Michelle Ryan became a household name in the UK as the centre of one of the most watched and talked about storylines in EastEnders history so it's a real shame that her subsequent Doctor Who appearance went down like a lead balloon. Her character in the long running soap, Zoe Slater, kept the entire nation on the edge of their seats when it was revealed that her sister was actually her mother (eat your heart out, River Song!) and a record breaking 19 million people tuned in for the dramatic fall out which went on to win the British Soap Award for Best Single Episode. The announcement that she'd be guest starring in Doctor Who, then, was met with high expectations. She came swinging into action as Lady Christina de Souza in the show's 2009 Easter 'special' and, after a promising start, she really didn't do that much (like, at all) until she ended up flying off in a double-decker bus, never to be seen again. More's the pity. Since her short stint in the Whoniverse, Michelle has had a few film roles, including a part in the aforementioned 4.3.2.1, written by Noel Clarke, but she's generally slipped under the radar as she's tried to make a name for herself in the US. In 2013 she joined the NBC series Covert Affairs for a 6 episode arc and later this year she'll be heading to the big screen in the dystopian thriller Andròn - The Black Labyrinth alongside Alec Baldwin. Keep an eye out for that if you like to watch people getting trapped in a mysterious and deadly maze. And who doesn't?
Dan Butler is the Doctor Who Editor at WhatCulture.com. When he isn't writing his own articles or editing other people's, he can be found trawling the internet for gifs of Steven Moffat laughing. Contact him via dan.butler@whatculture.co.uk.
