Katherine is not known for her acting, although other credits include A-List (2006), Emmerdale (2007) and Under Milk Wood (2014). She is first and foremost a singer, specifically a lyric mezzo-soprano, who is trained as a classical singer but who has also worked variously as a model, a London Eye guide, and a freelance singing tutor. Her breakthrough came after being named the Face of Wales in 2000, and securing a recording contract which saw her release her debut album Premiere in 2004. She sold more than four million copies of her albums between 2004-08, and she has had 12 number 1 albums on the UK Classical chart. She has also had three albums in the US Classical Top 20 chart and in 2017 was named the best-selling classical artist of the previous 25 years in the UK. In 2010, she was a judge on ITV1's Popstar to Operastar, and in 2012 was a contestant on US TV's Dancing with the Stars (she was runner-up in the contest).

Awards

2005: Classical Brit Award for Album of the Year (Second Nature)

2006: Classical Brit Award for Album of the Year (Living a Dream)

2014: Officer of the order of the British Empire (OBE) for services to music and charity

Facts
In 1999, Katherine was attacked, beaten and robbed by an unknown assailant who attempted to rape her while she was studying at the Royal Academy of Music. She also began to take drugs at this time ("the biggest regret of my life"). Around the time Katherine was in Doctor Who she was in a relationship with TV presenter Gethin Jones, but in 2014 she married American artist and actor/ director Andrew Levitas. Here she is on Twitter.

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

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

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

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

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

Facts
Tim was second choice to play Gareth in the UK version of sitcom The Office (Mackenzie Crook got the role).

Pooky Quesnel (Captain) Born Apr 30 1966

Doctor Who credits

Played: Captain in A Christmas Carol (2010)

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

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

CREW

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

Toby Haynes (director)
Doctor Who credits
Directed: The Pandorica Opens/ The Big Bang (2010), A Christmas Carol (2010), The Impossible Astronaut/ Day of the Moon (2011)
Toby also directed the TARDIS scene shown on screens at the 2010 Doctor Who Prom.
Career highlights
Toby's directing debut came with the short Looking for Al Bowlly (2003), followed by Lost and Found (2003), Hollyoaks (2007), MI High (2007-08), Spooks: Code 9 (2008), Being Human (2009), Five Days (2010), Sherlock (2012), The Musketeers (2014), Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell (2015), Black Mirror (2017), Utopia (2020) and Andor (2022). He also executive produced Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell and Utopia.

Awards

2011: Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation - Short Form (Doctor Who) - shared with Steven Moffat
Facts
Toby is the first director ever to helm three consecutive Doctor Who stories (The Pandorica Opens/ The Big Bang; A Christmas Carol; The Impossible Astronaut/ Day of the Moon - equalling five consecutive episodes, plus the Proms TARDIS scene in the middle!).

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

Awards

2019: Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Limited Series (Chernobyl) - shared with production team

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

The Pandorica Opens/ The Big Bang

The Pandorica Opens and
the TARDIS goes BANG!

Two episodes (The Pandorica Opens, The Big Bang)
First broadcast Jun 19 to 26 2010
Average audience for story: 7.14m (8.41m approx with iPlayer)

REGULAR CAST

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

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

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

GUEST CAST

Frances Ashman (Christine)
Career highlights
Debuted in Nil By Mouth (1997), then took roles in Trial and retribution (2009), Missing (2009), The Reckoning (2011), Birds of a Feather (2014), Peep Show (2015), DCI Banks (2016), A Streetcat Named Bob (2016), Sick Note (2018), I May Destroy You (2020) and Time (2021). SInce 2015 she has been credited as Franc Ashman.
Facts
Frances started out as a singer, but when her boyfriend was killed she needed a new direction to concentrate on, and went into acting. Here's a 2012 interview where she talks about getting into acting and how she's found the industry since graduating.

Simon Fisher Becker (Dorium Maldovar) Born Nov 25 1961
Doctor Who credits
Played: Dorium Maldovar in The Pandorica Opens (2010), A Good Man Goes to War prequel (2011, uncredited), A Good Man Goes to War (2011), The Wedding of River Song (2011)
Played: General Nylan (voice) in Doctor Who: The Online Adventures - Betrayal (2014)
Career highlights
Simon's acting credits began with Arrivederci Millwall (1990), followed by An Ungentlemanly Act (1992), One Foot in the Grave (1993), Sweet Thing (1999), Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (2001), Afterlife (2006), Chakan the Forever Man (2012), Les Miserables (2012), 3some (2013), Vicious (2013), Puppy Love (2014), Carnage (2017), Coveted Desires (2017), Waterside (2013-18) and When It Rains (2020).
Facts
Simon, who can conduct a full symphony and choir, started out in the civil service before getting into acting, with Denholm Elliott as his mentor. His Wikipedia entry lists him as "Viscount of William & Mona". In 2009, Simon was attacked by youths at a petrol station and beaten badly, leaving him with permanent damage to his spine and knee and having to walk with a stick. Here he is on Twitter.
In 2013 Toby Hadoke released his Who's Round interview with Simon here.

Caitlin Blackwood (Amelia Pond) Born Jun 23 2000
Doctor Who credits
Played: Amelia Pond in The Eleventh Hour (2010), The Big Bang (2010), Let's Kill Hitler (2011), The God Complex (2011), The Angels Take Manhattan (2012, uncredited), The Time of the Doctor (2013, uncredited)
Career highlights
Caitlin's other acting work includes Cops and Monsters (2014), Sundown (2018) and Lost at Christmas (2020).
Facts
Caitlin is actress Karen Gillan's cousin in real life, but the first time they ever met was on set for Doctor Who. Here she is on Twitter.

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

Chrissie Cotterill (Madame Vernet) Born Jul 19 1955
Doctor Who credits
Played: Mother in Vincent and the Doctor (2010)
Played: Madame Vernet in The Pandorica Opens (2010)
Career highlights
Chrissie debuted in The Crezz (1976), followed by Fox (1980), Caleb Williams (1980), Scrubbers (1982), Separate Tables (1983), Prospects (1986), The Charmer (1987), A Bit of a Do (1989), The Krays (1990), Nil By Mouth (1997), Cor, Blimey! (2000), Weak at Denise (2001), Family Affairs (2002), Bad Girls (2004), Flood (2007), Hard Times (2009), Law and Order UK (2010), Whitechapel (2010), The Wrong Mans (2013), Houdini (2014), The C Word (2015), Wannabe (2018) and Me, Myself and Di (2021). She also played Debbie Burgess in 31 episodes of the sitcom May to December (1989-94).

Tony Curran (Vincent Van Gogh) Born Dec 13 1969
Doctor Who credits
Played: Vincent Van Gogh in Vincent and the Doctor (2010), The Pandorica Opens (2010)
Career highlights
Tony has been acting since he was a teenager, gaining his first screen credit for Stookie (1985), then Strathblair (1993), Being Human (1994), The Tales of Para Handy (1994), Rab C Nesbitt (1994), Shallow Grave (1994), Atletico Partick (1996), Taggart (1997), This Life (1997), Great Expectations (1999), Gladiator (2000), Pearl Harbor (2001), Blade II (2002), The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen (2003), Beowulf and Grendel (2005), Underworld: Evolution (2006), Midnight Meat Train (2008), Numb3rs (2008), Medium (2009), Primeval (2009), 24 (2010), The Mentalist (2010), The Pillars of the Earth (2010), X-Men: First Class (2011), Boardwalk Empire (2011), Hawaii Five-0 (2011), Sons of Anarchy (2014), Awaiting (2015), Daredevil (2016), Roots (2016), Crazyhead (2016), Calibre (2018), Ray Donovan (2018-19), SEAL Team (2019), Deadwood (2019), Your Honor (2020-21) and The Flash (2021). He also played Datak Tarr in Defiance (2013-15).

Awards

2006: BAFTA Scotland Award for Best Actor in a Scottish Film (Red Road)

2006: British Independent Film Award for Best Actor (Red Road)
Facts
Here's Tony on Twitter.

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

David Fynn (Marcellus)
Career highlights
Debuted in Spooks (2006), then The Inbetweeners (2009), Leap Year (2010), The Somnambulists (2011), Pete Versus Life (2011), Black Mirror (2011), Game of Thrones (2012), The Look of Love (2013), Mayday (2013), Big Bad World (2013), Sherlock (2014), Banana (2015), Undateable (2014-16, as Brett), Porn Again (2017), Vanity Fair (2018), Best Intentions (2019), The Mauritanian (2021) and The Thief, His Wife and the Canoe (2022). He also provided the voice of Biggie and Mr Dinkles in the children's series Trolls (2018-21).
Facts
Here he is on Twitter.

Joe Jacobs (Guard) Born 1983
Career highlights
Joe's first high profile role was playing Jimmy Hamilton Doyle in 50 episodes of the soap Night and Day (2001-03). Other work includes Prime Suspect 5 (1996), Where the Heart Is (1998), Casualty (1998), Coronation Street (1998-99), Holby City (2005), The Bill (2006), Survivors (2008) and My Horrible Love (2015). He also had the regular role of PC William Jackson in Holby Blue (2007-08).
Facts
His father is actor Clarke Peters, best known to Doctor Who fans for voicing Night Eagle in the 2009 animated adventure Dreamland, as well as for his roles in The Wire and Treme. Joe's grandfather was veteran BBC broadcaster David Jacobs.

Halcro Johnston (Augustus Pond)
Career highlights
Other work includes The Bill (1997), EastEnders (2004) and The Phantom of the Opera (2004).
Facts
In 1995, Halcro was stabbed near the Elephant and Castle in London and needed open heart surgery to save his life. Here he is on Twitter.

Paul Kasey (Judoon) 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

Howard Lee (Dr Gachet)
Career highlights
Howard debuted in Shackleton (1983), followed by The New Statesman (1987), The Tango Lesson (1997), Loop (1997), Where the Heart Is (1999), Lagaan: Once Upon a Time in India (2001), Close Your Eyes (2002), Red Mercury (2005), Doctors (2014/18), The Coven (2015) and The Windsors (2016). Between 2009-20 Howard played the recurring character of Howard Lee in soap Coronation Street, who was the chairman of an alcoholics' support group.
Facts
Howard plays the main pirate in this commercial for the Hebrew TV channel Yes MaxHD.

Ian McNeice (Winston Churchill) Born Oct 2 1950
Doctor Who credits
Played: Winston Churchill in The Beast Below (2010), Victory of the Daleks (2010), The Pandorica Opens (2010), The Wedding of River Song (2011)
Career highlights
Ian made his acting debut on screen with 1977's Warship, followed by roles in The Common Lot (1977), The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby (1982), Voice Over (1983), The Cleopatras (1983), Edge of Darkness (1985), CATS Eyes (1986), Personal Services (1987), Whoops Apocalypse (1988), Wipe Out (1988), 1871 (1990), Time Riders (1991), An Ungentlemanly Act (1992), Cluedo (1993), Stay Lucky (1993), Chef! (1994), Roughnecks (1994), Bugs (1995), Liverpool 1 (1998), A Christmas Carol (1999), Dune (2000), From Hell (2001), Relic Hunter (2002), Children of Dune (2003), Strange (2003), Spooks (2004), Oliver Twist (2005), The Black Dahlia (2006), Day of the Dead (2008), Valkyrie (2008), The Mystery of Edwin Drood (2012), We Are Tourists (2017), The Man Who Invented Christmas (2017), The House of Screaming Death (2017), Grizzly II: The Concert (2020), Foundation (2021) and Fairytale (2021). He also regularly played the Newsreader in Rome (2005-07) and Bert Large in 70 episodes of Doc Martin (2004-19).
Facts
Ian has three children with actress Kate Nicholls. In 2007, Ian admitted that his weight had become a problem - at that point he was over 25 stone (158kg) and was losing acting work as he was uninsurable. By 2009, he was 22 stone (139kg), and admitted in an interview that his weight problem stemmed from the tragic death of his older brother in a car accident when he was a child. His mother became overprotective and gave him everything he wanted, including food, and Ian also developed a stutter which hindered his early acting career. In 2015, Big Finish announced that Ian would be starring in his own spin-off set of audio adventures as Winston Churchill.

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

Marcus O'Donovan (Claudio) Born May 24 1983
Career highlights
Marcus's first credit was for Totally Frank (2005), followed by Holby City (2006), Hollyoaks (2006), Bigga Than Ben (2008), Rock Rivals (2008), The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian (2008) and Doctors (2008/11). Before he got into acting Marcus was a presenter on shows such as SM:TV Gold (1998) and S Club TV (2000).
Facts
Marcus's industry mentor was music guru Simon Fuller. He is also the founder of Nutshot peanut butter, which he established via Kickstarter in 2013.

Sophie Okonedo (Liz Ten) Born Aug 11 1968
Doctor Who credits
Played: Alison Cheney (voice) in Scream of the Shalka (2003, animation)
Played: Liz Ten in The Beast Below (2010), The Pandorica Opens (2010)
Career highlights
Sophie debuted in Spatz (1991), then appeared in Young Soul Rebels (1991), The Governor (1995), Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls (1995), The Jackal (1997), This Year's Love (1999), Peaches (2000), Clocking Off (2002), Dirty Pretty Things (2002), Spooks (2003), Hotel Rwanda (2004), Aeon Flux (2005), Alex Rider: Stormbreaker (2006), Martian Child (2007), Oliver Twist (2007), Criminal Justice (2009), Mrs Mandela (2010), The Slap (2011/15), Sinbad (2012), After Earth (2013), War Book (2014), The Hollow Crown (2016), Wanderlust (2018), Hellboy (2019), Chimerica (2019), Flack (2019-20), Ratched (2020), His Dark Materials (2020), Britannia (2021) and The Wheel of Time (2021).

Awards

2010: Officer of the order of the British Empire (OBE) for services to drama

2014: Tony Award for Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Play (A Raisin in the Sun)

2017: Royal Television Society Award for Actor - Female (Undercover)

2018: Evening Standard Theatre Award for Best Actress (Antony and Cleopatra)

2018: Critics' Circle Theatre Award for Best Shakespearean Performance (Antony and Cleopatra)

2019: Commander of the order of the British Empire (CBE) for services to drama

Bill Paterson (Bracewell) Born Jun 3 1945
Doctor Who credits
Played: Bracewell in Victory of the Daleks (2010), The Pandorica Opens (2010)
Career highlights
Bill made his credited debut with 1973's Passing Places, then 1976's The Flight of the Heron, followed by roles in Will Shakespeare (1978), The Odd Job (1978), Telford's Change (1979), The Lost Tribe (1980), The Cherry Orchard (1981), Smiley's People (1982), A Private Function (1984), The Killing Fields (1984), Auf Wiedersehen, Pet (1986), The Singing Detective (1986), The Return of the Musketeers (1989), The Rachel Papers (1989), Traffik (1989), The Witches (1990), Shrinks (1991), Chaplin (1992), Ghostbusters of East Finchley (1995), The Crow Road (1996), Spice World (1997), Wives and Daughters (1999), Crush (2001), Ed Stone is Dead (2002), Bright Young Things (2003), Shoebox Zoo (2004), Miss Potter (2006), How to Lose Friends and Alienate People (2008), Little Dorrit (2008), Dirk Gently (2012), 37 Days (2014), Outlander (2014-17), Dad's Army (2016), Churchill's Secret (2016), Unforgotten (2017), The Rebel (2016-17), Fleabag (2016-19), Good Omens (2019), Brassic (2020), Rebecca (2020) and House of the Dragon (2022). Regular roles include Dr Douglas Monaghan in Sea of Souls (2004-07) and George Castle in Law and Order UK (2009-10).

Awards

1997: BAFTA Scotland Award for Best Actor - Television (The Crow Road)

2015: BAFTA Outstanding Contribution to Film and Television Award
Facts
Bill is married to costume designer Hildegard Bechtler.

Christopher Ryan (Commander Stark) Born Jan 25 1950
Doctor Who credits
Played: Kiv in The Trial of a Time Lord (1986)
Played: General Staal in The Sontaran Stratagem/ The Poison Sky (2008)
Played: Commander Stark in The Pandorica Opens (2010)
Career highlights
5ft Christopher debuted in Target (1978), then appeared in Angels (1979), Fox (1980), The Olympian Way (1981), Inside Out (1985), Happy Families (1985), Santa Claus: The Movie (1985), The New Statesman (1992), Dirty Weekend (1993), Mr Bean (1994), Health and Efficiency (1995), Melissa (1997), My Family (2001/03), Saxondale (2007), The Life and Times of Vivienne Vyle (2007), City Slacker (2012), It's Kevin (2013) and Tracey Breaks the News (2018). He will be best recognised as Mike TheCoolPerson in sitcom The Young Ones (1982-84), as well as Tony Driscoll in Only Fools and Horses (1989) and Green Green Grass (2005-06/09), Dave Hedgehog in Bottom (1991-95) and Marshall in Absolutely Fabulous (1992-2012 and the 2016 film). Christopher reprised the role of Kiv for the 2019 spin-off production Sil and the Devil Seeds of Arodor.
Facts
Christopher appears, along with the rest of The Young Ones, in the video for Cliff Richard's 1986 Comic Relief single Living Doll.

Susan Vidler (Aunt Sharon) Born 1972
Career highlights
Debuted in Naked (1993), followed by roles in Cracker (1993), Trainspotting (1996), The Woman in White (1997), The Jump (1998), The Wedding Tackle (2000), England Expects (2004), Rebus (2007), Hustle (2009), Notes from the Underground (2012), Suspects (2014), Shetland (2014), Gentlemen and Gangsters (2014-15), The Coroner (2016) and Line of Duty (2019).
Facts
Susan is married to actor Alastair Mackenzie.

Karen Westwood (Tabetha Pond) Born Nov 26 1964
Career highlights
Debuted in Rowing with the Wind (1988), then Taggart (1989), The Good Guys (1992), Families (1992), The Sculptress (1996), Annie's Bar (1996), Grafters (1998), Spooks (2002), Murphy's Law (2004), Monarch of the Glen (2004), Doctors (2006), Casualty 1907 (2008), The ABC Murders (2018), The Feed (2019) and Magpie Murders (2022). She also regularly played Carolyn Fraser in Two Thousand Acres of Sky (2001-03).

Clive Wood (Commander) Born May 8 1954
Career highlights
Clive debuted in Gangsters (1976), then Treasure Island (1977), Enemy at the Door (1980), The Innocent (1985), Buster (1988), Capstick's Law (1989), Treasure Island (1990), Soldier Soldier (1991), The Hummingbird Tree (1992), Death in Holy Orders (2003), Red Mercury (2005), Bonkers (2007), The Pillars of the Earth (2010), Salmon Fishing in the Yemen (2011), Endeavour (2013), Utopia (2014), Suffragette (2015), In the Dark (2017), Sense8 (2017-18) and Silent Witness (2020). Clive has also enjoyed regular roles as Vic Brown in A Kind of Loving (1982), Blair in Mr Palfrey of Westminster (1984-85), DCI Gordon Wray in The Bill (1990), Matt Kerr in Press Gang (1989-93) and Jack Morgan in London's Burning (1996-98).
Facts
Clive's wives include actresses Sharon Maiden and Clare Higgins (who appeared in Doctor Who as Ohila). Clive and Sharon's son is Daniel Maiden-Wood, session drummer and songwriter for Anna Calvi.

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

Toby Haynes (director)
Doctor Who credits
Directed: The Pandorica Opens/ The Big Bang (2010), A Christmas Carol (2010), The Impossible Astronaut/ Day of the Moon (2011)
Toby also directed the TARDIS scene shown on screens at the 2010 Doctor Who Prom.
Career highlights
Toby's directing debut came with the short Looking for Al Bowlly (2003), followed by Lost and Found (2003), Hollyoaks (2007), MI High (2007-08), Spooks: Code 9 (2008), Being Human (2009), Five Days (2010), Sherlock (2012), The Musketeers (2014), Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell (2015), Black Mirror (2017), Utopia (2020) and Andor (2022). He also executive produced Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell and Utopia.

Awards

2011: Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation - Short Form (Doctor Who) - shared with Steven Moffat
Facts
Toby is the first director ever to helm three consecutive Doctor Who stories (The Pandorica Opens/ The Big Bang; A Christmas Carol; The Impossible Astronaut/ Day of the Moon - equalling five consecutive episodes, plus the Proms TARDIS scene in the middle!).

Peter Bennett (producer) Click here for Peter Bennett's entry on The Beast Below

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

The Lodger

Not the first time we've seen
the Doctor in the shower

One episode (The Lodger)
First broadcast June 12 2010
Average audience for story: 6.44m + 1.29m iPlayer = 7.73m

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

GUEST CAST

Babatunde Aleshe (Sean)
Career highlights
Babatunde debuted in Law and Order UK (2009), then New Tricks (2009), Pelican Blood (2010), Waking the Dead (2011), EastEnders (2011), Frankie (2013), The Naked Poet (2016) and The Stand Up Sketch Show (2021). Babatunde is also a stand-up comedian, having appeared on Celebrity Gogglebox (2020), The Weakest Link (2022) and Guessable (2022).
Facts
Here he is on Twitter.

Kamara Bacchus (Clubber) Born Jan 11 1986
Career highlights
Debuted in The Bill (2005), then Kerching! (2006), West 10 LDN (2008), Beautiful People (2008), The Pick Up (2011) and Life of Hers (2014). She is also a writer and producer, such as the shorts Special Delivery (2011) and Drink, Drugs and KFC (2011).
Facts
In 2004, while still a student, Kamara came second in the 15th annual Miss Jamaica Beauty Pageant in London, in which 15 British women of Jamaican descent posed in swimwear and evening wear and answered judges' questions. Here she is on Twitter.

James Corden (Craig Owens) Born Aug 22 1978
Doctor Who credits
Played: Craig Owens in The Lodger (2010), Closing Time (2011), Night and the Doctor: Up All Night (2011, DVD extra)
Career highlights
James's earliest screen acting credit was on Out of Tune in 1996, followed by roles in Twenty Four Seven (1997), Boyz Unlimited (1999), Hollyoaks (2000), All or Nothing (2002), Cruise of the Gods (2002), Teachers (2001/03), Little Britain (2004), Pierrepoint: The Last Hangman (2005), Starter for 10 (2006), The History Boys (2006), Lesbian Vampire Killers (2009), Beast Hunters (2010), The Three Musketeers (2011), Stella (2012), Into the Woods (2014), Roald Dahl's Esio Trot (2014), The Lady in the Van (2015), Peter Rabbit (2018), Ocean's Eight (2018), Yesterday (2019), Cats (2019), The Prom (2020), Peter Rabbit 2 (2021) and Cinderella (2021). He had the regular roles of Jamie Rymer in Fat Friends (2000-05) and Phil in The Wrong Mans (2013-14), and also had his own comedy sketch show (with Mathew Horne) called Horne and Corden (2009). However, he'll be most remembered for playing Smithy in the sitcom Gavin and Stacey (2007-19), which he also co-wrote with Horne. He has also given his voice to the animations Little Charley Bear (2011) and the mouse in The Gruffalo (2009) and The Gruffalo's Child (2011). Between 2010-19 he has been the host of the sports panel show A League of Their Own, and in 2015 he became the host of The Late Late Show in the United States, on which he is also credited as a writer and producer (he's hosted more than 1,000 editions). Other presenting duties include the Brit Awards, the Grammys, the Emmys, the Tonys, the Oscars and Friends: The Reunion (2021).

Awards

2007: British Comedy Award for Best Male Comedy Newcomer (Gavin and Stacey)

2008: BAFTA TV Award for Best Comedy Performance (Gavin and Stacey)

2008: Writers' Guild of Great Britain Award for Television Comedy/ Light Entertainment (Gavin and Stacey) - shared with Ruth Jones

2012: Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play (One Man, Two Guv'nors)

2014: Royal Television Society Award for Writer - Comedy (The Wrong Mans) - with Mathew Baynton and Tom Basden

2015: Officer of the order of the British Empire (OBE) for services to drama

2016: Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Variety Special (The Late Late Show Carpool Karaoke Primetime Special) - shared with production team

2016: Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Interactive Program (The Late Late Show) - shared with production team

2017: Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Special Class Program (The 70th Annual Tony Awards) - shared with production team

2017: Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Variety Special (The Late Late Show Primetime Carpool Karaoke Special)- shared with production team

2018: Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Actor in a Short Form Comedy or Drama Series (James Corden's Next James Corden)

2018: Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Short Form Comedy or Drama Series (James Corden's Next James Corden) - shared with production team

2019: Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Variety Special (Pre-Recorded) (Carpool Karaoke: When Corden Met McCartney Live from Liverpool) - shared with production team

2019: Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Short Form Variety Series (Carpool Karaoke) - shared with production team

2020: Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Short Form Variety Series (Carpool Karaoke) - shared with production team

2020: Golden Raspberry (Razzie) Award for Worst Supporting Actor (Cats)

2021: Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Short Form Comedy, Drama or Variety Series (Carpool Karaoke) - shared with production team

Facts
In 2012, James married actress Julia Carey, but had previously been in a relationship with actress Sheridan Smith (twice - 2007-08 and 2009). He appears in the music video for Rizzle Kicks' 2011 single Mama Do the Hump, and in 2010 released the chart-topping England World Cup anthem Shout with Dizzee Rascal. Here he is on Twitter.

Owen Donovan (Steven)
Owen's other work includes Torn (2007).

Daisy Haggard (Sophie) Born Mar 22 1978
Doctor Who credits
Played: Sophie in The Lodger (2010), Closing Time (2011), Night of the Doctor: Up All Night (2011, DVD extra)
Career highlights
Debuted in the Ruth Rendell Mysteries (1996), followed by Swivel on the Tip (2001), Max (2002), Manchild (2003), Hardware (2003), Peep Show (2003), Green Wing (2004), Casanova (2005), Saxondale (2006), Man Stroke Woman (2005-07), Sense and Sensibility (2008), Ashes to Ashes (2009), The Persuasionists (2010), Psychoville (2009-11), Outnumbered (2011), Parents (2012), Cardinal Burns (2014), Ballot Monkeys (2015), Black Mirror (2016), Songbird (2018), The Guardians (2018) and Hilda and the Mountain King (2021). She also provided the voice of the Ministry Lift in two Harry Potter films (2007/10), played Myra Licht in 26 episodes of Episodes (2011-17), Sam in 20 episodes of Uncle (2012-17), voiced Mum in 26 episodes of Hilda (2018-20), played Ally in 20 episodes of Breeders (2020-21) and Miri Matteson in 12 episodes of Back to Life (2019-21).
Facts
Daisy, who is dyslexic, is the daughter of veteran director Piers Haggard, while her grandfather was actor and poet Stephen Haggard, and her great-great-great uncle was the Victorian adventure writer H Rider Haggard (author of King Solomon's Mines and She). Daisy once recorded an album in aid of Friends of the Earth Scotland entitled Silver Green (2004). Here she is on Twitter.

Darrell Heath (Auto Pilot)
Darrell's other work includes Casualty (2006), Outlaw (2007), Hustle (2011) and Russell Howard's Good News (2015).

Karen Seacombe (Sandra) Born 1964
Doctor Who credits
Played: Sandra in The Lodger (2010)
Played: Crowd in The Woman Who Lived (2015)
Career highlights
Debuted in Reasons to be Cheerful (1981), then Miss Marple (1984), The Tripods (1985), Ping Pong (1987), 15 Storeys High (2002), Little Britain (2003), Magicians (2007), Made in Dagenham (2010) and Friday (2012).

Jem Wall (Michael)
Career highlights
Jem debuted in Of Pure Blood in 1986, followed by Nights (1993), Richard II (1997), Big Bad World (1999), Judge John Deed (2005), Merlin (2009), My Week with Marilyn (2011), Da Vinci's Demons (2014), Game of Thrones (2014), Call the Midwife (2015) and Bloodyminded (2018). He also had a recurring role as PC Henderson in EastEnders (2007-10).

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Gareth Roberts (writer) Born Jun 5 1968 Click here for Gareth Roberts' entry on Attack of the Graske

Catherine Morshead (director)
Doctor Who credits
Directed: Amy's Choice (2010), The Lodger (2010)
Career highlights
Catherine's earliest directing credit was on Science Fiction (1990), followed by Emmerdale Farm (1990), Haggard (1992), Heartbeat (1993-94), Dangerfield (1995), Playing the Field (1998), A Christmas Carol (2000), Cutting It (2002-04), Shameless (2006), Viva Blackpool (2006), Mutual Friends (2008), Ashes to Ashes (2008-09), Silk (2011), The Hour (2012), Downton Abbey (2013-14), Fungus the Bogeyman (2015), No Offence (2015-18), Four Weddings and a Funeral (2019), The One (2021), Pennyworth (2021) and Becoming Elizabeth (2022).

Awards

2016: Royal Television Society Award for Drama Series (No Offence) - shared with Paul Abbott, Martin Carr and Anna Ferguson

Tracie Simpson (producer) Click here for Tracie Simpson's entry on Planet of the Dead

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

Vincent and the Doctor

Vincent Van Gogh (Tony Curran)
with his self-portrait

One episode (Vincent and the Doctor)
First broadcast June 5 2010
Average audience for story: 6.76m + 1.13m iPlayer = 7.89m

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

GUEST CAST

Andrew Byrne (Schoolchild) Born Dec 30 1999
Career highlights
Debuted in After Thomas (2006), then Who Killed Mrs De Ropp? (2007), Jekyll (2007), Cranford (2007) and Doc Martin (2009.
Facts
His brother Thomas is also an actor and has appeared in series such as Down to Earth, Extras, Where the Heart Is and Wire in the Blood.

Chrissie Cotterill (Mother) Born Jul 19 1955
Doctor Who credits
Played: Mother in Vincent and the Doctor (2010)
Played: Madame Vernet in The Pandorica Opens (2010)
Career highlights
Chrissie debuted in The Crezz (1976), followed by Fox (1980), Caleb Williams (1980), Scrubbers (1982), Separate Tables (1983), Prospects (1986), The Charmer (1987), A Bit of a Do (1989), The Krays (1990), Nil By Mouth (1997), Cor, Blimey! (2000), Weak at Denise (2001), Family Affairs (2002), Bad Girls (2004), Flood (2007), Hard Times (2009), Law and Order UK (2010), Whitechapel (2010), The Wrong Mans (2013), Houdini (2014), The C Word (2015), Wannabe (2018) and Me, Myself and Di (2021). She also played Debbie Burgess in 31 episodes of the sitcom May to December (1989-94).

Sarah Counsell (Waitress)
Career highlights
Sarah made her acting debut in EastEnders (2008), then Tess of the D'Urbervilles (2008), Being Human (2009), Skins (2009), Merlin (2010), PhoneShop (2011), Call the Midwife (2012), Threesome (2012) and The Living and the Dead (2016). She has also worked as a casting director on productions such as Excluded (2010), Shelfstackers (2010), The Cut (2010), Merlin (2011), Save Me (2018), Sanditon (2019) and The Midwich Cuckoos (2021), while she has written and produced the short film Cubicle Two (2010) and written the TV movie Rules of Love (2010).

Facts

Sarah's screenwriting partner is acclaimed YA author Simon James.

Tony Curran (Vincent Van Gogh) Born Dec 13 1969
Doctor Who credits
Played: Vincent Van Gogh in Vincent and the Doctor (2010), The Pandorica Opens (2010)
Career highlights
Tony has been acting since he was a teenager, gaining his first screen credit for Stookie (1985), then Strathblair (1993), Being Human (1994), The Tales of Para Handy (1994), Rab C Nesbitt (1994), Shallow Grave (1994), Atletico Partick (1996), Taggart (1997), This Life (1997), Great Expectations (1999), Gladiator (2000), Pearl Harbor (2001), Blade II (2002), The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen (2003), Beowulf and Grendel (2005), Underworld: Evolution (2006), Midnight Meat Train (2008), Numb3rs (2008), Medium (2009), Primeval (2009), 24 (2010), The Mentalist (2010), The Pillars of the Earth (2010), X-Men: First Class (2011), Boardwalk Empire (2011), Hawaii Five-0 (2011), Sons of Anarchy (2014), Awaiting (2015), Daredevil (2016), Roots (2016), Crazyhead (2016), Calibre (2018), Ray Donovan (2018-19), SEAL Team (2019), Deadwood (2019), Your Honor (2020-21) and The Flash (2021). He also played Datak Tarr in Defiance (2013-15).

Awards

2006: BAFTA Scotland Award for Best Actor in a Scottish Film (Red Road)

2006: British Independent Film Award for Best Actor (Red Road)
Facts
Here's Tony on Twitter.

Nik Howden (Maurice)
Career highlights
Nik's other work includes Better Days (1997), Stan (2006), Ashes to Ashes (2008), On the Edge (2009), Grandpa in My Pocket (2013) and Sanditon (2019).
Facts
If you've ever wanted to see a photoshoot of Nik posing in a stream, look no further than photographer Paul Groom's website. Here's Nik on Twitter.

Morgan Overton (Schoolchild) Born Apr 11 2000
Career highlights
Morgan debuted in Sense and Sensibility (2008), then appeared in Gigglebiz (2009), Little Einsteins (2010), Ruddy Hell! It's Harry and Paul (2010), The Morgana Show (2010) and The Ollie & Moon Show (2017). He also provided the voice of Wilson the train in the animated series Chuggington (2008-12).
Facts
In 2020, Morgan pleaded guilty to three counts of making indecent images after he was found to have almost 700 images on his computer of children as young as 12 months being sexually abused. He claimed that amassing the images from the "dark web" was a form of self-harm following the death of a school friend which sent him on "a dark path". He was sentenced to a three-year community order and was made subject to a five-year sexual harm prevention order. The Diocese of Peterborough issued a statement following the hearing. These crimes were a true fall from grace for Morgan, who in 2016 was selected from hundreds of entrants as one of the winners of the annual BBC Proms Inspire competition. He was commissioned to write a piece for the National Youth Choirs of Great Britain's Fellowship Octet, and 'I'm Making a Statement' was broadcast on BBC Radio 3 in 2017.

Bill Nighy (born Dec 12 1949) was uncredited in his role of Dr Black, but here's a link to his IMDb page.

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Richard Curtis (writer) Born Nov 8 1956
Career highlights
New Zealand born Richard is one of the UK's foremost comedy writers and film script writers who started out writing sketches for the comedy series Not the Nine O'Clock News in 1982, and went on to write for Spitting Image (1984-85), The Tall Guy (1989), French and Saunders (1990), Bernard and the Genie (1991), Four Weddings and a Funeral (1994), Notting Hill (1999), Bridget Jones's Diary (2001), Love Actually (2003), Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason (2004), Casualty (2007), War Horse (2011), About Time (2013), Esio Trot (2014), Mamma Mia: Here We Go Again! (2018), Yesterday (2019) and The Little Mermaid (2023). He also helped create, and wrote many episodes of, the sitcoms Black Adder (1983-99), Mr Bean (1990-95) and its spin-offs Bean (1997) and the Animated Series (2002-15), and The Vicar of Dibley (1994-2020). He also acts as producer on many of his own productions, and directed Love Actually, Pirate Radio (2009) and About Time.

Awards

1990: BAFTA TV Award for Best Comedy Series (Blackadder Goes Forth) - shared with John Lloyd, Richard Boden and Ben Elton

1993: British Comedy Award for Top Comedy Writer

1994: Writers' Guild of Great Britain Award for Film Screenplay (Four Weddings and a Funeral)

1994: Member of the order of the British Empire (MBE) for services to television and film comedy, and charity

1995: Evening Standard British Film Award for Best Screenplay (Four Weddings and a Funeral)

1995: London Critics' Circle Film Award for Best Screenwriter (Four Weddings and a Funeral)

1999: BAFTA Special Award

2000: Commander of the order of the British Empire (CBE) for services to television and film comedy, and charity

2001: British Independent Film Variety Award

2002: Evening Standard British Film Award for Best Screenplay (Bridget Jones's Diary) - shared with Andrew Davies and Helen Fielding

2002: London Critics' Circle Film Award for Best Screenwriter (Bridget Jones's Diary) - shared with Andrew Davies and Helen Fielding

2006: Primetime Emmy for Outstanding Made for Television Movie (The Girl in the Cafe) - shared with Paul Abbott and Hilary Bevan Jones

2006: Primetime Emmy for Outstanding Writing for a Miniseries, Movie or Dramatic Presentation (The Girl in the Cafe)

2007: BAFTA Academy Fellowship
Facts
Richard's wife is Emma Freud, who acted as co-script editor on his Doctor Who script and whose cousin is Esther Freud, who appeared in Attack of the Cybermen in 1985. When he was in college Richard's then girlfriend (who later became Baroness Jenkin of Kennington) left him for Bernard Jenkin (who later became MP for Harwich and North Essex), so in many of his screenplays since, he has written about a "fairly unpleasant" character named Bernard. Richard, along with comedian Lenny Henry, was the brains behind the creation of the Comic Relief charity (Red Nose Day) in the UK. Richard also founded Make Poverty History and helped organise the Live8 music concert in 2005.

Jonny Campbell (director)
Doctor Who credits
Directed: The Vampires of Venice (2010), Vincent and the Doctor (2010)
Career highlights
Jonny debuted as director on New Voices: Two Minutes (1997), then The Bill (1999), Peak Practice (1999-2000), Glasgow Kiss (2000), Phoenix Nights (2001), Death in Holy Orders (2003), Dream Team (2003), Spooks (2004), Shameless (2004), Alien Autopsy (2006), Ashes to Ashes (2008), Eric and Ernie (2011), In the Flesh (2013), The Casual Vacancy (2015), Westworld (2016), The Last Post (2017), Informer (2018) and Dracula (2020).

Awards

2012: Broadcasting Press Guild Award for Best Single Drama (Eric and Ernie) - shared with Victoria Wood, Peter Bowker and Tim Bricknell

2012: Royal Television Society Award for Best Single Drama (Eric and Ernie) - shared with Victoria Wood, Peter Bowker and Tim Bricknell

2014: BAFTA TV Award for Best Mini-Series (In the Flesh) - shared with Ann Harrison-Baxter, Dominic Mitchell and Hilary Martin
Facts
Before Jonny became a director, he was a researcher on ITV's This Morning.

Tracie Simpson (producer) Click here for Tracie Simpson's entry on Planet of the Dead

Patrick Schweitzer (producer)
Doctor Who credits
Location manager: The Runaway Bride (2006)
Production manager: Smith and Jones, The Shakespeare Code, Daleks in Manhattan/ Evolution of the Daleks, 42, Utopia (2007)
Line producer: Series 5 (2010)
Produced: The Vampires of Venice (2010), Vincent and the Doctor (2010)
Career highlights
Patrick's career stems right back to acting as location manager on Oliver's Travel's in 1995, as well as Streetlife (1995), Tiger Bay (1997), The Theory of Flight (1998), Daylight Robbery (1999), The Mrs Bradley Mysteries (1998/2000), Silent Witness (2002), Spooks (2003), Hustle (2004), Blackpool (2004), The Virgin Queen (2005), The Line of Beauty (2006) and Primeval (2007). He later became line producer on Spooks: Code 9 (2008), Ashes to Ashes (2009), The Hour (2011), Call the Midwife (2012), and full producer on Whitechapel (2013), The Interceptor (2015), SS-GB (2017) and Save Me (2018). He was executive producer on Bancroft (2020) and Grace (2021).

Brian Minchin (script editor) Born Aug 5 1978 Click here for Brian Minchin's entry on Voyage of the Damned

Emma Freud (script editor) Born Jan 25 1962
Career highlights
Emma started out as a TV presenter on Worldwise (1986), followed by The 6 O'Clock Show (1986), The Bottom Line (1988), The Media Show (1989-91) and Plunder (1990-91). She also dabbled in acting in series such as Drop the Dead Donkey (1991) and Twice Upon a Yesterday (1998), but has more recently become a TV and film script editor on productions such as Bernard and the Genie (1991), Four Weddings and a Funeral (1994), Bean (1997), Notting Hill (1999), Bridget Jones's Diary (2001), Love Actually (2003), The Vicar of Dibley (1994-2007) and About Time (2013).

Awards

2011: Officer of the order of the British Empire (OBE) for services to Comic Relief
Facts
Emma's husband is Vincent and the Doctor writer Richard Curtis. Emma's cousin is actress and writer Esther Freud (who appeared in Attack of the Cybermen), who is herself married to actor David Morrissey, who appeared in The Next Doctor; her uncle was the eminent painter Lucian Freud, her great-grandfather the psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud, her father the politician and writer Clement Freud, her cousin fashion designer Bella Freud, and her brother public relations guru Matthew Freud. The Freuds are an ever-expanding family of talent - Esther's uncle Lucian fathered 14 children with different women! In 1978, she worked as a backing singer for Mike Oldfield, touring Europe with Tubular Bells, and was a member of The Girls cabaret band between 1984-2004. She was also co-director and musical director of the Open Air Theatre Regent's Park between 1985-86, and has been a director of Red Nose Day since 2000. She was a co-producer with her husband of the 2005 Live8 concerts, and has written columns for publications as diverse as Tatler, Radio Times, the Mirror and the Telegraph.

The Hungry Earth/ Cold Blood

Restac looked remarkably similar
to Alaya. And they both looked
remarkably similar to Vastra.
Are the Silurians a clone race?

Two episodes (The Hungry Earth, Cold Blood)
First broadcast May 22 to 29 2010
Average audience for story: 6.99m (8.03m approx with iPlayer)

REGULAR CAST

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

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

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

GUEST CAST

Samuel Davies (Elliot) Born 1997
Career highlights
Samuel's other credits include Thunderpants (2002), Framed (2009), Tati's Hotel (2011), Casualty (2011/14), High Tide (2015) and Hidden (2021). More recently he has been credited as Samuel Morgan-Davies.
Facts
Samuel's father Huw is also an actor, having appeared in the Welsh soap Pobol y Cwm, while his mother is dance tutor Luan Davies. Together they run Swansea's Stagecoach theatre arts school. Here's Sam on Instagram.

Richard Hope (Malohkeh) 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.

Neve McIntosh (Alaya & Restac) 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.

Stephen Moore (Eldane) Dec 11 1937 to Oct 4 2019
Career highlights
Stephen made his credited debut as the voice of the Flute in 1959's A Midsummer Night's Dream, followed by roles in Outbreak of Murder (1962), The Valiant Varneys (1964), The Last Shot You Hear (1969), Woodstock (1973), Rock Follies (1976), The New Avengers (1976), The Book Tower (1979, as presenter), Bedroom Farce (1980), The Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy (1981, as the voice of Marvin the Paranoid Android, which he also played in the radio version), Solo (1981-82), The Last Place on Earth (1985), Clockwise (1986), Small World (1988), Under Suspicion (1991), Love Hurts (1992), Middlemarch (1994), Love on a Branch Line (1994), Just William (1994), Black Hearts in Battersea (1995-96), Brassed Off (1996), Harry Enfield and Chums (1997, as Kevin the Teenager's long-suffering dad), Truel (1999), The Boss (1997/2000), Fish (2000), The Queen's Nose (1995-2001), Dawson's Creek (2002), Starhunter (2003), The Royal (2009) and Holby City (2011). He also played George Mole in both The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole Aged 13¾ (1985) and The Growing Pains of Adrian Mole (1987). In 2000, he also tried his hand at directing for the soap Emmerdale.

Awards

1983: Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actor in a Revival (A Doll's House)
Facts
Stephen was married four times, including to the actresses Beth Morris and Celestine Randall. He is the father of actor Robyn Moore (best known as Shirley Benson in EastEnders) and video game voiceover artiste Charlotte Moore. His brother-in-law was fellow actor James Hazeldine (actor Sam Hazeldine is his nephew). Stephen's stepbrother is dance music producer and DJ Mark Moore, founder of 1980s/90s band S'Express.

Robert Pugh (Tony Mack) Born Oct 11 1950
Doctor Who credits
Played: Jonah in Torchwood: Adrift (2008)
Played: Tony Mack in The Hungry Earth/ Cold Blood (2010)
Career highlights
Debuted in Angels (1976), then Survivors (1977), Danger UXB (1979), SOS Titanic (1979), Horror Planet (1981), Nighthawks (1981), Giro City (1982), Terra Nova (1984), Brookside (1985), South of the Border (1988), TECX (1990), Telltale (1993), Priest (1994), The Englishman Who Went Up a Hill But Came Down a Mountain (1995), Bramwell (1996), The Tichborne Claimant (1998), French and Saunders (1999), Score (2001), Clocking Off (2002), Prime Suspect 6 (2003), Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World (2003), Kingdom of Heaven (2005), Kinky Boots (2005), The Virgin Queen (2006), Prime Suspect 7 (2006), Lark Rise to Candleford (2008), Robin Hood (2009), West is West (2010), Justice (2011), The Shadow Line (2011), Game of Thrones (2012-13), Atlantis (2014), Ordinary Lies (2015), Doctor Foster (2015), Mr Selfridge (2016), Vera (2017), Knightfall (2018), Vanity Fair (2018), The Tuckers (2020) and Strike (2020). He regularly played Andrew Ponting in Casualty (1986-87) and Father Matthew in The Lakes (1997-99). He has also written for the screen, including Better Days (1988), Ballroom (1988), We Are Seven (1989-91) and Reg (2016).

Alun Raglan (Mo) Born Nov 29 1971
Career highlights
Alun made his screen debut in the short Stung (1997), followed by roles in Don Quixote (2000), Gladiator (2000), At Home with the Braithwaites (2002), The Bill (2003), Merlin (2008), Belonging (2008-09), No Signal (2009), EastEnders (2010), New Tricks (2014), Wolfblood (2013-16), Casualty (2002/04/10/15), The Bastard Executioner (2015), Death in Paradise (2016), Barbarians Rising (2016), Holby City (2017), Baptiste (2019), The Worst Witch (2020) and Eight for Silver (2021).

Nia Roberts (Ambrose) Born Jul 5 1972
Career highlights
Nia debuted aged 12 in Jackanory: The Farm (1984), then took roles in I Fro Breuddwydion (1987), The Theory of Flight (1998), Lois (1999, for which she won a BAFTA Cymru Best Actress award), Score (2001), Dr Terrible's House of Horrible (2001), Snow Cake (2006), Y Pris (2007), Midsomer Murders (2008), Collision (2009), Third Star (2010), Patagonia (2010), The Facility (2012), Hinterland (2013), Bridgend (2015), Just Jim (2015), Under Milk Wood (2015), Rillington Place (2016), Keeping Faith (2017), Pili Pala (2019), The Crown (2019), Washington (2020), Bang (2017-20) and Hidden (2018-21).

Awards

2000: BAFTA Cymru Award for Best Actress (Lois)
Facts
Nia is married to director Marc Evans, known for films such as House of America (1997) and My Little Eye (2002).

Meera Syal (Dr Nasreen Chaudhry) Born Jun 27 1961
Career highlights
Meera made her acting debut in Majdhar (1983), followed by The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole Aged 13¾ (1985), To Have and To Hold (1986, credited with her real name of Feroza Syal), Sammy and Rosie Get Laid (1987), The Real McCoy (1991), Kinsey (1991-92), Absolutely Fabulous (1994), Degrees of Error (1995), Soldier Soldier (1995), Beautiful Thing (1996), Keeping Mum (1997-98), Fat Friends (2000), In Deep (2001), All About Me (2002), Life Isn't All Ha Ha Hee Hee (2005), Kingdom (2007), Jekyll (2007), Horrible Histories (2009), Holby City (2009), Beautiful People (2008-09), The Jury (2011), Silk (2014), Psychobitches (2014), Broadchurch (2015), The Brink (2015), Midsomer Murders (2016), The Musketeers (2016), Doctor Strange (2016), Paddington 2 (2017), Nativity Rocks! (2018), Spin (2021), Code 404 (2021), The Wheel of Time (2022), The Split (2018-22) and The Devil's Hour (2022). She is best known for her involvement in the sketch show Goodness Gracious Me (1998-2015) and The Kumars at No.42 (2001-06/2014), in which she played Sushil. Meera is also a screenwriter, having penned Black Silk (1985, as Feroza Syal), Tandoori Nights (1987), My Sister-Wife (1992), Bhaji on the Beach (1993), Mumbai Calling (2008) and Playback (2014). She also adapted her own book Life Isn't All Ha Ha Hee Hee for TV.

Awards

1997: Member of the order of the British Empire (MBE) for services to drama

2015: Commander of the order of the British Empire (CBE) for services to drama and literature
Facts
Meera, as well as being an actress and screenwriter, has had several books published, including Anita and Me (1996, adapted for TV in 2002 and on several school and university reading lists for English in the UK), Life Isn't All Ha Ha Hee Hee (1999, adapted for TV in 2005), and The House of Hidden Mothers (2015). She can be seen in her Kumars guise in the music video for Gareth Gates's Spirit in the Sky (2003), but in 1988 she had been a member of the girl band Saffron, which released a Bhangra version of Then He Kissed Me. Meera's second husband is fellow Kumars actor (and Doctor Who luminary) Sanjeev Bhaskar. Meera's parents eloped from New Delhi to the UK to be together, as one was Sikh and the other Hindu. She was a guest at the wedding of Prince Charles to Camilla Parker-Bowles in 2005. Her brother is Guardian journalist Ranjeev Sayal.

CREW

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

Ashley Way (director) Born Dec 16 1971
Doctor Who credits
Directed: Attack of the Graske (2005), all 13 TARDISodes (2006), Torchwood: Captain Jack Harkness (2007), Torchwood: End of Days (2007), Torchwood: Kiss Kiss Bang Bang (2008), Torchwood: Reset (2008), Torchwood: Something Borrowed (2008), Torchwood: Exit Wounds (2008), The Hungry Earth/ Cold Blood (2010), The Sarah Jane Adventures: Death of the Doctor (2010), The Sarah Jane Adventures: The Empty Planet (2010), The Sarah Jane Adventures: Sky (2011), The Sarah Jane Adventures: The Curse of Clyde Langer (2011)

Awards

2015: BAFTA Cymru Award for Best Fiction Director (Y Streic a fi)

2018: BAFTA Cymru Award for Best Television Drama (Bang) - shared with Catrin Lewis Defis, Roger Williams and Philip John
Career highlights
Ashley began as an assistant director on The Proposition (1996), followed by The Last Leprechaun (1998), The Meeksville Ghost (2001), The Sorcerer's Apprentice (2002), Pets (2002), Berserker: Hell's Warrior (2004) and Homeland (2015). His first directing job was on Filligoggin (2000), then Hoodlum and Son (2003), Calon Gaeth (2006), Belonging (2005-07), Personal Affairs (2009), Crash (2009), Merlin (2010-12), Casualty (2005-14), Frankie (2013), Stella (2014-16), Parch (2015), Ripper Street (2016), Ice (2016-18), Mars (2018) and White Lines (2020).

Peter Bennett (producer) Click here for Peter Bennett's entry on The Beast Below

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

Amy's Choice

The aliens with the funny tongues

One episode (Amy's Choice)
First broadcast May 15 2010
Average audience for story: 7.55m + 1.37m iPlayer = 8.92m

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

Audrey Ardington (Mrs Poggit) Jun 25 1937 to Jun 13 2019
Doctor Who credits
Played: The Abbess in The Sarah Jane Adventures: Eye of the Gorgon (2007)
Played: Mrs Poggit in Amy's Choice (2010)
Career highlights
Audrey's other work includes The Girl with Brains in Her Feet (1997), Doctors (2001), Finding Richard (2014) and Small Town Hero (2017).

Nick Hobbs (Mr Nainby) Click here for Nick Hobbs's entry on The Curse of Peladon

Toby Jones (Dream Lord) Born Sep 7 1966
Career highlights
Tony made his credited debut in Orlando (1992), then Naked (1993), Cadfael (1994), Les Miserables (1998), Cousin Bette (1998), Aristocrats (1999), Midsomer Murders (1999-2000), Victoria and Albert (2001), Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (2002, as the voice of Dobby the House Elf), Finding Neverland (2004), Mrs Henderson Presents (2005), Infamous (2006), The Mist (2007), St Trinian's (2007), Frost/ Nixon (2008), St Trinian's 2: The Legend of Fritton's Gold (2009), The Rite (2011), Captain America: The First Avenger (2011), Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (2011), The Hunger Games (2012), Titanic (2012), Snow White and the Huntsman (2012), Berberian Sound Studio (2012), The Hunger Games: Catching Fire (2013), Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014), Muppets Most Wanted (2014), Detectorists (2014-17), Agent Carter (2015), Wayward Pines (2015-16), Dad's Army (2016), Anthropoid (2016), The Secret Agent (2016), Sherlock (2017), Journey's End (2017), Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom (2018), Don't Forget the Driver (2019), First Cow (2019), Infinite (2021), Worzel Gummidge (2021) and A Boy Called Christmas (2021). He also voiced Dobby the House Elf in two Harry Potter films (2002 & 2010).

Awards

2002: Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role (The Play What I Wrote)

2012: British Independent Film Award for Best Actor (Berberian Sound Studio)

2013: Evening Standard British Film Award for Best Actor (Berberian Sound Studio)

2015: Broadcasting Press Guild Award for Best Actor (Marvellous & Detectorists)

2018: BAFTA TV Award for Best Male Performance in a Comedy Programme (Detectorists)

2021: Officer of the order of the British Empire (OBE) for services to drama
Facts
Toby - who is the son of veteran actor Freddie Jones - can be seen in the music video for Gomez's Whippin' Piccadilly (1998). His brother is director Rupert Jones. Toby went to school with all four members of the band Radiohead, as well as fellow actor Tom Hollander.

Joan Linder (Mrs Hamill) Born Oct 1933
Career highlights
Joan's earliest screen credit is The Makepeace Story (1955), followed by roles in The Bill (1986), Happy Feet (1991), Nelson's Column (1995), My Hero (2000), Lee Evans: So What Now? (2001), According to Bex (2005), Little Britain (2004-05), Psychoville (2011), Derek (2012), Pompidou (2015), Vicious (2015), Tracey Ullman's Show (2016-17) and The Moment Trap (2021).

CREW

Simon Nye (writer) Born Jul 29 1958
Career highlights
Simon is one of the UK's foremost television writers who came to prominence for creating the popular sitcom Men Behaving Badly (1992-98), which spawned its own American version 1996-97. Other writing work includes Frank Stubbs (1993), My Wonderful Life (1996, which he also produced), Is It Legal? (1995-98), The Last Salute (1998-99), How Do You Want Me? (1998-99), Beast (2000-01), The Savages (2001, which he also produced), Pollyanna (2003), Hardware (2003-04), Carrie and Barry (2004-05), My Family and Other Animals (2005), Reggie Perrin (2009-10), Just William (2010), In with the Flynns (2012), Tommy Cooper: Not Like That, Like This (2014), Down Dog (2014), The Durrells (2016-19), Urban Myths (2018-19), Finding Alice (2021) and The Larkins (2021). He also wrote a number of pantomimes written for television between 1998-2002.

Awards

1995: Writers' Guild of Great Britain Award for TV - Situation Comedy (Men Behaving Badly)

2017: British Screenwriters' Award for Best Comedy Writing on Television (The Durrells)
Facts
Simon started his career as a translator, publishing translations of books on Richard Wagner, Henri Matisse and Georges Braque. He continues to adapt translations, including Moliere's Don Juan and Dario Fo's Accidental Death of an Anarchist.

Catherine Morshead (director)
Doctor Who credits
Directed: Amy's Choice (2010), The Lodger (2010)
Career highlights
Catherine's earliest directing credit was on Science Fiction (1990), followed by Emmerdale Farm (1990), Haggard (1992), Heartbeat (1993-94), Dangerfield (1995), Playing the Field (1998), A Christmas Carol (2000), Cutting It (2002-04), Shameless (2006), Viva Blackpool (2006), Mutual Friends (2008), Ashes to Ashes (2008-09), Silk (2011), The Hour (2012), Downton Abbey (2013-14), Fungus the Bogeyman (2015), No Offence (2015-18), Four Weddings and a Funeral (2019), The One (2021), Pennyworth (2021) and Becoming Elizabeth (2022).

Awards

2016: Royal Television Society Award for Drama Series (No Offence) - shared with Paul Abbott, Martin Carr and Anna Ferguson

Tracie Simpson (producer) Click here for Tracie Simpson's entry on Planet of the Dead

Brian Minchin (script editor) Born Aug 5 1978 Click here for Brian Minchin's entry on Voyage of the Damned

The Vampires of Venice

Something fishy going on
 in Venice

One episode (The Vampires of Venice)
First broadcast May 8 2010
Average audience for story: 7.68m + 1.20m iPlayer = 8.88m

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

Alisha Bailey (Isabella) Born Apr 13 1987
Career highlights
Debuted in Doctors (2009), then Missing (2010), Dirk Gently (2010), The Decoy Bride (2011), I Give It a Year (2013), Lewis (2014), Chewing Gum (2017), Call the Midwife (2018), Save Me (2018-20) and I Am (2021).

Elizabeth Croft (Vampire girl) Born 1987
Career highlights
Debuted uncredited in The Other Boleyn Girl (2008), then Hustle (2009), The Wolfman (2010), PhoneShop (2011), Tezz (2012), Deadly Descent: The Abominable Snowman (2013), 50 Kisses (2014), Stones (2016) and Transformers: The Last Knight (2017). She also played Brandy Wiley in 23 episodes of I Shouldn't Be Alive (2010-12), and reprised her role as a Vampire girl for the 2010 BBC Doctor Who Prom.
Facts
Here's Elizabeth on Twitter.

Simon Gregor (Steward) Born Aug 24 1956
Career highlights
Simon made his earliest appearance on screen in Escape from Sobibor (1987), then Young Toscanini (1988), Love on a Branch Line (1994), Men Behaving Badly (1996), Bodywork (2001), Swallow (2001), Ultimate Force (2003), Mine All Mine (2004), Rome (2005), New Tricks (2010), Ripper Street (2013), Welcome to the Punch (2013), Da Vinci's Demons (2013), The Borgias (2013), Harry Price: Ghost Hunter (2015), Maigret (2017) and Pennyworth (2021).

Helen McCrory (Rosanna) Aug 17 1968 to Apr 16 2021 (breast cancer)
Career highlights
Helen debuted in Full Stretch (1993), then Interview with the Vampire (1994), Streetlife (1995), The Fragile Heart (1996), Dad Savage (1998), Anna Karenina (2000), North Square (2000), Charlotte Gray (2001), The Jury (2002), Dickens (2002), The Last King (2003), Casanova (2005), The Queen (2006), Life (2009), The Special Relationship (2010), Hugo (2011), Leaving (2012), Skyfall (2012), Inside No 9 (2014), The Woman in Black 2: Angel of Death (2014), To Appomattox (2015), Their Finest (2016), Fearless (2017), MotherFatherSon (2019), Quiz (2020), Roadkill (2020) and His Dark Materials (2019-20). She also played Narcissa Malfoy in the Harry Potter film franchise (2009-11), Polly Gray in 31 episodes of Peaky Blinders (2013-22) and Madame Kali in Penny Dreadful (2014-15).

Awards

1995: Royal Television Society Award for Best Actress (Streetlife)

1997: BAFTA Cymru Award for Best Actress (Streetlife)

2015: Critics' Circle Theatre Award for Best Actress (Medea)

2017: Officer of the order of the British Empire (OBE) for services to drama
Facts
Helen was married to fellow actor Damian Lewis, of Homeland fame.

Gabriela Montaraz (Vampire girl)
Career highlights
Mexican Gabriela's other credits include Tengo Todo (2008), Warrioress (2011), Desi Boyz (2011), Booked Out (2012), New Tricks (2013), London Irish (2013), 50 Kisses (2014), The Coroner (2015) and The Mallorca Files (2019). She reprised her role as a Vampire girl for the 2010 BBC Doctor Who Prom.

Lucian Msamati (Guido) Born Mar 5 1976
Career highlights
Debuted in The Knock (1997), then Ultimate Force (2005), Spooks (2006), The International (2009), The No 1 Ladies' Detective Agency (2008-09), Ashes to Ashes (2010), Death in Paradise (2013), Luther (2013), Game of Thrones (2012-14), Inspector George Gently (2015), Taboo (2017), Kiri (2018), Black Earth Rising (2018), His Dark Materials (2019), Gangs of London (2020), The Bike Thief (2020) and The Score (2021).

Awards

2019: Royal Television Society Award for Best Actor - Male (Kiri)
Facts
Lucian was raised in Zimbabwe by Tanzanian parents, and was a founder member and artistic director of Zimbabwe's Over the Edge theatre company. In 2015, Lucian became the first black actor ever to play the role of Iago in a Royal Shakespeare Company production of Othello.

Michael Percival (Inspector) Died Sep 2015
Career highlights
Debuted in Marat/ Sade (1967), then Mr Rose (1968), No Blade of Grass (1970), Funny Farm (1975), Strangers and Brothers (1984), Me and My Girl (1985), Clockwise (1986), The Living Daylights (1987), A Fish Called Wanda (1988), Covington Cross (1992), The Sculptress (1996), 101 Dalmatians (1996), Fierce Creatures (1997) and Doctors (2006). He also played Mr Mitchell in Grange Hill (1978-79) and Dexter in sitcom The Piglet Files (1990-92).
Facts
For many years, Australian Michael was the partner of actress Janet Fielding, who played the Doctor's companion Tegan in the 1980s.

Alex Price (Francesco) Born May 8 1985
Doctor Who credits
Played: Francesco in The Vampires of Venice (2010)
Narrated: Doctor Who Confidential (2010)
Career highlights
Alex made his screen debut in the 2006 short Internal, then appeared in Casualty (2008), Mouth to Mouth (2009), Being Human (2009), Merlin (2009), Lewis (2010), Going Postal (2010), Vera (2012), Storage 24 (2012), Southcliffe (2013), Penny Dreadful (2014-15), Beowulf: Return to the Shieldlands (2016), Doctor Thorne (2016) and Grace (2021). He also regularly plays Sid Carter in Father Brown (2013-22).
Facts
Here's Alex on Twitter.

Hannah Steele (Vampire girl)
Career highlights
After debuting in Doctors in 2010, Hannah went on to appear in Eric and Ernie (2011), The Other Child (2013), Wolf Hall (2015), The Night Manager (2015), Black Mirror (2016), Darkest Hour (2017) and A Christmas Number One (2021). She also reprised her role as a Vampire girl for the 2010 BBC Doctor Who Prom.
Facts
Here she is on Twitter.

Sonila Vjeshta (Vampire girl) Born Feb 11 1978
Career highlights
Albanian Sonila debuted in 2004's Charlie White, then Bodies (2005), Moses Jones (2009), Material Girl (2010) and Top Boy (2013). She reprised her role as a Vampire girl for the 2010 BBC Doctor Who Prom.

Gabriella Wilde (Vampire girl) Born Apr 8 1989
Career highlights
Gabriella made her credited debut in St Trinian's 2: The Legend of Fritton's Gold (2009), then The Three Musketeers (2011), Dark Horse (2012), Carrie (2013), Endless Love (2014), Squatters (2014) and Wonder Woman: 1984 (2020). She will be best recognised for playing Caroline Enys in 35 episodes of the series Poldark (2016-19).
Facts
Born Gabriella Zanna Vanessa Anstruther-Gough-Calthorpe, she is descended from the aristocratic Gough-Calthorpe family. Her mother, Vanessa Mary Teresa (Hubbard), is the ex-wife of socialite Sir Dai Llewellyn, 4th Baronet. Her father, businessman John Austen Anstruther-Gough-Calthorpe, is a former chairman of the Watermark Group, and the grandson of baronet Fitzroy Anstruther-Gough-Calthorpe. She is also a descendant of King Charles II. Gabriella has been a model for the likes of David Bailey, Burberry and John Swannell. She is married to Alan Pownall, lead singer of the band Pale (known for his solo work as Alan Power). Gabriella is known as "Bumpy" to her friends. Gabriella has socialite sisters too - Isabella married Sir Richard Branson's son Sam in 2013, while Cressida dated Prince Harry between 2012-14 (she was a guest at Harry and Meghan's wedding in 2018).

CREW

Toby Whithouse (writer) Born Jul 5 1970 Click here for Toby Whithouse's entry on School Reunion

Jonny Campbell (director)
Doctor Who credits
Directed: The Vampires of Venice (2010), Vincent and the Doctor (2010)
Career highlights
Jonny debuted as director on New Voices: Two Minutes (1997), then The Bill (1999), Peak Practice (1999-2000), Glasgow Kiss (2000), Phoenix Nights (2001), Death in Holy Orders (2003), Dream Team (2003), Spooks (2004), Shameless (2004), Alien Autopsy (2006), Ashes to Ashes (2008), Eric and Ernie (2011), In the Flesh (2013), The Casual Vacancy (2015), Westworld (2016), The Last Post (2017), Informer (2018) and Dracula (2020).

Awards

2012: Broadcasting Press Guild Award for Best Single Drama (Eric and Ernie) - shared with Victoria Wood, Peter Bowker and Tim Bricknell

2012: Royal Television Society Award for Best Single Drama (Eric and Ernie) - shared with Victoria Wood, Peter Bowker and Tim Bricknell

2014: BAFTA TV Award for Best Mini-Series (In the Flesh) - shared with Ann Harrison-Baxter, Dominic Mitchell and Hilary Martin
Facts
Before Jonny became a director, he was a researcher on ITV's This Morning.

Tracie Simpson (producer) Click here for Tracie Simpson's entry on Planet of the Dead

Patrick Schweitzer (producer)
Doctor Who credits
Location manager: The Runaway Bride (2006)
Production manager: Smith and Jones, The Shakespeare Code, Daleks in Manhattan/ Evolution of the Daleks, 42, Utopia (2007)
Line producer: Series 5 (2010)
Produced: The Vampires of Venice (2010), Vincent and the Doctor (2010)
Career highlights
Patrick's career stems right back to acting as location manager on Oliver's Travel's in 1995, as well as Streetlife (1995), Tiger Bay (1997), The Theory of Flight (1998), Daylight Robbery (1999), The Mrs Bradley Mysteries (1998/2000), Silent Witness (2002), Spooks (2003), Hustle (2004), Blackpool (2004), The Virgin Queen (2005), The Line of Beauty (2006) and Primeval (2007). He later became line producer on Spooks: Code 9 (2008), Ashes to Ashes (2009), The Hour (2011), Call the Midwife (2012), and full producer on Whitechapel (2013), The Interceptor (2015), SS-GB (2017) and Save Me (2018). He was executive producer on Bancroft (2020) and Grace (2021).

Brian Minchin (script editor) Born Aug 5 1978 Click here for Brian Minchin's entry on Voyage of the Damned