10 Most British Doctor Who Moments

3. Royal Cameos

The Royal Family are a big part of Britain’s cultural identity. It's also impossible to enter a gift shop in England without spotting royal faces plasted over mugs and keyrings. And they’ve also played a bit part in Doctor Who to boot.

Most significantly, Queen Elizabeth II had a whole story devoted to her coronation. She also cropped up twice in the show: in the background of Silver Nemesis, when the Seventh Doctor and Ace pay a visit to Windsor Castle, and in Voyage of the Damned, to thank the Tenth Doctor for steering the Titanic away from Buckingham Palace.

Interestingly, Buckingham Palace was meant to be cleaved in half in earlier drafts of the story, but this was changed to the more light-hearted scene in the final episode.

On both occasions the Queen was played by impressionists, though cameos have been offered to her sons Prince Edward and Prince (now King) Charles over the years.

What’s more, it's rumoured that the real Queen Elizabeth was a Doctor Who fan, requesting DVDs of each new series to watch during her annual stay at Balmoral Castle. Reportedly her favourite Doctor was Christopher Eccleston – and, like so many of us, she was "hugely disappointed" when he left.

Additionally, many previous monarchs have featured in historical storylines – the Tenth Doctor crossing paths with Queen Victoria and marrying Elizabeth I, the First Doctor meeting Richard the Lionheart, and the Thirteenth Doctor butting heads with James I.