The Doctor Who Actor Spotting Game

(Well, nobody's given it a proper name, have they?)

It's one of the most common things people shout at the telly - "oh, what's he/she been in?" And a lot of the time, they've been in Doctor Who. Naturally, it's attracted a whole range of guest stars over its 50 years (well, minus fourteen or so - but who's counting?) - from the likes of Michael Gambon and John Cleese, to Ken Dodd and McFly. People have noticed - I recall Doctor Who Magazine itself asking some pertinent questions a couple of years ago: with alumni popping up seemingly in every show, is there anything with no Doctor Who stars in? Or a series where every actor has appeared in it?

Okay, there's a few rules to this. For starters, it's got to be British - some American telly for instance is connected, but that's just lucky guessing. Secondly, obviously we're only looking at dramas or comedy, not real life stuff. And thirdly, ideally it has to be a series. A one off play with two actors or new and upcoming comedians isn't as interesting as twenty-odd episodes of something.

And only Doctor Who counts - not Torchwood, or Sarah Jane Adventures (sadly - even the latter starred Nigel Havers, Phyllida Law, Miriam Margoyles, Jane Asher, Julie Graham, Eddie Marsan, Ronnie Corbett...). Nor technically the wonderful new An Adventure in Space and Time drama. And no Big Finish, or we'll be here all day listing them.


Nowadays, with Doctor Who being back for almost ten years, you'll struggle to find a drama series without any connections. Some of the biggest even have main lead actors who have appeared in it - Downton Abbey, Call the Midwife, Broadchurch, Doc Martin, Last Tango in Halifax (in which three former villians star in a heartwarming drama), Merlin, New Tricks (just, at the moment), Being Human, both Scott & Bailey... nearly every episode stars someone in Doctor Who. The upcoming The Muskateers only has Peter Capaldi, and Atlantis has Sarah Parish

But then for some, you've got to dig deeper, into guest stars and bit parts. And recently I've watched four (I thought you'd struggle to find one, but FOUR!) British shows who have bucked the trend, with no actors who have also appeared in Who! Some come very very close - In the Flesh only has Nefertiti in it, in a flashback. The first series of BBC's The Syndicate was Who-free (until next month), though the second doesn't. Whilst the main pair haven't cropped up yet, in Sherlock quite a few of the guests have, same with Misfits. Spooks has relatively few considering its length, and Luther only had a few (mainly Paul McGann, and Steven 'Timelash' Mackintosh). Channel 4 normally has the least - Utopia for instance only had a couple of minor roles.

Another starry production is traditionally the Agatha Christies, with lots of cast members who mostly only appear once. In the Poirot series, there's on average two people in every production who have been in Who (which rises when you take stories post 2005), one person for the short stories. The new Marple series are even more starry - the average works out almost double, with each having at least one star (the most is eight!!).

 Children's TV has links too - Wolfblood has about three, RTD created Wizards Vs Aliens has loads, and even The Sparticle Mystery - a show based in a world without any adults in it! - has Annette Badland as one of the few grown-up stars (same with Tracey Beaker and The Dumping Ground!). So, what dramas have I found?

1. First one - CBBC series Leonardo. Okay, it's filmed in South Africa, but it still counts, it's BBC commissioned, with loads of British actors. (Including Pam St Clement, who was in EastEnders crossover episode Dimension in Time... umm, okay, that doesn't count.) [Edited - Jonathan Bailey is appearing in the 2014 series!]
2. Second one - very forgotten about ITV drama Murder on the Home Front earlier this year. It's a proper British drama, filmed here, and directed by Geoffrey 'The Paul McGann Movie' Sax. Some recognisable stars, but no Who actors (admittedly, only a ninety minute TV movie, but still).
3. Third one - another BBC one, the popular The Fall, set in Northern Ireland, which explains why we haven't heard of most of the actors over here. This one doesn't have any connections - not until Gillian Anderson is in the show that is, which can't be that far away.
4. Fourth one - Top of the Lake, but I'm sure that completely counts as being a BBC drama, being such a big co-production, but still. Filmed in New Zealand.

Other shows probably slipped through my radar - and I haven't thought much about sitcoms or comedy - but that's just the few that I've seen myself (and that's only this year!). Maybe you'd find a lot more of them in the 1990s.

Big names that haven't appeared in Who? Countless, but some big ones are undoubtedly Alison Steadman, Joanna Lumley, Miriam Margoyles, Jenny Agutter, Timothy Spall, Keeley Hawes, Matthew MacFadyen, Anna Chancellor, Phillip Glenister, Jack Davenport, Stephen Fry, Patricia Hodge, Eileen Atkins, any of the Foxs... you get the picture.

Because the programme's been going on for a long time, it's amazing how many times actors pop up. The Doctor visits a new location in every story - and that has to be populated by a new bunch of guest actors. And because of its high status - especially today - it can attract some top names. But in the past few years, there's been less Doctor Who made than before - could this have had an impact? Or less obviously, maybe the reason some shows have slipped through the metaphorical net could be because Doctor Who is so big, compared to other programmes. Are new and upcoming actors missing out on the big parts compared with previous years - parts like Russell Tovey had, or Daniel Kaluuya, or Joe Dempsie? Are other TV productions looking further afield for new talent - due to creativity, or simply reduced budgets? Perhaps by finding examples of series without any Who actors, this means there's room for everyone in the business. Or maybe it's harder than ever.