Skip to Content

18 stars you'd forgotten were in Doctor Who – including a Star Wars hero and a Game of Thrones favourite

Big-name guest stars are 10 a penny on Doctor Who, with everyone from James Corden to Richard E Grant to Katherine Jenkins all popping up since 2005. But after 10 series and 142 episodes, it's easy to forget some of the familiar faces who've joined the Whoniverse for a guest spot. Do you remember all of this lot?

Headshot of Morgan JefferyBy Morgan Jeffery
peter capaldi and pearl mackie in 'doctor who' s10e01, 'the pilot'
BBC
1

1. Bertie Carvel

Bertie Carvel in 'Doctor Who'

You might remember Suranne Jones as Idris in 'The Doctor's Wife' – but did you know that her Doctor Foster co-star appeared in 2007's 'The Lazarus Experiment' as a lackey of the Master who warned Martha's mother not to trust the Doctor?

2

2. Paul Anderson

Paul Anderson in 'Doctor Who'

Anderson, best known as Arthur f**kin' Shelby on Peaky Blinders, had a small early role (with just one line!) in 2005's 'The Christmas Invasion' – he's Rose Tyler's neighbour Jason who end up under the control of the Sycorax.

Advertisement - Continue Reading Below
3

3. Josh Dallas

Josh Dallas in 'Doctor Who'

Yes, that really is Once Upon a Time's Prince Charming – a pre-fame 'Joshua' Dallas played the part of... erm... 'Node 2' in 2008's 'Silence in the Library'.

4

4. Jenna Russell

Jenna Russell in 'Doctor Who'

Now best known as the new Michelle Fowler on EastEnders, Russell cameoed as a floor manager on Satellite Five's futuristic version of The Weakest Link, in 2005's 'Bad Wolf / The Parting of the Ways'.

Advertisement - Continue Reading Below
5

5. Matt King

Matt King in 'Doctor Who'

Alias Peep Show's Super Hans, King played Peter Streete, architect of the Globe Theatre driven mad by the Carrionites, in 2007's 'The Shakespeare Code'.

6

6. Mike Skinner

Mike Skinner in 'Doctor Who'

Leave it out! Skinner (aka UK garage act The Streets) made a cameo as a security guard under River Song's spell in 2010's 'The Time of Angels'. Director Adam Smith had previously helmed the music video for Skinner's 2004 hit 'Blinded By the Lights'.

Advertisement - Continue Reading Below
7

7. Daniel Kaluuya

Daniel Kaluuya in 'Doctor Who'

Before he faced the horrors of Get Out, Kaluuya (pictured here with David Ames) popped up in Doctor Who's one-and-only Easter special, 2009's 'Planet of the Dead'.

8

8. Davood Ghadami

Davood Ghadami in 'Doctor Who'

Three years before he debuted as EastEnders hunk Kush, current Strictly star Ghadami played Jim – a crew-member aboard shapeshifting humanoid starship the Teselecta in 2011's 'Let's Kill Hitler'.

Advertisement - Continue Reading Below
9

9. James Norton

James Norton in 'Doctor Who'

These days, he's a bona-fide leading man, but before War and Peace, before Happy Valley, Norton appeared briefly as a Russian soldier offed by an Ice Warrior in 2013's 'Cold War'.

10

10. Sebastian Armesto

Sebastian Armesto in 'Doctor Who'

Armesto played dodgy taxi driver Clive Lucas in Broadchurch and henchman Tankard in Poldark... but before all that, he was short-lived Weakest Link contestant Broff in 'Bad Wolf'.

Advertisement - Continue Reading Below
11

11. Adam Garcia

Adam Garcia in 'Doctor Who'

Garcia – later a judge on Got to Dance and Dancing with the Stars – took a break from stage musicals to play Alex, who unwittingly helped bring down PM Harriet Jones ("Don't you think she looks tired?") in 2005's 'The Christmas Invasion'.

12

12. Angel Coulby

Angel Coulby in 'Doctor Who'

Still best known as Guinevere / Gwen on the BBC's Merlin, Coulby appeared as Madame de Pompadour's confidante Katherine in a single scene in 2006 classic 'The Girl in the Fireplace'.

Advertisement - Continue Reading Below
13

13. Cheryl Fergison

Cheryl Fergison in 'Doctor Who'

Later immortalised as Heather 'Hev' Trott on EastEnders, Fergison played crabby World War II housewife Mrs Lloyd in 'The Empty Child / The Doctor Dances'.

14

14. Noma Dumezweni

Noma Dumezweni in 'Doctor Who'

Dumezweni played UNIT Captain Magambo in 2008's 'Turn Left' and the following year's 'Planet of the Dead'. Though already an award-winning stage actress, her star soared after she was cast as as Hermione in the play Harry Potter and the Cursed Child in 2015.

Advertisement - Continue Reading Below
15

15. Andrew Garfield

Andrew Garfield in 'Doctor Who'

Before he was Spider-Man-in-the-middle, Garfield gave his Peter Parker accent an early outing as Frank, an ally to the Doctor and Martha in 2007's 'Daleks in Manhattan / Evolution of the Daleks'.

16

16. Reggie Yates

Reggie Yates in 'Doctor Who'

Yates is better known as a TV host and DJ than actor (unless you count Rastamouse) but he appeared in four episodes of Doctor Who in 2007 as Martha Jones's clueless brother Leo.

Advertisement - Continue Reading Below
17

17. Felicity Jones

Felicity Jones in 'Doctor Who'

The star of Rogue One was Ada Mullins, a cockney master thief known as 'The Unicorn' who'd been posing as socialite Robina Redmond in 2008's Agatha Christie-themed romp 'The Unicorn and the Wasp'.

18

18. Joe Demspie

Joe Dempsie in 'Doctor Who'

Post-Skins but pre-Game of Thrones, Dempsie played Cline, who flirted with the Doctor's daughter (Georgia Moffett) in.... erm... 'The Doctor's Daughter' (2008) and later witnessed her miraculous resurrection. Bet you don't remember him, though.

Watch Next 
Advertisement - Continue Reading Below