Doctor Who 2005 Cast: Where Are They Now?

9. Penelope Wilton

Doctor Who Penelope Wilton as Harriet Jones
BBC Studios

"Harriet Jones, former Prime Minister."

It's a line that Who fans will always think of whenever they see Penelope Wilton onscreen, and considering the depth of her post-Who filmography, there's a high chance you've seen her in many different projects over the last 16 years.

After appearing in Series 1's infamous Slitheen story, she returned as Harriet Jones for the 2005 Christmas special, and then again for the Series 4 finale in 2008, where she squared off against the Daleks and earned herself a heroic death.

After leaving Doctor Who for good, she appeared in Downton Abbey from 2010 to 2015, and also popped up in the 2019 movie adaptation. Speaking of movies, she starred in 2011's The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel (and its sequel), Steven Spielberg's The BFG, and recently, the dark comedy Eternal Beauty, alongside Billie Piper.

On the TV side of things, another notable project of hers is the excellent Ricky Gervais series After Life, which is currently streaming on Netflix. Two seasons have aired so far, and a third is on the way.

Contributor
Contributor

Danny has been with WhatCulture for over ten years, and is currently Doctor Who Editor and WhoCulture Channel Manager, overseeing all of WhatCulture's Whoniverse coverage. In 2022, he took charge of WhoCulture and has grown it into the biggest Doctor Who channel on YouTube, and one of the biggest Doctor Who communities on the web full-stop. He has been writing and video editing since his early teens, and first got a taste for content creation after making his own Doctor Who trailers, off the back of a burning obsession with the Matt Smith era of the show. Like many his age, he first got into Doctor Who with the 2005 revival, but has since gone back and fallen in love with the classic years too. If you need someone to recite every Doctor Who episode in order, or to give you a random factoid about the making of Gridlock, Danny is the person to ask!