What Makes a Good Doctor Who Guest Star? 

Bro, you forgot Andrew Garfield.

Let's not forget the BEST Doctor Who cameo, Juke from Tracey Beaker in voyage of the dammed. With an honourable mention going to Elaine the pain in Series 1.

Sally Sparrow is legitimately my favourite guest in all of the Doctor Who episodes I’ve seen

Greg Davies as Hydroflax is the "comedian doing a comedy role" done flawlessly, and they even use the fact that he's a king later on (in the spaceship) to set up one of the funniest moments in the whole show.

I work at an airport in the US. Whenever I meet an actor form the UK, I always jokingly ask “What episode of Doctor Who were you in?” So far, 99% of them have told me what episode..... Only actor I didn’t ask that was Michael York. Because......well.....Michael York.

Petition for Olivia Coleman to be the doctor and David Mitchell as the master in a 12/missy type relationship

I think a general rule of thumb. If you're getting a celebrity cameo in to play themselves it can be a quick couple of seconds If you're getting a celebrity to play a character it needs to be impactful in some way.

The scene with van Gogh always makes me cry

To me 'the Stephen Fry Episode' will always be that mythical Series 2 episode he wrote that was too expensive to make and was delayed, replaced with Fear Her of all things, and never saw the light of day because he was too busy to do the necessary rewrites.

In terms of the Chibnall era, when Alan Cumming was introduced as King James I, It was literally the equivalent of someone coming in to give you a can of classic Coke after drinking off brand diet cola.

Peter Capaldi in the Pompeii episode was really good and funny. Too bad he never showed up again... 🙂

It's nice to see some appreciation for Love and Monsters. It's obvious a highly flawed episode, but definitely doesn't deserve its reputation. It's utterly unique and really very entertaining.

I never really knew it was Bill Nighy, I was so wrapped up in the story. Vincent and the Doctor is probably my all-time favorite outing of Doctor Who. It's perfect in just about every way.

“He’s like the Wario to the Doctors Mario” I cant think of a better analogy

Being Australian I didn’t know that a lot of these people were considered celebrities in Britain. I rarely have those ‘aha, i know that person’ moments watching Doctor Who

Fun fact: Doctor Who was my first exposure to Olivia Colman and at the time the reason I was even aware of her as an actress. I later saw Broadchurch, Peep Show, The Crown and my first reaction was always “oh look, it’s prisoner zero from Doctor Who!” until I became more familiar with her work in general lol So her role may not have been a very big one, but she’s great enough of an actress to leave an impression from just 5 minutes of screen time.

It’s hard to decide if “should we write a celebrity into Doctor Who” or “Should this random important side character be played by a Celebrity” is better or not. I’m sure this video will open up many non Brits to UK celebrities they don’t know about

my favorite guest star is timothy Dalton. casting such a big star as such a bug character as rassilon was an excellent choice. apparently he was gonna return in hell bent but was busy filming penny dreadful so they recast him. i reckon i would like hell bent more if Dalton had shown up

I know it’s a recurring role and it’s mostly just in Torchwood so it doesn’t really count, but I love the fact that Burn Gorman is part of the Doctor Who universe by playing Owen. It’s a role that fits him so well.

The only guest star that matters is Paul O’Grady “What was I drinking last night, furniture polish?” is a highlight of Who ever since it returned and I doubt it will ever be matched

Look at you, making your way up the ranks as a WhoTuber! You're doing great stuff and talking about stuff I rarely see people talk about. Keep up the great work!

McFly should be in every episode

Refusing to mention the *other* creator of Black Books and Father Ted is just *chef's kiss* thank you I live for it

Every few years I always see articles that Carey Mulligan turned down the role of Doctor Who companion but I’ve never seen everyone actually ask her in an interview about Doctor Who or if she actually did turn down the role

Michael sheen as House in “the doctors wife” was spine chilling

So glad you mention Simon Callow and Anthony Head both brillaint

I never really thought of guests starts as such a huge part of the show, but ur absolutely right!!

One of the most embarrassing guest stars for me: watching season 2 and screaming “it’s mr sweet” to a housemate who is definitely not sad enough to have binged house of Anubis 12 times in lockdown

The most damning thing for Richard E. Grant's appearance is that he's technically a reoccurring actor with three appearances, yet it's easy to forget all three.

Bro did you say the episode with Simon Pegg is unremarkable... I really liked it and I think it's one of the best. The story is really good, and Simon did a great job as the editor I think he could've played the master as well, and so could've the guy who played Mr. Finch

I know this is new who guest stars but my favourite cameo is John Cleese in City of Death with the 4th doctor. The tiny 1 minute scene with him is like a comedy sketch all by itself.

Can’t believe you didn’t mention Jimmy Carr’s cameo as Scongo’s Dad in the Conception of Scongo

Yeah, I definitely think Olivia Coleman would make a great doctor. If there was a way to have a sort of "one-off" doctor, like a doctor who is only Doctor for one episode and has no bearing on continuity. Obviously, I'd watch a whole series with Olivia Coleman as the Doctor, but I know she's too famous for that now

With UNIT our of commission (why, I couldn't tell you), Stephen Fry would have been a great addition to the show as head of MI6. Instead, we get about three minutes with him and then he's gone. Olivia Coleman was wasted in The 11th Hour, though the story itself was one of my favorites. I loved her in Broadchurch! And I agree with you on Bill Nighy and Carrie Mulligan - just perfect in what they do.

This was a great video dude! I've often had many discussions about the guest stars in Doctor Who and how bad they are utilised and am sad they don't get much of a conversation piece online but you literally mentioned pretty much all my opinions on the matter! I love this this type of video! Only watched your videos before but now subscribing for this type of content! :D

Anthony Head, everyone in Series 3 (Seriously literally everyone. Shakespeare, Brannigan, everyone in The Family of Blood), Michael Gambon, Lindsay Duncan, Kylie (She's so good I forget she's Kylie!), Bill Nighy and that bloke who was in Mummy on the Orient Express. I also really love Malcom in "Planet of the Dead"!

If the Dream Lord is the Wario to the Doctor's Mario, who is his Luigi and Waluigi?

Really really interesting video essay! :D Guest stars in Doctor Who has always been an area I feel isn't talked about enough and this perfectly sums up the highs and lows of having them! :) Awesome work! :D

Since I've been watching doctor who since I was a kid and I don't live in Britain I had no idea some of these actors were celebrities (and the ones I did I was originaly introduced to them by their doctor who episode) so it's very interesting to hear how much knowing about them before hand affects your experience of the episode

Good discussion. Subscribing. I agree with your points. Best of luck at uni. And remember: keep doing yt for fun!

Chris Addleston and Kylie were some of the better instances, I feel.

I'm convinced Strax and Brannigan the cat man from gidlock are the same actor idk

Matt Lucas was amazing and definitely deserved to become a companion.

Absolutely thrilled to have found your channel. Thoroughly enjoyed this, you have a new sub from me

Really nice listen. Def enjoyed it.

I don't often comment on RU-vid videos and I''m quite late to this one, heck I haven't even watched doctor who in forever, but this is a good video. Keep up the good work :)

Was expecting you to comment on Peter Capaldi's role in the Pompeii episode before he got promoted to the role of The Doctor :P The episode and his part itself were okay but it was such an unusual situation imo, def worth at least a footnote lol

Great video Joe but its still lacking in nardole. We all know he deserves his own video!

Bit late to the party on this one but it just randomly came up for me. Not really a Dr Who fan but thought this video was really interesting and felt i had to comment. I hope you see this even though it is a older video. Although I can't say I know a huge number of journalism / media students I've found the ones i do know to be a little pretentious at times. For someone who seems quite young, you presented this with a great deal of authority while at the same time feeling very relaxed. Well thought out and presented, great use of editing to get your points across. Not trying too hard to be be funny but injecting enough humour into your delivery that it works so well. I follow a few youtubers who create, often lengthy, reviews / retrospectives for Video games, TV and Movies. Some i follow because they are outrageously funny some are more straight forward and inciteful but all are well presented. Again, very impressed with the video, will now subscribe to watch some of your older work but mainly to keep an eye on future content. Very impressed and good luck with whatever you do.

4:53 Nice little omission of a certain somebody there!

Loved the subtle Black Books / Father Ted jokes.

Not sure if it counts as a cameo, but Derek Jacobi as Professor Yana was just superb. To be expected from an actor of his talent, but bot always something you get in Who. The reveal of Timothy Dalton as Rassilon after having narrated all through the episode was spine-tingling, and watching him crank it up to eleven for his performance was a lot of fun. My favourite has to be Frank Skinner, though. Unusually for a comedian, he plays a very straight role: someone calm, competent, and not expressly comic-relief. He's not noted as a talented actor outside this, but his usual charming blokeishness just dropped in so perfectly.

Oh god Ralf Little, him and Foxes were super hyped up in the marketing only for it not to matter.

8:27 oh, yeah. Of course. "It's happy for deep people." "I'm clever and I'm listening and don't patronize me because people have died and I'm not happy." For Christ sake, her initial response to Wester Drumlins in the first draft was "Sexy!" God, I hate Sally Sparrow. Or, at least, I _would_ if Claire didn't play her _perfectly._ Only an exceptional actor could read those lines and make them charming.

the posh magician from Jonathan Creek played Richard Nixon once, that was pretty fly.

It's funny how many of these I'd completely forgotten, like Stephen Fry in Spyfall or Lee Mack in Kerblam. (though I think the latter is because whenever I think about Kerblam I am consumed by a blinding rage and black out for several hours)

0:38- Daniel Kaluuya has come a long way from being a bus passenger who ends up on an alien planet.

When they suggested that the new doctor could be a woman, my hope was for Olivia Coleman, but I think she had just started to strike it big and it was sadly a little too late.

I love that someone else out there loves Alan Cummings king James as much as me haha totally agree he’s the best thing to come from chibnalls era

i never liked james corden except for his appearance on doctor who, that's when he peaked eddie izzard in hannibal is a great example of what to do with a celebrity cameo, obviously he was a recurring character but in the first 1-2 episodes he was in do feel like just great cameo-style appearances relevant to the plot- if celebrity cameos were treated like that, obviously not to the extent of being a major character later on, it would be absolutely fantastic

Hopefully all of these people will be able to return to the show one day

Good video. Nice little analysis. Very much agree about Satan's greatest foe and Richard E Grant. Subscribed

This was great. I subscribed:)

Frank Skinner as Perkins is genuinely one of the best one off characters the show ever had. I was so hoping he'd be a companion

This was such a good video!

I hadn't even realised that the guy in the Louvre was Bill Nye....

Rebecca Front is also another famous UK actor who’s hardly used especially considering she’s in a 12th Doctor story with her Thick of It co star Peter Capaldi. She’s not even included in the video

This wasn't even the only Who related thing Anthony Head did. I also remember him as the main villain Balthazar in "The Infinite Quest", an animated 10th Doctor story with Martha that most people seem to have completely forgotten. And iirc, he was the main villain in the Excelis trilogy of audio stories by Big Finish. Funny how one guy can be typecast several times within the same franchise 😄. I get the impression that he must be somewhat fond of it on some level.

Tony Curran as Van Gogh was incredible. I know he's not a big star, but no one can argue it was amazing.

For me, "Blink" will always be the Sally Sparrow episode rather than the Weeping Angels episode. It's a shame Carey never became a companion, though probably not for her as she has gone on to greater things.

What about Tom Baker as The Curator? It was technically a guest star one-off appearance with a big impact. Even if it was flirting with the idea of him being The Doctor.

I think Classic Who pulled off special guest appearances better. They were featured a lot more sparingly, so when more famous actors appeared they were usually given bigger parts (eg. Michael Gough in 'The Celestial Toymaker' and Julian Glover in 'City Of Death'), as opposed to Nu Who's tendency to give less important roles to celebrities just for the sake of it.

I just have to say that not mentioning you-know-who was an incredible running gag

I really dislike all the attention that's focused on the famous guest stars. I prefer smaller (working) actors who play their part well and disappear. The well-known actors are mostly a distraction, imo.

I first saw Olivia Coleman in Peep show and thus I can't help but think of Mark and Jez whenever I see her. Just laughed out loud when she popped up in doctor who.

Screw the Great Intelligence. Richard E Grant is The Doctor. Justice for the Shalka Doctor!

Too be Honest the one that really Upset me the most was The Editor played by Simon Pegg in Series 1 Episode 7 The Long Game Because He Would have been so Good as the master Against Iver 10 or 13 Like Jon Sim or Sache Dewan.

Jenny! After all she was a closer match to the Doctor than Susan. Also PD's daughter & now DT's wife, that's a star to me. If you have watched old Who a favourite list may help me with the staggering list of episodes on B...Box. Tomb of Cybermen was the one that made me watch early Who. Walking past the image of his epic foes, so Hammer Horror.

I took a hefty 1 minute trying to decipher if the video was about The Good Doctor or Doctor Who just by reading the title

Richard E Grant actually played the doctor in a 2003 (I think it was) animated Doctor Who

I actually quite like the robots in DOAS. The voices crack me up every time

I only remembered brannigan because I was watching death in paradise

I forgot Stephen fry was in an episode and only remember lee mack for being in the episode that turned me off watching another doctor who episode for an entire year

I'm going to say The Runaway Bride with Catherine Tate played brilliantly I might add and Anthony head who is also in the high school reunions what's heater quite brilliantly on Buffy the Vampire Slayer and on Merlin

one of my favourite guest appearences is Brian Blessed XD

I think McFly should be the next Doctor

wait the cat man is dougal? mind blown

Don't know why I love Ardal O'Hanlon as the Cat Man so much... I just do.

I guess the difference between you and I is that I'm just a Dr Who fan and don't have expectations for guest stars being free to enjoy what I'm given monumental or other. In fact prior to watching this video rating them according to their fame/talent never occurred to me.

Not exactly sure what you're expecting from guest parts but I thought Simon Pegg as the editor was superb and lee Mack was given more than enough screentime to do his wise cracking schtick before being killed off. They don't all have to have a massive role to make an impact, this tradition of having comedians in doctor who goes back to the old show, you best not watch the ken dodd or hale and pace episodes then you'd prob be aghast.

Your video essay, spurns an important question: Would you say Doctor Who is a show ABOUT the Doctor and his adventures, or is Doctor Who ABOUT the places the Doctor visits and how he responds to them. I think in the shows long history, you can see where this balance has differed.

Very unlikely lee Mack just wanted a cameo. He seemed really eager to do ly which is a shame. should’ve got more

No mention of Mr. Bucket/Clive Swift for Voyage of the Damned?

Today I learned that Doctor Who has a completely different definition of celebrity to me.

04:46 was that a cheeky slitheen reference? 👀

Terapist: Disguised Chris Chibnall isn’t real he can’t hurt you Disguised Chris Chibnall : 3:51

I didn't even know David Mitchell and Robert Webb were even in Doctor Who.

Wait, if he's the Wario, who is the Waluigi?

You know, I actually really liked Lee Mack’s cameo.

When you said bill nighy I thought you meant the science guy 😭