Doctor Who - The Star Beast - 01:05 am Saturday, April 18 on BBC Three

David Tennant (Actor) .. The Doctor

Born: April 18, 1971 in Bathgate, West Lothian

Best Known For: Being the 10th Doctor Who.

Early-life: Born David John MacDonald on April 18, 1971, in Bathgate, West Lothian, Scotland, the youngest of a vicar's three children. At the age of three he announced he wanted to be an actor because he loved Doctor Who so much. At 17 he began studying at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama in Glasgow before embarking on his first professional roles at the Young Vic theatre. He changed his name because there was already an actor named David MacDonald, adopting the surname of Pet Shop Boys singer Neil Tennant.

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.

Quote: 'I've always been a geek and slightly awkward. I was never the cool kid at school.'

Trivia: In 2011, Tennant married Georgia Moffett, daughter of fellow Doctor Who star Peter Davison.

Catherine Tate (Actor) .. Donna Noble

Born: May 12, 1968 in London

Best Known For: The Catherine Tate Show and Doctor Who.

Early-life: Born Catherine Ford on May 12, 1968, in London, she was raised in the distinctive and iconic Bloomsbury Centre by her florist mother Josephine. Catherine has revealed that she suffered from obsessive-compulsive disorder as a child. She attended Notre Dame High School for Girls, then the Sylvia Young Theatre School and later graduated from the Central School of Speech and Drama and Royal National Theatre. She also spent a year with the Royal Shakespeare Company.

Career: Tate's TV career began with small parts in serial dramas Casualty and The Bill, while her comedy talent was nurtured on The Harry Hill Show, Big Train, That Peter Kay Thing and Wild West, a series she made while pregnant. As well as her critically acclaimed comedy series The Catherine Tate Show, she has also appeared in Bleak House, on the West End stage and in the US version of The Office. The comedienne acquired a new set of fans when she became Doctor Who assistant Donna Noble; she reunited with co-star David Tennant in Much Ado About Nothing in London's West End during the summer of 2011.

Quote: Of her Doctor Who appearance, she joked: 'I was holding out for a summer season at Wigan rep but as a summer job this'll do.'

Trivia: Tate is the patron of the Laura Crane Youth Cancer Trust.

Miriam Margolyes (Actor) .. Voice of the Meep

Born: May 18, 1941 in Oxford

Best Known For: Her many film, stage and TV roles.

Early-life: Margolyes was born in Oxford, in 1941, the daughter of Ruth, a real estate investor, and Joseph Margolyes, a physician. She grew up in a Jewish family, a descendant of immigrants from Belarus. She attended the local Oxford High School and later Newnham College, Cambridge. There, she began acting in her 20s, and also appeared in productions of the comedy troup, Cambridge Footlights.

Career: Margolyes first gained recognition for her work as a voice artist. After early work providing vocals on soft-porn films, she performed most of the supporting female characters in the dubbed Japanese action TV series, Monkey. She also worked with the theatre company Gay Sweatshop. Margolyes' first major role in a film was as Elephant Ethel in Stand Up, Virgin Soldiers (1977). She received critical acclaim for her portrayal of Flora Finching in the 1988 movie Little Dorrit. On American TV, she headlined the short-lived 1992 CBS sitcom Frannie's Turn. In 1993 she won a Best Supporting Actress Bafta for her role as Mrs Mingott, the only comic relief in Martin Scorsese's The Age Of Innocence. Since then she has appeared in the Harry Potter films and played small roles in many hit movies and TV shows.

Quote: 'Life, if you're fat, is a minefield - you have to pick your way, otherwise you blow up.'

Trivia: She became an Australian citizen in January 2013.

Yasmin Finney (Actor) .. Rose Noble

Karl Collins (Actor) .. Shaun Temple

Best Known For: Playing Louis Loveday on Hollyoaks.

Early-life: Born in 1971 in Nottingham. Karl grew up on the Clifton Housing estate. During his childhood, Karl was a member of the Central Junior Television Workshop and appeared in the shows Your Mother Wouldn't Like It and Dramarama.

Career: Collins played DC Danny Glaze in The Bill from 1991 until 2003. After that, he appeared in TV series Grease Monkeys, as well as Silent Witness, By Any Means and the Doctor Who Christmas Special that aired in 2009. He also appeared in the film Attack the Block (2011). In 2015, he joined the cast of Hollyoaks as Louis Loveday.

Quote: 'You're always nervous as an actor because your position is so precarious in this business.'

Trivia: He was formerly known as Ricky Kwame.

Jamie Cho (Actor) .. Colonel Chan

Ruth Madeley (Actor) .. Shirley Anne-Bingham

Jacqueline King (Actor) .. Sylvia Noble

Dara Lall (Actor) .. Fudge Merchandani

Ronak Patani (Actor) .. Major Singh

John Hopkinson (Actor) .. Voice of Zreeg

Ned Porteous (Actor) .. Voice of Zogroth

Matt Green (Actor) .. BBC reporter

Anna Martine Freeman (Actor) .. Chief technician

Archie Backhouse (Actor) .. Sergeant

Isabella Carey (Actor) .. Soldier

Harley McEvilly (Actor) .. Lad

Max Fincham (Actor) .. Lad

Russell T Davies (Writer)

Born: April 27, 1963 in Swansea

Best Known For: The 2005 revival of Doctor Who.

Early-life: Stephen Russell Davies was born in Swansea on April 27, 1963 to teachers Vivian and Barbara. He aspired to be a comic artist but focused instead on writing. After graduating from Oxford University, he joined the BBC's children's department in 1985 and did various jobs, including writing and producing. He began focusing on writing adult TV dramas in 1994.

Career: Davies' big break came in 1999 when he created Channel 4 drama Queer as Folk, based on his experiences of Manchester's gay scene. He followed this up with Bob & Rose, The Second Coming, Mine All Mine, and Casanova. He is perhaps best known for reviving Doctor Who in 2005, with Christopher Eccleston in the title role. The success of the show led to spin-off series Torchwood and The Sarah Jane Adventures. In 2009, he moved to Los Angeles to work on Torchwood: Miracle Day. After returning to the UK, he co-created CBBC drama Wizards vs Aliens. More recently, he worked on Cucumber, Banana and Tofu.

Quote: 'There should be more male nudity on TV.'

Trivia: Davies' writing processes are explored in the 2008 book The Writer's Tale, a collection of emails between Davies and journalist Benjamin Cook.

Julie Gardner (Executive producer)

Joel Collins (Executive producer)

Jane Tranter (Executive producer)

Phil Collinson (Executive producer)

Rachel Talalay (Director)

Vicki Delow (Producer)

Doctor Who: The Star Beast

01:05 am - 02:00 am, Saturday, April 18 on BBC Three (23)

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The Star Beast
Season 1, Episode 1

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