Doctor Who - Into the Dalek - 02:20 am Monday, May 11 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.

Zawe Ashton (Actor) .. Journey Blue

Born: July 21, 1984 in London

Best Known For: Not Safe for Work and Fresh Meat.

Early-life: Born Zawedde Ashton in London on July 21, 1984 to a Ugandan mother, Victoria, and an English father, Paul. Her maternal grandfather was Ugandan President and Prime Minister Paulo Muwanga. Zawe went on to attend the Anna Scher Theatre School and was a member of the National Youth Theatre. She gained a degree in acting from the Manchester Metropolitan University School of Theatre. She made her TV debut in 1995 playing the character of a little girl in Game On.

Career: During the early part of Ashton's TV career, she made guest appearances in The Demon Headmaster, In Deep, NCS Manhunt, Holby City and The Bill. She made her film debut in St Trinian's 2: The Legend of Fritton's Gold (2009). More recently, she has had recurring roles in Case Histories, Fresh Meat and Not Safe for Work. Her other film credits include Blitz (2011) and Weekender (2011). In 2006, she was the Young Writer in Residence at the Contact Theatre in Manchester. Her first play, Harm's Way, was shortlisted for the Verity Bargate Award in 2007.

Quote: '[Actors] are from an industry in which people use different kinds of self-medication to get them through.'

Trivia: Ashton won the London Poetry Slam Championship in 2000.

Michael Smiley (Actor) .. Col Morgan Blue

Best Known For: A string of roles.

Early-life: Michael was born in Belfast in 1963 to Alice and Frank and grew up in Holywood in Co Down, Northern Ireland. He has a brother, John, and a sister, Collette. Michael worked on various building sites before landing a job as a cycle courier. He began doing stand-up in 1993 after accepting a bet at an open-mic night. He was performing one-man shows in Edinburgh when he got the chance to make his acting debut in the Channel 4 sitcom Spaced.

Career: Acting roles for Smiley followed in the likes of Time Gentlemen Please, 15 Storeys High, Hustle, Rose and Maloney, Nearly Famous, Law & Order: UK and Doctor Who. On the big screen, he has starred in Shaun of the Dead (2004), Outpost (2007), The Other Boleyn Girl (2008), Burke and Hare (2010), Kill List (2011), The World's End (2013), The Lobster (2015) and Orthodox (2016). He has had recurring roles in Bleak House, Wire in the Blood, Father Figure and Luther. He indulges his passion for bikes in the travel series Something to Ride Home About.

Quote: 'I spent a long time not knowing what I wanted to do and being fearful of life and worrying about not being able to support my wife and family.'

Trivia: Smiley shared a flat with Simon Pegg and Nick Frost in the 1990s.

Samuel Anderson (Actor) .. Danny Pink

Best Known For: Playing Danny Pink in Doctor Who.

Early-life: Born in 1982 in Handsworth, Birmingham. Samuel decided early on in life that he wanted to be an actor. He attended the Catholic secondary school Stuart Bathurst. Samuel stopped studying A levels after a year and went to Birmingham Theatre School before going on to attend the Academy of Live and Recorded Arts in London. Samuel originated the role of Crowther in the National Theatre's 2004 production of Alan Bennett's The History Boys. He went on to perform the role in the Broadway, Hong Kong, Sydney and Wellington productions, as well as radio and film versions.

Career: Anderson appeared in Sky One's Hex in 2004 and Channel 4's Totally Frank in 2006 and 2007. He played Fingers in the comedy series Gavin & Stacey. From 2007 until 2009, Anderson played Ross Kirk in Emmerdale. He appeared in the TV comedy film Stuck (2007) and had a number of guest appearances in such shows as Doctors, Casualty, Bedlam, Midsomer Murders and Death in Paradise. Anderson played Danny Pink in 11 episodes of Doctor Who in 2014. Since then, he has played DC Vince Grady in DCI Banks, Daniel in Trollied, Patrick in Witless and Leon in Loaded.

Quote: 'When I'm having a bad time and can't get any work, I say to my friend, ‘This is not my life! I'm not supposed to be at this bar, I'm supposed to be acting. Quantum Leap me back into my life, Sam!''

Trivia: He was voted best male guest star by readers of Doctor Who magazine.

Laura Dos Santos (Actor) .. Gretchen

Ben Crompton (Actor) .. Ross

Bradley Ford (Actor) .. Fleming

Nigel Betts (Actor) .. Mr Armitage

Ellis George (Actor) .. Courtney

Michelle Morris (Actor) .. School secretary

Barnaby Edwards (Actor) .. Dalek

Nicholas Briggs (Actor) .. Voice of the Daleks

Ben Wheatley (Director)

Nikki Wilson (Producer)

Steven Moffat (Executive producer)

Brian Minchin (Executive producer)

Phil Ford (Writer)

Doctor Who: Into the Dalek

02:20 am - 03:10 am, Monday, May 11 on BBC Three (23)

About this Broadcast

Into the Dalek
Season 8, Episode 2

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