Doctor Who: 10 Great Actors Who Were Completely Wasted
5. Bill Bailey (The Doctor, The Widow And The Wardrobe)
Doctor Who really has a thing with wasting comedy actors, doesn't it? These guys should start a support group or something.
Comedian Bill Bailey appeared for what is basically a glorified cameo in the 2011 Christmas special The Doctor, The Widow And The Wardrobe, playing a harvest ranger called Droxil, who - along with two of his comrades - bumps into Madge Arwell in the middle of a snowy forest.
Aside from the fact that the plot would work just fine without these characters (it would actually improve the flow of the episode if they were taken out, because the plot grinds to a halt when they first show up), the problem with Bailey's role is that he doesn't get the main bulk of the comedy. Instead, most of the humour and silliness is delivered by his two comrades, with Bailey simply forced to react to their behaviour.
To make matters worse, those other two actors aren't funny in the least. But if Bailey had been delivering the jokes? Y'know, the gifted comedian? Maybe things would've worked out better.
To cap it all off, the three rangers teleport out of the story almost as quickly as they appear, making their whole inclusion feel like a half-baked attempt to give the episode some comedic relief.