Doctor Who - Deep Breath - 7:15 pm Saturday, May 2 on BBC Three

Peter Capaldi (Actor) .. The Doctor

Born: April 14, 1958 in Glasgow

Best Known For: The Thick of It and Doctor Who.

Early-life: Peter Dougan Capaldi was born in Glasgow on April 14, 1958. He is Irish on his mother's side and his father's family was from Italy. While attending Glasgow School of Art, he was the lead singer in a punk rock band called the Dreamboys. The drummer in the band was Craig Ferguson, who went on to become comedian and American chat show host. It was also while studying that Peter landed his breakthrough acting role in Local Hero in 1983.

Career: Playing mainly minor roles, Capaldi went on to feature in episodes of Minder, C.A.T.S. Eyes, The Lair of the White Worm, Rab C Nesbitt, Ruth Rendell Mysteries, Agatha Christie's Poirot and the miniseries Selling Hitler. He returned to the big screen when he wrote and starred in 1993's low-budget Soft Top Hard Shoulder. Guest starring roles followed in Prime Suspect 3, The Vicar of Dibley, Judge John Deed, My Family and Midsomer Murders. His profile raised significantly in 2005 when he began playing foul-mouthed spin doctor Malcolm Tucker in BBC comedy The Thick of It, a role that won him a Bafta. He also played Tucker in movie spin-off In the Loop. Always in-demand, his other TV credits include Skins, Torchwood: Children of Earth, The Nativity, Getting On and The Hour. He is currently playing the twelfth incarnation of the Time Lord in Doctor Who, a role he had long coveted.

Quote: 'There is no such thing as too much swearing. Swearing is just a piece of linguistic mechanics. The words in-between are the clever ones.'

Trivia: A lifelong Doctor Who fan, Capaldi was invited to audition for the role of the Eighth Doctor, which was eventually taken by Paul McGann, but turned it down, saying, 'I loved the show so much, and I didn't think I'd get it, and I didn't want to just be part of a big cull of actors.'

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.

Neve McIntosh (Actor) .. Madame Vastra

Dan Starkey (Actor) .. Strax

Catrin Stewart (Actor) .. Jenny

Peter Ferdinando (Actor) .. Half-Face Man

Paul Hickey (Actor) .. Insp Gregson

Tony Way (Actor) .. Alf

Maggie Service (Actor) .. Elsie

Brian Miller (Actor) .. Barney

Ellis George (Actor) .. Courtney

Mark Kempner (Actor) .. Cabbie

Graham Duff (Actor) .. Waiter

Peter Hannah (Actor) .. Policeman

Paul Kasey (Actor) .. Footman

Ben Wheatley (Director)

Nikki Wilson (Producer)

Steven Moffat (Executive producer)

Brian Minchin (Executive producer)

Doctor Who: Deep Breath

7:15 pm - 8:30 pm, Saturday, May 2 on BBC Three (23)

About this Broadcast

Deep Breath
Season 8, Episode 1

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