Doctor Who - The Name of the Doctor - 8:00 pm Saturday, April 11 on BBC Three

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.

Alex Kingston (Actor) .. River Song

Born: March 11, 1963 in London

Best Known For: Playing Dr Elizabeth Corday in ER.

Early-life: Alexandra Elizabeth Kingston was born in London on March 11, 1963. She became interested in acting after being taken by her German mother to see her uncle on stage. Her first performance came in a school nativity play, in which she played the Angel Gabriel. As a teenager, she performed in the Surrey County Youth Theatre and landed a role as a bully in CBBC drama Grange Hill. She later studied at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art.

Career: Kingston's professional career began in repertory theatres across the UK. She then spent time with the Royal Shakespeare Company before making the first of several brief appearances in The Bill. Roles in The Cook, the Thief, His Wife and Her Lover (1989), Crocodile Shoes, The Knock, and Carrington (1995) followed. The lead role in TV's Moll Flanders finally made her a star in 1996. Soon afterwards, she moved to the US to join the cast of medical drama ER and quickly became a household name. She remained with the show for seven seasons, departing in 2004. Other high-profile projects have included Croupier (1998), Essex Boys (2000) and Warrior Queen (2003). She's also appeared in Doctor Who, FlashForward, Lost in Austen, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, Hope Springs, Marchlands and Private Practice. She returned to ER, making two brief appearances in its final series in 2009. More recently, she has starred in Arrow, and Chasing Shadows.

Quote: 'I always considered myself more of a character actress and I'm glad I have because I don't think I get too paranoid about my looks.'

Trivia: She won two Screen Actors Guild Awards for her role in ER.

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) .. Madame Vastra

Catrin Stewart (Actor) .. Jenny

Dan Starkey (Actor) .. Strax

Eve De Leon Allen (Actor) .. Angie

Kassius Carey Johnson (Actor) .. Artie

Nasi Voutsas (Actor) .. Andro

David Avery (Actor) .. Fabian

Michael Jenn (Actor) .. Clarence

Rab Affleck (Actor) .. Archie

Samuel Irvine (Actor) .. Messenger boy

Sophie Downham (Actor) .. Young Clara

Paul Kasey (Actor) .. Whisper Man

Denise Paul (Producer)

Saul Metzstein (Director)

Steven Moffat (Writer)

Caroline Skinner (Executive producer)

Marcus Wilson (Series producer)

Doctor Who: The Name of the Doctor

8:00 pm - 8:45 pm, Saturday, April 11 on BBC Three (23)

About this Broadcast

The Name of the Doctor
Season 7, Episode 14

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