Doctor Who 2005 Cast: Where Are They Now?

From Billie Piper to Simon Pegg, the stars of Series 1 have been busy since exiting the TARDIS...

By Danny Meegan /

26 March 2005: for most people, it's a date that bears little significance, but for Doctor Who fans, it's the day that our beloved show returned to the small screen after an excruciatingly long 16-year hiatus.

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That first episode - Rose - drew in over ten million viewers, marking the beginning of an incredibly popular first series. From showrunner Russell T Davies' accessible writing, to the strong production values (by 2005 standards), there were many factors that made the show a hit, but arguably the most important factor was the wide array of terrific characters, from supporting, to leading, to villainous.

The actors who played these characters were a mixture of famous faces and relative unknowns, but no matter their level of pre-Who fame, the show turned all of them into recognisable figures up and down the country - and even around the world.

As a result, the success of that initial 2005 series has led many of its stars to bigger and better things over the last 16 years, so what did they all get up to after closing the TARDIS doors behind them?

15. Mark Benton

As played by Mark Benton, Clive Finch is a really interesting character who we first met during Rose, the premiere episode of Series 1.

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He's a man who is dedicated to discovering the true nature of this mysterious figure (the Doctor) who keeps popping up throughout recorded history. This leads him to cross paths with Rose Tyler, another Doctor-obsessed individual, and the episode culminates with Clive's death at the plastic hands of the Autons.

Benton will be a familiar face to anyone who's watched a good amount of British TV over the last two decades. Hustle, Holby City, Doctors, Midsomer Murders - he's done it all. His most recent small-screen gig is the mystery series Shakespeare & Hathaway: Private Investigators, which will air more episodes later in 2021.

Benton returned to Doctor Who in 2019, voicing an alternate version of Clive in the Big Finish audio drama Rose Tyler: The Dimension Cannon.

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