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: Tennant's TV debut was in a 1993 episode of Rab C Nesbitt, but he first made people sit up and take notice thanks to an acclaimed performance in Takin' Over the Asylum a year later. His first film was 1996's Jude. He then appeared in the likes of Duck Patrol, Love in the 21st Century, Bright Young Things and He Knew He Was Right. In 2004, musical mini-series Blackpool helped raise his profile, while Casanova turned him into a heart-throb. Tennant replaced Christopher Eccleston in Doctor Who in 2005, but left the role at the start of 2010; he did, however, return for the 50th anniversary episode in 2013. Projects since include Single Father, Fright Night and Broadchurch - he is also the star of the US version, Gracepoint. He continues to appear on stage whenever possible.

Career: Hurt made both his London stage debut (in the acclaimed Infanticide in the House of Fred Ginger) and his first film, The Wild and the Willing, in 1962. More theatre work and films such as A Man for All Seasons and 10 Rillington Place followed. In 1975, he won a Bafta for his portrayal of Quentin Crisp in TV drama The Naked Civil Servant, which made his name. He received Oscar nominations for Midnight Express and The Elephant Man. Other acclaimed projects included Nineteen Eighty-Four, Scandal, Alien and Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. He also portrayed the Tory politician Alan Clark in The Alan Clark Diaries for the BBC. He reprised his role as Quentin Crisp in 2009 in An Englishman in New York. He went on to appear in the final two Harry Potter films, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, and Doctor Who. He died on January 27, 2017, at the age of 77.

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.

Career: After being talent spotted in Saturday morning ITV show Scratchy and Co, Piper signed a record contract at 15, and subsequently became the youngest ever artist to go straight to the top of the UK singles chart with Because We Want To. More hits followed and two successful albums before she quit music in 2003 to become an actress. Her early roles in The Canterbury Tales and one-off drama Bella and the Boys earned rave reviews. Her biggest break came in 2004 when it was announced she would be Doctor Who's companion Rose Tyler in the revived BBC sci-fi series. She's also appeared in The Ruby in the Smoke, Mansfield Park, The Shadow in the North and Secret Diary of a Call Girl.

Career: Redgrave followed her father, grandparents Michael Redgrave and Rachel Kempson, aunts Vanessa and Lynn Redgrave, and cousins Natasha and Joely Richardson into acting. She started in the theatre, eventually making her movie debut in Dream Demon, and her first TV appearance in Tales of the Unexpected, in 1988. Other early projects include Howards End, Diana: Her True Story, and The Buddha of Suburbia. She became a star thanks to TV series Bramwell, which ended in 1998. Since then she's appeared in such projects as I'll Be There, The Grid, Amnesia, Tom Brown's Schooldays, Frankie and Doctor Who (including the 50th anniversary episode). Redgrave also continues to work on stage.

Career: Page's first film was 1999's Miss Julie, the same year she made her TV debut as Dora in an adaptation of David Copperfield. She went on to have a regular role in The Cazalets. Page appeared alongside Johnny Depp in From Hell, but it was starring as the girl who steals Martin Freeman's heart in Love Actually that made her a famous face, although she didn't become a household name until tackling one of the lead roles in much-loved sitcom Gavin & Stacey. Other TV work includes appearances in White Van Man, The Syndicate, Gates and the 50th anniversary episode of Doctor Who.