The best guest actors on season 23 of "Doctor Who"
In order from greatest to least.
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- Actress
- Producer
Lynda Bellingham played many roles during her five-decade professional career, but became synonymous with one. "Being a mum making gravy was not quite how I had seen my career advancing," she said once. But between 1983 and 1999 that's what she did in 42 "episodes" of an award-winning TV ad. Since the early 1980s, her name was rarely mentioned in print without it being prefaced with "Oxo mum".
During her career, though, she starred on TV as the vet's wife Helen Herriot in All Creatures Great and Small in the 80s and as one of two divorcees trying to forge a relationship in the 90s sitcom Second Thoughts, opposite James Bolam. On stage she was best known for playing the lead in a touring production of Calendar Girls between 2008 and 2012. She was also, for four years between 2007 and 2011, a regular member of the team on Loose Women, the daytime TV chat show. She had few regrets about how her career turned out, summarizing its trajectory thus on her website: "Arrived in London at the Central School [for Speech and Drama] in 1966 and never looked back. I had a ball!"
Bellingham, though, knew that gravy, like Lady Macbeth's damned spot, left an indelible mark. "In many ways I was very proud of what we did, but there is no doubt that my credibility as an actress was knocked," she reflected. "Certain people in the industry would never employ me as a serious actress after it. On the other hand, it gave me the financial security to go off and work in the theatre for very little money." Her performances as Mrs Oxo were reportedly responsible for a 10% increase in stock cube sales.
But being typecast in the role of, as she put it in her autobiography, "the nation's favorite mum", wasn't the only reason she missed out on roles that could have sent her career in a different direction. Her friend the writer Lynda La Plante once rang to ask her if she was interested in playing a detective for television. Too busy with sitcom and advertising jobs, she turned down the chance to play DI Jane Tennison, later taken by Helen Mirren. Bellingham used her autobiography, Lost and Found (2010), to complain about the fact that she was never allowed to reprise her 1986 role as a time lord on Doctor Who during its revival under Russell T Davies.
She was born Meredith Lee Hughes in Montreal, Quebec. Her Canadian birth mother, Marjorie Hughes, gave her daughter up for adoption to an English couple. Her biological father, Carl Hutton, was a crewman whom Marjorie met on board ship as she sailed from Canada to New Zealand to meet the parents of her husband, a pilot who was missing in action during the second world war.
Her adoptive parents, Don and Ruth Bellingham, had been staying in Canada, where Don was training pilots for the British Overseas Airways Corporation. The couple returned to the UK and raised the girl they called Lynda on their farm near Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, with their two biological daughters, Barbara and Jean. Lynda found out she was adopted only when she was in her teens. She recalled the revelation in her autobiography: "One day, when I skipped school to go to the pictures, my mother blurted out: 'The trouble is, Lynda, we just don't know who you are any more. God knows where you come from. We'll never know. We've dreaded this moment.'" In 1990, she met her birth mother in Canada and they stayed in touch until Marjorie's death.
She developed an enthusiasm for acting at school and in local theatre clubs, but gave her best early performance at the Central School, where, after receiving a rejection letter, she turned up in person and demanded of George Hall, head of stage, that he reconsider. Hall told her he would not but, when she returned home dejectedly, her parents told her that they had just got off the phone - he had changed his mind and given her a place. Why? Bellingham reported it was because Hall believed that "even if I was the worst actress in the world, I would always work because I was so pushy".
Bellingham proved just as dogged as Hall hoped. After graduating she worked in Frinton and Crewe, amassing the 40 weeks of theatre necessary to get an Equity card. Then, she believed, TV and cinema stardom would follow. She was rejected for a role on ITV's early 70s afternoon soap General Hospital because, as she put it, they were casting a pretty nurse and a fat nurse and "I fell into neither category". Undaunted, she put her hair in a bun, rouged her cheeks, sported flat shoes, and wore a dress that cut her legs across the calves, making them look twice their normal size. Thus attired, she demanded a second audition as the fat nurse - and got the part, as Nurse Hilda Price.
Her romantic life, which she detailed unflinchingly in her autobiography, included two disastrous marriages. She married the film producer Greg Smith in 1975. Shortly after the wedding, he cast her in the film Confessions of a Driving Instructor. "I had only been married a few weeks and my husband, the Big Producer, was screwing his way through all the female artists," she recalled. "Just not me." They divorced soon afterwards.
Her second marriage, in 1981, was to a Neapolitan restaurant owner, Nunzio Peluso, with whom she had two children, Michael and Robbie. This turned out worse. He submitted her to 15 years of physical and mental abuse and after their divorce in 1996 was subject to a restraining order. She wrote, with understatement: "Playing the nation's favorite mum on screen and going home to an unhappy and abusive relationship was extremely stressful."
On her 60th birthday, in 2008, she was married for a third time, to a mortgage broker Michael Pattemore, with whom she later ran a property business based in London.
Among the roles she was particularly proud of were playing opposite Janet Suzman and Maureen Lipman in the Old Vic's production of The Sisters Rosensweig at the Old Vic (1994-95) and in the Royal Court production of a drama about sex tourism, Sugar Mummies (2006). She also played the Empress Alexandra in Gleb Panfilov's Russian film The Romanovs: A Crowned Family (2000), about the last year and a half of the lives of Tsar Nicholas II and his family until their execution in July 1918. Her voice was dubbed into Russian. In 2009, she appeared on Strictly Come Dancing, and was eliminated in the fourth week. In 2012, she presented a daytime cookery series, My Tasty Travels, and in 2013 Country House Sunday.
In 2013, she disclosed on Twitter that she had been diagnosed with cancer.
She was made OBE in the 2014 New Year's honors list.
In 2014 she announced that the cancer had spread to her liver and lungs and that she had opted to stop having chemotherapy.
On 3 November 2014, her funeral took place at St Bartholomew's Church in Crewkerne, attended by family and friends. Afterwards, Bellingham was buried in Crewkerne Townsend Cemetery.
Bellingham was survived by her third husband and her two sons Michael and Robert.The Inquisitor
(Trial of a Time Lord)- Actor
- Director
- Art Department
Boisterous British actor Brian Blessed is known for his hearty, king-sized portrayals on film and television. A giant of a man accompanied by an eloquent wit and booming, operatic voice, Brian was born in 1936 and grew up in the mining village of Goldthorpe in South Yorkshire. His father was a miner who wanted a better life for his son; Brian lost three uncles in the pit. At a young age, he displayed an acute talent for acting in school productions, but also had a penchant for boxing, a direction that would be short-lived.
Working various blue-collar jobs from undertaker's assistant to plasterer, Brian managed to attend the Bristol Old Vic and was off and running. He has lent his musical talents to several productions - from playing "Old Deuteronomy" in "Cats" to "The Baron" in the more recent "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang". In the 1970s, he began appearing more and more on-camera with both classical and contemporary performances. In costumed television movies, he has played "Porthos" in The Three Musketeers (1966) and The Further Adventures of the Musketeers (1967), "Augustus" in I, Claudius (1976), and "Long John Silver" in Return to Treasure Island (1986) and has been a part of various reenactments including Catherine the Great (1995), Lady Chatterley (1993), The Hound of the Baskervilles (1983) and Kidnapped (1995).
On film, he has appeared in robust support in several William Shakespeare adaptations, including Henry V (1989), Much Ado About Nothing (1993), Hamlet (1996), Macbeth (1997) and the title role in King Lear (1999), which he also directed.
More recently, he appeared in Oliver Stone's epic-scale Alexander (2004) and in Kenneth Branagh's film version of William Shakespeare's As You Like It (2006).
In recent years, the octogenarian has been heard more than seen with voice work in video games, documentaries and such animated TV programs as Kika & Bob (2007) (as Bob); The Amazing World of Gumball (2011) (as Santa Claus); Wizards vs. Aliens (2012) (as the Necross King); Henry Hugglemonster (2013) (as Eduardo Enormomonster); and Peppa Pig (2004) as Grampy Rabbit.
He is married to British actress Hildegard Neil, who made an appearance with him in Macbeth (1997).King Yrcanos
(Mindwarp)- Actor
- Soundtrack
Michael was born in Nottingham where he was educated at Becket Roman Catholic Grammar School, West Bridgeford in Nottingham where he was known as Jimmy - his real name is Michael James - and where he was caned some 130 times. While that might have been a record, the one that went into the record books was scoring 60 of the under-13 football team's 120 goals in a season. In between canings and scoring goals, he acquired a great love of literature and the English language from a teacher at Becket Grammar School which he left at 17 with an A level in philosophy and became an accountant with the coal board. Before he took his accountancy finals, he left the Coal Board and went to work in the Nottingham Fish Market where the language he learned was a revelation to him.The Valeyard
(Trial of a Time Lord)- Actor
- Music Department
- Soundtrack
Congenial character actor whose best film roles came in two vastly different films in 1971 and 1972 - Richard Burton's Villain (1971) and Spike Milligan's Adolf Hitler: My Part in His Downfall (1973). With his down-to earth, friendly London voice he'd been a regular on television for years by this stage, appearing in a roll-call of British TV series since his debut in No Hiding Place in 1964. The Avengers, Department S and Catweazle followed before 1972.
If his film career didn't exactly scale the heights, he can still boast to having appeared in Alfie (1966), Superman (1978) and debuting in the odd charmer, An Alligator Named Daisy. Television has been his more natural home, he headlined Get Some In (1975) had a main part in Love Hurts (1992-94) and appeared most recently in Burnside (2000).
Perhaps his greatest contribution has been in guest appearances where his charisma, which can be menacing when he chooses, has seen him pop up in - Minder, Dr Who, Casualty, Lovejoy, Holby City, The Bill and Eastenders to name but a few.Sabalom Glitz
(The Mysterious Planet/Ultimate Foe)- Actor
- Producer
- Executive
Glen Murphy was born in West Ham, London, he boxed for the famous West Ham and Repton boxing clubs, then started his acting career at the Half Moon Theater in 1980. It was 2 years of more London Theater before he got his break on film with Blake Edwards' Victor/Victoria. Glen was a London Champion in Boxing & Football & is a 3rd Dan karate black belt and still trains in the Kyokushin style martial art today with the 7th Dan Hall of Fame, Jamie O Keefe. In 1955 his father Terence was the first ever sportsman on ITV, His latest Film Lost in Italy (aka Lords of London) has won the New York Hells Kitchen Film Festivals World Cinema Best Film award.and he won the Abruzzo film festival "best actor" award in Italy. And is in pre-production with the feature film "Finger of Suspicion" due to shoot in 2019Dibber
(The Mysterious Planet)- Patrick Ryecart was born on 9 May 1952 in Warwickshire, England, UK. He is an actor, known for The King's Speech (2010), A Bridge Too Far (1977) and Dick Turpin (1979). He was previously married to Marsha Fitzalan.Crozier
(Mindwarp) - Actor
- Music Department
- Writer
Born in Bayswater, London on January 25, 1950, Christopher Papazoglou, later known as Christopher Ryan, trained at East 15 Acting School for three years before going to perform at the Glasgow Citizens' Theatre.
Even though he portrayed a few minor roles in various television shows, It wasn't until 1982 that he was cast in The Young Ones (1982) as Mike 'The Cool Person', which got him recognition through out all of Britain. Since then he has starred in many films such as Santa Claus: The Movie (1985), Dirty Weekend (1993) and well known television shows like Bottom (1991), Absolutely Fabulous (1992) and Doctor Who (2005).
He also appeared in two episodes of One Foot In The Grave in the 1990s.Kiv
(Mindwarp)- Tom Chadbon was born on 27 February 1946 in Luton, Bedfordshire, England, UK. He is an actor, known for Casino Royale (2006), Rebecca (1997) and Tess (1979). He has been married to Jane Hennessy since 20 July 1977. They have one child. He was previously married to Deborah Leathers.Merdeen
(The Mysterious Planet) - Actor
- Soundtrack
Geoffrey began his extensive stage career at the Unity Theatre in Liverpool. He then appeared in several West End productions, such as Say Goodnight to Grandma and Run for Your Wife. He appeared in numerous TV shows, including Coronation Street (1960) and Keeping Up Appearances (1990), where he played the slob Onslow. When not acting, Geoffrey enjoyed sailing, cricket, and music. He died on the Isle of WightPopplewick
(The Ultimate Foe)- Actress
- Soundtrack
Joan Sims, the "First Lady of Carry On", was born Irene Joan Marion Sims on 9 May 1930. The daughter of an Essex railway station master, Joan was interested in pursuing show-business, and soon became a familiar face in a growing number of amateur productions. In 1946, Joan first applied to RADA, her audition was unsuccessful. She did succeed in being admitted to the academy's preparatory school, and finally, on her fourth attempt, trained at RADA. She graduated in 1950 at the age of nineteen.
A cameo appearance in Doctor in the House (1954) as the sexually repressed Nurse Rigor Mortis led to Joan being first spotted by Peter Rogers; Rogers' wife Betty E. Box was the producer of the Doctor series, in which Joan herself became a regular.
A few years later, in 1958, Joan received another script from Peter Rogers, it was Carry on Nurse (1959). The film had been a huge success at the box office and in the autumn of that year Rogers and Gerald Thomas began planning a follow up. She went on to appear in 24 of the films, making her the longest serving female member of the team.
She first starred in the following three Carry On films: Carry on Teacher (1959), Carry on Constable (1960) and Carry on Regardless (1961), before taking a break from the next four films to concentrate on stage work. She rejoined the team with Carry on Cleo (1964) and remained all the way through to Carry on Emmannuelle (1978) in 1978.
Ironically, she was never proclaimed Queen of Carry On. This title went to saucy Barbara Windsor, even though she had only appeared in nine Carry On films.
One could argue that her final performances in the Carry On films were rather sentimental, as though she knew that the series was coming to an end and two scenes come to mind. The scene in which she plays cards with Peter Butterworth in Carry on Behind (1975) in his caravan late at night, and also in the launderette where she dances with an early Carry Oner Victor Maddern in Carry on Emmannuelle (1978). Both of these are memorable sentimental film scene stealers.
With the end of the Carry On series in 1978, Joan went on to become a familiar face on TV screens, with ongoing roles in a number of highly successful sitcoms On the Up (1990) and As Time Goes By (1992) and the BBC's prestigious classic drama adaptations such as Martin Chuzzlewit (1994).
Joan's autobiography, High Spirits, was released in 2000. She complains in the last few pages of her book at the lack of information on her on the IMDB trivia page, something that was only significantly expanded after her death.
In her later years she became a cult figure and something of a British National Institution as the only surviving major Carry On star from early days. However, years of heavy drinking took their toll and she suffered in her later years with ill health. She was admitted to Hospital in Chelsea in London in mid 2001 and slipped into a coma. She died on 28 June 2001, with her lifelong friend and Carry On Norah Holland holding her hand.
Following her death, surviving Carry On stars celebrated her achievement in the Carry On films. Barbara Windsor, said at the time of her death, "To me she was the last of the great Carry Ons, she was there at the beginning. Her talent was wonderful, she could do any accent, dialect, she could dance, sing, play dowdy and glam. We laughed all the time and giggled a lot. I will sorely miss her." That quote is so true, throughout her whole Carry On career she alone stands apart as the most versatile actress in the whole series. She was never typecast in the films like the other actors and actresses.
Others also paid tribute, even ex-Government Cabinet Ministers. Her agent Richard Hatton said, "It's wonderful to be able to say that she really did have all the qualities that her many fans would have wished. A great sense of humour, a sympathetic and endearing personality, terrific talent and consideration for others.
"Over and above this, she discovered a new side of herself when she wrote her autobiography last year, which was untypical for the genre - honest, frank and intelligent. Everyone who knew her is going to remember her forever."Queen Katryca
(The Mysterious Planet)- Richard Henry was an actor, known for Without a Clue (1988), Second Verdict (1976) and Little Dorrit (1987). He died in 2012.Mentor
(Mindwarp) - Trevor Laird was born on 11 July 1957 in London, England, UK. He is an actor, known for Quadrophenia (1979), Cruella (2021) and Secrets & Lies (1996).Frax
(Mindwarp) - Actress
- Soundtrack
One of four children, Blackman was born in London's East End, to Edith Eliza (Stokes), a homemaker, and Frederick Thomas Blackman, a statistician employed with the Civil Service. She received elocution lessons for her 16th birthday (at her own request), and later attended the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, which she paid for by working as a clerical assistant in the Civil Service. She was also a dispatch rider for the Home Office during World War II, playing an important role in the war effort.
Blackman received her first acting work on stage in London's West End as an understudy in "The Guinea Pig". She continued with roles in "The Gleam" (1946) and "The Blind Goddess" (1947), before moving into film. She debuted with Fame Is the Spur (1947), starring Michael Redgrave.
Blackman suffered a nervous breakdown following her divorce from Bill Sankey, a man 12 years her senior, who's jealousy, fraudulent business practices, and emptying of her bank accounts took it's toll. After hospitalisation Blackman began counselling, which would last for years, and began rebuilding her career.
TV series work also came her way again, most notably the highly popular The Avengers (1961), co-starring Patrick Macnee as John Steed. As the leather-clad "Catherine Gale", Blackman showcased her incredible beauty, self-confidence, and athletic abilities. Her admirable qualities made her not only a catch for the men, but also an inspirational figure for the 1960s feminist movement.
Blackman took on the role of Greek goddess Hera in popular movie adventure Jason and the Argonauts (1963) with Ray Harryhausen and melodrama Life at the Top (1965) with Laurence Harvey. She then played "Pussy Galore" in the classic James Bond film Goldfinger (1964). Blackman went toe to toe with Sean Connery's womanizing "007" and created major sparks on screen.
Blackman continued to work consistently in films and tv, while also appearing on stage where she earned rave reviews as the blind heroine of the thriller "Wait Until Dark" as well as for her dual roles in "Mr. and Mrs.", a production based on two of Noël Coward's plays. She also enjoyed working with her second husband, actor Maurice Kaufmann, in the play "Move Over, Mrs. Markham" and the film thriller Fright (1971). She proved a sultry-voiced sensation in various musicals productions such as "A Little Night Music", "The Sound of Music", "On Your Toes", and "Nunsense."
In the new millennium, Honor was seen in such films as Bridget Jones's Diary (2001), Color Me Kubrick (2005), Reuniting the Rubins (2010), I, Anna (2012) and Cockneys vs Zombies (2012), as well as the British TV serieses Water, Water, Everywhere (1920) The Royal (2003) Coronation Street (1960), long running series Casualty (1986) and finally You, Me & Them (2013), her last role after her retirement several years earlier.
Divorced from Kaufmann in 1975 (although they remained friends until his death, Blackman even cared for him during his 13 year battle with cancer), Blackman never remarried, revealing in an interview that she simply preferred single life, "Basically I'm a shy person and I like my own company". Unable to conceive, the couple adopted two children, Lottie and Barnaby, in '67 and '68 respectively.
The ever-lovely and eternally glamorous star continued to find regular work into her 90s, including co-starring in the long-running English hit comedy series The Upper Hand (1990) and performing her one-woman stage show, "Wayward Women"
Honor Blackman died on April 5, 2020, in Lewes, Sussex. She was 94.Professor Sarah Lasky
(Terror of the Vervoids)- Grenville/Enzu
(Terror of the Vervoids)