2 Peter Butterworth

The Meddling Monk in “The Meddling Monk” and “The Daleks’ Masterplan” (1965-66)
Best known for: The Carry On series

In the Carry On films he was invariably the outwardly strait-laced but subtly quirky member of the establishment; bumbling policemen, bumbling holy men and bumbling businessmen his speciality. In Doctor Who he was the first Time Lord other the Doctor and “granddaughter” Susan that the audience got to meet (though the term Time Lord was only coined years later); he was going about as Monk when they met in 1066 who wanted to change the outcome of the Battle of Hastings because… well, because it’d be fun it mostly seemed. He returned later in the First Doctor’s era to stir up trouble with the Daleks in ancient Egypt. He was a comedy villain, for sure, but a genuinely amusing and watchable one. (Carry On co-star Bernard Bresslaw also appeared in Doctor Who as an Ice Warrior, and very impressive he was too… not that it required much acting, just being very tall.)

3 Ardal O’Hanlon

Brannigan in “Gridlock” (2007)
Best known for: Father Ted

Would you look at that, Ted. Dougal has gone all furry and grown whiskers. He’s like a giant cat stuck in an alien traffic jam with his wife and kittens. And he’s utterly adorable. Yes, Craggy Island’s halfwit priest became a feline Biggles in the galaxy’s greatest gridlock, which should have been immensely silly… well, actually it was immensely silly, but O’Hanlon gave Brannigan a real sense of nobility and love for his family too. It’s a lovely performance.

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