Career: Smith's first professional roles came in the plays Fresh Kills, opposite Christian Slater, and On the Shore of the Wide World. He appeared with Slater again in Swimming with Sharks, and also featured in The History Boys. He was part of the Olivier Award-nominated cast of That Face. His TV roles include The Ruby in the Smoke, The Shadow in the North and Secret Diary of a Call Girl, all alongside ex-Doctor Who assistant Billie Piper. He also starred in political drama Party Animals, and made his debut as the 11th Doctor Who in 2010. He was the youngest actor to play the part, but will bow out at Christmas, when he'll be replaced by Peter Capaldi. Other projects include Christopher and His Kind, Bert and Dickie, Womb, and the forthcoming How to Catch a Monster. He will return to the West End stage in 2014 to play the lead in a musical version of American Psycho.

Career: Gillan's early TV career included guest appearances in Rebus, Harley Street and Coming Up. She played various characters in The Kevin Bishop Show. She made a guest appearance on Doctor Who in 2008 and two year's later, the show would prove to be a launchpad for her career when she was cast as the Eleventh Doctor's (Matt Smith) first companion, Amy Pond. She made appearances in the show as Amy until 2013. She has also starred in the TV movie We'll Take Manhattan and the film Guardians of the Galaxy (2014). In 2014, she also starred in short-lived American sitcom Selfie. In 2011, she made her stage debut in Inadmissible Evidence at the Donmar Warehouse.

Career: In 2000, Darvill began presenting continuity links on CITV. He left a year later and founded his own theatre company, Fuego's Men. At 18 he settled in London to take up a place at Rada. Many of his early roles came on stage, including in an acclaimed production of Terre Haute at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. He worked with future Doctor Who co-star Matt Smith in Swimming with Sharks in 2007. A year later, he made his TV debut in He Kills Coppers and followed it with Little Dorrit, but it was travelling with the Time Lord as Rory Williams that made him a star. Other projects since include the films Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll, and Robin Hood.

Career: After graduating, Mays landed a number of small roles in such TV series as EastEnders, In Deep and The Bill as well as the film Pearl Harbor (2001). He starred in BBC drama Rehab in 2003. Mays then went on to land roles in such TV series as Top Buzzer, Funland, Plus One and Ashes to Ashes. He also had an appearance in an episode of Doctor Who. Mays had parts in such films as Atonement (2007), Made in Dagenham (2010) and The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn (2011). As well as TV and film, Mays has had work in theatre, including six plays at London's Royal Court Theatre. More recently, he has had roles in TV series Line of Duty and Born to Kill, as well as Rogue One (2016).

Career: Gatiss eventually settled in London, where he hoped to earn a living as an actor but made ends meet writing Doctor Who books. He and friends Steve Pemberton, Reece Shearsmith and Jeremy Dyson formed The League of Gentlemen in 1995, which had successful stints on stage, radio, TV and film. Since then he's appeared in Bright Young Things, Marple, The Quatermass Experiment, Nighty Night and Jekyll. Gatiss was also script editor on the first Little Britain series, and has penned episodes of Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased) and Doctor Who (in which he's also appeared). He portrayed Malcolm MacLaren in the 2010 drama Worried About the Boy and co-created Sherlock with Steven Moffat.