Death is the Only Answer

Einstein (Nickolas Grace) meets the
Doctor (Matt Smith)

One episode (Death is the Only Answer)
First broadcast Oct 1 2011 (as part of Doctor Who Confidential)
Average audience for story: unknown*

CAST

Matt Smith (The Doctor) Born Oct 28 1982
Doctor Who credits
Played: The Doctor in The Eleventh Hour, The Beast Below, Victory of the Daleks, The Time of Angels/ Flesh and Stone, The Vampires of Venice, Amy's Choice, The Hungry Earth/ Cold Blood, Vincent and the Doctor, The Lodger, The Pandorica Opens/ The Big Bang, The Sarah Jane Adventures: Death of the Doctor, A Christmas Carol, The Impossible Astronaut/ Day of the Moon, The Curse of the Black Spot, The Doctor's Wife, The Rebel Flesh/ The Almost People, A Good Man Goes to War, Let's Kill Hitler, Night Terrors, The Girl Who Waited, The God Complex, Closing Time, The Wedding of River Song, The Doctor, the Widow and the Wardrobe, Asylum of the Daleks, Dinosaurs on a Spaceship, A Town Called Mercy, 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, The Name of the Doctor, The Day of the Doctor, The Time of the Doctor (2010-13). Return appearance in Deep Breath (2014)
Matt also played the Doctor in Doctor Who: The Adventure Games (2010-11), various video games (2010-12), Space/ Time (2011), Night and the Doctor (2011), Good as Gold (2012), Pond Life (2012), An Adventure in Space and Time (2013) and various other cameo appearances and DVD extras between 2010-13.
Career highlights
Matt made his debut playing Jim Taylor opposite Billie Piper in The Ruby in the Smoke (2006), a role he reprised for 2007's The Shadow in the North. Other work includes Party Animals (2007), Secret Diary of a Call Girl (2007, again with Billie Piper), The Street (2007), In Bruges (2008, deleted scene), Moses Jones (2009), Womb (2010), Christopher and His Kind (2011), Bert and Dickie (2012), Lost River (2014), Terminator Genisys (2015), Patient Zero (2015) and Pride and Prejudice and Zombies (2016). He also directed an episode of Playhouse Presents called Cargese in 2013.
Facts
Matt was nominated for a BAFTA in 2011 for Best Actor for Doctor Who (he lost to Daniel Rigby, but was the first to be BAFTA-nominated for playing the Doctor). Matt was discovered by acting agent Wendy Padbury (who played companion Zoe in Doctor Who 1968-69)). In May 2012 Matt carried the Olympic Torch through Cardiff, an honour the Tenth Doctor has in the TV episode Fear Her (2006). Matt's sister Laura Jayne was a dancer in the music video for Eric Prydz's 2004 song Call On Me.

Nickolas Grace (Albert Einstein) Born Nov 21 1947
Career highlights
Nickolas debuted in Kate (1971), then The Fenn Street Gang (1971), The Love School (1975), Survivors (1975), The Pink Medicine Show (1978), The Professionals (1980), Brideshead Revisited (1981), Lace (1984), Max Headroom (1985), CATS Eyes (1986), Salome's Last Dance (1988), Dream Demon (1988), Hands of a Murderer (1990), The Green Man (1990), Absolutely Fabulous (1992), Tom and Viv (1994), Space Precinct (1994), Bugs (1995), The Final Cut (1995), Evita (1996), Shooting Fish (1997), Daniel Deronda (2002), Casanova (2005), Confetti (2006), Affinity (2008), Tales of Albion (2014) and Holy Smoke (2014). He also had recurring roles in Birds of a Feather as Dorien's husband Marcus (1989/93/97) and My Family as Mr Casey (2001/08/10), but will be best remembered as the Sheriff of Nottingham in Robin of Sherwood (1984-86).
Facts
Nickolas was nominated for a Best Actor BAFTA for his part in Brideshead Revisited in 1982. He also directs for the stage and teaches acting at the Central School of Speech and Drama. In a 2007 biography of the late actor Alan Bates, Nickolas talks about his "intense affair" with Bates.

Paul Kasey (Ood) Born Aug 5 1973
Doctor Who credits
Played: Auton in Rose (2005)
Played: Coffa (Forest of Cheem) in The End of the World (2005, uncredited)
Played: Slitheen in Aliens of London/ World War Three (2005), The Sarah Jane Adventures: Revenge of the Slitheen (2007), The Sarah Jane Adventures: The Lost Boy (2007), The Sarah Jane Adventures: The Gift (2009), The Sarah Jane Adventures: The Nightmare Man (2010)
Played: Zu-Zana in Bad Wolf (2005)
Played: Clockwork man in The Girl in the Fireplace (2006)
Played: Cyber-Leader in Rise of the Cybermen/ The Age of Steel (2006), Army of Ghosts/ Doomsday (2006), The Next Doctor (2008)
Played: Ood in The Impossible Planet/ The Satan Pit (2006), Death is the Only Answer (2011)
Played: The Hoix in Love & Monsters (2006), Torchwood: Exit Wounds (2008, uncredited)
Played: Weevil in Torchwood: Everything Changes, Torchwood: Day One (uncredited), Torchwood: Greeks Bearing Gifts, Torchwood: Combat, Torchwood: End of Days, Torchwood: Sleeper, Torchwood: Adam, Torchwood: Reset (uncredited), Torchwood: Dead Man Walking, Torchwood: A Day in the Death (uncredited), Torchwood: Fragments, Torchwood: Exit Wounds (2006-08)
Played: Blowfish in Torchwood: Kiss Kiss Bang Bang (2008), Torchwood: Fragments (2008)
Played: Robot Santa in The Runaway Bride (2006)
Played: Judoon in Smith and Jones (2007), The Stolen Earth (2008), The Pandorica Opens (2010), The Sarah Jane Adventures: Prisoner of the Judoon (2009)
Played: Hero pig man in Daleks in Manhattan/ Evolution of the Daleks (2007)
Played: Kudlak in The Sarah Jane Adventures: Warriors of Kudlak (2007)
Played: The Host in Voyage of the Damned (2007)
Played: Ood Sigma in Planet of the Ood (2008), The Waters of Mars (2009), The End of Time (2009-10)
Played: Hath Peck in The Doctor's Daughter (2008)
Played: Sorvin in Planet of the Dead (2009)
Played: Highwayman in The Sarah Jane Adventures: Mona Lisa's Revenge (2009)
Played: Shansheeth in The Sarah Jane Adventurers: Death of the Doctor (2010)
Played: Red robot in The Sarah Jane Adventures: The Empty Planet (2010)
Played: Nephew in The Doctor's Wife (2011)
Played: Cyberman in Closing Time (2011)
Played: The Metalkind in The Sarah Jane Adventures: Sky (2011)
Played: Wooden Queen in The Doctor, the Widow and the Wardrobe (2011)
Played: Time zombie in Journey to the Center of the TARDIS (2013)
Played: Whisper Man in The Name of the Doctor (2013)
Played: Zygon in The Day of the Doctor (2013)
Played: Footman in Deep Breath (2014)
Career highlights
Paul's earliest role was in Blade II (2002), followed by 28 Days Later (2002, on which he was also movement advisor), 1408 (2007), Inkheart (2008) and Scoop (2009). He also played the George in werewolf form in Being Human (2009-12), and has performed as various monsters at the BBC Proms and Symphonic Spectacular events. He has also donned costumes for TV commercials such as Foxy Bingo and Butlins and was a performer and movement advisor for London's 2012 Olympics opening ceremony.

CREW

The Children of Oakley Junior School (writers) Born c.2001
Four children who were aged between nine and 11 and attended Oakley Junior School, Oakley, Basingstoke, Hampshire in April 2011 were the collective writers of this mini episode which was broadcast during the final ever Doctor Who Confidential, When Time Froze. The episode came about through a competition promoted by Doctor Who Confidential and BBC Learning and the process of making it was followed throughout the 2011 series of Doctor Who Confidential in the Script to Screen strand. The winning children were Adam Shephard, Ben Weston, Daniel Heaton and Katie Hossick, students of Year 6 teacher Kevin Downing.

Jeremy Webb (director)
Doctor Who credits
Directed: The Curse of the Black Spot (2011), The Wedding of River Song (2011), Death is the Only Answer (2011)
Career highlights
Jeremy's directorial debut came on the short film Family Ties (1997), after which he helmed Grange Hill (2000), Ultimate Force (2003), Casualty (2002-04), All About George (2005), True Dare Kiss (2007), Merlin (2008-11), Downton Abbey (2012), Atlantis (2013), The Red Road (2015), Masters of Sex (2014-16), Elementary (2016), Fear the Walking Dead (2017), Legion (2018), The Punisher (2017/19), Treadstone (2019), Locke & Key (2020), Altered Carbon (2020), Shadow and Bone (2021), The Umbrella Academy (2019-22, which he also executive produced) and The Last of Us (2023).
Facts
Here's Jeremy on Twitter.

* If you know the final BARB rating for the Doctor Who Confidential episode When Time Froze, please get in touch!

The Wedding of River Song

The Doctor (Matt Smith) faces off
 with the Silence

One episode (The Wedding of River Song)
First broadcast Oct 1 2011
Average audience for story: 7.67m + 1.30m iPlayer = 8.97m

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 Barber (Madame Kovarian) Born May 13 1958
Doctor Who credits
Played: Eye Patch Lady/ Madame Kovarian in Day of the Moon, The Curse of the Black Spot (uncredited), The Rebel Flesh/ The Almost People, A Good Man Goes to War, Closing Time, The Wedding of River Song (all 2011)
Career highlights
Frances debuted in the 1978 short Wings of Ash, then found work in The Missionary (1982), Reilly: Ace of Spies (1983), A Zed & Two Noughts (1985), Castaway (1986), Prick Up Your Ears (1987), Behaving Badly (1989), Red Dwarf (1989), Inspector Morse (1992), Chef! (1994), Space Precinct (1995), Rhodes (1996), Real Women (1998-99), Shiner (2000), Gimme Gimme Gimme (2001), Manchild (2002), Having It Off (2002), My Family (2003), According to Bex (2005), Funland (2005), Hustle (2007), Casualty (2008), The Fattest Man in Britain (2009), Pete Versus Life (2011), Great Expectations (2011), The Spa (2013), Silk (2012-14), Psychobitches (2013-14), Mr Holmes (2015), Benidorm (2016), Vicious (2016), Medici (2016), Film Stars Don't Die in Liverpool (2017), The Rebel (2017), Blue Iguana (2018), The Queen and I (2018), Trick or Treat (2019), Cold Feet (2020), Whitstable Pearl (2021), The Mezzotint (2021) and Dodger (2022).
Facts
When Frances studied drama at Bangor University she was dating fellow alumni, director Danny Boyle. She has often worked with the Pet Shop Boys - she appeared in their 2001 musical Closer to Heaven, sang live at one of their concerts in 2006 (the song Friendly Fire) and starred in their 2019 musical Musik. One of her closest friends is actor Ian McKellen, and he funded a library in her name in India. Here she is on Twitter.

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.

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

Marnix van den Broeke (The Silence) Born Feb 24 1976
Doctor Who credits
Played: The Silence in The Impossible Astronaut/ Day of the Moon (2011) and its prelude, The Wedding of River Song (2011)
Career highlights
Dutchman Marnix, who is 6ft 7in tall, debuted as the werewolf in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004), then went on to play Death in Terry Pratchett's Hogfather (2006) and The Color of Magic (2008), and also played The Shadow in Inkheart (2008) and Mr Pump in Pratchett's Going Postal (2010).
Facts
Marnix trained as a ballet dancer and also provides life coaching using cognitive therapy and neuro-linguistic programming.

Sean Buckley (Barman) Died Feb 21 2016 (pneumonia)
Career highlights
Sean debuted in The Fifth Element (1997), then Absolute Power (2003), My Hero (2006), Hereafter (2010), Les Miserables (2012), Game of Thrones (2013), Inside No 9 (2014), Wolf Hall (2015), Detectorists (2015) and Peaky Blinders (2016).

Katharine Burford (Nurse) Born 1977
Career highlights
Further work includes The Bill (2003), Kingdom (2007), Glorious 39 (2009) and Vexed (2010).

Simon Callow (Charles Dickens) Born Jun 15 1949
Doctor Who credits
Played: Charles Dickens in The Unquiet Dead (2005), The Wedding of River Song (2011)
Played: Voice of Tree Blathereen in The Sarah Jane Adventures: The Gift (2009)
Career highlights
Prolific stage and screen actor Simon made his debut in an episode of the Carry On Laughing! TV series in 1975, but while his scenes were cut out, his name remained on the credits at the end. His first proper appearance was in Get Some In! (1975), followed by Victorian Scandals (1976), Instant Enlightenment Including VAT (1980), The Dybbuk (1980), Amadeus (1984), Scarecrow and Mrs King (1984), The Good Father (1985), Dead Head (1986), David Copperfield (1986), Maurice (1987), Postcards from the Edge (1990), Soft Top Hard Shoulder (1993), Four Weddings and a Funeral (1994), Little Napoleons (1994), Street Fighter (1994), Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls (1995), England, My England (1995), The Woman in White (1997), Shakespeare in Love (1998), Thunderpants (2002), Bright Young Things (2003), Angels in America (2003), The Phantom of the Opera (2004), Rome (2005), Chemical Wedding (2008), Lewis (2009), Ice (2011), Love's Kitchen (2011), This is Jinsy (2011), Plebs (2014), Outlander (2015-16), Golden Years (2016), Hampstead (2017), Victoria and Abdul (2017), The Man Who Invented Christmas (2017), The Rebel (2016-17), Death in Paradise (2018), A Christmas Carol (2018), The Dead Room (2018) and The Hollow (2020). He may also be remembered for playing Tom Chance in sitcom Chance in a Million (1984-86). Simon also appeared as a critic in the reality series Popstar to Operastar in 2011.

Awards

1992: Olivier Award for Best Director of a Musical (Carmen Jones)

1999: Commander of the order of the British Empire (CBE) for services to drama

Facts
Simon is something of an authority on Charles Dickens, having played him numerous times on stage and screen, and has written books on the author too. He has also written books on Charles Laughton, Oscar Wilde, William Shakespeare, Richard Wagner and Orson Welles, and the art of acting. Here's his Twitter feed.

Emma Campbell-Jones (Dr Kent) Born 1975
Doctor Who credits
Played: Dr Kent in The Wedding of River Song (2011)
Played: Cass in The Night of the Doctor (2013)
Career highlights
Emma debuted in Casualty (2005), then Sea of Souls (2006), Dream Team 80s (2006), Taggart (2010), A Touch of Cloth (2012), Hollyoaks (2012), Jo (2013), The Tunnel (2013), Law and Order UK (2014), 6 Days (2016), Outlander (2017), The Lodge (2016-17), Treadstone (2019) and Miss Scarlet and the Duke (2022).
Facts
Emma's father is former Formula 1 racing driver John Campbell-Jones, who took part in various Grand Prix in 1962-63. She is also related to British actors Diana Churchill and Mervyn Johns. Emma is a good friend of Seventh Doctor actor Sylvester McCoy, who took her as his guest to the BFI 3D screening of The Day of the Doctor in 2013. Here she is on Twitter.
In 2016 Toby Hadoke released his Who's Round interview with Emma here.

Richard Dillane (Carter) Born 1964
Doctor Who credits
Played: Carter in Let's Kill Hitler (2011), The Wedding of River Song (2011)
Career highlights
Richard's break came with the role of Sergeant Brad Connor in Soldier Soldier (1995), followed by work in Men Behaving Badly (1997), The Grand (1998), Big Women (1998), Seeing Red (2000), Cold Feet (2000), Red Cap (2003), Spartacus (2004), De-Lovely (2004), The Jacket (2005), Space Race (2005), Lewis (2007), Rome (2007), Spooks (2007), The Edge of Love (2008), The Dark Knight (2008), Oranges and Sunshine (2010), The Dinosaur Project (2012), Argo (2012), Atlantis (2013), Wolf Hall (2015), Endeavour (2016), Peaky Blinders (2016), Against the Law (2017), The White Princess (2017), The Last Post (2017), Outlander (2017), West of Liberty (2019), Twice Upon a Time (2019), The Last Kingdom (2020), Young Wallander (2020), Call the Midwife (2021) and Father Brown (2022). He also had the regular role of Sean Anderson in Casualty (2008-10).
Facts
Richard has also worked as a white water rafting guide in Tasmania. He is married to actress Jayne McKenna, while his brother is actor Stephen Dillane (Game of Thrones) and his nephew is actor Frank Dillane (Fear the Walking Dead).

Niall Greig Fulton (Gideon Vandaleur) Born Sep 14 1970
Career highlights
6ft 3in Niall's earliest screen credit was on 3 (1995), followed by The Acid House (1998), Stacey Stone (2001), The Real Amityville Horror (2005), The Outsiders (2006), Holby City (2007), Dark Nature (2009), Case Histories (2011), Cloud Atlas (2012), Borgia (2013), Vera (2015), Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell (2015), Sunset Song (2015), The Five (2016), Outlander (2016), Moon Dogs (2016), Good Omens (2019) and Synced (2021).
Facts
Niall also works as a senior programmer for the Edinburgh International Film Festival, curating and presenting retrospectives on the likes of lost and forgotten British cinema of the 1960s and 70s, as well as Shirley Clarke and Peter McDougall.

Rondo Haxton (aka Mark Gatiss) (Gantok) Born Oct 17 1966 Click here for Mark Gatiss's entry on The Unquiet Dead

Richard Hope (Dr Malokeh) 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.

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

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.

Bill Turnbull (Bill Turnbull) Jan 25 1956 to Aug 31 2022 (prostate cancer)
Career highlights
Bill worked as a prominent newsreader and reporter for the BBC, starting his journalistic career on radio in 1978 before working freelance in the US for a few years. He joined the BBC Radio 4 Today programme in 1986, then moved to Breakfast Time in 1988 before becoming a reporter for BBC News in 1990, serving as the Washington correspondent for four years, reporting on the Monica Lewinsky scandal and the OJ Simpson trial. In 1997 he returned to the UK to work for BBC News 24, moving to BBC Breakfast in 2001, where he stayed until 2016. In 2005, he was a contestant on Strictly Come Dancing, finishing sixth, and in 2012 appeared in the music video for Professor Green's Remedy.

Meredith Vieira (Newsreader) Born Dec 30 1953
Career highlights
Meredith is one of the USA's foremost journalists and presenters, starting her broadcasting career on Massachusetts radio in 1975, moving into television news reporting and anchoring in Providence and New York between 1979-82. She then moved to become a reporter with CBS between 1982-84 before hosting magazine shows West 57th (1985-89) and 60 Minutes (1989-91), and CBS Morning News (1992-93). Meredith then moved to ABC, working on Turning Point (1994-99), Intimate Portrait (1995-2004) and The View (1997-2006). Between 2002-13 Meredith hosted Who Wants To Be a Millionaire USA, and co-hosted NBC Today between 2006-11, while in 2013 she got her own chat show on NBC. She has also made appearances on TV shows such as Desperate Housewives (2007) and 30 Rock (2007-10), and has performed voice work for Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa (2008) and Shrek Forever After (2010).
Facts
Meredith is married to American TV journalist Richard M Cohen, while their son Gabe is a reporter for TV news in Washington. Here she is on Twitter.

Sian Williams (Sian Williams) Born Nov 28 1964
Career highlights
Sian is one of the BBC's foremost journalists and presenters who joined BBC Radio in 1985, then BBC News 24 as an output editor in 1997. During screen tests for potential newsreaders, one applicant dropped out and Sian stood in, securing a job as a rolling news presenter for two years. She then moved to be special correspondent on the Six O'Clock News in 1999, and presented the bulletin in 2001-02. Sian joined the BBC Breakfast programme in 2001, staying until 2012, after which she worked for BBC Radio and various news programmes, and also hosted Sunday Morning Live on BBC1.
Facts
You can find Sian online and on Twitter.

CREW

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

Jeremy Webb (director)
Doctor Who credits
Directed: The Curse of the Black Spot (2011), The Wedding of River Song (2011), Death is the Only Answer (2011)
Career highlights
Jeremy's directorial debut came on the short film Family Ties (1997), after which he helmed Grange Hill (2000), Ultimate Force (2003), Casualty (2002-04), All About George (2005), True Dare Kiss (2007), Merlin (2008-11), Downton Abbey (2012), Atlantis (2013), The Red Road (2015), Masters of Sex (2014-16), Elementary (2016), Fear the Walking Dead (2017), Legion (2018), The Punisher (2017/19), Treadstone (2019), Locke & Key (2020), Altered Carbon (2020), Shadow and Bone (2021), The Umbrella Academy (2019-22, which he also executive produced) and The Last of Us (2023).
Facts
Here's Jeremy on Twitter.

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

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

Closing Time

Craig (James Cordern) hands
Stormageddon over to trusty
Val (Lynda Baron)

One episode (Closing Time)
First broadcast Sep 24 2011
Average audience for story: 6.93m + 1.14m iPlayer = 8.07m

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 Barber (Madame Kovarian) Born May 13 1958
Doctor Who credits
Played: Eye Patch Lady/ Madame Kovarian in Day of the Moon, The Curse of the Black Spot (uncredited), The Rebel Flesh/ The Almost People, A Good Man Goes to War, Closing Time, The Wedding of River Song (all 2011)
Career highlights
Frances debuted in the 1978 short Wings of Ash, then found work in The Missionary (1982), Reilly: Ace of Spies (1983), A Zed & Two Noughts (1985), Castaway (1986), Prick Up Your Ears (1987), Behaving Badly (1989), Red Dwarf (1989), Inspector Morse (1992), Chef! (1994), Space Precinct (1995), Rhodes (1996), Real Women (1998-99), Shiner (2000), Gimme Gimme Gimme (2001), Manchild (2002), Having It Off (2002), My Family (2003), According to Bex (2005), Funland (2005), Hustle (2007), Casualty (2008), The Fattest Man in Britain (2009), Pete Versus Life (2011), Great Expectations (2011), The Spa (2013), Silk (2012-14), Psychobitches (2013-14), Mr Holmes (2015), Benidorm (2016), Vicious (2016), Medici (2016), Film Stars Don't Die in Liverpool (2017), The Rebel (2017), Blue Iguana (2018), The Queen and I (2018), Trick or Treat (2019), Cold Feet (2020), Whitstable Pearl (2021), The Mezzotint (2021) and Dodger (2022).
Facts
When Frances studied drama at Bangor University she was dating fellow alumni, director Danny Boyle. She has often worked with the Pet Shop Boys - she appeared in their 2001 musical Closer to Heaven, sang live at one of their concerts in 2006 (the song Friendly Fire) and starred in their 2019 musical Musik. One of her closest friends is actor Ian McKellen, and he funded a library in her name in India. Here she is on Twitter.

Lynda Baron (Val) Mar 24 1939 to Mar 5 2022
Doctor Who credits
Sang: The Ballad of the Last Chance Saloon (soundtrack) in The Gunfighters (1966, uncredited)
Played: Captain Wrack in Enlightenment (1983)
Played: Val in Closing Time (2011)
Career highlights
Lynda debuted in Living for Pleasure (1958), and was then cast in The Rag Trade (1962), Hide and Seek (1964), Scott On... (1964), Mrs Brown, You've Got a Lovely Daughter (1968), The Kenneth Williams Show (1970), Universal Soldier (1971), Hands of the Ripper (1971), A Roof Over My Head (1977), Oh No, It's Selwyn Froggitt (1977), Crossroads (1978), Grundy (1980), Yentl (1983), Last of the Summer Wine (1983), KYTV (1990), Plaza Patrol (1991), Carry On Columbus (1992), The Upper Hand (1992-93), Coronation Street (1997), Dinnerladies (1998), Sunburn (1999), Peak Practice (2001), Down to Earth (2005), Rome (2005), EastEnders (2006-16), The Road to Coronation Street (2010), Love Matters (2013), Chasing Shadows (2014), Citizen Khan (2016), Father Brown (2017) and Dream Horse (2020). Lynda's most memorable roles are as Nurse Gladys Emmanuel in sitcom Open All Hours (1976-85) and spin-off Still Open All Hours (2013-16), Auntie Mabel in the children's series Come Outside (1993-97), Norma Patterson in Fat Friends (2002-05) and Linda Clarke in soap EastEnders (2006-09/16). Lynda also appeared as herself on Juke Box Jury (1965), BBC3 (1965-66), Blankety Blank (1983-90) and Countdown (2008).
Facts
Lynda started out as a singer and dancer, being a resident singer on satirical sketch show Not So Much a Programme, More a Way of Life in 1965. She carried on singing: here she is rehearsing A Hard Man is Good to Find in 2011.

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

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.

Seroca Davis (Shona)
Career highlights
Debuted in Comin' Atcha! (1999-2000), followed by The Bill (2003/06), Prime Suspect 7 (2006), Horne and Cordern (2009), That Mitchell and Webb Look (2009), Second Coming (2014), Casualty (2019) and Call the Midwife (2021).

Holli Dempsey (Kelly) Born May 11 1990
Career highlights
Holli made her screen acting debut in The Bill (2010), after which she appeared in Tracy Beaker Returns (2011), Doctors (2011), Whitechapel (2012), Wizards vs Aliens (2012), Ice Cream Girls (2013), Breathless (2013), New Worlds (2014), You, Me and the Apocalypse (2015), Call the Midwife (2015), The Delivery Man (2015), Dad's Army (2016), The Aliens (2016), Black Mirror (2016), Songbird (2018), Endeavour (2020), The Alienist (2020), Ghosts (2020) and The Emily Atack Show (2020-21). She also regularly played Vicky in the Ricky Gervais sitcom Derek (2013-14) and Emily Lacey in Harlots (2017-19).
Facts
Here's Holli on Twitter.

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.

Paul Kasey (Cyberman) 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

Christopher Obi (George) Born Sep 24 1970
Career highlights
Debuted in Trial and Retribution (2002), then Anita and Me (2002), Doctors (2003/04), The Calcium Kid (2004), Animal (2005), Burke and Hare (2010), Snow White and the Huntsman (2012), The Counselor (2013), Atlantis (2013), Roots (2016), Ghost in the Shell (2017), American Gods (2017), Star Trek: Discovery (2017), Strike Back (2019) and 3Below: Tales of Arcadia (2018-19). He also wrote and directed the short film Perfect in 2009.

CREW

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

Steve Hughes (director)
Doctor Who credits
Directed: Let's Kill Hitler prelude (2011), Closing Time (2011)
Career highlights
Steve started out as an editor on programmes such as Big Brother and Liquid News in 2000, followed by stints on Stressed Eric (2000), In the Know (2004), Comic Relief Does Fame Academy (2007), Deadline (2007) and Hanrahan Investigates (2007). His first directing work came on Doctors in 2005, which he worked on for five more years, followed by 2006's Dream Team, Holby City (2010), Land Girls (2009-11), Leonardo (2012), Waterloo Road (2012/15), The Evermoor Chronicles (2016), Suspects (2016), Wolfblood (2017), Creeped Out (2017-18), The Athena (2018-19), Casualty (2012-21), The Last Bus (2022) and Miss Scarlet and the Duke (2022). He has also worked as a second unit director on Frankie (2013) and From Darkness (2015). While working on Liquid News, Steve also appeared as the Movie Goblin between 2000-01.
Facts
Steve is on Twitter and has his own website.

Denise Paul (producer)
Doctor Who credits
Associate producer: The Impossible Astronaut/ Day of the Moon, The Curse of the Black Spot, The Rebel Flesh/ The Almost People, A Good Man Goes to War, Let's Kill Hitler, The Girl Who Waited, The God Complex, The Wedding of River Song, The Doctor, the Widow and the Wardrobe, Dinosaurs on a Spaceship (2011-12)

Script producer: Asylum of the Daleks, A Town Called Mercy, The Power of Three, The Angels Take Manhattan, The Snowmen, Cold War, Hide, Journey to the Centre of the TARDIS, The Crimson Horror (2012-13)
Produced: Closing Time, Pond Life, The Making of the Gunslinger, The Bells of Saint John, The Rings of Akhaten, Nightmare in Silver, The Name of the Doctor, The Night of the Doctor, The Last Day (2011-13). Denise also produced the 2013 Doctor Who at the Proms.
Career highlights
Denise started as a script editor on Taggart (2005-10) and Rebus (2006-07), and after leaving Doctor Who she became producer on the TV movie Harry Price: Ghost Hunter (2015), and a development producer on Luther (2019) and Shetland (2018-19).

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

The God Complex

Anyone got a gottle of geer?

One episode (The God Complex)
First broadcast Sep 17 2011
Average audience for story: 6.77m + 1.08m iPlayer = 7.84m

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

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.

Dafydd Emyr (PE teacher)
Doctor Who credits
Played: Suited agent in Army of Ghosts TARDISode (2006)
Played: PE teacher in The God Complex (2011)
Career highlights
Debuted in Becca (1988), then Old Scores (1991), Friday on My Mind (1992), Gogs (1995-96), The Famous Five (1997), EastEnders: Dot's Story (2003), Carrie's War (2004), Young Dracula (2006), The Machine (2013), Da Vinci's Demons (2015), The Windsors (2017) and Hidden (2021).

Roger Ennals (Gorilla) Born 1958
Career highlights
Roger made his debut as a Wheeler in Return to Oz (1985), then found work in Bergerac (1988), Rumpole of the Bailey (1992), The Butterfly Effect (1995), Gulliver's Travels (1996), Beyond Fear (1997), Silent Witness (2002), Hardware (2004) and Cranford (2007).

Amara Karan (Rita) Born Jun 1 1984
Career highlights
Debuted in The Bill (2007), then The Darjeeling Limited (2007, also as "Rita"), St Trinian's (2007), The Task (2011), Kidnap and Ransom (2011-12), A Fantastic Fear of Everything (2012), Ambassadors (2013), Goodness Gracious Me (2014), The Night Of (2016), Bancroft (2017), The Twilight Zone (2019), Midsomer Murders (2021), Hope Street (2021-22) and Moonhaven (2022). She also played DI Suri Chohan in 26 episodes of Lucky Man (2016-18).
Facts
After graduating from Oxford University, where she studied politics, philosophy and economics, Amara spent two years in the City of London as an investment banker for Hawkpoint and CIBC, before branching into acting. Amara was also an Olympic Torch bearer on its journey through London in 2008.

Rashid Karapiet (Rita's father) Aug 8 1928 to Mar 26 2013
Career highlights
Indian Rashid made his credited acting debut in a 1959 episode of Emergency Ward 10, followed by The Roving Reasons (1960), Auf Wiedersehen, Pet (1983), The Jewel in the Crown (1984), Minder (1984), A Passage to India (1984), Albion Market (1985), Tandoori Nights (1985/87), High Street Blues (1989), Kinsey (1991), Pie in the Sky (1994), Mrs Merton and Malcolm (1999), Cutting It (2003), Hustle (2004), The Kumars at Number 42 (2005), Family Affairs (2005), New Tricks (2008), Eternal Law (2012) and Quartet (2012).
Facts
Rashid (born Reginald Anthony Carrapiett) presented on English language radio in India and Pakistan in the 1940s and 50s before moving to the UK to study acting in 1956. He was also a singer, writer and teacher during his long career.

Dimitri Leonidas (Howie Spragg) Born Nov 14 1987
Career highlights
Dimitri made his debut, credited as Shane Leonidas, playing Josh Irvine in 59 episodes of Grange Hill between 2001-04. Further work includes Holby City (2007), Tormented (2009), Centurion (2010), Hustle (2011), Sinbad (2012), The Monuments Men (2014), Killing Jesus (2015), Renegades (2017), Kill Ben Lyk (2018), The One (2021) and Foundation (2021). He also played Christos Clios in 21 episodes of Riviera (2017-20).
Facts
Dimitri's sisters are actors too - Stephanie is best known as Irisa in sci-fi show Defiance, while Georgina found recognition as Katie Bell in the Harry Potter films.

Daniel Pirrie (Joe Buchanan)
Career highlights
Debuted in Murder Prevention (2004), then Jane Eyre (2006), Hollyoaks (2011), The Awakening (2011), Downton Abbey (2011), Falcon (2012), Diana (2013), Cilla (2014), Christmas Eve (2015), X Company (2016) and The Selection (2022).
Facts
Here's Daniel on Twitter.

Sarah Quintrell (Lucy Hayward) Born 1979
Career highlights
Sarah debuted as Sinead in the series Carrie and Barry (2004-05), then Lewis (2007), three episodes of Doctors (2007/10/14), Call the Midwife (2016), Rillington Place (2016) and Charlotte Link - Die letzte Spur (2017). Sarah has also written for TV, including the TV movie Ellen (2016, for which she was nominated for a BAFTA), the documentary series The Trial: A Murder in the Family (2017), His Dark Materials (2020) and The Power (2022).

Awards

2017: Writers' Guild of Great Britain Award for Best Short Form TV Drama (Ellen)

David Walliams (Gibbis) Born Aug 20 1971
Career highlights
David's acting career, principally in comedy, stems from voicing Sam the Lift on Incredible Games (1994), followed by Games World (1994), Mash and Peas (1996), Shooting Stars (1996), It's Ulrika! (1997), Barking (1998), Plunkett and Macleane (1999), Sir Bernard's Stately Homes (1999), Spaced (1999), The Strangerers (2000), Fun at the Funeral Parlour (2001), Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased) (2001), Ted and Alice (2002), Casualty (2003), EastEnders (2003), Stoned (2005), Hotel Babylon (2007), Stardust (2007), Frankie Howerd: Rather You Than Me (2008), Marmaduke (2010), Great Expectations (2012), The Look of Love (2013), Blandings (2013), Big School (2013-14) and Agatha Christie's Partners in Crime (2015), Urban Myths (2019), Twist (2021), Sandylands (2020-21) and Hansel & Gretel: After Ever After (2021). His writing and performing work with Matt Lucas (who played the Twelfth Doctor's companion Nardole) on the comedy sketch series Little Britain (2003-06) led to two spin-off video games (2006 and 2007), a live DVD (2006) and an American version of the series (2008). Also with Lucas, he wrote and appeared in the sketch series Come Fly With Me (2010-11), and appeared as his character Lou Todd at Live8 (2005) and in an episode of Australian soap opera Neighours in 2007. On the writing front, David has written for Mash and Peas, Asylum (1996), Barking, Boyz Unlimited (1999), Rock Profile (1999-2001), Little Britain, The One Ronnie (2010), Come Fly With Me and Big School. Several of his books for children have also been adapted for TV, including Mr Stink (2012), Gangsta Granny (2013), The Boy in the Dress (2014), Billionaire Boy (2015), Awful Auntie (2016), Ratburger (2017) and The Midnight Gang (2018). In 1999 he wrote and appeared in three sketches for BBC2's Doctor Who Night, including The Web of Caves, The Pitch of Fear and The Kidnappers (these have subsequently appeared on various Doctor Who DVDs). In 2011 he hosted David Walliams' Awfully Good and Wall of Fame, and hosted the Royal Variety Performance in 2012. Since 2012, David has also served as a judge on the Britain's Got Talent panel.

Awards

2003: British Comedy Award for Best TV Comedy Newcomer (Little Britain)

2004: British Comedy Award for Best TV Comedy Actor (Little Britain) - shared with Matt Lucas

2004: Royal Television Society Award for Best Comedy Performance (Little Britain) - shared with Matt Lucas

2004: BAFTA TV Award for Comedy Programme or Series (Little Britain) - shared with production team

2005: BAFTA TV Award for Best Comedy Performance (Little Britain) - shared with Matt Lucas

2005: BAFTA TV Award for Comedy Programme or Series (Little Britain) - shared with production team

2006: National Television Awards' Special Recognition Award (for his swim across the English Channel)

2006: Pride of Britain Award for Most Influential Public Figure (for his Sport Relief work)

2012: National Book Award for Children's Book of the Year (Ratburger)

2012: National Television Awards' TV Landmark Award (for his Sport Relief achievements)

2013: National Book Award for Children's Book of the Year (Demon Dentist)

2014: National Book Award for Children's Book of the Year (Awful Auntie)

2015: National Television Award for Most Popular TV Judge (Britain's Got Talent)

2017: Officer of the order of the British Empire (OBE) for services to charity and the arts

2018: National Television Award for Best TV Judge (Britain's Got Talent)

Facts
David, who appeared in the music video for Charlotte Hatherley's Bastardo in 2005, swam 21 miles in 2006 across the English Channel in 10 hours 30 minutes to raise money for Sport Relief, and followed this in 2008 by swimming across the Strait of Gibraltar (12 miles) in four and a half hours. In 2010, he cycled the UK end to end to help raise £1m for Sport Relief, while in 2011 he swam the length of the River Thames (140 miles), contracting giardiasis and injuring an intervertebral disc, requiring emergency back surgery. David's children's books have sold more than four million copies since the first one was published in 2008. He has also written an autobiography, called Camp David (2012). Between 2010-15 he was married to Dutch model Lara Stone (they divorced, with Walliams citing "unreasonable behaviour"). Here he is on Twitter.

Spencer Wilding (The Creature) Born Jul 26 1972
Doctor Who credits
Played: The Creature (minotaur) in The God Complex (2011)
Played: Wooden King in The Doctor, the Widow and the Wardrobe (2011)
Played: Skaldak in Cold War (2013)

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

CREW

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

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

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

The Girl Who Waited

The girl who waited was also the girl
who aged. Amy (Karen Gillan) with
Rory (Arthur Darvill)

One episode (The Girl Who Waited)
First broadcast Sep 10 2011
Average audience for story: 7.60m + 1.21m iPlayer = 8.81m

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

Imelda Staunton (Voice of the Interface) Born Jan 9 1956
Career highlights
Imelda is one of the UK's most prolific and respected actors, making her screen debut in 1982's Easy Money, followed by roles in Comrades (1986), Ladies in Charge (1986), The Singing Detective (1986), Peter's Friends (1992), Much Ado About Nothing (1993), If You See God, Tell Him (1993), Citizen X (1995), Sense and Sensibility (1995), Shakespeare in Love (1998), David Copperfield (1999), Chicken Run (2000), Another Life (2001), Bright Young Things (2003), Strange (2003), Vera Drake (2004), Nanny McPhee (2005), Little Britain (2005), Another Year (2010), Psychoville (2010-11), The Awakening (2011), The Girl (2012), Pride (2014), Maleficent (2014), That Day We Sang (2014), Finding Your Feet (2019), Downton Abbey (2019), A Confession (2019), Amulet (2020) and Trying (2020-21). Recurring roles include Izzy in the sitcom Up the Garden Path (1990-93, for which she performed the title song of Ain't Misbehavin'), Stella Phelps in the sitcom Is It Legal? (1995-98), Dolores Umbridge in the Harry Potter film franchise (2007-2010), Octavia Pole in Cranford (2007-09) and Queen Elizabeth II in The Crown (2022).
Awards
1985: Critics' Circle Theatre Award for Best Supporting Actress (The Corn is Green & A Chorus of Disapproval)

1985: Laurence Olivier Award for Best Performance in a Supporting Role (The Corn is Green & A Chorus of Disapproval)

1991: Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actress in a Musical (Into the Woods)

2004: British Independent Film Award for Best Actress (Vera Drake)
2005: BAFTA Film Award for Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role (Vera Drake)
2006: Officer of the order of the British Empire (OBE) for services to drama
2013: Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actress in a Musical (Sweeney Todd)

2014: British Independent Film Award for Best Supporting Actress (Pride)

2015: Evening Standard Theatre Award for Best Musical Performance (Gypsy)

2016: Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actress in a Musical (Gypsy)
2016: Commander of the order of the British Empire (CBE) for services to drama
Facts
Imelda was also nominated for an Oscar and a Golden Globe for her role in Vera Drake, and has been nominated for a BAFTA three other times - for Cranford, The Girl, and Pride. Her husband is actor Jim Carter, best known for his role in Downton Abbey.

Josie Taylor (Check-in girl) Born Apr 14 1983
Career highlights
Debuted in Midsomer Murders (2009), then Tamara Drewe (2010), Hollyoaks (2012), Casualty (2013), Youth (2015), The Carrier (2015), Lexi & Lottie: Trusty Twin Detectives (2016-17), Berry Bees (2019) and The Show (2020). She also provided the voice of Mimi in the series Boj (2014).
Facts
Josie's father is writer and historian Frederick Taylor, an expert in modern German history who has written authoritative books on Goebbels, Hitler and the Berlin Wall.

CREW

Tom MacRae (writer) Born Aug 6 1977
Doctor Who credits
Wrote: Rise of the Cybermen/ The Age of Steel (2006), The Girl Who Waited (2011), The Crash of the Elysium (2011, theatre experience)

Career highlights
Tom's first scripting work was the TV movie School's Out in 2002, after which he put pen to paper for Coming Up (2003), Mayo (2006), Agatha Christie's Marple (2007), Lewis (2008), Bonekickers (2008), Pulse (2010), Casualty (2010), Fungus the Bogeyman (2015), The Librarians (2016-18, which he also co-produced), Kolmistaan (2017-19) and Everybody's Talking About Jamie (2021) . He also created and wrote the sitcom Threesome (2011-12).

Facts
Tom was commissioned to write a story for Doctor Who's 2008 series called Century House, but this was cancelled as it was too similar in tone to another story that year. He has also written children's picture books. Here's his Twitter.

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

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

Night Terrors

Caught in the act... a peg doll

One episode (Night Terrors)
First broadcast Sep 3 2011
Average audience for story: 7.07m + 1.14m iPlayer = 8.21m

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

Sophie Cosson (Julie) Born May 1986
Career highlights
Sophie's other work includes Call the Midwife (2012), Thor: The Dark World (2013), Downton Abbey (2014) and Casualty (2015).

Emma Cunniffe (Claire) Born Jul 3 1973
Career highlights
Debuted in Woof! (1994), then Cracker (1994), The Upper Hand (1995), A Touch of Frost (1996), Life After Birth (1996), Maisie Raine (1998), The Lakes (1997-99), Great Expectations (1999), Blue Murder (2000), Clocking Off (2002), Flesh and Blood (2002), Place of Execution (2008), Good Cop (2012), Southcliffe (2013), Coronation Street (2014), Waterloo Road (2015), Lewis (2015), Unforgotten (2017), Doctors (2019), Miss Marx (2020), Roadkill (2020), The Irregulars (2021) and Grantchester (2022).
Facts
Emma was once in a production of the pantomime Little Red Riding Hood with Take That singer Gary Barlow.

Leila Hoffman (Elsie Rossiter) Born Jun 11 1934
Career highlights
Leila's earliest acting credit on screen was 1980's The Dybbuk, followed by The Fools on the Hill (1986), Vanity Fair (1987), The Witches (1990), Roger Roger (1996), One Foot in the Grave (2000), Grass (2003), According to Bex (2005), Magnolia (2006), Skins (2009), Pusher (2012), Bad Education (2012), Doctors (2013), Drifters (2014), Prevenge (2016), Bad Move (2017), Flowers (2016-18), Speechless (2018), Catastrophe (2019), EastEnders (2017/19), Code 404 (2020) and inVERSE (2021). She also had a recurring role as Mrs Treacher in the sitcom How Not to Live Your Life (2008-11).

Facts

Leila's acting husband is Arthur Hoffman.

Daniel Mays (Alex) Born Mar 31 1978
Career highlights
Daniel debuted in Fist of Fun in 1996, then appeared in EastEnders (2000), Pearl Harbor (2001), Manchild (2002), All or Nothing (2002), Top Buzzer (2004), Vera Drake (2004), Funland (2005), Atonement (2007), The Bank Job (2008), Plus One (2009), Red Riding (2009), The Firm (2009), Nanny McPhee and the Big Bang (2010), Ashes to Ashes (2010), Made in Dagenham (2010), Outcasts (2011), Treasure Island (2012), Byzantium (2012), Mrs Biggs (2012), The Great Fire (2014), Victor Frankenstein (2015), Dad's Army (2016), Line of Duty (2016), Star Wars: Rogue One (2016), Born to Kill (2017), Swimming with Men (2018), Fisherman's Friends (2019), Porters (2019), Good Omens (2019), 1917 (2019), White Lines (2020), Des (2020), Temple (2019-21), Magpie Murders (2022) and Code 404 (2020-22).
Facts
Daniel can be seen in The Streets' video for When You Wasn't Famous (2006) and Feeder's Idaho (2012). Daniel originally wanted to become a footballer, but after seeing Michael Jackson live at Wembley in 1988, he decided showbiz was the path for him.

Jamie Oram (George) Born Dec 4 2002
Career highlights
Jamie's earliest credit was providing the voice of Freddy Fox in the children's series Peppa Pig (2010-16), after which he provided the voice of Henry for Ella Bella Bingo (2013-15) and Ooo Ooo in Raa Raa the Noisy Lion (2011-12). He also played the young Prince Ferdinand of Habsburg in Borgia (2011/13), Joe in Ben and Holly's Little Kingdom (2012), Woolly in Woolly and Tig (2012-14), Umbrella in Sarah and Duck (2013-15) and voiced Mr Hoopla in Ricky Zoom (2019-20). He also provided the voice of Charlie in the Doctor Who Adventure Game The Gunpowder Plot (2011).

Andrew Tiernan (Jim Purcell) Born Nov 30 1965
Career highlights
Andrew made his screen acting debut in 1989's Nice Work, then appeared in Dead Cat (1989), Prime Suspect (1991), Edward II (1991), As You Like It (1992), Prime Suspect 2 (1992), Cracker (1993), Middlemarch (1994), 99-1 (1994), Space Precinct (1994), Interview with the Vampire (1994), 10x10 (1996), Thief Takers (1997), Jonathan Creek (1999), In a Land of Plenty (2001), The Bunker (2001), The Pianist (2002), Richard III (2005), The Rotters' Club (2005), The Quatermass Experiment (2005), Spooks (2005), Life on Mars (2006), Survivors (2008), Murderland (2009), Luther (2010), Whitechapel (2010), Prisoners' Wives (2012), Merlin (2012), Ripper Street (2013), 300: Rise of an Empire (2014), Automata (2014), The Great Fire (2014), No Offence (2015), Us & Them (2017), Bounty Hunters (2017), Marcella (2018), Burning Men (2019), Innocent (2021) and Code of Silence (2021). Andrew has also written, directed and produced a number of short and feature length productions, including 2015's Dragonfly and 2019's Break Clause.

CREW

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

Richard Clark (director) Born Aug 21 1947
Doctor Who credits
Directed: Gridlock (2007), The Lazarus Experiment (2007), The Doctor's Wife (2011), Night Terrors (2011)
Career highlights
Richard's earliest directing work was on My Dead Buddy in 1997, after which he found work on Shockers: The Dance (1999), Life on Mars (2007), The Whistleblowers (2007), Whitechapel (2012), Silent Witness (2013), The Musketeers (2014), The Crimson Field (2014), Outlander (2015), Midwinter of the Spirit (2015), Versailles (2018) and War of the Worlds (2019-21).

Awards

2012: Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation (Short Form) (Doctor Who) - shared with Neil Gaiman
Facts
Here he is on Twitter.

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

Let's Kill Hitler

Amy (Karen Gillan), the Doctor (Matt
Smith) and Rory (Arthur Darvill) have
just read the awful news...

One episode (Let's Kill Hitler)
First broadcast Aug 27 2011
Average audience for story: 8.10m + 1.59m iPlayer = 9.69m

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

Eva Alexander (Nurse) Born Aug 9 1976
Career highlights
Sometimes credited as Sara-Jane Alexander, Eva debuted in Franco Zeffirelli's Sparrow (1993), then The Brief (2004), Casualty (2005), EastEnders (2007), Hounded (2010), Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 (2010), Topsy and Tim (2014), Cuffs (2015) and Sing and Dance with CBeebies (2019). She also played Ella in 27 episodes of The Mysti Show (2004-05) and Gill/ Gekina in Hounded (2010).
Facts
Eva briefly worked as a continuity announcer on the CBeebies channel in 2006. Her husband is American actor Cory English.

Paul Bentley (Professor Candy) Born Jul 25 1942
Career highlights
Debuted in The Last Escape (1970), followed by roles in Dead of Night (1972), HMS Pinafore (1985), Rumpole of the Bailey (1991), Crime Traveller (1997), Band of Brothers (2001), Chucklevision (2006), The Iron Lady (2011), Game of Thrones (2013-15, as High Septon) and The Nevers (2021).

Facts

Paul is also a writer, having penned the book and lyrics for the musical Shylock (1974), the libretto for The Handmaid's Tale (1994), and the novel The Man Who Came After Hyacinth Bobo (2014). Paul's sister Ursula was a novelist, writer of books such as The Natural Order, Private Accounts and The Sloping Experience. In 1992 Paul was a contestant on Mastermind, where his specialist subject was the life and works of King Ludwig II of Bavaria (he lost in the first round).

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.

Tor Clark (Female teacher) Born 1979
Career highlights
Debuted in Hustle (2010), then The Bill (2010), Holby City (2013), Not Going Out (2014), Humans (2015), Casualty (2017), Intrigo (2018-19), Des (2020) and Asylum (2022).
Facts
Tor might also be recognised from her appearance in a 2010 TV commercial for Plenty kitchen paper.

Amy Cudden (Anita) Born 1980
Career highlights
Amy's further work includes Casualty (2008-09/20), The Bill (2009), Vera (2011), Holby City (2013/16), Doctors (2015) and The Girlfriend Experience (2021).
Facts
Amy's sister Lucy Cudden is also an actor. Here's Amy on Twitter.

Richard Dillane (Carter) Born 1964
Doctor Who credits
Played: Carter in Let's Kill Hitler (2011), The Wedding of River Song (2011)
Career highlights
Richard's break came with the role of Sergeant Brad Connor in Soldier Soldier (1995), followed by work in Men Behaving Badly (1997), The Grand (1998), Big Women (1998), Seeing Red (2000), Cold Feet (2000), Red Cap (2003), Spartacus (2004), De-Lovely (2004), The Jacket (2005), Space Race (2005), Lewis (2007), Rome (2007), Spooks (2007), The Edge of Love (2008), The Dark Knight (2008), Oranges and Sunshine (2010), The Dinosaur Project (2012), Argo (2012), Atlantis (2013), Wolf Hall (2015), Endeavour (2016), Peaky Blinders (2016), Against the Law (2017), The White Princess (2017), The Last Post (2017), Outlander (2017), West of Liberty (2019), Twice Upon a Time (2019), The Last Kingdom (2020), Young Wallander (2020), Call the Midwife (2021) and Father Brown (2022). He also had the regular role of Sean Anderson in Casualty (2008-10).
Facts
Richard has also worked as a white water rafting guide in Tasmania. He is married to actress Jayne McKenna, while his brother is actor Stephen Dillane (Game of Thrones) and his nephew is actor Frank Dillane (Fear the Walking Dead).

Davood Ghadami (Jim) Born Aug 7 1982
Career highlights
Davood made his debut in The Bill in 2005, followed by roles in Red Mercury (2005), Spooks (2006), The Omid Djalili Show (2007), Bloody Foreigners (2010), Taggart (2010), Top Boy (2011), John Carter (2012), Skins (2013), Doctors (2009/12-13), Casualty (2005/13-14), Desert Dancer (2014) and The Chelsea Detective (2022). In 2014, he became a regular on soap EastEnders, playing Kush Kazemi (whose mum was played by Doctor Who's own Bonnie Langford!) in over 600 episodes. Between 2021-22 Davood regularly played Eli Ebrahimi in Holby City. In 2017, he was a contestant on Strictly Come Dancing, finishing in the quarter-finals.
Facts
Davood's father Mohammad is a high profile property owner and developer in Harlow, UK, and in 2011 launched a High Court battle against Harlow Council, accusing the authority of racial discrimination and violating his human rights. It wasn't Mr Ghadami's first disagreement with the council: in 2004 he won a High Court fight to prevent the authority extending Harlow's shopping centre. In 2014, property investor Paul Bloomfield was ordered to pay former associate Mr Ghadami £110m in damages by a London court. Davood is the godfather of his EastEnders co-star James Bye's son Hugo. Here's Davood on Twitter.

Maya Glace-Green (Young Mels)
This is Maya's only credit. Maya is now an accountant.

Ella Kenion (Harriet) Born Jun 18 1969
Career highlights
Ella debuted in Men of the World in 1995, after which she found work in Witness Against Hitler (1996), We Know Where You Live (1997), Black Books (2002), Hardware (2003-04), Swinging (2005), The Catherine Tate Show (2004-05), The Impressionists (2006), Fear of Fanny (2006), Criminal Justice (2009), Gates (2012), Swashbuckle (2013), Episodes (2014-15), New Tricks (2015), Episodes (2014-17), Detectorists (2017), Stan and Ollie (2018), Warren (2019), The Duchess (2020), The Outlaws (2021) and Four Lives (2022). Recurring roles include Tara/ Vera in The Pinky and Perky Show (2008-09), Mrs Cakeworthy in The Green Green Grass (2005-09), the voice of Stella in Q Pootle 5 (2013-14), various characters in The Hive (2010-15) and Captain Sinker in Swashbuckle (2013-15).
Facts
Ella was once a newsreader for talkSPORT radio. After contracting the intestinal bug yersinia while visiting the United States in 1987, Ella suffered with crippling arthritis (Reiter's syndrome) for many years, at times unable to walk without crutches. Her disability led to her putting on weight, but after recovering from the arthritis she lost 6 stone thanks to Weight Watchers. Ella's father is actor Geoffrey Kenion, who had a regular role in Dixon of Dock Green in the 1960s. In a 2012 interview, Ella was asked what her biggest faux pas was: "Spending 10 minutes with this lovely lady slagging off some guy I'd just been working with on Doctor Who, only for her to tell me I was talking about her husband. Why didn't she stop me?!" Here she is on Twitter.

Mark Killeen (German officer) Born 1986
Career highlights
Debuted in Waking the Dead (2005), then appeared in Rise of the Footsoldier (2007), Miranda (2010), The Dark Knight Rises (2012), The Sweeney (2012), Game of Thrones (2013), 300: Rise of an Empire (2014), Street Fighter: Assassin's Fist (2014), Risen (2016), The Batman (2022) and Liaison (2022).
Facts
Mark appeared in Guinness's promo for the 2011 Rugby World Cup, Some Are Made of More. Here's Mark's Twitter.

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

Philip Rham (Zimmerman)
Career highlights
Philip debuted in 102 Boulevard Haussmann (1990), followed by Five Children and It (1991), Element of Doubt (1996), Dream Team (2001), Band of Brothers (2001), Jericho (2005), Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2005), The IT Crowd (2007), Woman in Gold (2015) and X Company (2015).
Facts
Before becoming an actor, Philip was a professional cellist and singer. He also works as a translator, having studied languages in Italy.

Nina Toussaint-White (Mels) Born 1985
Career highlights
Nina debuted in a 2007 episode of Casualty, followed by Primeval (2009), Whitechapel (2012), Switch (2012), Holby City (2012/14), Uncle (2014-17), Emmerdale (2016), Bodyguard (2018), GameFace (2017-19), The Feed (2019), Midsomer Murders (2019) and The Sister (2020). She also regularly played Sydney Chambers in soap EastEnders (2009).
Facts
In February 2009, the Mirror tabloid newspaper ran a story attempting to discredit Nina by quoting from her defunct MySpace page, saying she liked to get drunk, had beaten somebody up, and took soft drugs. Here's Nina's Twitter account.

Albert Welling (Adolf Hitler) Born Feb 29 1952
Career highlights
Prolific Albert's debut came in a 1976 episode of Z Cars, followed by London Belongs to Me (1977), Secret Army (1977), The Sweeney (1978), Telford's Change (1979), Buccaneer (1980), Oppenheimer (1980), Squadron (1982), The Consultant (1983), Mixed Doubles (1985), Shine On Harvey Moon (1984-85), Raspberry Ripple (1986), Hannay (1988), Snakes and Ladders (1989), Wish Me Luck (1990), Moon and Son (1992), The Day Today (1994), Drop the Dead Donkey (1994), Kavanagh QC (1995-96), Bugs (1996), Brass Eye (1997), Wilde (1997), Underworld (1997), Wire in the Blood (2002), My Dad's the Prime Minister (2003-04), The Line of Beauty (2006), Hindenburg (2007), Cemetery Junction (2010), Endeavour (2013), Taboo (2017), Outlander (2018), Succession (2019 and Mothering Sunday (2021). He may also be remembered as the Rev Kevin Bulstrode in Paradise Postponed (1986) and Titmuss Regained (1991).

Ezekiel Wigglesworth (Young Rory)
This is Ezekiel's only credit.

CREW

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

Richard Senior (director) Born Sep 24 1980
Doctor Who credits
Directed: Space/ Time (2011), Let's Kill Hitler and its prelude (2011), Doctor Who Prom video inserts (2013) Richard also directed the pre-titles Doctor Who scene for the 2011 National Television Awards, the Night and the Doctor DVD extras (2011), and the filmed inserts for the 2010 and 2013 Doctor Who Proms.
Second unit director: The Day of the Doctor (2013, uncredited)
Career highlights
Richard's other directing work includes MI High (2013-14), Our Girl (2014), The Interceptor (2015), Silent Witness (2016), Poldark (2016), Hard Sun (2018), Humans (2018) and Tell Me Everything (2022). However, he started out as a floor/ production runner on The Eustace Brothers (2003), The Life and Death of Peter Sellers (2004), Alexander (2004), The Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy (2005), Down to Earth (2005) and Batman Begins (2005).
Facts
Richard also used to edit and direct promotional trailers for the BBC, including Doctor Who. He is the first director in Doctor Who history to make his professional directorial debut on the series. Here he is on Twitter.

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

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

A Good Man Goes to War

Amy (Karen Gillan)
with baby River

One episode (A Good Man Goes to War)
First broadcast Jun 4 2011
Average audience for story: 7.51m + 1.46m iPlayer = 8.97m

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

Charlie Baker (Fat one)
Career highlights
Debuted in The Long Firm (2004), then The Boy in the Striped Pajamas (2008), Miranda (2009), The IT Crowd (2010), Vexed (2012), The Home Office (2013), EastEnders (2016), Four Weddings and a Funeral (2019) and The Last Leg (2020/22). Charlie is also a comedian and has made personal appearances on shows such as Let's Dance for Sport Relief (2011), Odd One In (2011), The Wright Stuff (2011), Never Mind the Buzzcocks (2010-11), A Short History of Everything Else (2012), The Golden Rules of Porn (2014), Harry Hill's Tea Time (2016-18, as Trevor Modo), The Dog Ate My Homework (2014-19) and Who Said That? (2020).

Frances Barber (Madame Kovarian) Born May 13 1958
Doctor Who credits
Played: Eye Patch Lady/ Madame Kovarian in Day of the Moon, The Curse of the Black Spot (uncredited), The Rebel Flesh/ The Almost People, A Good Man Goes to War, Closing Time, The Wedding of River Song (all 2011)
Career highlights
Frances debuted in the 1978 short Wings of Ash, then found work in The Missionary (1982), Reilly: Ace of Spies (1983), A Zed & Two Noughts (1985), Castaway (1986), Prick Up Your Ears (1987), Behaving Badly (1989), Red Dwarf (1989), Inspector Morse (1992), Chef! (1994), Space Precinct (1995), Rhodes (1996), Real Women (1998-99), Shiner (2000), Gimme Gimme Gimme (2001), Manchild (2002), Having It Off (2002), My Family (2003), According to Bex (2005), Funland (2005), Hustle (2007), Casualty (2008), The Fattest Man in Britain (2009), Pete Versus Life (2011), Great Expectations (2011), The Spa (2013), Silk (2012-14), Psychobitches (2013-14), Mr Holmes (2015), Benidorm (2016), Vicious (2016), Medici (2016), Film Stars Don't Die in Liverpool (2017), The Rebel (2017), Blue Iguana (2018), The Queen and I (2018), Trick or Treat (2019), Cold Feet (2020), Whitstable Pearl (2021), The Mezzotint (2021) and Dodger (2022).
Facts
When Frances studied drama at Bangor University she was dating fellow alumni, director Danny Boyle. She has often worked with the Pet Shop Boys - she appeared in their 2001 musical Closer to Heaven, sang live at one of their concerts in 2006, and starred in their 2019 musical Musik. One of her closest friends is actor Ian McKellen, and he funded a library in her name in India. Here she is on Twitter.

Hugh Bonneville (Captain Henry Avery) Born Nov 10 1963
Doctor Who credits
Played: Captain Henry Avery in The Curse of the Black Spot (plus prelude), A Good Man Goes to War (all 2011)
Career highlights
Debuted in Chancer (1990), credited as Richard Bonneville, the professional name he kept until 1995. Further work includes Dodgem (1991), Peak Practice (1994), Mary Shelley's Frankenstein (1994), The Vet (1995), Married for Life (1996), Get Well Soon (1997), Holding the Baby (1998), Mosley (1998), Notting Hill (1999), Mansfield Park (1999), The Cazalets (2001), Tipping the Velvet (2002), Daniel Deronda (2002), The Commander (2003-05), Stage Beauty (2004), Asylum (2005), The Robinsons (2005), Scenes of a Sexual Nature (2006), The Vicar of Dibley (2007), Bonekickers (2008), Ben Hur (2010), The Silence (2010), Mr Stink (2012), Muppets Most Wanted (2014), Paddington (2014), The Hollow Crown (2016), Viceroy's House (2017), Paddington 2 (2017), The Corrupted (2019), Sandylands (2020), To Olivia (2021) and Silent Hours (2017/21). He is most known for his regular roles as Ian Fletcher in Twenty Twelve (2011-12) and W1A (2014-20), and the Earl of Grantham in Downton Abbey (2010-15), plus its 2019 film and Downton Abbey: A New Era (2022).

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

Christina Chong (Lorna Bucket) Born Sep 18 1983
Career highlights
Debuted in Night & Day (2003), followed by parts in Chemical Wedding (2008), Freakdog (2008), W.E. (2011), Johnny English Reborn (2011), Whitechapel (2012), Monroe (2011-12), Black Mirror (2013), The Wrong Mans (2013), 24: Live Another Day (2014), Halo: Nightfall (2014), Dominion (2015), Of Kings and Prophets (2016), Ill Behaviour (2017), Bulletproof (2018), Heirs of the Night (2019-20), Grace (2021), Line of Duty (2014-21) and Star Trek: Strange New Worlds (2022).

Annabel Cleare (Eleanor) Born 1968
Career highlights
Annabel's other work includes JFK Revealed (2006), Yellow Jacket (2017) and Father Brown (2020).
Facts
Annabel is the mother of Henry Wood, who also appeared in this story, and is married to actor Michael Woodford.

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.

Joshua Hayes (Lucas) Born 1989
Career highlights
Joshua has also had roles in Doctors (2011), Casualty (2013), Siblings (2014) and Stationary (2017). In 2014 he also appeared in, wrote and produced the short film Portrait of a Pugilist.

Dan Johnston (Thin one)
Career highlights
Dan's acting debut came in World of Pub (2001), followed by The Bill (2004), Tunnel of Love (2004), Sold (2007), After You've Gone (2008) and Navelgazing Presents (2011, which he also wrote and produced). Dan also wrote the short Uncle Douglas (2003) and two Comedy Lab instalments - Anderson (2000) and Blowout (2007). He also writes and produces for Keith Lemon's various TV and film projects, including The Keith Lemon Sketch Show (2015), The Keith and Paddy Picture Show (2017), Keith Lemon: Coming in America (2018), and has also directed these programmes, as well as Shopping with Keith Lemon (2020). He has also been videotape director on shows such as Celebrity Juice (2020) and Ant and Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway (2022).

Damian Kell (Dominicus)
Career highlights
Damian debuted in Making Juice (2002), then The Dark Hunter (2002), My Dad's the Prime Minister (2004), Coming Up (2006), Comedy Cuts (2008), Kingdom (2009), Suspects (2014), Trying Again (2014), Suspects (2014-15) and Kill Command (2016).

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

Oscar Lloyd (Toby Avery) Born Sep 16 1997
Doctor Who credits
Played: Toby Avery in The Curse of the Black Spot, A Good Man Goes to War (2011)
Career highlights
Oscar debuted in Hancock and Joan (2008), then found work in Lark Rise to Candleford (2009), One Night (2012), Blandings (2013), The Coroner (2015) and Doctors (2011/15/17). He played Ryan in 29 episodes of 4 O'Clock Club (2012-14), but will be best recognised as playing Will Wylde in 134 episodes of soap Emmerdale between 2009-11.
Facts
In 2010, Oscar was nominated for Best Dramatic Performance from a Young Actor at the British Soap Awards. Here he is on Twitter.

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.

Danny Sapani (Colonel Manton) Born Nov 15 1970
Career highlights
Danny debuted in B and B (1992), then appeared in Between the Lines (1993), Trial and Retribution (1998), Fish (2000), Judge John Deed (2001), Anansi (2002), Serious and Organised (2003), Little Britain (2005), The Oxford Murders (2008), Place of Execution (2008), Mercenaries (2011), The Jury (2011), Misfits (2009/11), The Fear (2012), The Bastard Executioner (2015), Danny and the Human Zoo (2015), Chewing Gum (2017), The State (2017), The Crown (2017), Star Wars: The Last Jedi (2017), Black Panther (2018), Traitors (2019), MotherFatherSon (2019), Killing Eve (2020) and Halo (2022). He also regularly played Corporal Ricky Mann in Ultimate Force (2002-05), Sembene in Penny Dreadful (2014-15) and William North in Harlots (2017-19).
Facts
While rehearsing a stunt during filming Ultimate Force, Danny accidentally put a knife through his finger! Here he is on Twitter.

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).

Richard Trinder (Captain Harcourt) Born 1968
Career highlights
Debuting in soap Brookside in 1995, Richard's CV also includes work on Silent Witness (1996), Coronation Street (1997), Emmerdale (1997), Elizabeth (2000), Casualty (2005), Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (2007), The Agent (2008), Thorne: Scaredycat (2010), Kon-Tiki (2012) and U Want Me 2 Kill Him? (2013).
Facts
Richard was married to actress Samantha Beckinsale in the early 1990s. Here he is on Twitter.

Henry Wood (Arthur) Born c.2001
Henry has also appeared in Breaking the Mould (2009). His mum is actor Annabel Cleare, who also appeared in this story.

CREW

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

Peter Hoar (director)
Career highlights
Peter's first directorial work was on Hollyoaks in 2002, after which he worked on Grange Hill (2004-05), Dream Team (2006), Wire in the Blood (2006-08), Spooks (2008), Mistresses (2008-09), Breaking the Mould (2009), Vera (2011-12), Shetland (2013), The Last Kingdom (2015-17), Da Vinci's Demons (2014-15), Daredevil (2016), Iron Fist (2017), The Defenders (2017), Altered Carbon (2018), The Umbrella Academy (2019) and It's a Sin (2021). He has also been producer on series such as Da Vinci's Demons, The Last Kingdom, The Umbrella Academy and It's a Sin. However, he started out as a location manager on Dressing for Breakfast (1998), The Wedding Tackle (2000) and Heartlands (2002).

Awards

2021: Royal Television Society Craft and Design Award for Best Director - Drama (It's a Sin)

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

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