Meet the stars of Doctor Who before they were famous

Catherine Tate

Before launching her comedy career, Catherine Tate had roles in the likes of The Bill, London’s Burning and Men Behaving Badly. But her earliest TV appearance was in this 1991 episode of ITV sitcom Surgical Spirit, starring Nichola McAuliffe and Duncan Preston, where she was credited as ‘Girlfriend’. By the time she was Donna Noble, she wasn’t interested in being anyone’s girlfriend – least of all that skinny spaceman with the blue box.