There have been a number of funny, surprising and indeed exciting Doctor Who cameos over the years, some of which you will only have spotted if you were familiar with the history of the show. Here’s a breakdown of some of our favourites…
Ysanne Churchman – Alpha Centauri
Back in 1972, Ysanne Churchman made her debut as the hermaphrodite alien Alpha Centauri in the quirky adventure ‘The Curse of Peladon.’ In the story, Alpha Centauri is a one-eyed, multi-limbed creature with a distinctly high voice, and an ambassador from the Galactic Federation.
But this is not the Doctor Who cameo we’re talking about. You see, the production team made the surprising move of bringing back Alpha Centauri in the 2017 story ‘Empress of Mars’ in a very brief scene in which Centauri welcomed the Ice Warriors to the universe. Even better, the producers managed to persuade the actor Ysanne Churchman to voice the character once more – incredible, given that she was 92 and hadn’t been in the show for some 43 years.
Ysanne Churchman sadly passed away in July 2024, so this is a fitting time to celebrate her unexpected return to the Whoniverse opposite the Twelfth Doctor.
June Hudson – Elderly woman
This is possibly the most obscure Doctor Who cameo on our list, and only spottable for the most dedicated of Doctor Who fans.
In the 2024 episode ‘The Devil’s Chord,’ the world is being terrorised by a god-like being called Maestro who has robbed the world of music. And one of Maestro’s unwitting victims is an elderly woman who is watching events unfold from her living room window. And this elderly woman is none other than the famous June Hudson.
But who is June Hudson, I hear you ask? Well, this is a very exciting Doctor Who cameo if you’re familiar with the classic series, as June Hudson was the show’s costume designer in the 70s and early 80s, and in fact she designed Tom Baker’s Season 18 costume, complete with his burgundy scarf.
But she is only recognisable to Doctor Who fans if they have seen Hudson in DVD documentaries, or happen to have bumped into her at conventions. This makes her appearance one of the ‘deeper’ Doctor Who cameos on this list, but it is all the better for it.
John Cleese – Art Gallery Visitor
We have script editor Douglas Adams to thank for our next Doctor Who cameo. He knew of John Cleese through his connections with Monty Python, and on learning that he would be in TV Centre when the classic story ‘City of Death‘ was filmed, he persuaded the comedian to make an appearance in a scene set in a Parisian art gallery.
Cleese appeared alongside his fellow Footlights artist Eleanor Bron, and together they portrayed a couple of eccentric art enthusiasts who were pondering the significance of the TARDIS’ placement in the gallery. The two actors agreed to this Doctor Who cameo on the condition that there would be no pre-publicity, and asked that they be credited as Kim Bread and Helen Swanetsky, but the BBC declined the latter request!
Bron, of course, would return to Doctor Who some years later as the villainous Kara in ‘Revelation of the Daleks.’
Bill Nighy – Doctor Black
Bill Nighy has something of a history with Doctor Who, despite only appearing in one episode, ‘Vincent and the Doctor.’ Before the show returned in 2005, it was rumoured that the role of the Ninth Doctor had been offered to Nighy before ultimately going to Christopher Eccleston. Nighy later confirmed this rumour, stating that he had indeed been offered the part, but turned it down because he felt it carried too much responsibility.
Thankfully, he did finally make an appearance in the show in 2010, albeit as a Doctor Who cameo. In ‘Vincent and the Doctor,’ he plays the mysterious bow tie-wearing Doctor Black – a somewhat eccentric character with a passion for all-things Van Gogh. Nighy was uncredited for his appearance, although there can’t have been many people who missed him!
In recent years, some fans have theorised that Doctor Black could in fact be a future incarnation of the eponymous Time Lord. Certainly, we already have Tom Baker’s Curator from ‘The Day of the Doctor’ so it’s not beyond the realms of possibility. Matt Smith has since weighed in on this theory, tweeting in 2020, “What if Bill Nighy is a Doctor from the future sent back to check on the progress of things?! I mean… he’s a Doctor if ever I saw one!!?”
William Russell – Ian Chesterton
There were a number of Doctor Who cameos in ‘The Power of the Doctor’ – Katy Manning and Bonnie Langford among them – but by far the most exciting had to be the appearance of William Russell as Ian Chesterton, finally returning to the role after an absence of 57 years (last seen in “London 1965!”) In fact, Russell won a Guinness World Record for this Doctor Who cameo, marking the longest gap between TV appearances.
In the scene, Chesterton is attending a sort of Doctor Who Companions Anonymous meeting, made up of the Time Lord’s former friends who get together to discuss their adventures in the TARDIS. Tegan Jovanka is there, as is Ace, along with Jo Grant, Melanie Bush, Graham O’Brien, Yasmin Khan and Dan Lewis. Chesterton is surprised to hear that the Doctor is now a woman; in fact, when he travelled in the TARDIS, he didn’t even know about the Time Lord’s ability to regenerate.
Sadly, William Russell passed away in 2024, but it is great that he was able to make a final appearance in the series in the latter years of his life.
These are just some of the Doctor Who cameos that have featured in the programme over the years. Which ones would you add to this list? And which one is your favourite? Let us know in the comments below.
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