Richard E. Grant

Born in Mbabane, Swaziland, in 1957 Richard Grant Esterhuysen moved to London in 1982 where he changed emphasis on his name for Equity registration. His first film role is also the one that he is best known for, playing the titular character in Withnail and I, alongside future Doctor Paul McGann. Later film roles include L.A. Story, Spice World, Bright Young Things, Jack and Sarah, Corpse Bride and recently as Michael Hesiltine in The Iron Lady, and he wrote and directed the semi-autobiographical film Wah Wah in 2005. On television, he appeared in Dennis Potter's Karaoke, The Legends of Long John Silver, The Scarlet Pimpernel, The Crimson Petal and the White, and most recently in Rev.

Grant is not a stranger to Doctor Who, having played the Doctor twice! He first appeared as the "Quite Handsome" Tenth Doctor in the Steven Moffat-penned Comic Relief special The Curse of Fatal Death in 1999; the actor then had a brief spell as the official Ninth Doctor for the online adventure Scream of the Shalka by Paul Cornell in 2003 - until the television series was announced with Christopher Eccleston at the helm.