Movies

10 Actors Who Played Three Distinct Roles in Doctor Who

BBG News

With Ncuti Gatwa bidding adieu to the TARDIS as he departs from Doctor Who, a well-known figure, Billie Piper, has reappeared in the Whoniverse, ready to assume the role of the Sixteenth Doctor. This marks an exclusive club of actors who have played at least three distinct roles within the franchise. Intriguingly, Billie Piper is making her unexpected comeback to Doctor Who, following Gatwa’s regeneration in the gripping cliffhanger ending of season 15’s “The Reality War”. Previously, she captivated audiences as Rose Tyler, the first companion introduced in the modern series. Now, she is anticipated to step into the role of the Time Lord herself.

Billie Piper had made a comeback to the Doctor Who universe in 2013, taking on a surprising new role for the show’s 50th anniversary. In this storyline, she played a pivotal character that was visually similar to her previous role, Rose, but was fundamentally different. This unique portrayal makes Billie Piper one of the few Doctor Who actors who have reappeared in the universe as three distinct characters.

10. Billie Piper

Rose Tyler/The Moment/The Sixteenth Doctor

2005’s series “Rose” presented London teen Rose Tyler to viewers, who embarked on adventures with both the Ninth (portrayed by Christopher Eccleston) and Tenth (David Tennant) Doctors during seasons 1 and 2 of Doctor Who. She later traveled through deteriorating realities to meet up with the Doctor again for the season 4 finale. After a brief appearance in “The End of Time”, which marked Tennant’s final adventure, Piper reprised her role as The Moment in the 50th-anniversary special “The Day of the Doctor”. Now, she is slated to portray the Sixteenth Doctor.

9. David Tennant

The Tenth Doctor/The Metacrisis Doctor/The Fourteenth Doctor

In the TV series “Doctor Who”, David Tennant’s character, the Tenth Doctor, took on more roles than just three different characters. Remarkably, he also portrayed various incarnations of the Doctor himself. During his time as the Tenth Doctor, an unusual Metacrisis event occurred where regeneration energy was injected into his severed hand. This led to the creation of a half-human version of the Tenth Doctor, who became known as the Metacrisis Doctor. In the fourth season, he accompanied Rose on Pete’s World. Even after leaving the TARDIS, Tennant returned to play the Fourteenth Doctor for the show’s 60th-anniversary festivities.

8. Peter Capaldi

Lobus Caecilius/John Frobisher/Tenth Doctor

During David Tennant’s tenure as The Doctor in “Doctor Who,” Peter Capaldi appeared as a guest star in season 4’s “The Fires of Pompeii,” portraying Caecilius, a marble merchant whom The Doctor saves from the volcanic eruption. Later, when The Doctor transformed into his Twelfth incarnation, Capaldi reprised his role as The Doctor, receiving Caecilius’ face to remind him to adhere to his principles. Subsequently, in “Doctor Who” and its spin-off series “Torchwood,” Capaldi also portrayed John Frobisher, a tragic character who served as the Secretary to the Home Office during the 456 crisis in “Torchwood: Children of Earth.

7. Richard E. Grant

The Great Intelligence/The Curse of Fatal Death Tenth Doctor/The Shalka Doctor

Although there have been disagreements about his status, Richard E. Grant is another actor who has assumed various roles within Doctor Who, including the Time Lord. During the seventh season of the show, Grant portrayed Doctor Simeon/The Great Intelligence, a character plotting to eliminate the Doctor’s timeline, collaborating once more with then-showrunner Steven Moffat following their work on the Children in Need parody, The Curse of Fatal Death. Moreover, Grant starred as an alternative Ninth Doctor in the 40th-anniversary adventure “Scream of the Shalka,” a role that would later be acknowledged as canon in Doctor Who’s fourteenth season, specifically in the episode titled “Rogue.

6. Katy Manning

Jo Grant/Iris Wildthyme/Zelanda

Katy Manning, a traveler who joined journeys within the TARDIS, played three distinct roles in the Whoniverse. Most notably, she is recognized for her portrayal as Jo Grant, companion to the Third Doctor (Jon Pertwee). After her time with Doctor Who, Manning assumed the role of Iris Wildthyme, an eccentric Time Traveler similar to herself, in various spin-offs by Big Finish. Lastly, following her encounter with the Ice Warriors in “The Curse of Pelladon” (1972), she took on the part of Zelanda, an Ice Warrior, in the 2022 audio drama “Wrath of the Ice Warriors.

5. Anjli Mohindra

Rani Chandra/Skithra Queen/Theodora Markway

In the series “The Sarah Jane Adventures“, Katy Manning, reappearing as Jo in the episode “The Death of the Doctor“, teamed up with Anjli Mohindra’s character, Rani Chandra, a youthful companion of Elizabeth Sladen’s former companion Sarah Jane Smith. Although Katy Manning has resurfaced in both “Doctor Who: Redacted” and her own Big Finish series, it was Anjli Mohindra who made a screen comeback to the Whoniverse as the Skithra Queen in season 12’s “Nikola Tesla’s Night of Terror“. In addition to this, Mohindra played reporter Theodora Markway within Big Finish’s “The Fourth Doctor Adventures” collection.

4. Derek Jacobi

The War Master/The Shalka Master/Martin Bannister

In her subsequent journeys, Jo encountered another figure – Derek Jacobi’s portrayal of The War Master from ‘Doctor Who’. Initially, he appeared as Professor Yana in ‘Doctor Who’ season 3’s “Utopia”, but later his story was expanded upon in Big Finish’s audio dramas. Interestingly, Derek Jacobi had previously played an alternate version of the Master alongside Christopher Eccleston’s Ninth Doctor in “Scream of the Shalka”. Now, he was in a robot form and found himself unwillingly accompanying the Doctor. Additionally, Jacobi portrayed Martin Bannister in ‘Doctor Who: Unbound’s “Deadline”, a character who believes he has met the Time Lord but is actually trapped in delusions.

3. Julian Bleach

Davros/The Ghostmaker/The Nightmare Man

Actor Julian Bleach, well-known for his roles as the villainous figure Davros from the world of Doctor Who, has played three distinct characters within this universe. He portrayed Davros, the creator of the Daleks, both prior to and following an event that confined him to his own travel machine, in seasons 4, 8, and the celebrations marking the 60th anniversary of Doctor Who. In Torchwood, Bleach took on the role of the fearsome entity known as the Ghostmaker during “From Out of the Rain”. Lastly, he played Vishklar The Nightmare Man, a character who haunts dreams, in The Sarah Jane Adventures.

2. Silas Carson

The Ood/Ood Sigma/Kudlak

In a different light, Silas Carson is widely recognized for his portrayal of Ki Adi-Mundi in the Star Wars prequels. However, beyond this role, he has also taken on significant parts within the Whoniverse. For instance, he lent his voice to the Ood in Doctor Who season 2, and later, to the rebellious Ood Sigma in “Planet of the Ood”, a character who worked towards liberating his kind from human bondage. On the other hand, Carson also voiced Uvodni General Kudlak in “Warriors of Kudlak” from The Sarah Jane Adventures, where he attempted to exploit human children as battlefield soldiers.

1. Neve McIntosh

Alaya/Restac/Madame Vastra

Ultimately, Neve McIntosh has the exceptional distinction of portraying three distinct characters consecutively within a single era of Doctor Who. Making her first appearance as the Silurian sisters Alaya and Restac in “The Hungry Earth/Cold Blood”, McIntosh joined forces with Matt Smith’s Eleventh Doctor during season 5, when the Silurians reawakened. Despite both characters meeting their end, McIntosh resurfaced to play the Victorian detective Madame Vastra in “A Good Man Goes To War”, just a season later in season 6, eventually becoming a regular ally to the Time Lord.

Read More

2025-06-03 01:38

Previous post 10 Surprising Disney Facts That Sound Made Up But Are Absolutely True
Next post Bitcoin Miner Riot’s Explosive Growth Will Blow Your Mind! 🚀