Doctor Who - The Snowmen - 8:00 pm Thursday, December 18 on BBC Three HD

Matt Smith (Actor) .. The Doctor

Born: October 28, 1982 in Northampton

Best Known For: Being the current Doctor Who.

Early-life: Matthew Robert Smith was born on October 28, 1982, in Northampton. A promising footballer from a young age, he played for the youth teams at Northampton Town, Nottingham Forest and Leicester City. He looked set for a professional career until a back injury scuppered his chances. A teacher encouraged him to act, and although reluctant at first, he eventually joined the National Youth Theatre. He also studied drama and creative writing at the University of East Anglia. At the same time, his professional stage career began to take off, and he was allowed to miss lectures during his final year so that he could work.

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.

Quote: "I'm tired of television that's patronising and silly. I think Doctor Who is brave and it's inviting, challenging. For me anyway; I can only speak personally."

Trivia: He's a Blackburn Rovers supporter and loves the band Radiohead.

Jenna Coleman (Actor) .. Clara

Born: April 27, 1986 in Blackpool

Best Known For: Playing Clara in Doctor Who.

Early-life: Born Jenna-Louise Coleman in Blackpool on April 27, 1986. She has an older brother called Ben and was head girl at her comprehensive school. While still at school she began appearing with local theatre group Yer Space, and won an award at the Edinburgh Festival for her performance in one of the organisation's plays. Jenna was auditioning for drama schools when she landed the part of Jasmine Thomas in Emmerdale in 2005. She relocated to Leeds and ended up staying on the soap for nearly four years, appearing in 168 episodes.

Career: Coleman went on to have a recurring role in Waterloo Road, but claims that playing a schoolgirl at the age of 23 was "surreal". She went on to appear in Julian Fellowes' ITV mini-series Titanic and starred in a BBC Four adaptation of John Braine's novel Room at the Top. She made her film debut in Captain America: The First Avenger (2011). Her profile increased significantly in 2012 when it was announced that she would play the companion in Doctor Who. Away from the sci-fi drama, she has starred in Stephen Poliakoff's Dancing on the Edge and the three-part drama Death Comes to Pemberley. In 2013 she dropped 'Louise' from her name and is now known as Jenna Coleman.

Quote: "I'd love to work across all three fields - theatre, film and TV."

Trivia: Coleman was nominated for a number of soap awards during her time on Emmerdale, including Most Popular Newcomer at the 2007 National Television Awards.

Richard E Grant (Actor) .. Dr Simeon

Born: May 02, 1957 in Mbabane, Swaziland

Best Known For: Withnail and I.

Early-life: Born Richard Esterhuysen on May 2, 1957, in Mbabane, Swaziland. His mother left home when he was 11, leaving him and his brother Stuart to be raised by their father, the country's director of education. He attended school with Nelson Mandela's daughter. Grant knew from an early age he wanted to act after becoming infatuated with Barbra Streisand. He studied English and drama at university in Cape Town, South Africa, then settled in London, but struggled to make a name for himself.

Career: Grant gained good reviews for a performance in short film Honest, Decent and True in 1985, alongside Gary Oldman and Arabella Weir. His big break came when Daniel Day-Lewis dropped out of Withnail and I, and Grant took his place. The film was a cult smash. Since then, he's appeared in various films and TV shows, including Bram Stoker's Dracula, The Age of Innocence, LA Story, The Scarlet Pimpernel, Gosford Park, and The Hound of the Baskervilles. His film diary, With Nails, was a best-seller, but a novel, By Design, was disappointing. In 2005, he made his directing debut with the critically acclaimed, semi-autobiographical Wah-Wah. His recent work includes roles in Colour Me Kubrick, Penelope, Cuckoo and The Iron Lady, in which he played Tory politician Michael Heseltine.

Quote: "Sometimes Hollywood doesn't seem a million miles from a Miss World contest. I just don't have strong enough mental furniture to withstand it."

Trivia: In 2006, he helped to expose a $98million scam to sell a bogus AIDS cure.

Neve McIntosh (Actor) .. Vastra

Dan Starkey (Actor) .. Strax

Catrin Stewart (Actor) .. Jenny

Tom Ward (Actor) .. Capt Latimer

Born: January 11, 1971 in Swansea

Best Known For: Silent Witness.

Early-life: Tom Ward was born on January 11, 1971, in Swansea, Wales. His father, John Powell Ward, is a poet, while his mother, Sarah, is a farmer. His brother, Tristan, is a solicitor. On leaving school, Ward studied philosophy, politics and economics at Oxford University. While there, he became hooked on acting during a spell in the drama society. He's also represented Great Britain at fencing and enjoys singing, dancing and playing the saxophone.

Career: Ward made his TV debut in a 1990 episode of The Storyteller: Greek Myths. His first film, Lethal Justice, followed a year later, but he didn't become a regular TV presence until the 1995 small-screen adaptation of Pride and Prejudice. He's rarely been out of work since, thanks to roles in The Fortunes and Misfortunes of Moll Flanders, Vanity Fair, Plunkett & Macleane, Warriors, Quills, Anna Karenina and Love in a Cold Climate. Ward has also appeared numerous times on stage, but remains most recognisable for Dr Harry Cunningham in Silent Witness - a part he began playing in 2002.

Quote: "I do look better on TV. In real life I look scruffy and pale."

Liz White (Actor) .. Alice

Born: November 05, 1979 in Rotherham, South Yorkshire

Best Known For: Playing Annie Cartwright in Life on Mars.

Early-life: Elizabeth White was born on November 5, 1979 in Rotherham, South Yorkshire. She moved to Devon at age nine and then to Liverpool years later, when she went to train at the Liverpool Institute of Performing Arts. Her earliest TV roles were in episodes of Auf Wiedersehen, Pet and Always and Everyone in 2002.

Career: In 2003, White appeared in the TV series Teachers. Her first feature film role came the year after in Vera Drake (2004) and she also appeared in TV series A Thing Called Love. She played Annie Cartwright in two seasons of BBC drama Life on Mars from 2006 until 2007 and then played Jess Mercer in The Fixer in 2008. White then went on to appear in episodes of Agatha Christie's Marple, Doctor Who, Line of Duty and New Tricks as well as the films Franklyn (2008), The Woman in Black (2012), U Want Me 2 Kill Him? (2013) and Pride (2014). She also played Lizzie Mottershead in Our Zoo. More recently, she has had roles in The Halcyon, Call the Midwife and Ackley Bridge.

Quote: On keeping a private personal life: "I like to be invisible anyway but I think it's a wise choice for an actor. The less people know about you as a person, the more they can believe you as someone else."

Trivia: She teaches yoga.

Joseph Darcey-Alden (Actor) .. Digby

Ellie Darcey-Alden (Actor) .. Francesca

Ben Addis (Actor) .. Bob Chilcott

Jim Conway (Actor) .. Uncle Josh

Cameron Strefford (Actor) .. Young Walter

Annabelle Dowler (Actor) .. Walter's mother

Ian McKellen (Actor) .. Voice of the Snowman

Born: May 25, 1939 in Burnley

Best Known For: The Lord of the Rings.

Early-life: Ian Murray McKellen was born in Burnley, Lancashire, on May 25, 1939. His father was a civil engineer, and the family moved to Wigan shortly before the outbreak of World War Two. His parents encouraged his interest in drama and took him to see Peter Pan at Manchester's Opera House when he was three. He appeared in several school plays and acted in 21 undergraduate productions while studying English at St Catherine's College, Cambridge.

Career: McKellen started out on stage, gaining acclaim in Britain and America, and winning a prestigious Tony award for his performance in the original Broadway production of Amadeus. He didn't become a household name until his film career took off with hits such as Scandal, Richard III, and X-Men and its sequels. He received Oscar nominations for Gods and Monsters and the first part of The Lord of the Rings trilogy. More recently, he reprised the role of Gandalf in The Hobbit movies. He continues to appear on stage.

Quote: "Acting is no longer about lying. It's now about revealing the truth. People are at ease with me now. Honesty is the best policy."

Trivia: Away from acting, McKellen is a campaigner for gay rights and was knighted in 1990.

Juliet Cadzow (Actor) .. Voice of the Ice Governess

Daniel Hyde (Actor) .. Lead worker

Sophie Miller-Sheen (Actor) .. Girl

Marcus Wilson (Producer)

Steven Moffat (Writer)

Caroline Skinner (Executive producer)

Saul Metzstein (Director)

Doctor Who: The Snowmen

8:00 pm - 9:00 pm, Today on BBC Three HD (107)

About this Broadcast

The Snowmen
Season 7, Episode 6

Cast & Crew

More Information

Did You Know..

Before / After