Best Of Who Awards: Top 10 Greatest Guest Stars

Looking back at the biggest and best celebrities that Doctor Who has acquired in its almighty guest roster since 2005...
There are now just over five weeks until Doctor Who returns to BBC1 for its anniversary season of new blockbuster adventures, and as such things will be heating up in our Best Of Who Awards with a fair few Best Episode categories still to be revealed. For now, though, our focus this week is on the best celebrity guest stars who have featured on the show since it boomed back onto screens with a bang in 2005. Let's venture through the looking glass on our latest voyage of discovery...
10. IAN MCKELLEN (2012-)- It was a massive surprise to hear this Shakespearean legendary actor's voice grace the tones of the Great Intelligence in the 2012 Christmas Special The Snowmen. Better yet, it's already been heavily rumoured that McKellen will return for another portrayal in the Series Seven finale, so the best may be yet to come!
9. BILL NIGHY (2010)- Okay, so Love Actually and Pirates Of The Carribbean's acclaimed British star only had a slight cameo in Vincent And The Doctor as an eccentric, bowtie-donning museum tour guide, but once again it was more than enough to prove that the show can now virtually acquire any big star talent for its roster.
8. SURANNE JONES (2011)- "I will always be here- but this was the day we talked." Scott And Bailey's Suranne Jones was given one of the toughest jobs on television in the challenge of bringing the TARDIS to life, yet she excelled in the role, bringing fans one of Matt Smith's most emotional scenes yet as the Eleventh Doctor was forced to say 'goodbye' to his most loyal friend despite her continued resonance in his ship...

7. MICHAEL GAMBON (2010)- Another absolutely shock casting, Harry Potter's very own Dumbledore was the last man we could have expected to see play a modern Scrooge in the 2010 Christmas Special. Gambon struck up a beautiful chemistry with Katherine Jenkins, and their final moments together with Abigail's Song were amongst the most heartfelt that Doctor Who has ever given us.
6. MARK WILLIAMS (2012)- It's a near-criminal feeling to know that Harry Potter and Being Human's Mark Williams will only have had the chance to play Rory's dad in Series Seven Part One, since Brian proved to be the next Wilfred Mott! Indeed, his appearances in both Dinosaurs On A Spaceship and The Power Of Three were hilarious and emotional, and it is a true shame that after The Angels Take Manhattan a return from Brian is virtually ruled out!
5. IAN MCNEICE (2010-2011)- Playing none other than Winston Churchill himself in Victory Of The Daleks, Doc Martin's Ian McNeice was the perfect choice for such an iconic character. The best part? Churchill's timeline isn't ruled out for a re-run, so perhaps McNeice will be back on Who if there's a World War Two story to come in 2014's Series Eight.
4. BERNARD CRIBBINS (2007-2009)- Debuting in Kylie Minogue 2007 Christmas Special Voyage Of The Damned, Bernard Cribbins' Wilfred Mott became a fan favourite character. Wilf appeared in Partners In Crime, The Sontaran Strategem/The Poison Sky and The Stolen Earth/Journey's End, yet it was in The End Of Time that the true extent of the character's role in the Tenth Doctor's fate was revealed, culminating in a heartbreaking climax for David Tennant's incarnation of the Time Lord.
3. DEREK JACOBI (2007)- Sure, John Simm's take on the Master was electrifying and insane. However, it was to me Derek Jacobi who provided the perfect rendition of this scarred Time Lord character, limited to a cruelly brief stint before Chipo Chung's Chantho shot him down and Jacobi's Master became Simm's after an explosive regeneration...
2. LINDSAY DUNCAN (2009)- Lindsay Duncan seems to have appeared in everything from Merlin to Alice In Wonderland nowadays, and yet it was in The Waters Of Mars that arguably Duncan's finest hour of performance came around. The actress played Adelaide Brooke, a captain on Mars whose fate was set into the stones of time, and she gave a defiant, brilliant turn as the late ex-companion.
1. ALEX KINGSTON (2008-)- River Song has proved to be amongst the most popular regular characters on Doctor Who since it returned. Perhaps that's in part due to Steven Moffat's cunning narratives, or the chemistry with Matt Smith's Doctor, but really it's Alex Kingston who's made River such a justified hit with the fans. The tale of Melody Pond will continue in the Series Seven Part Two finale, but as we know, the end and the Library are coming. How long will it be before the Doctor loses his wife? Nevertheless, Alex Kingston has been a shining highlight of Doctor Who's celebrity guest star roster!
SPECIAL MENTIONS: Whilst we're on the subject of brilliant celebrity guest stars, let's have a "shout out" to Simon Callow (Charles Dickens), Simon Pegg (The Editor), Shaun Dingwall (Pete Tyler), Richard Wilson (The Doctor), Anthony Head (Mr Finch), Jessica Hynes (Joan Redfern), Harry Lloyd (Son Of Mine), Carry Mulligan (Sally Sparrow), John Simm (The Master), Phil Davis (Caecelius), Julian Bleach (Davros), David Morrissey (Jackson Lake), Helen McRory (Rossana), Toby Jones (The Dream Lord), Tony Curran (Van Gogh), James Corden (Craig), David Walliams (Gibbis), Adrian Scarbrough (Kahler-Jex)...yes, there are a lot of celebrity guest stars on the show!

NEXT WEEK: TOP 5 GREATEST HISTORICAL EPISODES