(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.