Big Finish really shone in 2008 for me. The first thing I have to say is that the stories have ranged from ok to fantastic. The first release of 2008 was The Bride of Peladon which was written by Barnaby Edwards. Edwards has directed many BF audios since July 1999 and it was nice to see him finally pen a Doctor Who story. In my review in Blog 44 dated January 27th 2008, I said; "The Bride of Peladon is a well written story with good characters and a good pace to it" The use of a familiar monster from Doctor Who's past was always a dangerous thing because if you don’t rise up to peoples expectations then its just going to be a terrible four part adventure. Also it saw the departure of Erimem (Caroline Morris). She had been in Doctor Who since 2001 and her partnership with Peri had been one of the highlights of the Fifth Doctor stories. Following on from C'Rizz departure and Charley's (supposed) departure it seemed that the Doctor was leaking companions. That wasn’t the case when February came around because it was The Condemned which saw the Sixth Doctor without Evelyn and more importantly with Charley Pollard who has spent seven years travelling with the 8th Doctor. After listening to the story I rated it 8/10. I thought that the explanation of why the Eighth Doctor doesn’t remember his time with Charley during his sixth incarnation would have been explained but it wasn’t yet.
March's release was The Dark Husband which featured the Seventh Doctor, Ace & Hex. This story was the weakest story that has been produced in 2008. It moved too slowly and as I commented on in Blog 55 dated March 30 2008 "Knowing what kind of person David Quantick is, I was expecting a slightly different kind of story and that is what we got but the only thing that let this story down was there just wasn’t any pace to it" April saw the introduction of Thomas Brewster. This was a three-part story arc starting off with The Haunting of Thomas Brewster. The only thing that I didn’t like about this story was the music, it just went on for too long and after a while it just got annoying. The surprise at the end that Brewster had stolen the TARDIS was an unexpected one. May's release was Assassin in the Limelight which saw the return of Evelyn Smythe who hadn’t been heard from since September 2007 in 100. It was a bit of a disappointment really as it was just a bit lacklustre. It was the final story in a trilogy following Medicinal Purposes in 2004 and Pier Pressure in 2006. It was nice to hear Evelyn back and also even better to hear Leslie Philips come back.
Moving on to June's release which was The Death Collectors. This was a three part story followed by a single part story. The three part was really good it had all the characters and a good plot what let it down was the single part story. It is the only time that I haven’t listened to a story all the way through, that was because it was just bizarre and uninspiring. July's release was the second part of the Thomas Brewster story-arc. The Boy That Time Forgot didnt feature Brewster until the end of Part 4 but his actions at the end of the previous story. This story does have a twist to replace the absence of Brewster. Adric. He travelled with the Doctor between 1980 and 1982 and was killed off in the story Earthshock, or so we thought. This story deals with the idea that Adric did survive and became lord and master of some weird earth. The Adric in this story was Andrew Sachs who played Manuel in the BBC comedy Fawlty Towers. His inclusion instead of Matthew Waterhouse seemed to annoy a lot of fans but to me it was a masterstroke piece of casting. Was just behind The Condemned in my favourite story of the year. August saw the second story to feature the Sixth Doctor and Charley in The Doomwood Curse. Whilst it was an enjoyable piece it wasn’t as good as The Condemned. Both Colin Baker and India Fisher excelled in this story. The use of a character like Dick Turpin could have made this release a doomed one but actually it wasn’t and turned out to be quite a good follow up to The Condemned.
The first release of September saw the release of Kingdom of Silver which saw the return of the Cybermen to the main series. This story wasn’t the greatest one to feature the Cybermen but I thought that it was entertaining. Also with this release was Keepsake which was a single part story. Now I am not a fan of these single episodes, I just don’t think that they work because you cant tell a story in 25 minutes. I have to admit that I was wrong in this case, it was actually quite good. It had nothing really to do with Doctor Who even though it featured the 7th Doctor. October saw the conclusion to the Thomas Brewster story arc in Time Reef. It was sad to see the exit of Brewster as I think he was a good addition and his conflicts with the Doctor were entertaining. Time Reef (which was a three-part story) wasn’t as good as The Boy That Time Forgot but it would have been impossible to beat. A Perfect World was really good as it was just the right exit for the character who lost his mother and didn’t have anyone really. Two good single part stories in a row, things are looking good except....
November saw the 45th Anniversary of Doctor Who and Big Finish chose to celebrate this milestone with four single stories. Like 100 back in September 2007 the story Forty-Five had links to the number 45. I wasn’t really looking forward because in the past single part stories have tended to be poor. However I was wrong with this as all four stories were fantastic. The final release of the year was The Raincloud Man which featured the 6th Doctor and Charley in their third release of the year and whilst I enjoyed it I found that it wasn’t the best of the three. The main problem was that there was a bit too much humour in it for my likening. The return of DI Menzies was very good and I wish that she would become a companion but maybe she will return in the future. One of the best things that Big Finish have done is to use a story arc in their stories. Similar to what the TV series has done, you have had the Thomas Brewster story arc which worked brilliantly and was finished in similar style. There was also the Charley Pollard storyline which is still continuing. The thing that links both stories is that they have been told in a intriguing way.
THE STAGEPLAYS
This year saw the arrival of three audio adventures based on stage plays. The first was The Ultimate Adventure which starred Jon Pertwee and Colin Baker when it appeared on the stage but was just played by Baker for this audio. It was strange to have songs in between action scenes but it did actually work. I'm not sure about the alliance between the Daleks and Cybermen. I think with their confrontation in 2006 this attempt seemed a bit weak. The Second was Seven Keys to Doomsday which was quite good in the way that they used the same actor who played the role on stage. Trevor Martin was really good as the Doctor, it had a William Hartnell feel to it and by that I mean it had that feel that it took several days. The third and final release was Curse of the Daleks and was perhaps the most curious release of this season. The story was a Doctor-less release and despite the fact that it took me a few attempts to get somewhere with this story, once I did get into it I actually found it quite interesting. It was eerie and it was the best story of the series. I had heard about these stories in various Doctor Who forms but never knew much about it. These three releases were brilliant and well worth the money.
THE COMPANION CHRONICLES
The companion chronicles entered a new form this year. January saw the final story the second series. The Catalyst was a Leela story and was a bit dull. July saw the third series begin. What was different about it was that there were 12 releases with one coming out each month. So far the stories have been really good and hopefully this new format will work. 2008 has been the best year for Big Finish. The quality of stories have always been high and even with weaker stories like The Dark Husband the releases have been enjoyable and worth the money.
Thursday, December 25, 2008
Friday, January 25, 2008
4 - Celebrities in Doctor Who
Celebrities and Doctor Who have gone hand in hand for many years. Before the likes of Derek Jacobi and Simon Pegg and alike starred in the new series, Doctor Who had attracted many famous faces. This Tomfile is about the famous faces that have graced the screen in the name of Doctor Who.
Now the thing about having celebrities in Doctor Who is obviously to raise the profile of the show and get some media attention. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't. Ken Dodd's appearance in Delta and the Bannermen in 1987 obviously didn't work but sometimes names like Kylie Minogue gets the job done. Her appearance in Voyage of the Damned got 13.3 million viewers which made it the 8th most watched programme in Doctor Who history. Below is the list of what I would consider the famous faces in Doctor Who. If you think that there’s anyone missing then – tough.
• The Beatles - The Fab Four who took over the world in the mid-1960's didn't actually appear specially for Doctor Who but a clip of them on Top of the Pops was shown on the 1965 William Hartnell story 'The Chase'.
• Peter Butterworth - Butterworth was more famous for appearing in 16 of the Carry On films. He played fellow Timelord The Meddling Monk and appeared in two William Hartnell stories, The Time Meddler (1965) and The Daleks Master Plan (1965/66).
• Michael Sheard - Michael Sheard is more known for playing Mr Bronson in the BBC Children’s Drama Grange Hill. He appeared in The Ark (1966), Dr Summers in The Mind of Evil (1971), Supervisor Lowe in The Invisible Enemy, Mergrave in Castrovalva and Remembrance of the Daleks (1988). He also appeared in the Big Finish play Stones of Venice (2001).
• Michael Gough - He has played Alfred in four of the Batman films but he appeared in two Doctor Who stories. His first was The Celestial Toymaker in the story of the same name (1966) and Arc of Infinity (1983) as Councillor Hedin.
• Carmen Silvera - Carmen who is best known for starring in the popular BBC Comedy 'Allo 'Allo!. She was in The Celestial Toymaker (1966) as Clara, Queen of Hearts & Mrs Wiggs. She also appeared in Invasion of the Dinosaurs (1974) as Ruth.
• Lynda Baron - Baron is best known for playing in the BBC Comedy Open All Hours alongside Ronnie Barker and David Jason. She sang (off screen) in the 1966 story The Gunfighters. She then appeared on screen in Enlightenment (1983) as Captain Wrack.
• Kenneth Kendall - BBC Newsreader and presenter of Treasure Hunt appeared in The War Machines as himself.
• Bernard Bresslaw - Another Carry On actor appeared alongside Patrick Troughton's Doctor as Varga in The Ice Warriors.
• Pauline Collins - Collins has appeared in two Doctor Who stories. The star of the Oscar Nominated Shirley Valentine starred in The Faceless Ones (1967) and as Queen Victoria alongside David Tennant in Tooth and Claw (2006).
• Hannah Gordon - The presenter of Watercolour Challenge and star of shows like Upstairs Downstairs, Telford Change and My Wife Next Door appeared in The Highlanders as Kirsty.
• Peter Sallis - The man behind the voice of Wallace and one of the original line-up from the ancient BBC Comedy Last of the Summer Wine appeared in The Ice Warriors as Penley.
• June Brown - Before becoming the Chain smoking Dot Branning in the BBC Soap Eastenders. June was in the 1973 story The Time Warrior as Lady Eleanor.
• Matthew Corbett - Well known for sticking his hand up Sotty's arse. Matthew Corbett appeared as Jones as The Daemons (1971).
• Paul Darrow - More known for starring in the lamer Sci-Fi show Blake's 7. Darrow played Captain Hawkins in the 1970 Jon Pertwee story Doctor Who and the Silurians. He also appeared in the awful Timelash as Tekker.
• Fulton Mackay - The star of Porridge appeared in the 1970 story Doctor Who and the Silurians as Dr Quinn.
• Geoffrey Palmer - Palmer has been in three times. He played Masters in the 1970 adventure Doctor Who and the Silurians, Administrator in The Mutants (1972) and as the Captain in the 2007 Christmas Special Voyage of the Damned.
• Ingrid Pitt - Star of countless Hammer Horror films appeared in Doctor Who as Queen Galleia in The Time Monster. She then appeared in Warriors of the Deep as Dr Solow.
• Helen Worth - Helen is best known as playing long-suffering mother Gail Platt in the ITV1 soap Coronation Street but played Mary Ashe in the 1971.
• John Challis - Boycie in Only Fools and Horses and its spin-off The Green Green Grass appeared as Scorby in the Tom Baker adventure The Seeds of Doom.
• John Cleese - The former Python and Fawlty Towers comedian appeared as a Art Gallery visitor in the 1979 adventure City of Death.
• Kenneth Cope - Another Carry On favourite appeared in Warriors Gate (1981) as Packard.
• Janet Ellis - The former Blue Peter presenter didn't use sticky back plastic in her performance of Teka in the 1980 adventure The Horns of Nimon.
• Keith Barron - He has appeared in shows like Where The Heart Is appeared as Captain Striker in the 1983 adventure Enlightenment.
• Martin Clunes - The Men Behaving Badly and Doc Martin actor appeared in the Snakedance story as Lon.
• Robert Glenister - The Hustle actor appeared in The Caves of Androzani alongside Peter Davison in his swan-song story as Salateen.
• Leslie Grantham - Before finding fame as Dirty Den Watts in Eastenders, he starred in Ressurection of the Daleks as Kiston.
• Nerys Hughes - The Liver Birds actress starred in Kinda as Todd. Polly James - The Liver Birds actress starred as Jane Hampden in the Peter Davison story The Awakening.
• Burt Kwouk - The Last of the Summer Wine actor appeared in Four To Doomsday as Lin Futu (1982).
• Rula Lenska - Dennis Waterman's ex-wife appeared in Resurrection of the Daleks as Styles (1984).
• Jonathan Morris - The Bread actor appeared in Snakedance as Chela.
• John Savident - The former Coronation Street actor appeared in Doctor Who first in the 1982 adventure The Visitation as The Squire even though it was only at the beginning of Part 1.
• Lynda Bellingham -The OXO ad actress appeared in The Trial of a Timelord (1986) as The Inquisitor.
• Honor Blackman -The former Bond Girl and The Avengers actress appeared in The Trial of a Timelord as Professor Lasky.
• Brian Blessed - The very loud very popular actor appeared in The Trial of a Timelord as Yrcanos.
• Faith Brown - The comedian appeared in Attack of the Cybermen as Flast.
• William Gaunt -The Champions actor appeared in the 1985 story as Orcini in Revelation of the Daleks.
• Sarah Greene - The Going Live and Ghost Watch actress appeared in Attack of the Cybermen as Varne.
• Geoffrey Hughes - The Keeping Up Appearances, Coronation Street, The Royle Family and Heartbeat actor appeared as Mr Popplewick in The Trial of a Timelord.
• Kate O'Mara -O'Mara appeared alongside Colin Baker in The Brothers and also The Mark of the Rani as The Rani, she would return in 1987 again as The Rani in The Time of the Rani.
• Jacqueline Pearce - The Blake's 7 actress appeared in The Two Doctors as Chessene (1985).
• Christopher Ryan - The Young Ones actor appeared in the 1985 adventure The Trial of a Timelord as Lord Kiv and also a an Sontaran in the 30th series (2008).
• Alexi Sayle - Considered as one of the founders of the alternative comedy scene. Sayle appeared in Revelation of the Daleks as a DJ.
• Joan Simms - Another Carry On actress guest starred as Katryca in The Trial of a Timelord.
• Clive Swift - The Keeping Up Appearances actor has appeared twice in Doctor Who. The first was as Jobel in Revelation of the Daleks and as Mr Cooper in the 2007 Christmas Special Voyage of the Damned.
• Richard Briers - The Good Life comedian appeared in Doctor Who in 1987 in the story Paradise Towers as Chief Caretaker.
• Ken Dodd - The tickling funny man appeared in the 1987 Delta and the Bannermen as the Tollmaster.
• Gareth Hale & Norman Pace - The comedy double act appeared in the last story to be broadcast in the original run – Survival (1989). They appeared as Len and Harvey.
• Sheila Hancock - The actress appeared as Helen A in the 1987 adventure The Happiness Patrol.
• Don Henderson - The XYY Man actor appeared in Delta and the Bannermen as Gavrok (1987).
• Nicholas Parsons - The host of Just a Minute and Sale of the Century appeared as The Rev Mr Wainwright in the 1989 story The Curse of Fenric.
• Anne Reid - The Coronation Street and Dinnerladies actress appeared in the Curse of Fenric as Nurse Crane and in Smith and Jones (2007) as Florence Finnegan.
• Adele Silva - Not a famous face at the time, the Emmerdale actress appeared in Survival in 1989 as Squeak.
• Silvia Syms - The actress appeared in the 1989 story Ghostlight as Mrs Pritchard.
• Eric Roberts - Brother of the Hollywood actress Julia Roberts appeared as The Master in the 1996 TV Movie.
• Mark Benton - The Early Doors funny man appeared in the 2005 story Rose. He starred as Clive the geek and got killed by an Auton.
• Zoe Wanamaker - The My Family and May to December actress was the voice of Lady Cassandra in the 2005 adventure The End of the World and returned the following year in New Earth.
• Simon Callow - The Four Weddings and a Funeral actor appeared in the 2005 adventure The Unquiet Dead as Charles Dickins.
• Matt Baker - The Blue Peter presenter appeared as himself on the show in Aliens of London.
• Navin Chowdhry - The Teachers actor appeared as Indra Ganesh in Aliens of London but got killed by a Slitheen.
• Andrew Marr - The BBC News reporter appeared as himself in Aliens of London and World War Three.
• Rupert Vansittart - Playing Lord Ashfordly in Heartbeat, Vansittart played General Asquith in Aliens of London.
• Penelope Wilton - The Shaun of the Dead actress appeared in Aliens of London, World War Three as Harriet Jones MP and then returned in The Christmas Invasion as Prime Minister.
• Bruno Langley - The former Coronation Street actor appeared as Adam in Dalek and the Long Game. He did travel for those two episodes but isn't really a companion.
• Tamsin Greig - The Black Books and Green Wing actress appeared as a Nurse in the 2005 story The Long Game.
• Simon Pegg - The Shaun of the Dead funny man appeared as The Editor in the 2005 story The Long Game.
• Richard Wilson - Famous for playing Victor Meldrew in the BBC Sitcom One Foot in the Grave. Wilson played Dr Constantine in The Empty Child & The Doctor Dances.
• Sussannah Constantine & Trinny Woodall - The What Not To Wear presenters provided voice for Zu-Zana and Trine-E in the 2005 season finale story Bad Wolf.
• Davina McCall - The Big Brother presenter provided a voice for Davinadroid in Bad Wolf.
• Jo Joyner - The Eastenders actress played Lynda Moss who was a Big Brother contestant in the Bad Wolf story.
• Anne Robinson - The Weakest Link presenter provided the voice of the Anne Droid in Bad Wolf and The Parting of the Ways.
• Anthony Stewart Head - The Buffy The Vampire Slayer actor appeared in School Reunion as Mr Finch.
• Sophia Myles - She played Lady Penelope in the Thunderbirds, she then went on to played Madam De Pompador in the 2006 story The Girl in the Fireplace.
• Don Warrington - The Rising Damp actor played The President in Rise of the Cybermen.
• Gethin Jones - The Blue Peter Presenter played a Cyberman in Rise of the Cybermen and The Age of Steel in 2006.
• Roger Lloyd Pack - Best known as Trigger. Pack played John Lumic in Rise of the Cybermen and The Age of Steel before becoming Cyber Controller.
• Ron Cook -Parker in Thunderbirds, Cook played Mr Magpie in The Idiots Lantern.
• Maureen Lipman - The British Telecoms actress appeared as The Wire in The Idiots Lantern (2006).
• Will Thorp - The former Casualty actor played Tbobias Zed in The Impossible Planet & The Satan Pit (2006).
• Peter Kay - The Max and Paddy, Phoenix Nights funny man played Victor Kennedy in Love & Monsters (2006). He also played the Abzorbaloff in the same story.
• Marc Warren - The Hustle actor played Elton Pope in the Doctor-lite story Love & Monsters (2006).
• Huw Edwards - The BBC News presenter provided the voice of himself in Fear Her at the 2012 Olympics in London (2006).
• Derek Acorah - The 'medium' appeared as himself in Army of Ghosts (2006)
• Alistair Appleton - The Cash in the Attic presenter played himself in Army of Ghosts (2006).
• Trisha Goddard - The talk-show host starred as herself in Army of Ghosts (2006)
• Barbara Windsor - The Carry On and Eastenders actress played Peggy Mitchell in Army of Ghosts (2006).
• Tracy-Ann Oberman - The Eastenders actress played Yvonne Hartman in Army of Ghosts and Doomsday (2006) where she was the leader of the Torchwood in Canary Wharf before becoming a Cyberman.
• Catherine Tate - The award winning actress appeared as Donna Noble in the 2006 Christmas Special The Runaway Bride before becoming a proper companion in the 2008 series.
• Sarah Parish - The Cutting It actress appeared as The Empress of the Racnoss in the Runaway Bride Christmas Special (2006).
• Roy Marsden - The PD James actor played Mr Stoker in the 2007 story Smith and Jones.
• David Lennox Kelly - The former Shameless actor played William Shakespeare in the 2007 story The Shakespeare Code.
• Ardal O'Hanlon - The Father Ted actor played Thomas Kincade Brannigan in the 2007 story Gridlock.
• Hugh Quarshie - The Holby City actor played Soloman in the 2007 two-parter Daleks in Manhattan and Evolution of the Daleks.
• Miranda Raison - The Spooks actress played Tallulah in Daleks in Manhttan and Evolution of the Daleks.
• Thelma Barlow - The former Coronation Street Actress played Lady Thaw in The Lazarus Experiment (2007).
• Mark Gatiss - The former League of Gentleman actor who had written The Unquiet Dead (2005) and The Idiots Lantern (2006) actually starred as Professor Richard Lazarus in The Lazarus Experiment.
• Michelle Collins - The former Eastenders actress played Kath McDonell in 42.
• Jessica Hynes - The Royle Family, Spaced and Shaun of the Dead actress played Joan Redfern in Human Nature and The Family of Blood (both 2007).
• Derek Jacobi - The former I,Claudis actor played Professor Yana and then The Master in the 2007 story Utopia.
• John Simm - The Life on Mars actor played the Master in the Last of the Timelords and Sound of Drums two-parter in 2007.
• McFly - The pop group briefly appeared in The Sound of Drums.
• Sharon Osbourne - The X Factor judge also briefly appeared in The Sound of Drums.
• Ann Widdecombe MP - The Conservative politician appeared as herself in The Sound of Drums.
• Bernard Cribbins - Known for appearing in the Big Screen Doctor Who movie appeared as Wilfred Mott in Voyage of the Damned.
• Kylie Minogue - The pop star and former Neighbours appeared as Astrid Peth.
• Tim McInnery - The Blackadder actor is to be in The Planet of the Ood in 2008. Role yet to be confirmed.
• Felicity Kendall - The Good Life actress will play Lady Clemeny Eddison in 2008
Now the thing about having celebrities in Doctor Who is obviously to raise the profile of the show and get some media attention. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't. Ken Dodd's appearance in Delta and the Bannermen in 1987 obviously didn't work but sometimes names like Kylie Minogue gets the job done. Her appearance in Voyage of the Damned got 13.3 million viewers which made it the 8th most watched programme in Doctor Who history. Below is the list of what I would consider the famous faces in Doctor Who. If you think that there’s anyone missing then – tough.
• The Beatles - The Fab Four who took over the world in the mid-1960's didn't actually appear specially for Doctor Who but a clip of them on Top of the Pops was shown on the 1965 William Hartnell story 'The Chase'.
• Peter Butterworth - Butterworth was more famous for appearing in 16 of the Carry On films. He played fellow Timelord The Meddling Monk and appeared in two William Hartnell stories, The Time Meddler (1965) and The Daleks Master Plan (1965/66).
• Michael Sheard - Michael Sheard is more known for playing Mr Bronson in the BBC Children’s Drama Grange Hill. He appeared in The Ark (1966), Dr Summers in The Mind of Evil (1971), Supervisor Lowe in The Invisible Enemy, Mergrave in Castrovalva and Remembrance of the Daleks (1988). He also appeared in the Big Finish play Stones of Venice (2001).
• Michael Gough - He has played Alfred in four of the Batman films but he appeared in two Doctor Who stories. His first was The Celestial Toymaker in the story of the same name (1966) and Arc of Infinity (1983) as Councillor Hedin.
• Carmen Silvera - Carmen who is best known for starring in the popular BBC Comedy 'Allo 'Allo!. She was in The Celestial Toymaker (1966) as Clara, Queen of Hearts & Mrs Wiggs. She also appeared in Invasion of the Dinosaurs (1974) as Ruth.
• Lynda Baron - Baron is best known for playing in the BBC Comedy Open All Hours alongside Ronnie Barker and David Jason. She sang (off screen) in the 1966 story The Gunfighters. She then appeared on screen in Enlightenment (1983) as Captain Wrack.
• Kenneth Kendall - BBC Newsreader and presenter of Treasure Hunt appeared in The War Machines as himself.
• Bernard Bresslaw - Another Carry On actor appeared alongside Patrick Troughton's Doctor as Varga in The Ice Warriors.
• Pauline Collins - Collins has appeared in two Doctor Who stories. The star of the Oscar Nominated Shirley Valentine starred in The Faceless Ones (1967) and as Queen Victoria alongside David Tennant in Tooth and Claw (2006).
• Hannah Gordon - The presenter of Watercolour Challenge and star of shows like Upstairs Downstairs, Telford Change and My Wife Next Door appeared in The Highlanders as Kirsty.
• Peter Sallis - The man behind the voice of Wallace and one of the original line-up from the ancient BBC Comedy Last of the Summer Wine appeared in The Ice Warriors as Penley.
• June Brown - Before becoming the Chain smoking Dot Branning in the BBC Soap Eastenders. June was in the 1973 story The Time Warrior as Lady Eleanor.
• Matthew Corbett - Well known for sticking his hand up Sotty's arse. Matthew Corbett appeared as Jones as The Daemons (1971).
• Paul Darrow - More known for starring in the lamer Sci-Fi show Blake's 7. Darrow played Captain Hawkins in the 1970 Jon Pertwee story Doctor Who and the Silurians. He also appeared in the awful Timelash as Tekker.
• Fulton Mackay - The star of Porridge appeared in the 1970 story Doctor Who and the Silurians as Dr Quinn.
• Geoffrey Palmer - Palmer has been in three times. He played Masters in the 1970 adventure Doctor Who and the Silurians, Administrator in The Mutants (1972) and as the Captain in the 2007 Christmas Special Voyage of the Damned.
• Ingrid Pitt - Star of countless Hammer Horror films appeared in Doctor Who as Queen Galleia in The Time Monster. She then appeared in Warriors of the Deep as Dr Solow.
• Helen Worth - Helen is best known as playing long-suffering mother Gail Platt in the ITV1 soap Coronation Street but played Mary Ashe in the 1971.
• John Challis - Boycie in Only Fools and Horses and its spin-off The Green Green Grass appeared as Scorby in the Tom Baker adventure The Seeds of Doom.
• John Cleese - The former Python and Fawlty Towers comedian appeared as a Art Gallery visitor in the 1979 adventure City of Death.
• Kenneth Cope - Another Carry On favourite appeared in Warriors Gate (1981) as Packard.
• Janet Ellis - The former Blue Peter presenter didn't use sticky back plastic in her performance of Teka in the 1980 adventure The Horns of Nimon.
• Keith Barron - He has appeared in shows like Where The Heart Is appeared as Captain Striker in the 1983 adventure Enlightenment.
• Martin Clunes - The Men Behaving Badly and Doc Martin actor appeared in the Snakedance story as Lon.
• Robert Glenister - The Hustle actor appeared in The Caves of Androzani alongside Peter Davison in his swan-song story as Salateen.
• Leslie Grantham - Before finding fame as Dirty Den Watts in Eastenders, he starred in Ressurection of the Daleks as Kiston.
• Nerys Hughes - The Liver Birds actress starred in Kinda as Todd. Polly James - The Liver Birds actress starred as Jane Hampden in the Peter Davison story The Awakening.
• Burt Kwouk - The Last of the Summer Wine actor appeared in Four To Doomsday as Lin Futu (1982).
• Rula Lenska - Dennis Waterman's ex-wife appeared in Resurrection of the Daleks as Styles (1984).
• Jonathan Morris - The Bread actor appeared in Snakedance as Chela.
• John Savident - The former Coronation Street actor appeared in Doctor Who first in the 1982 adventure The Visitation as The Squire even though it was only at the beginning of Part 1.
• Lynda Bellingham -The OXO ad actress appeared in The Trial of a Timelord (1986) as The Inquisitor.
• Honor Blackman -The former Bond Girl and The Avengers actress appeared in The Trial of a Timelord as Professor Lasky.
• Brian Blessed - The very loud very popular actor appeared in The Trial of a Timelord as Yrcanos.
• Faith Brown - The comedian appeared in Attack of the Cybermen as Flast.
• William Gaunt -The Champions actor appeared in the 1985 story as Orcini in Revelation of the Daleks.
• Sarah Greene - The Going Live and Ghost Watch actress appeared in Attack of the Cybermen as Varne.
• Geoffrey Hughes - The Keeping Up Appearances, Coronation Street, The Royle Family and Heartbeat actor appeared as Mr Popplewick in The Trial of a Timelord.
• Kate O'Mara -O'Mara appeared alongside Colin Baker in The Brothers and also The Mark of the Rani as The Rani, she would return in 1987 again as The Rani in The Time of the Rani.
• Jacqueline Pearce - The Blake's 7 actress appeared in The Two Doctors as Chessene (1985).
• Christopher Ryan - The Young Ones actor appeared in the 1985 adventure The Trial of a Timelord as Lord Kiv and also a an Sontaran in the 30th series (2008).
• Alexi Sayle - Considered as one of the founders of the alternative comedy scene. Sayle appeared in Revelation of the Daleks as a DJ.
• Joan Simms - Another Carry On actress guest starred as Katryca in The Trial of a Timelord.
• Clive Swift - The Keeping Up Appearances actor has appeared twice in Doctor Who. The first was as Jobel in Revelation of the Daleks and as Mr Cooper in the 2007 Christmas Special Voyage of the Damned.
• Richard Briers - The Good Life comedian appeared in Doctor Who in 1987 in the story Paradise Towers as Chief Caretaker.
• Ken Dodd - The tickling funny man appeared in the 1987 Delta and the Bannermen as the Tollmaster.
• Gareth Hale & Norman Pace - The comedy double act appeared in the last story to be broadcast in the original run – Survival (1989). They appeared as Len and Harvey.
• Sheila Hancock - The actress appeared as Helen A in the 1987 adventure The Happiness Patrol.
• Don Henderson - The XYY Man actor appeared in Delta and the Bannermen as Gavrok (1987).
• Nicholas Parsons - The host of Just a Minute and Sale of the Century appeared as The Rev Mr Wainwright in the 1989 story The Curse of Fenric.
• Anne Reid - The Coronation Street and Dinnerladies actress appeared in the Curse of Fenric as Nurse Crane and in Smith and Jones (2007) as Florence Finnegan.
• Adele Silva - Not a famous face at the time, the Emmerdale actress appeared in Survival in 1989 as Squeak.
• Silvia Syms - The actress appeared in the 1989 story Ghostlight as Mrs Pritchard.
• Eric Roberts - Brother of the Hollywood actress Julia Roberts appeared as The Master in the 1996 TV Movie.
• Mark Benton - The Early Doors funny man appeared in the 2005 story Rose. He starred as Clive the geek and got killed by an Auton.
• Zoe Wanamaker - The My Family and May to December actress was the voice of Lady Cassandra in the 2005 adventure The End of the World and returned the following year in New Earth.
• Simon Callow - The Four Weddings and a Funeral actor appeared in the 2005 adventure The Unquiet Dead as Charles Dickins.
• Matt Baker - The Blue Peter presenter appeared as himself on the show in Aliens of London.
• Navin Chowdhry - The Teachers actor appeared as Indra Ganesh in Aliens of London but got killed by a Slitheen.
• Andrew Marr - The BBC News reporter appeared as himself in Aliens of London and World War Three.
• Rupert Vansittart - Playing Lord Ashfordly in Heartbeat, Vansittart played General Asquith in Aliens of London.
• Penelope Wilton - The Shaun of the Dead actress appeared in Aliens of London, World War Three as Harriet Jones MP and then returned in The Christmas Invasion as Prime Minister.
• Bruno Langley - The former Coronation Street actor appeared as Adam in Dalek and the Long Game. He did travel for those two episodes but isn't really a companion.
• Tamsin Greig - The Black Books and Green Wing actress appeared as a Nurse in the 2005 story The Long Game.
• Simon Pegg - The Shaun of the Dead funny man appeared as The Editor in the 2005 story The Long Game.
• Richard Wilson - Famous for playing Victor Meldrew in the BBC Sitcom One Foot in the Grave. Wilson played Dr Constantine in The Empty Child & The Doctor Dances.
• Sussannah Constantine & Trinny Woodall - The What Not To Wear presenters provided voice for Zu-Zana and Trine-E in the 2005 season finale story Bad Wolf.
• Davina McCall - The Big Brother presenter provided a voice for Davinadroid in Bad Wolf.
• Jo Joyner - The Eastenders actress played Lynda Moss who was a Big Brother contestant in the Bad Wolf story.
• Anne Robinson - The Weakest Link presenter provided the voice of the Anne Droid in Bad Wolf and The Parting of the Ways.
• Anthony Stewart Head - The Buffy The Vampire Slayer actor appeared in School Reunion as Mr Finch.
• Sophia Myles - She played Lady Penelope in the Thunderbirds, she then went on to played Madam De Pompador in the 2006 story The Girl in the Fireplace.
• Don Warrington - The Rising Damp actor played The President in Rise of the Cybermen.
• Gethin Jones - The Blue Peter Presenter played a Cyberman in Rise of the Cybermen and The Age of Steel in 2006.
• Roger Lloyd Pack - Best known as Trigger. Pack played John Lumic in Rise of the Cybermen and The Age of Steel before becoming Cyber Controller.
• Ron Cook -Parker in Thunderbirds, Cook played Mr Magpie in The Idiots Lantern.
• Maureen Lipman - The British Telecoms actress appeared as The Wire in The Idiots Lantern (2006).
• Will Thorp - The former Casualty actor played Tbobias Zed in The Impossible Planet & The Satan Pit (2006).
• Peter Kay - The Max and Paddy, Phoenix Nights funny man played Victor Kennedy in Love & Monsters (2006). He also played the Abzorbaloff in the same story.
• Marc Warren - The Hustle actor played Elton Pope in the Doctor-lite story Love & Monsters (2006).
• Huw Edwards - The BBC News presenter provided the voice of himself in Fear Her at the 2012 Olympics in London (2006).
• Derek Acorah - The 'medium' appeared as himself in Army of Ghosts (2006)
• Alistair Appleton - The Cash in the Attic presenter played himself in Army of Ghosts (2006).
• Trisha Goddard - The talk-show host starred as herself in Army of Ghosts (2006)
• Barbara Windsor - The Carry On and Eastenders actress played Peggy Mitchell in Army of Ghosts (2006).
• Tracy-Ann Oberman - The Eastenders actress played Yvonne Hartman in Army of Ghosts and Doomsday (2006) where she was the leader of the Torchwood in Canary Wharf before becoming a Cyberman.
• Catherine Tate - The award winning actress appeared as Donna Noble in the 2006 Christmas Special The Runaway Bride before becoming a proper companion in the 2008 series.
• Sarah Parish - The Cutting It actress appeared as The Empress of the Racnoss in the Runaway Bride Christmas Special (2006).
• Roy Marsden - The PD James actor played Mr Stoker in the 2007 story Smith and Jones.
• David Lennox Kelly - The former Shameless actor played William Shakespeare in the 2007 story The Shakespeare Code.
• Ardal O'Hanlon - The Father Ted actor played Thomas Kincade Brannigan in the 2007 story Gridlock.
• Hugh Quarshie - The Holby City actor played Soloman in the 2007 two-parter Daleks in Manhattan and Evolution of the Daleks.
• Miranda Raison - The Spooks actress played Tallulah in Daleks in Manhttan and Evolution of the Daleks.
• Thelma Barlow - The former Coronation Street Actress played Lady Thaw in The Lazarus Experiment (2007).
• Mark Gatiss - The former League of Gentleman actor who had written The Unquiet Dead (2005) and The Idiots Lantern (2006) actually starred as Professor Richard Lazarus in The Lazarus Experiment.
• Michelle Collins - The former Eastenders actress played Kath McDonell in 42.
• Jessica Hynes - The Royle Family, Spaced and Shaun of the Dead actress played Joan Redfern in Human Nature and The Family of Blood (both 2007).
• Derek Jacobi - The former I,Claudis actor played Professor Yana and then The Master in the 2007 story Utopia.
• John Simm - The Life on Mars actor played the Master in the Last of the Timelords and Sound of Drums two-parter in 2007.
• McFly - The pop group briefly appeared in The Sound of Drums.
• Sharon Osbourne - The X Factor judge also briefly appeared in The Sound of Drums.
• Ann Widdecombe MP - The Conservative politician appeared as herself in The Sound of Drums.
• Bernard Cribbins - Known for appearing in the Big Screen Doctor Who movie appeared as Wilfred Mott in Voyage of the Damned.
• Kylie Minogue - The pop star and former Neighbours appeared as Astrid Peth.
• Tim McInnery - The Blackadder actor is to be in The Planet of the Ood in 2008. Role yet to be confirmed.
• Felicity Kendall - The Good Life actress will play Lady Clemeny Eddison in 2008
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