Doctor Who Vs. Silent Witness, Series 8

The eighth season of

BBC1's popular crime

drama was first shown

in the autumn of 2004,

and starred Amanda

Burton's final appear-

ance as Home Office

pathologist, Professor

Sam Ryan. Following

the series opener, Ryan

returned home to

Northern Ireland.

William Gaminara and 
Tom Ward (as doctors Leo Dalton and Harry Cunningham) were then
joined by newcomer, Emilia Fox as Dr. Nikki Alexander.

A repeat run of the series began on Drama channel last night - it

featured a total of twenty-eight Doctor Who cast/crew connections:

A Time to Heal (UK TX: September 5 & 6)

• Des McAleer (Nevin here, Patrick in Series 18: Protection, Lawson in S22: Deathmaker) voiced Lefty Lonnigan for A Life of Crime (2016), and Blujaw Skaldson for The Skin of the Sleek and The Thief Who Stole Time (both 2017)
• Anne Bird (Nurse) voiced Caitriona and Shazza for The Rapture (2002), and Ambassador Egopolis for Appropriation (2006)
• Patrick Drury (Gaghan) voiced Major Fanshaw for Murder at Moorsey Manor, and Tom Carlton for The Wax Princess (both 2014)
• SFX supervisor Graham Brown was SFX assistant on Resurrection of the Daleks and (part 1 of) Attack of the Cybermen
• Charlie Bluett was also prosthetics technician on thirty-nine episodes (from Rose to Journey to the Centre of the TARDIS), The Sarah Jane Adventures and Torchwood
• for Michael Darbon, Philip Kloss, Debbi Slater, Terry Elms, Neil Gorton, Ian Adrian and Rod Woodruff see my other series blogs

Death by Water (UK TX: September 12 & 13)

• Philip Bird (DCI Tennant) made his TV debut as a Swampie in The Power of Kroll, then voiced Shepton Rothwell for Big Dig (2013)
• Phyllis Logan (Helen here, Jennifer in S13: Shadows) was Andinio in The Battle of Ranskoor Av Kolos
• Kate Fleetwood (Sienna) was the voice of Ship for The Sarah Jane Adventures: The Mad Woman in the Attic
• David [Michael] Harewood (Stuart) was Joshua Naismith in The End of Time, and voiced President Vallan for Army of Death (2011)
• Ozzie Yue (Micky) was the Foreman in The Angels Take Manhattan

Nowhere Fast (UK TX: September 19 & 20)

• Ramon Tikaram (Bhandari) voiced Wanchese for Voyage to the New World (2012), the Castellan for The Eleven, Marlock for Theatre of War, Colonel Vikram Shindi for UNIT: Extinction (all 2015), UNIT: Silenced (2016), UNIT: Encounters (2017), UNIT: Cyber Reality and UNIT: Revisitations, Colin Colchester Price for Torchwood (all 2018), and President Dunn La for The World Traders (2021)
• James Wilby (Gibb) voiced Tenebris for The Acheron Pulse and The Shadow Heart (both 2012), Professor John Torrance for The Sontaran Project, and Pascal for Blind Summit (2018)
• Sylvestra Le Touzel (Birley) also made her TV debut on the classic era, as a Child in The Mind Robber
• Ken Bradshaw (DS Gaskell) voiced Colonel Fischer for Human Conflict (2018)

Body 21 (UK TX: September 26 & 27)

• Douglas Mackinnon was also director of eight stories (from The Sontaran Stratagem to The Husbands of River Song)
• Tony Bluto (Delivery Man) was Driver Joe in Midnight
• Shaun Parkes (DI Freeman here, Walker in S19: Life Licence) and Danny Webb (DS Bradley) both appeared in The Impossible Planet and The Satan Pit as Captain Zachary Cross Flane and John Jefferson respectively - Webb also voiced Byron for The Girl Who Never Was (2007), and Ori for The Dark Husband (2008)
• Emma Cunniffe (Rosa) was Claire in Night Terrors, and voiced Caleera for Doom Coalition 2 (2016) and Doom Coalition 4, and Madame Berber for The Dying Room (both 2017)
• Kieran Bew (Wiltshire here, Lockford in S14: First Casualty) was Ivan in Oxygen, and voiced Arthur Kettleson/Barry for The Lady of Mercia (2013), Murdo Jamieson for The Helm of Awe, Krim Pollensa for Month 25 (both 2017), Richard Cooper for The Creeping Death (2019), Lunk/ V97 for Do No Harm (2020), Grannis Drek for The Tribulations of Thadeus Nook, Dwayne Pherber for The End of the Beginning (both 2021), and Davlin Crux for Hooklight 1 (2024)
• Stewart James was a stuntman on Victory of the Daleks too

Doctor Who Vs. Manhunt, Series 1

This factual based crime drama focused

on the investigation led by DCI Colin

Sutton (portrayed by Martin Clunes) in

the hunt for the killer of Milly Dowler,

 Amelie Delagrange, and Marsha

McDonnell. Levi Bellfield (depicted by
Celyn Jones) was eventually convicted

of their murders in 2008. Sutton later

reinvestigated the serial murders of Fred

and Rose West for ITV, whilst a second

series of Manhunt aired in September 2021.

A repeat run of the thriller (originally shown

over three consecutive nights at New Year

2019) began on ITV last night - it featured twelve Doctor Who cast connections:

• Clunes was Lon in Snakedance
• Jones voiced Geraint for Tiny Rebel's The Lady of the Lake (2018)
• prolific Big Finish actress Tracy Wiles (Monica) voiced Moira Brody for Masters of Earth (2014), Lilith Lovett for The Year of the Bat, Jacqui McGee for UNIT: Extinction (both 2015), UNIT: Silenced (2016), Death on the Mile (2018), Narcissus, The Power of River Song (both 2019), UNIT: Between Two Worlds, Outback, Longshot (all 2021), UNIT: Agents of the Vulpreen, UNIT: Objective: Earth (both 2022), Commander Barnac for The Neverwhen (2016), Ground Control/Secretary for Their Finest Hour, Sharlan for The Invention of Death, Hadway/Salma/V75 for Escape from Kaldor (all 2018), Drones for The False Guardian and Time's Assassin, Announcer for State of Bliss, Marzanna/Engel for Nightmare Country, Various for The Robots 1 (all 2019), The Robots 2 and Dark Side of the Moon (2022), Tryana for Return to Skaro (both 2020), FELINE/Maria/Patricia for A Forever Home, and Draven/ Shira/Sentinel for The Shadow Squad (both 2021)
• Steffan Rhodri (DC Jones) voiced Commander Korshal for Dreamtime, Prime Minister for UNIT (both 2005), Minister for Outbreak (2016), and Ted for The Silent Streets of Barry Island
• Peter Forbes (DCS Murphy) voiced Philip Bannister/Ian Chesterton for Deadline (2003), Dan Culver for Dalek Empire 3 (2004), Kryson for The Juggernauts (2005), Craig Swanson for The Feast of Axos (2011), and Thorn for The Bounty of Ceres (2014)
• Nicholas Burns (DI Ambrose) and Bern Collaco (Officer) both appeared in Thin Ice, as Lord Sutcliffe and Soldier - Collaco was also an Operator in The Return of Doctor Mysterio
• Stephane Cornicard (Delagrange) voiced Keep for The Next Life (2004)
• Michael Gould (Chapman) voiced Frederick Lindemann for The Oncoming Storm (2016)
• Shai Matheson (Forster) voiced Wilson for Manhunt (2023), and Professor Altazar for The Eternity Club (2024)
• Deeivya Meir (Reporter) voiced Sogo/Justine for Altered Status (2021), Xoanon 2/Parama/Tagra for Who Am I? (2022), and Pera for Berserker (2023), then was Newsreader in 73 Yards
• Jamie Pannell was also electrician on In the Forest of the Night, Last Christmas, The Husbands of River Song and The Return of Doctor Mysterio

Doctor Who Vs. Single Father

Produced by BBC Scotland (and filmed in

Glasgow, Paisley and Edinburgh), this four-

part drama focused on Dave Tiler (played by

David Tennant), a photographer struggling

to care for his four children after the death 

of his partner, Rita (Laura Fraser) in a traffic

accident. 

Tennant debuted in Big Finish's Doctor Who

range in 2001 (for Colditz), and he recently

reprised the lead role for The Tenth Doctor 

Adventures.

The series was originally shown in October

2010 (and last repeated on the True Enter-

tainment Channel in 2015), and featured
Neve McIntosh, and thirteen further Doctor 
Who cast and crew connections:

• Suranne Jones (Sarah) was the titular antagonist in The Sarah Jane Adventures: Mona Lisa's Revenge, then depicted Idris in The Doctor's Wife
• Isla Blair (Beatty) was Isabella in The King's Demons, and voiced Paula for Exotron (2007)
• Warren Brown (Matt) voiced Stephen Gibson for Industrial Evolution (2011), Rufus Stone and To'Koth for Signs and Wonders (2014), then Lieutenant Sam Bishop for UNIT: Extinction (2015), UNIT: Shutdown, UNIT: Silenced (both 2016), UNIT: Assembled (2017), UNIT: Cyber Reality, Lady Christina 1 (both 2018) and UNIT: Incursions (2019)
• Rupert Grave (Stuart) was John Riddell in Dinosaurs on a Spaceship
• Mark Heap (Robin) voiced the Middleman for The Middle (2017)
• Sanjeev Kohli (Dad) voiced Brother Boyle/Vallot for The Quin Dilemma (2024)
• Sophie Kennedy Clark (Tanya) voiced Mhairi Campbell/the Slips for Wicked! (2025) 
• stunt co-ordinator Paul Heasman was a Nazi in Silver Nemesis, and the stunt arranger on Survival
• Belinda McGinley was also a stunt performer on Amy's Choice and The Girl Who Waited
• stuntman Lee Sheward was a stunt co-ordinator on eleven adventures (from The End of the World to The End of Time), and Torchwood: Miracle Day
• Steve Smith was also a make-up artist on forty-one episodes (from The Christmas Invasion to The Waters of Mars), and Music of the Spheres
• sound mixer Brian Milliken was the sound recordist on The Sontaran Stratagem, The Poison Sky and The Sarah Jane Adventures
• composer Murray Gold has worked on the revived run (from Rose to Twice Upon a Time)

Doctor Who Vs. The Victim

In STV Productions
latest crime drama,
Craig Myers (played
by James Harkness)
 is attacked at his
home in Port Glasgow,
 then discovers he has
been accused online of
being child murderer
Eddie J Turner.
DI Stephen Grover's
(John Hannah) invest-
igation incriminates
Anna Dean (Kelly
Macdonald), whose son was killed by Turner fifteen years ago. The mother
 is brought to trial at Edinburgh's High Court, but is Myers really the killer
or a victim of mistaken identity?

Shown over four, consecutive nights this week, the thriller concluded on
BBC1 last night, and featured nine Doctor Who cast and crew alumnis:

• Jamie Sives (Lenny) was Captain Reynolds in Tooth and Claw
• Allison McKenzie (Cathy) voiced Imogen Frazer for Big Finish's Iterations of I (2014)
• John Scougall (Carpenter) voiced Ryall and Sythes for The Time War 3 (2019)
• Ramon Tikaram (Mishra) voiced Wanchese for Voyage to the New World (2012), the Castellan for Doom Coalition 1, Marlock for Theatre of War, Colonel Shindi for UNIT: Extinction (all 2015), UNIT: Silenced (2016), UNIT: Encounters (2017) and UNIT: Cyber Reality, and Colin Colchester Price for Torchwood: Aliens Among Us and Gods Among Us (all 2018)
• Pooky Quesnel (Mo) was the Captain in A Christmas Carol
• Seylan Baxter (Jury) was Tecteun in The Timeless Children
• Paul Heasman was stunt co-ordinator on Survival too, and was an uncredited Nazi in Silver Nemesis
• Geraint L Williams was art designer on The Woman Who Fell to Earth too
• Gibran Farrah was also ADR mixer on The Tsuranga Conundrum and Demons of the Punjab