People Roundup

Matt Smith recently commented on people he would quite like to see act alongside him in Doctor Who: "Whoopi Goldberg would be a great companion wouldn't she? Yeah, she'd be great. Also I'd love Eric Cantona, or Colin Firth. Colin Firth would be great but he would not do it. God, when I think about it there are so many people I would love to get in it." [Bang Showbiz, via Metro, The List, 1st Oct]

David Tennant has recorded a narration for a 50 minute BBC1 documentary, Disabled Parents: Are You Having A Laugh?, which follows comedian Laurence Clark and his wife - both have cerebral palsy - as they prepare for the birth of their second child. It is expected to be broadcast in February. [Chortle, 5th Oct]

The actor is also subject of a petition by fans to have him carry the Olympic Torch in 2012, in honour of his character saving the games in the story Fear Her, with some 25,000 people signed up so far. [Flavor Wire, 3rd Oct]

John Barrowman explains how he wishes to trace his family history in Ireland: "What I'd love to do is a programme researching my Irish roots to see how strong they are. That's as much as I know as my mother has spoken no further about it but I know that my mom and dad have visited (my neice) Clare. I have never visited but it's something I want to do." [RTE, 4th Oct]

A patron of the Dogs Trust, the actor also opened the charity's new shop in Cowbridge, South Wales, which raised more than £1,300 on the day. [Third Sector, 3rd Oct]

Billie Piper (Rose Tyler) provides the voice to a new Autumn/Winter 2011 television campaign by high-street retailer chain Debenhams; the adverts are themed around the strap line "Life Made Fabulous with Designers at Debenhams", where designs are shown from creation to being worn in 'real life'. [Retail Digital, 6th Oct]

Jean Marsh (Sara Kingdom) has had to pull out of the start of filming of the new series of Upstairs Downstairs due to suffering a minor stroke. Recovering well, Marsh said: "Unfortunately I won't be returning to Eaton Place quite as quickly as I had hoped; I am looking forward to spending time with Rose again when I'm match-fit and I miss the cast and crew tremendously." [BBC News, 5th Oct]

Actors Barnaby Edwards (chief Dalek) and Ian Cullen (Ixta, The Aztecs) have both filmed a scene for local Sleaford film Shadows of a Stranger, which also features former Doctor Colin Baker. Says Edwards: "It is ambitious, but they are confident about it. It is exciting to be doing something new, placing traditional actors alongside an entirely imaginary world and it is a cracking story.". Full details of the project can be found the Shadows of a Stranger website. [Sleaford Standard, 30th Sep]

Louise Jameson (Leela), who has recently celebrated her 60th birthday, talked about some of her theatrical idols: "There have been so many people I’ve been inspired by, but mainly the obvious actors such as Vanessa Redgrave, Judi Dench and David Warner. They’re all the people I saw in my childhood at the Royal Shakespeare Company. Of course, they’re only ten years older than me really, and not even another generation, but that’s the kind of era of work that I really admire." [Daily Mail, 5th Oct]

Sadie Miller shared memories of her mother, Elisabeth Sladen, with the Radio Times: "It was lovely that she just sort of fell back into her career. She didn’t really have time to worry about it; she just enjoyed it. And I loved watching her in The Sarah Jane Adventures because there was so much of her in the role." [Radio Times, 3rd Oct]