Q&A with new Doctor Who star

YOU DON'T LOOK LIKE YOUR CHARACTER IN REAL LIFE!

Thank you very much! I've seen one drawing of this cockroach character, but that's about it.

IT'S NOT YOUR FIRST FORAY INTO DOCTOR WHO, IS IT?

I've done audio adventures playing Doctor Who.

YOU CAN'T GET MUCH BETTER THAN THAT

You can if you're on television playing him. Of course, you may know that David Tennant, before he was Doctor Who, was in one of those recordings. So that was quite fun. I believe he's a big fan as well as being the Doctor, although when I see David, we don't talk about the series particularly.

DO YOU ENJOY THIS KIND OF WORK?

Oh yeah, I love it. Of course, you take it seriously because you're there earning a living, but it's a little more relaxed, not having to be seen by other people. And you're reading it, you don't have to learn it. You can dress the way you want - you don't even have to shave that morning if you don't want to. How marvellous!

WOULD YOU LIKE TO BE IN THE TV VERSION OF DOCTOR WHO?

I'm an actor and any offer of a job is always welcome, but I'm not going to make a big thing about it. But it would be lovely to be a part of it, I mean it's been going on for how long? Since 1963!

DO YOU WATCH THE SERIES?

It's not my time-slot for watching television, although I have seen it. I saw it in the past, the one I remember is Patrick Troughton. I mean, when William Hartnell started it off, not everybody had television!

YOU'VE DONE A LOT OF SCI-FI IN THE PAST, HAVEN'T YOU?

I have, yes. Time After Time, Time Bandits, all that sort of science-fantasy fiction. I did two Star Trek pictures with all the old geezers. And I did two episodes of The Next Generation with Patrick Stewart. So yes, I have a background in science fiction as an actor, but I have to be honest and say that sometimes I don't understand what people are talking about! It's almost a special kind of language, but you say it with as much conviction as you can and hope that people buy it.

YOU KEEP BEING CAST IN THESE THINGS, SO YOU MUST BE DOING SOMETHING RIGHT.

Absolutely. I'm not mocking it, it's a wonderful way of making a living. But sometimes I have to ask what does it mean, all these silly things I'm talking about? But I've been beamed down, which was great - Star Trek 6 I think it was. I was beamed down onto the Enterprise. Fantastic. Not many people can say that.

DO YOU GET APPROACHED BY MANY FANS?

In the street? No, I don't get recognised. I'd hate not to be able to walk down the street. Long gone are the days when it used to be a thrill to be stopped and asked for your autograph. I don't mean that I don't like it, but when you're starting off you feel important. But as the years go by, it's nice to just walk down the street, get on the bus, get on the Tube and nobody knows. I don't have a problem with that.