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) Nov 25 1961 to Mar 9 2025
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), When It Rains (2020), Lionel in Lockdown (2021), Giles Case Files (2022) and Disaster Dates 2 (2023).
Facts
Simon, who could 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 listed him as "Viscount of William & Mona". In 2009, Simon was attacked by youths at a petrol station and badly beaten, leaving him with permanent damage to his spine and knee and having to walk with a stick.
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

The Husbands of River Song

The Doctor (Peter Capaldi) meets River
Song (Alex Kingston) in his latest body

One episode (The Husbands of River Song)
First broadcast Dec 25 2015
Average audience for story: 7.69m

REGULAR CAST

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

Matt Lucas (Nardole) Born Mar 5 1974
Doctor Who credits
Played: Nardole in The Husbands of River Song, The Return of Doctor Mysterio, The Pilot, Smile, Thin Ice, Knock Knock, Oxygen, Extremis, The Pyramid at the End of the World, The Lie of the Land, Empress of Mars, The Eaters of Light, World Enough and Time/ The Doctor Falls, Twice Upon a Time (2015-17)
Career highlights
Matt first came to prominence playing George Dawes the giant baby (as well as George's mother, future Little Britain character Marjorie Dawes) on the madcap quiz show Shooting Stars (1995-2009), after which he made appearances in The Smell of Reeves and Mortimer (1995), Mash and Peas (1996), Sunnyside Farm (1997), It's Ulrika! (1997), Dennis Pennis RIP (1997), Barking (1998), Plunkett and Macleane (1999), Sir Bernard's Stately Homes (1999), Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased) (2001), Fun at the Funeral Parlour (2001-02), Catterick (2004), Shaun of the Dead (2004), French and Saunders (2004), Casanova (2005), The Wind in the Willows (2006), Kath and Kim (2007), Krod Mandoon and the Flaming Sword of Fire (2009), Alice in Wonderland (2010), The Infidel (2010), Bridesmaids (2011), The Look of Love (2013), Community (2013), The Harry Hill Movie (2013), Paddington (2014), Pompidou (2015), Bull (2015), The Labyrinth (2016), Alice Through the Looking Glass (2016), A Midsummer Night's Dream (2016), Round Planet (2016), How to Talk to Girls at Parties (2017), Legends of Tomorrow (2021) and Wonka (2023). It is for his comedy partnership with David Walliams that he is most known, working with him on Little Britain (2003-06), Little Britain USA (2008) and Come Fly with Me (2010-11). He also writes much of the material he appears in, such as Little Britain, Come Fly with Me, Mash and Peas and Pompidou.
Awards
2004: BAFTA TV Award for Best Comedy Programme or Series (Little Britain) - shared with production team
2004: British Comedy Award for Best TV Comedy Actor (Little Britain) - shared with David Walliams

2004: Royal Television Society Award for Best Comedy Performance (Little Britain) - shared with David Walliams
2005: BAFTA TV Award for Best Comedy Programme or Series (Little Britain) - shared with production team
2005: BAFTA TV Award for Best Comedy Performance (Little Britain) - shared with David Walliams
Facts
Matt began to lose his hair when he was six years old, suffering from alopecia universalis, the loss of all hair, including eyebrows and eyelashes. Matt's cousin Alexa Tilley took part in the 2005 series of The Apprentice. He was best man at the wedding of David Walliams to Lara Stone in 2010. Matt appeared in the music videos for Blur's Country House (1995), Ben Folds' Jesusland (2005), and Pet Shop Boys' I'm with Stupid (2006). Matt's first husband Kevin McGee was found hanged in 2009, just 10 months after the couple divorced. Between 2012-15, he shared a Hollywood home with comedy actor Rebel Wilson. In 2021 he became a naturalized German citizen. Here he is on Twitter.

GUEST CAST

Nonso Anozie (Voice of King Hydroflax) Born May 28 1979
Career highlights
Nonso's earliest credit was in Prime Suspect 7 (2006), followed by The Last Legion (2007), Atonement (2007), RocknRolla (2008), Nanny McPhee and the Big Bang (2010), Outcasts (2011), Conan the Barbarian (2011), Game of Thrones (2012), Ender's Game (2013), Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit (2014), Dracula (2013-14), Son of God (2014), Get Santa (2014), Cinderella (2015), Tut (2015), Pan (2015), Zoo (2015-17), Guava Island (2019), Artemis Fowl (2020), Sweet Tooth (2021) and Ted Lasso (2021).
Facts
Nonso is 6ft 6in tall. He was originally cast to provide the voice of polar bear Iorek Byrnison in the 2007 film The Golden Compass, but was replaced by Ian McKellen against director Chris Weitz's wishes. However, he did provide the voice for the video game spin-off. In 2002 he became the youngest person in history (aged 23) to play King Lear professionally. Here's his Twitter feed.

Liam Cook (King Hydroflax's body)
Career highlights

Liam is a puppeteer who has also worked on the Star Wars films The Force Awakens (2015), The Last Jedi (2017), Solo (2018) and The Rise of Skywalker (2019), as well as The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance (2019).

Anthony Cozens (Concierge) Born 1977
Career highlights
Debuted in Sherlock Holmes and the Case of the Silk Stocking (2004), then appeared in The Crouches (2005), Bleak House (2005), Van Wilder 2: The Rise of Taj (2006), Holby City (2010), Sherlock (2012), Houdini (2014), Cider with Rosie (2015), Obsession: Dark Desires (2016), Pennyworth (2019), The Last Kingdom (2017-20), Terms and Conditions (2020, which he also produced) and Gentleman Jack (2019-22).

Robert Curtis (Scratch) Born 1978
Doctor Who credits
Played: Security man in The Sarah Jane Adventures: Prisoner of the Judoon (2009)
Played: Scratch in The Husbands of River Song (2015)
Career highlights
Robert's other work includes Hamlet (2009), EastEnders (2012), Hangar 10 (2014), Doctors (2015), Outlander (2016) and Maleficent: Mistress of Evil (2019).
Facts
Here's Robert on Twitter.

Greg Davies (King Hydroflax) Born May 14 1968
Career highlights
Greg made his screen debut in 2005's Nelly Nut Live!, followed by Girls? Eugh! (2006), Katy Brand's Big Ass Show (2007), ChuckleVision (2007), Saxondale (2007), The Wall (2008), We Are Klang (2009), Schizo Samurai Shitzu (2010), This is Jinsy (2014), Taskmaster (2015-22), A Gert Lush Christmas (2015) and The Cleaner (2021). He is well known for playing Mr Gilbert in The Inbetweeners (2008-10) and their two movies (2011 & 2014), Dan in Man Down (2013-17) and Ken Thompson in Cuckoo (2012-19). He has also written for Nelly Nut Live!, We Are Klang, Man Down, Ask Rhod Gilbert (2010) and The Cleaner, and released his own comedy videos, Firing Cheeseballs at a Dog (2011), The Back of My Mum's Head (2013) and You Magnificent Beast (2018).
Facts
Greg, who is 6ft 8in high and has size 14 feet, worked as a secondary school drama teacher for 15 years before moving into comedy. Between 2007-15 Greg was in a relationship with Labour MP Liz Kendall. Here he is on Twitter.

Chris Lew Kum Hoi (Alphonse)
Career highlights
Other work includes The Dispute (2014), Jayson Bend: Queen and Country (2015), War Machine (2016), A Midsummer Night's Dream (2016), Father Brown (2019), Derry Girls (2019), Brassic (2021), The Ipcress File (2022) and The Man Who Fell to Earth (2022).
Facts
Chris's Twitter feed.

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

Rowan Polonski (Flemming) Born 1989
Career highlights
Rowan debuted in The Actors' Shrine (2012), then Otherworld (2014), Kingsman: The Secret Service (2014), How You Look at Me (2019) and Good Omens (2019).
Facts
Here he is on Twitter.

Phillip Rhys (Ramone) Born Jun 14 1974
Career highlights
Debuted in USA High (1997), then The Others (1997), Woundings (1998), Kill the Man (1999), Undressed (1999), Punks (2000), Century City (2004), NCIS (2005), Bones (2007), Warehouse 13 (2010), Glee (2013), Tripped (2015), Figaro (2016), Rosewood (2017), Nightflyers (2018), Tell Me a Story (2019-20) and The Full Monty (2023). He regularly played Quentin Mitchell in Flatland (2002), Reza Naiyeer in 24 (2002-03), Jude Sawyer in Nip/ Tuck (2003-05) and Aalim Sadiq in Survivors (2008-10). He also directed and produced The Rocky (2011) and The Scarecrow (2015).
Facts
In 2002, Phillip almost died when a tooth abscess infected his stomach and he lost a great amount of weight until doctors figured out the problem. His grandmother Janine Klotza was a prima ballerina in France in the 1920s, performing all the major ballets, except Giselle, after whom she named Phillip's mother. Here he is on Twitter.

Nicolle Smartt (Receptionist) Born 1990
Career highlights
Other work includes Tripped (2014) and Good Omens (2019), but she has also worked extensively in musical theatre, and also been a backing dancer on TV, including for Jai McDowall on Britain's Got Talent (2011).

CREW

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

Douglas Mackinnon (director)
Doctor Who credits
Directed: The Sontaran Stratagem/ The Poison Sky (2008), The Power of Three (2012), Cold War (2013), Listen (2014), Time Heist (2014), Flatline (2014), The Husbands of River Song (2015)
Career highlights
Douglas started out as a director on London's Burning in the early 1990s, then worked on The Bill (1994-95), Thief Takers (1996), The Grand (1997), Gentlemen's Relish (2001), Nice Guy Eddie (2001-02), Murder in Suburbia (2004), The Last Detective (2003/07), Jekyll (2007), Robin Hood (2009), Silent Witness (2004/13), Line of Duty (2012/14), Outlander (2015), Sherlock (2016), Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency (2017), Knightfall (2017-18) and Good Omens (2019-22). He also wrote and directed the short Sealladh (1992) and Calum Dongle (2011).

Awards

2016: BAFTA Scotland Award for Best Directing in Film or Television (Sherlock)

2020: Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation - Long Form (Good Omens) - shared with Neil Gaiman
Facts
Here he is on Twitter.

Nikki Wilson (producer) Click here for Nikki's entry on The Sontaran Stratagem

David P Davis (script editor)
Doctor Who credits
Script edited: Robot of Sherwood, Listen, Time Heist, The Caretaker, Kill the Moon, Mummy on the Orient Express, Flatline, In the Forest of the Night, Dark Water/ Death in Heaven, Last Christmas, The Zygon Inversion, The Husbands of River Song (2014-15)
Career highlights
David has also edited scripts for Merlin (2010), Casualty (2011-14) and Electric Dreams (2017), as well as being a researcher on Holby City (2009-10). He wrote an episode of Casualty in 2012, and was an executive producer on Industry (2020-22).
Facts
Here's David on Twitter.

The Impossible Astronaut/ Day of the Moon

A Silent? The Silents? The Silence?
Aaargh!

Two episodes (The Impossible Astronaut, Day of the Moon)
First broadcast Apr 23 to 30 2011
Average audience for story: 8.08m (9.91m with iPlayer)

REGULAR CAST

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

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

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

GUEST CAST

Emilio Aquino (Busboy)
Career highlights
Full name Hermeilio Miguel Aquino, Emilio was born in the Bronx and made his credited debut in Lower East Side Stories (2005), then The Empty Hands (2011), Four One Nine (2012), Boogie Man (2018) and Banged Up Abroad (2019). In 2015 he wrote, directed and produced the short Macro.

Nancy Baldwin (Joy) Born 1956
Career highlights
New Yorker Nancy's earliest credit was The Mumbo Jumbo (2000), followed by Mad About Alice (2004), Mamma Mia! (2008), Some Dogs Bite (2010), Hyde Park on Hudson (2012), The Night Manager (2016), Silent Witness (2019) and Control (2021).

Peter Banks (Dr Shepherd) Born 1943
Career highlights
Peter was born in New York, educated in Canada and emigrated to the UK in 1968. He made his debut in Carry On England in 1976, followed by Suez 1956 (1979), Escape (1980), Juliet Bravo (1980), Dreamchild (1985), Death Wish 3 (1985), Highlander (1986), Chalkface (1991), In Suspicious Circumstances (1994), The Shaft (2001), The Murder Room (2005) and Any Human Heart (2010).

Frances Barber (Eye Patch Lady/ 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.

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.

Tommy Campbell (Sergeant) Born Oct 6 1978
Career highlights
Canadian Tommy's earliest credit was providing the English translation for Kosei Hida in the anime series Angel Links (1999). The following year he dubbed the English voice of Aki Mikage in the anime series Ayashi no Ceres. Subsequent acting work includes Coil (2001), The Dark Knight (2008), Green Zone (2010), Spooks (2011), The President's Staff (2013), Supernatural (2014), Edge of Tomorrow (2014) and Arrow (2014). Between 2011-14 Tommy provided the voice of the title character in the animated series The Mad Hatter Chronicles. He has also provided voices for various video games, including Nightwing: The Darkest Knight (2015) and Bless Online (2018).
Facts
Tommy, who is also a stand-up comedian, making a name for himself for his spontaneous responses to @UberFacts on Twitter, is married to actress Samantha Glenn. Here's his Twitter.

Henrietta Clemett (Matilda)
Career highlights
Debuted in The Bill (2004), then Ultimate Force (2005), Run, Fatboy, Run (2007), Doctors (2010), Alleycats (2015), The Children Act (2017) and Summer of Rockets (2019).

Paul Critoph (King Charles II) Born 1980
Career highlights
Paul's debut came in Great Escape: The Untold Story (2001), then The Bill (2002), Kinky Boots (2005), Casualty (2007), PhoneShop (2011), Down the Road (2013) and Knightfall (2017).
Facts
Here's Paul's review blog, where he scores films and videogames in Pauls out of Critoph...

Ricky Fearon (Tramp) Born 1960
Doctor Who credits
Played: Foreman in Torchwood: To the Last Man (2008)
Played: Tramp in Day of the Moon (2011)
Career highlights
Debuted in Casualty (2006), then took roles in Julius Caesar (2012), Guerrilla (2017), Break Clause (2019) and Boxing Day (2021).
Facts
Ricky is fellow actor Ray Fearon's brother.

Mark Griffin (Phil) Born Feb 25 1968
Career highlights
Mark rose to prominence on the Saturday night game show Gladiators, playing Trojan between 1993-97 and in the 2008-09 reboot. Between 1995-96, he also played the title role in the TV series Action Man, and later found roles in Dr Dolittle 2 (2001), Daddy Day Care (2003), Curb Your Enthusiasm (2004), NCIS (2005), Days of Our Lives (2005), Mama's Boy (2007), The Smoke (2014), Dragons of Camelot (2014), Strike Back (2015), Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom (2018), Vengeance (2018) and I Am Vengeance: Retaliation (2020). When playing Trojan in Gladiators, Mark also appeared on programmes such as Live and Kicking (1994), Win, Lose or Draw! (1994) and What's Up Doc? (1993-94).
Facts
Former squash player and bodybuilder Mark has a daughter with fellow former Gladiator Kate Staples (Zodiac). He is also a prolific author, having penned the Holly Wakefield thriller series since 2018. Here's his fan club on Twitter.

Chukwudi Iwuji (Carl) Born Oct 15 1975
Career highlights
Nigerian born Chukwudi debuted in the 1996 short Short Change, then The Lane (2004, which he also wrote), Proof (2005), Exam (2009), Wizards vs Aliens (2012), Murder in Manhattan (2013), Crossing Lines (2015), John Wick Chapter 2 (2017), Bikini Moon (2017), Quantico (2018), Daniel Isn't Real (2019), Designated Survivor (2019), Dynasty (2019), The Underground Railroad (2021), Peacemaker (2022), The Split (2018-22) and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 3 (2023).

Facts
Chuk was born in Nigeria, schooled in the UK, studied economics in the United States, and also trained as an actor in the US before moving back to the UK to work.

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

Jeff Mash (Grant)
Career highlights
Jeff debuted in Eve (2009), then Breakout (2010), Spooks (2011), Resident Evil: First Hour (2011), Red Lights (2012), Dark Shadows (2012), Byzantium (2012), Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit (2014), You, Me and the Apocalypse (2015), Harley and the Davidsons (2016), Black Mirror (2016), Assassin's Creed (2016) and Office Manager (2021).

Stuart Milligan (President Richard Nixon) Born Sep 10 1953
Doctor Who credits
Played: Tannoy voice in The Sarah Jane Adventures: Warriors of Kudlak (2007, uncredited)
Played: Colonel Stark (voice) in Dreamland (2009, animation)
Played: President Richard Nixon in The Impossible Astronaut/ Day of the Moon (2011 + prelude)
Career highlights
Boston-born Stuart made his acting debut in Secret Army (1979), followed by Oppenheimer (1980), Outland (1981), Juliet Bravo (1982), The Fortunate Pilgrim (1988), A Quiet Conspiracy (1989), Josie (1991), Prague Duet (1998), The Knock (2000), Crossroads (2003), The Romantics (2006), Lewis (2007), Land Girls (2011), The Assets (2014), Angel of Decay (2016), Benidorm (2018), Red Joan (2018), Black Earth Rising (2018), Avenue 5 (2020), Wonder Woman 1984 (2020) and Toast of Tinseltown (2022). He also regularly played Adam Klaus in Jonathan Creek (1998-2010).

Adam Napier (Captain Simmons)
Career highlights
Adam's other work includes Disembraced (2004), Dance With Me (2010) and Folie a deux (2012).

Kieran O'Connor (Prison guard)
Career highlights
Kieran debuted as Lenny Scott in daytime soap Doctors (2009), then took roles in Captain America: The First Avenger (2011) and The Gift Musical (2020).

Kerry Shale (Dr Renfrew) Born Jun 17 1958
Career highlights
Canadian Kerry debuted in the sitcom Sorry! in 1981, after which his career became prolific (often in voiceover roles), with turns in Yentl (1983), Labyrinth (1986), Little Shop of Horrors (1986), Superman IV (1987), The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (1988), Club X (1989), Time Riders (1991), Sharpe's Rifles (1993), The Tomorrow People (1994), Dr Zitbag's Transylvania Pet Shop (1994), Budgie the Little Helicopter (1994-96), Jude (1996), Fierce Creatures (1997), Dennis the Menace (1997-98), 102 Dalmatians (2002), Believe Nothing (2002), The Jacket (2005), Love Soup (2005), MI High (2007), Not Going Out (2007), Universal Soldier: Regeneration (2009), The Trip (2010), Arthur Christmas (2011), Red Dwarf (2012), Hello Carter (2013), Blood Moon (2014), Moonwalkers (2015), New Tricks (2015), Undercover (2016), New Blood (2016), Final Portrait (2017), Patrick Melrose (2018), Angel Has Fallen (2019), Happy Epidemic (2020), Wrath of Man (2021) and Suspicion (2022). He has also provided several voices for both the UK and US versions of Thomas and Friends since 2010.
Facts
Kerry is a prolific audiobook narrator and video game voice artiste. Here he is on Twitter.

Mark Sheppard (Canton Delaware) Born May 30 1964
Career highlights
Mark is one of the most prolific character actors - particularly in genre television - working today. His earliest credit was for Silk Stalkings (1992), followed by roles in In the Name of the Father (1993), The X-Files (1993), MANTIS (1995), Sliders (1999), Star Trek: Voyager (2000), JAG (2000), The Invisible Man (2001), New Alcatraz (2001), Megalodon (2002), Charmed (2002), Firefly (2002), Las Vegas (2004), 24 (2006), Medium (2005-06), Bionic Woman (2007), Burn Notice (2009), Dollhouse (2009), Chuck (2010), Sons of Liberty (2013), Alligator X (2014) and MacGyver (2017). He has had a good many recurring roles too, including Christopher "CJ" Yates in Soldiers of Fortune (1997-98), Romo Lampkin in Battlestar Galactica (2007-09), Jim Sterling in Leverage (2008-12), Curtis Hagen in White Collar (2009/13-14), Benedict Valda in Warehouse 13 (2009-10/14), Crowley in 70 episodes of Supernatural (2009-17) and Willloughby Kipling in Doom Patrol (2019-21). In 2001 he wrote, produced and directed his own film, Room 101, and was also co-producer on Xtinction: Predator X (2010). He is occasionally credited as Mark A (for Andreas) Sheppard.
Facts
Mark is the son of actor William Morgan Sheppard, who appeared in this Doctor Who story as his older self. As a teenager he became a session musician (drummer) for touring bands and artists, including The Soft Boys' Robyn Hitchcock, Light a Big Fire, and The Television Personalities. Since 2011, Mark has been the voice of BBC America's promos. Here he is on Twitter.

William Morgan Sheppard (Old Canton Delaware) Aug 24 1932 to Jan 6 2019
Career highlights
William debuted in the 1962 British film Strongroom, then took roles in Marat/ Sade (1967), The Roses of Eyam (1973), Crown Court (1974), Antony and Cleopatra (1974), The Sweeney (1975), The New Avengers (1976), London Belongs to Me (1977), When the Boat Comes In (1977), Sherlock Holmes and Dr Watson (1979), A Family Affair (1979), The Professionals (1979), Shogun (1980), The Elephant Man (1980), Hawk the Slayer (1980), The Day of the Triffids (1981), The Keep (1983), Return to Treasure Island (1986), Cry Freedom (1987), Elvira: Mistress of the Dark (1988), Star Trek: The Next Generation (1989), Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country (1991), Quantum Leap (1993), Frasier (1995), Babylon 5 (1994/95), Iron Man (1995), Poltergeist: The Legacy (1996), American Gothic (1996), Timecop (1997), JAG (1998), Star Trek: Voyager (1999), Days of Our Lives (2000-01), Gods and Generals (2003), Alias (2005), The Prestige (2006), Transformers (2007), Star Trek (2009), Meeting Spencer (2010), Legend of the Seeker (2010), Mad Men (2010), Dexter (2011), April Apocalypse (2013), Last Man Club (2016) and The Librarians (2016). Regular roles include Blank Reg in Max Headroom (1985-88), the Professor in SeaQuest 2032 (1993-94) and the voice of Lawrence Limburger in Biker Mice from Mars (1993-96 & 2006-07). He was occasionally credited as W Morgan Sheppard or Morgan Sheppard.
Facts
William was the father of actor Mark Sheppard, who appeared as the younger version of Canton Delaware in this story. A failed surgery when he was young resulted in him losing one eye.

Sydney Wade (Little girl) Born Jul 18 2002
Career highlights
Sydney's first credit was in The Royal in 2007, followed by The Royal Today (2008), The Damned United (2009), Marchlands (2011), 360 (2011), Bedlam (2012), Sherlock (2012), Happy Valley (2014), North v South (2015), Offside (2015), Moving On (2016), Casualty (2016), Una (2016), I Kill Giants (2017) and Creeped Out (2017). She also played Jade Hollis in 28 episodes of Rocket's Island (2012-15) and Emilia Covaci in 22 episodes of Wolfblood (2016-17).
Facts
Sydney's parents are actors Tonicha Jeronimo and Stuart Wade (best known as Linda and Biff Fowler in soap Emmerdale). Here's Sydney on Twitter.

Glenn Wrage (Gardner) Born May 25 1959
Career highlights
Debuting in MIA (1996), American Glenn's further work includes Saving Private Ryan (1998), Wilderness Men (2000), Dark Realm (2001), Thunderpants (2002), Shane (2004), Captain Scarlet (2005), The Philanthropist (2009), Dani's House (2010), Cleanskin (2012), Veep (2014), Angel of Decay (2016), Blue Iguana (2018), Cold Pursuit (2019) and Cheaters (2022). He has also provided several voices for the US version of Thomas and Friends since 2010.
Facts
Glenn is a prolific video game voice artiste, and has also been a model.

CREW

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

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

Awards

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

Marcus Wilson (producer) Born Jul 4 1973
Doctor Who credits
Produced: 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, Closing Time, The Wedding of River Song, The Doctor, the Widow and the Wardrobe, Series 7 , The Snowmen, The Day of the Doctor, The Time of the Doctor (2011-13)
Career highlights
Marcus's earliest screen credit is as unit manager on soap Emmerdale in 1997, followed by floor manager on Verdict (1998) and production manager on Cutting It (2002) and No Angels (2004). He also acted as first assistant director on At Home with the Braithwaites (2000-01), Heartbeat (2000-02), The Royal (2003), No Angels (2004) and All the Small Things (2009). Other producing work includes Cutting It, No Angels, Life on Mars (2006-07), True Dare Kiss (2007), Whitechapel (2009), Paradox (2009), Taggart (2010), Our Zoo (2014), The Worst Witch (2017), Luther (2015/19), World on Fire (2019), The A Word (2016-20) and Domina (2021).
Facts
Marcus's wife is film and TV sound recordist Helen McIlveen (she was sound recordist on the Doctor Who story Closing Time). Here he is on Twitter.

Caroline Henry (script editor)
Doctor Who credits
Script edited: The Impossible Astronaut/ Day of the Moon, The Curse of the Black Spot, The Rebel Flesh/ The Almost People, Let's Kill Hitler, The Girl Who Waited, The Wedding of River Song, The Doctor, the Widow and the Wardrobe (all 2011; credited as script executive on last episode)
Career highlights
Caroline's other script editing work includes Ultimate Force (2006), Midsomer Murders (2007), The Bill (2008-10) and Inspector George Gently (2012). She was also assistant producer on the 2013 TV movie Lawless, and wrote episodes of Jericho (2016) and Devils (2020).

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!

Legend of the Sea Devils

A Sea Devil senses something
fishy going on...

One episode (Legend of the Sea Devils)

First broadcast: Apr 17 2022
Audience for story: 3.47m

REGULAR CAST

Jodie Whittaker (The Doctor) Born Jun 17 1982 Click here for Jodie Whittaker's entry on Twice Upon a Time

Mandip Gill (Yasmin Khan) Born Jan 5 1988 Click here for Mandip Gill's entry on The Woman Who Fell to Earth

John Bishop (Dan Lewis) Born Nov 30 1966 Click here for John Bishop's entry on Flux

GUEST CAST

Simon Carew (Sea Devil) Born 1987 Click here for Simon Carew's entry on Fugitive of the Judoon

Marlowe Chan-Reeves (Ying Ki)

This is Marlowe's only credit to date.

Andrew Cross (Sea Devil)

Doctor Who credits

Played: Surgeon in The Return of Doctor Mysterio (2016, uncredited)

Played: Sea Devil in Legend of the Sea Devils (2022)

Played: Cyberman in The Power of the Doctor (2022)

Jon Davey (Sea Devil)
Doctor Who credits
Played: Cyberman in Rise of the Cybermen/ The Age of Steel (2006, uncredited), Doomsday (2006, uncredited), The Next Doctor (2008, uncredited), The Pandorica Opens (2010, uncredited), The Timeless Children (2020), Flux (2021, uncredited)
Played: Man on bus in Army of Ghosts (2006, uncredited)
Played: Host in Voyage of the Damned (2007, uncredited)
Played: Ood in Planet of the Ood (2008, uncredited), The End of Time (2010, uncredited)
Played: Atmos worker in The Sontaran Stratagem (2008, uncredited)
Played: Hath in The Doctor's Daughter (2008, uncredited), The End of Time (2010, uncredited)
Played: Judoon in The Stolen Earth/ Journey's End (2008, uncredited)
Played: Winder in The Beast Below (2010, uncredited)
Played: Dalek in Victory of the Daleks (2010, uncredited), The Day of the Doctor (2013, uncredited), The Time of the Doctor (2013, uncredited)
Played: Call centre worker in The Lodger (2010, uncredited)
Played: Goalkeeper in The Lodger (2010, uncredited)
Played: Museum visitor in The Big Bang (2010, uncredited)
Played: Shansheeth in The Sarah Jane Adventures: Death of the Doctor (2010)
Played: Dark Horde in The Sarah Jane Adventures: Goodbye, Sarah Jane Smith (2010)
Played: Teselecta worker in Let's Kill Hitler (2011, uncredited)
Played: Cleric in Closing Time (2011, uncredited)
Played: Marine in The Wedding of River Song (2011, uncredited)
Played: UNIT soldier in The Bells of Saint John (2013, uncredited), The Day of the Doctor (2013, uncredited), Death in Heaven (2014, uncredited)
Played: Clockwork droid in Deep Breath (2014, uncredited)
Played: Dream Crab sleeper in Last Christmas (2014, uncredited)
Played: Mire in The Girl Who Died (2015, uncredited)
Played: Drone in The Return of Doctor Mysterio (2016, uncredited)

Played: UN troop in Extremis (2017, uncredited)

Played: Memory police in The Lie of the Land (2017, uncredited)

Played: Sea Devil in Legend of the Sea Devils (2022)
Jon also played monsters at the 2013 Doctor Who Prom.

Chester Durrant (Sea Devil) Born 1968

Doctor Who credits

Played: Pedestrian in The Runaway Bride (2006, uncredited)

Played: Futurekind in Utopia (2007, uncredited)

Played: Handsome guest in Voyage of the Damned (2007, uncredited)

Played: Soldier in The Doctor's Daughter (2008, uncredited), The Power of Three (2012, uncredited), The Bells of Saint John (2013, uncredited), The Day of the Doctor (2013, uncredited), Into the Dalek (2014, uncredited), Death in Heaven (2014, uncredited)

Played: Cleric in A Good Man Goes to War (2011, uncredited), Closing Time (2011, uncredited), The Time of the Doctor (2013, uncredited)

Played: Marine in The Wedding of River Song (2011, uncredited)

Played: Dalek operator in Asylum of the Daleks (2012, uncredited)

Played: Chorister in The Rings of Akhaten (2013, uncredited)

Played: Man in spacesuit in Listen (2014, uncredited)

Played: Guard in Time Heist (2014, uncredited), Mummy on the Orient Express (2014, uncredited)

Played: Sea Devil in Legend of the Sea Devils (2022)

Played: Cyberman in The Power of the Doctor (2022)

Career highlights

Chester's only other screen work is in Maleficent: Mistress of Evil (2019).

Craige Els (Chief Sea Devil) Born Jul 18 1978

Doctor Who credits

Played: Dan's friend in Revolution of the Daleks (2021, uncredited)

Played: Karvanista in Flux (2021)

Played: Chief Sea Devil in Legend of the Sea Devils (2022)

Career highlights

Debuted in Call the Midwife (2013), then Ripper Street (2013), Hailmakers (2017), Coronation Street (2019), Sliced (2021) and RIPD 2 (2022).

Arthur Lee (Ji-Hun) Born 1981

Career highlights

Arthur's earliest screen credit was in the short film Hurt's Rescue (2014), followed by Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015), Strike Back (2015), Lucky Man (2017), Greta (2018), Treadstone (2019), The Batman (2022) and Moonhaven (2022).

Mickey Lewis (Sea Devil) Click here for Mickey Lewis's entry on Ascension of the Cybermen

Richard Price (Sea Devil) Born May 26 1981 Click here for Richard Price's entry on Ascension of the Cybermen

David K.S Tse (Ying Wai)

Career highlights

Hong Kong born David's CV stems back to 1988's Soursweet, followed by parts in Tatort (1991), Minder (1993), Bhaji on the Beach (1993), London's Burning (1994), Frontiers (1996), Cracker (1996), Thief Takers (1997), Down to Earth (2003), The Grid (2004), Spooks (2010), Wolfblood (2012), DCI Banks (2016), Tokyo Trial (2016-17), Chimerica (2019), Devs (2020) and Doctor Styrange in the Multiverse of Madness (2022).

Facts

The "KS" stands for Ka-Shing.

Crystal Yu (Madam Ching) Born 1989

Career highlights

Hong Kong born Crystal's earliest credit was on Dream Team (2003), followed by Diamond Geezer (2007), Spirit Warriors (2010), Shanghai (2010), Chimerica (2019), Keeping Faith (2019), Soulmates (2020), Silverpoint (2022) and The Sandman (2022). She regularly played Lily Chao in almost 150 episodes of Casualty (2013-17).

CREW

Ella Road (writer) Born 1991

Career highlights

Ella started out as an actor in short films such as A Memory (2014), Tiny Bible (2015) and The Things I Will Not Miss (2018), as well as the film Winter Ridge (2018). As a writer, Doctor Who was her first TV credit, followed by two episodes of Ten Percent (2022), but she is also a playwright, penning the Olivier Award-nominated The Phlebotomist, and Fair Play.

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

Haolu Wang (director)

Career highlights

Chinese born Haolu's first TV credit was Doctor Who, which followed several short films such as Being James (2014), The Blender (2017) and The Pregnant Ground (2019). Haolu also wrote and produced some of these films.

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

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) Nov 25 1961 to Mar 9 2025
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), When It Rains (2020), Lionel in Lockdown (2021), Giles Case Files (2022) and Disaster Dates 2 (2023).
Facts
Simon, who could 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 listed him as "Viscount of William & Mona". In 2009, Simon was attacked by youths at a petrol station and badly beaten, leaving him with permanent damage to his spine and knee and having to walk with a stick.
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)

Doctor Who credits

Directed: A Good Man Goes to War (2011), The Robot Revolution (2025), Lucky Day (2025)
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), It's a Sin (2021), Cipher (2022), Nolly (2023) and The Last of Us (2023-25). 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)

2022: BAFTA TV Award for Best Director, Fiction (It's a Sin)

2024: BAFTA TV Award for Best Director, Fiction (The Last of Us)

2024: Directors' Guild of America Award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Dramatic Series (The Last of Us)

2024: Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation - Short Form (The Last of Us)

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