20 Actors Who Have Appeared In Both Classic And New Doctor Who
8. Geoffrey Palmer
Geoffrey Palmer first appeared in the Third Doctor serial Doctor Who and The Silurians (1970) as Masters, the Permanent Under-Secretary at The Ministry of Defence. He had been investigating a series of unusual power drains and mental breakdowns occurring in the Wenley Moor nuclear research facility, behind which were the Silurians. A viral weapon fell on him in the end but it wouldn't be the last time he'd have to die on the show. In a more brief 1972 role, he played the Administrator of Solos in The Mutants. That guy only makes it one episode before his villainous assassination. Once more with feeling? Oh yes. As Captain Hardecker of the Starship Titanic, Palmer's character in the 2007 Christmas Special Voyage of the Damned was ordered by tycoon Max Capricorn to magnetise the hull, which would attract an impending asteroid shower, eventually sinking the ship. He took part in the plan because he was dying of an illness that left him with six months to live and he'd been promised that his family would inherit a great deal of money. With that 2007-era death, does that make him one of the dying-est actors on Doctor Who?
Sara Habein is the author of INFINITE DISPOSABLE. She is a staff writer for Persephone Magazine, and the editor of the Word Riot blog. Her Doctor is number Eight, but the Twelfth is right behind.
