As smart but savage Leela, Louise Jameson had a complex relationship with the Fourth Doctor, but on screen they were an unmissable combination. She has worked non-stop ever since her Who days but still finds time to reprise Leela for Big Finish. Look out for her this year in romantic anthology film Modern Love.
Under the Fifth Doctor, Mark Strickson's Turlough was probably the most morally complex of the Classic companions. Strickson himself spends much of his time behind the camera these days, producing Rich House, Poor House amongst other things. He live in New Zealand, the jammy devil, and is the man who discovered Steve Irwin.
NICOLA BRYANT
A first time guest with us at Who In Hoylake, Nicola Bryant played Perpugilliam 'Peri' Brown under the Fifth and Sixth Doctors. A vocal chameleon, Nicola reads audiobooks as well as performing in multiple Big Finish ranges. You can follow all of her work at her personal website, www.nicolabryant.net, and catch more updates at her twitter
KATY MANNING
Katy Manning needs no introduction to Doctor Who fans. She played companion Jo Grant under Jon Pertwee's Third Doctor, a role she has reprised both for Big Finish and on The Sarah Jane Adventures. A long-term fixture of the fan circuit, Katy is one of the few actors who truly deserve the term "beloved".
Sophie Aldred played companion Ace under the Sylvester McCoy and is often considered to have been the prototype of the modern Doctor Who companion. Despite a busy and varied career, she has always retained an obvious affection for Ace and is another hugely popular stalwart of the convention scene. She tweets here
MIKE MCSHANE
Mike McShane is a comedian and actor who first came to prominence on British TV screens in Whose Line Is It Anyway?, excelling at improvising songs. He appeared as Julius Grayle in The Angels Take Manhattan opposite the Eleventh Doctor.
Colin Spaull was one of the first Classic Who actors to appear in rebooted series, having worked on both Revelation of the Daleks and then Rise of the Cybermen/Age of Steel. Colin has been working as an actor since childhood and is a member of the Order of the Water Rats along with fellow Who alumnus and regular drinking buddy Fraser Hines. He has recently released a memoir, Colin Who?
DEE SADLER
Dee Sadler played Flowerchild in The Greatest Show in the Galaxy alongside Sylvester McCoy and her fellow MINDWarp guest Christopher Guard. She also originated the role of Linda in All Creatures Great and Small, the reboot of which is airing soon.
Christopher Guard, a talented performer in multiple media, appeared with Dee Sadler in The Greatest Show in the Galaxy. Notable other TV appearances include his performance of Marcellus in the highly-renowned BBC production of I, Claudius. He is also a singer and musician, and is currently working on his memoirs.
Will Barton made his television acting debut in Doctor Who with the part of Midge in Survival. Since then he has gone on multiple high-profile roles, including starring as Boris Johnson but we try not to hold that against him. His most recently released project, Say Your Prayers, united him with fellow Who graduate Sir Derek Jacobi.
Jon Davey is a prolific Doctor Who actor, having appeared as Cybermen, Daleks, Judoon, Zygons and every other monster under the sun, as well as a number of more traditional human roles. He is also a keen skateboarder, so expect the next wave of Cyberman to ride into the attack wearing Vans and hoodies.
Lisa Bowerman first entered the world of Doctor Who in Survival, opposite the Seventh Doctor, playing Kara the catwoman. As Bernice Summerfield she has been a Big Finish actor for more than twenty years and is a familiar voice to any Doctor Who devotee. She also directs audio plays for Big Finish and the BBC, among others, and works as a professional photographer.
Kim Newman is an author and critic who co-founded the Peace and Love Corporation with Neil Gaiman. A contributing editor for Empire magazine, Kim wrote the BFI critical retrospective of Doctor Who and the novella Time and Relative for Telos.
Nuclear physicist, astronaut, bestselling author, master impressionist and founder member of Monty Python - Robin Ince has email addresses for all of these people. As presenter of BBC Radio's Infinite Monkey Cage with Professor Brian Cox, Robin talks to world experts of all kinds as well as comedians and actors. He is also a comedian and writer, and his lockdown broadcasts have helped keep me personally sane even as they have taken a terrible toll on him. When his wife allows him on twitter, he tweets here
TONY JORDAN
The Doctor Who Appreciation Society is the longest-running DW fan society in the world, and Tony Jordan has been involved with it for over thirty years. In a year where we've been unable to celebrate any of the usual conventions, join Tony to learn how all this fan festival business got started in the first place, and how it keeps its place in oiur net-connected age.
