Doctor Who Vs. The Force Awakens

The first part of Star Wars Sequel trilogy

(also known as Episode VII) was produced,
co-written, and directed by JJ Abrams.
The sci-fi epic (the follow-up to 1983's

Return of the Jedi), was announced after

the Walt Disney Company's acquisition of Lucasfilm in 2012, and saw no involvement

 from franchise creator, George Lucas.

Harrison Ford, Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher,

Anthony Daniels, and Peter Mayhew all

reprised their respective roles - Han Solo,

Luke Skywalker, Leia, C-3PO, and Chewbacca.
Released in late 2015, The Force Awakens

became the third highest grossing film ever,

and was followed by The Last Jedi in 2017,
and The Rise of the Skywalker (2019).

Shown on channel 4 tonight, the movie featured Adam Driver (as Kylo

Ren), Daisy Ridley (Rey), John Boyega (Finn), Andy Serkis, Domhnall Gleeson, Max von Sydow, Tosin Cole (pictured as Bastian), and

twenty-seven Doctor Who cast and crew connections:

• Simon [John] Pegg [born Beckingham] (Unkar Plutt) voiced Don Chaney for Big Finish's Invaders from Mars (2002), then played the Editor in The Long Game, and narrated the first run of Doctor Who Confidential
• Kiran Shah (Teedo here; Panpick in The Last Jedi; Ghima in The Rise of Skywalker) was the Figure in Listen, and Emojibot in Smile
• Pip [Dean] Torrens (Kaplan) and Thomas Brodie Sangster (Officer) both appeared in Human Nature and The Family of Blood - as Headmaster Rocastle and Tim Latimer - Torrens also voiced Charlie Gibbs for Eldrad Must Die! (2013), and Kenton for Break the Ice (2022), whilst Sangster voiced Kyle for The Mind's Eye (2007), and Miner for The Bride of Peladon (2008)
• Brian Vernel (Bala Tik) was Lucius in The Eaters of Light, and voiced Robert for Big Finish's Dethras (2017) 
• Warwick [Ashley] Davis (Wollivan) was Emperor Ludens Nimrod Kendrick Cord Longstaff XLI [known as Porridge] in Nightmare in Silver
• Sebastian [Felipe Xavier Fernández Garcia] Armesto (Mitaka) was Broff in Bad Wolf, and voiced Anders for Grand Theft Cosmos (2008), and Garrison for Kidnapped! (2020)
• Harriet [Mary] Walter (Kalonia) voiced Beatrice Mapp for The Boy That Time Forgot (2008), then was Jo Patterson in Revolution of the Daleks
• Tim Rose (Ackbar) was a Millennium FX engineer on Let's Kill Hitler, Closing Time and Deep Breath
• Tom Edden (Officer) was a Pharmacist in Gridlock
• Victor McGuire (Patron) voiced Borton for In the Garden of Death (2018)
• Dave Chapman (BB-8 operator) was Dalek Voice on The Curse of Fatal Death
• Charlie Akin (Stormtrooper/Fighter) was a Soldier in Empress of Mars
• Bern Collaco (General) was an Operator in The Return of Doctor Mysterio, and Soldier in Thin Ice
• Nathalie Cuzner (PZ-4CO) was Cat Nun in Tardisode and New Earth, Woman in Smith and Jones and The End of Time (2), one of the Futurekind in Utopia, Silurian in The Hungry Earth, Cold Blood and The Pandorica Opens, Handbot in The Girl Who Waited, and Performer in Demons of the Punjab
• Tobias James Samuels (Officer) was a Waiter in Voyage of the Damned
• Kevin Hudson (Rebel) had uncredited roles in twenty-nine stories (from The Long Game to The Timeless Children)
• Paul Kasey (Ello Asty) starred in thirty-eight episodes (from Rose to The Timeless Children)
• Mickey Lewis (General here; Trooper in Rogue One; Bridge Comms in The Last Jedi) was in seventeen instalments (from Asylum of the Daleks to Legend of the Sea Devils)
• Kate Fleetwood (Officer) was the voice of Ship for The Sarah Jane Adventures: The Mad Woman in the Attic
• Clem So (Fighter) was Mongolian in Asylum of the Daleks, Artisan in The Angels Take Manhattan, Tourist in The Day of the Doctor, Clockwork Droid in Deep Breath, Bank Client in Time Heist, Alien in Face the Raven and The Husbands of River Song, Gent in Thin Ice, Corpse in Oxygen, Guard in Extremis, and Pirate in Legend of the Sea Devils
• Robert Strange (Allium) was a Wraith Warrior in The Star Beast
• Tom Bell (Prashee) voiced Brian Sherborne for Intelligence for War (2023)
• Will [John] Willoughby (Guard) [born Haynes] was a stuntman on nine stories (from Rose to A Town Called Mercy) and Torchwood
• Jimmy Vee (R2-D2) was the Moxx of Balhoon in The End of the World, Alien in Aliens of London, Bannakaffalatta in Voyage of the Damned, the Skovox Blitzer in The Caretaker, and the Graske in Attack of the Graske, Music of the Spheres and The Sarah Jane Adventures
• Aidan Cook (Bobbajo/Tuggs) was the Vlinx in The Giggle
• Dilu Miah (Puffer) was Goblin in The Church on Ruby Road
• Christina Chong (Deleted scene) was Lorna Bucket in A Good Man Goes to War