The Story and the Engine

An arachnid monster that is
neither a Giant Spider of Metebelis III
or a Racnoss

One episode (The Story and the Engine)

First broadcast: May 10 2025
Audience for story: 2.70m

REGULAR CAST

Ncuti Gatwa (The Doctor) Born Oct 15 1992 Click here for Ncuti Gatwa's entry on The Giggle

Varada Sethu (Belinda Chandra) Born May 12 1992 Click here for Varada Sethu's entry on Boom

GUEST CAST

Stefan Adegbola (Rashid Abubakar)

Doctor Who credits

Played: Newsreader in The Magician's Apprentice (2015)

Played: Rashid Abubakar in The Story & the Engine (2025)

Career highlights
Stefan's other work includes The Merchant of Venice (2016), Blitz Spirit with Lucy Worsley (2021), Abraham Lincoln (2022), The Lazarus Project (2022) and EastEnders (2023).

Jordan Adene (Tunde Adebayo)

Career highlights

Jordan debuted in Cucumber (2015), followed by Wanderlust (2018), Young Wallander (2020) and Catherine Called Birdy (2022). He has also had recurring roles as Malcolm of Vyrad in 26 episodes of Heirs of the Night (2019-20) and Finn in 14 episodes of Silverpoint (2022-23).

Michelle Asante (Abena) Born 1990

Doctor Who credits

Played: Neighbour in In the Forest of the Night (2014)

Played: Abena in The Story & the Engine (2025)

Career highlights

Michelle debuted in Holby Blue (2007), followed by roles in Midnight Man (2008), Harley Street (2008), Law and Order UK (2009), The Bill (2009), Monroe (2011-12), Father Brown (2016), Lucky Man (2016), Our Girl (2016), The Essex Serpent (2022), This England (2022), Top Boy (2022-23) and Death in Paradise (2025).

Simon Bailey (Paramedic) Born Oct 12 1981

Career highlights

Simon's other work includes stage productions such as Moulin Rouge The Musical, Jersey Boys and Trevor Nunn's production of The Third Man.

Facts

He once appeared on Britain's Got Talent dressed as Elphaba and singing Defying Gravity from the musical Wicked in the guise of Simon Cowell!

Ariyon Bakare (The Barber) Born Jun 2 1971

Doctor Who credits

Played: Leandro in The Woman Who Lived (2015)

Played: The Barber in The Story & the Engine (2025)
Career highlights
Ariyon made his screen debut in Thief Takers (1996), followed by roles in The Secret Laughter of Women (1999), Family Affairs (2000-01), Shoot the Messenger (2006), A Touch of Frost (2008), The Dark Knight (2008), Silk (2011), Full Firearms (2012), Dancing on the Edge (2013), Jupiter Ascending (2015), Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell (2015), Tyrant (2015), Thirteen (2016), New Blood (2016), Death in Paradise (2016), Star Wars: Rogue One (2016), Frankie (2019), Good Omens (2019), His Dark Materials (2019-20), The Mosquito Coast (2022-23), Carnival Row (2019-23) and Mr Loverman (2024). He also played Dr Ben Kwarme in more than 600 episodes of BBC daytime soap Doctors (2001-05), and wrote and directed several episodes of Doctors between 2004-07.
Awards
2025: BAFTA TV Award for Best Supporting Actor  (Mr Loverman)

Michael Balogun (Obioma Okoli) Born 1984

Career highlights

Michael debuted in Casualty (2018), followed by War of the Worlds (2021), You Don't Know Me (2021), Vera (2022) and Sherwood (2024).

Facts

When Michael was aged around seven, his mother was sent to prison for dealing drugs, but the authorities overlooked the fact he and his sisters were left home alone to look after themselves. They managed this for around a year before his school realised their parent was in prison, and alerted social services. Michael was placed into care, then lived for a time with his aunt, before falling into crime. He stole from supermarkets, robbed people on the street, sold cannabis at school, and by the age of 17 was dealing heroin and cocaine. Michael was jailed for three years for possession of heroin with intent to supply. He was jailed a second time soon after release. Michael then decided to go straight and got a job in a bank, but when they discovered he'd been in jail, he was sacked. This led to Michael returning to crime, and being jailed a third time, this time for nine years, for his part in a firearms incident in a nightclub. It was in HMP Blantyre that he decided to turn his life around and become an actor.

Tessa Bell-Briggs (Patient) Born 1952

Career highlights

Tessa made her screen debut in the Play for Today The Network (1979), before securing roles in You're Only Young Twice (1981), Rumpole of the Bailey (1987), The Brittas Empire (1996), Gina's Laughing Gear (2007), Skins (2007), Poirot (2008), The Christmas Candle (2013) and This Way Up (2021).

Facts

Tessa's mother was Irish actor Carmel McSharry, best remembered as Beryl Humphries in the 1970s sitcom Beryl's Lot, and Mrs Hollingbery in sitcom In Sickness and in Health.

Anita Dobson (Mrs Flood) Born Apr 29 1949 Click here for Anita Dobson's entry on The Church on Ruby Road

Inua Ellams (Market seller) Born Oct 23 1984

Doctor Who credits

Played: Market seller in The Story & the Engine (2025)

Wrote: The Story & the Engine (2025)

Career highlights

Nigerian Inua moved to the UK in 1996, then to Ireland in 1999. He is an established and celebrated playwright and poet, having written stage productions such as The 14th Tale (2009), An Evening with an Immigrant (2017), Three Sisters (2019), as well as The Barbershop Chronicles (2017), upon which this Doctor Who story is based. Poetry collections include Thirteen Fairy Negro Tales (2004) and The Wire-Headed Heathen (2015).

Awards

2008: Edinburgh Fringe First Award (The 14th Tale)

2023: Member of the order of the British Empire (MBE) for services to the arts

Facts

Inua is the first black man to write for Doctor Who (the fourth writer of colour, after three females).

Funmi James (Security guard)

Career highlights

Nigerian-born Funmi has also appeared in Ruination (2012) and The Listing Agent (2014).

Jo Martin (The Doctor) Born Apr 29 197? Click here for Jo Martin's entry on Fugitive of the Judoon

Sienna-Robyn Mavanga-Phipps (Poppy)

Played: Poppy in Space Babies (2024), The Story & the Engine (2025), Wish World/ The Reality War (2025)

Adrian Pang (Consultant) Born Jan 8 1966

Career highlights

Born in Malaysia, Adrian debuted in Lovejoy (1993), followed by roles in The Knock (1994), The Fragile Heart (1996), The Bill (1998), Taggart (1999), Bugs (1999), Happiness (2001), Polo Boys (2009-10), Bait (2012), Blackhat (2015), Boi (2019), The Bridge (2018-20), Code of Law (2012-20), Alienated (2023) and Elevator (2024). Recurring roles include Johnny Tan in Maggi & Me (2006-07), James Seto in Parental Guidance (2007-08), Alex Sung in Red Thread (2009) and Dennis Tang in The Pupil (2010-11).

Awards

2009: Asian Television Award for Best Drama Performance by an Actor (Red Thread)

Facts

In 2014 Adrian wrote a children's book called Hansel and Girl Girl. In 2022 he was creative director of the Singapore National Day Parade.

Sule Rimi (Omo Esosa)

Doctor Who credits

Played: Soldier in Aliens of London (uncredited, 2005)

Played: Omo Esosa in The Story & the Engine (2025)

Career highlights

Prolific Sule debuted in Outside the Rules (2002), followed by roles in The Story of Tracy Beaker (2003), Starter for 10 (2006), Y Pris (2007-08), Caerdydd (2009), Mr Nice (2010), The Proxy (2012), Stella (2014), Unforgotten (2015), Birds of a Feather (2017), Strike Back (2018), Black Earth Rising (2018), Manhunt (2021), The Nan Movie (2022), Andor (2022), The English (2022), Classified (2023-24) and The Day of the Jackal (2024).

CREW

Inua Ellams (writer) Born Oct 23 1984

Doctor Who credits

Played: Market seller in The Story & the Engine (2025)

Wrote: The Story & the Engine (2025)

Career highlights

Nigerian Inua moved to the UK in 1996, then to Ireland in 1999. He is an established and celebrated playwright and poet, having written stage productions such as The 14th Tale (2009), An Evening with an Immigrant (2017), Three Sisters (2019), as well as The Barbershop Chronicles (2017), upon which this Doctor Who story is based. Poetry collections include Thirteen Fairy Negro Tales (2004) and The Wire-Headed Heathen (2015).

Awards

2008: Edinburgh Fringe First Award (The 14th Tale)

2023: Member of the order of the British Empire (MBE) for services to the arts

Makalla McPherson (director) Born 1983

Career highlights

Makalla started out directing short films such as Tight Rope (2011) and Tiny Steps (2012) before making it to TV shows such as The Dumping Ground (2016), Doctors (2013-19), Apple Tree House (2018-19), EastEnders (2021), Waterloo Road (2023) and Queenie (2024). She's also worked as a second unit director on Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story (2023), and a script consultant on 2023's Van der Valk.