Karl Collins

Born: 20th October 1971 (as Karl Myers)
Episodes Broadcast: 2009-2010, 2023

Biography

During his youth, Nottinghamshire-born Karl Myers joined the Central Junior Television Workshop. He made his screen debut on a 1983 episode of Dramarama before appearing in three seasons of the children's sketch show Your Mother Wouldn't Like It. By the time he recorded his first movie role -- 1989's Bearskin: An Urban Fairytale -- he had adopted the stage name “Karl Collins”. Further parts in juvenile television followed during the Nineties, most notably in two seasons of Parallel 9. But Collins also began to find more mature opportunities, including a brief stint on EastEnders in 1992 and the 1997 Bob Hoskins film TwentyFourSeven. Then, in 1999, he became a series regular on The Bill, an association which would last for five seasons.

After leaving The Bill, Collins could be seen on shows like Grease Monkeys, A Thing Called Love, 55 Degrees North and Silent Witness. He also began to focus on the stage, often performing at the Tricycle Theatre in London. In 2009, Collins joined the cast of Doctor Who, playing Shaun Temple -- the fiance and, ultimately, husband of former companion Donna Noble -- in The End Of Time, David Tennant's swansong as the Tenth Doctor. He appeared in a variety of programmes during the 2010s, such as The Fades, Death In Paradise and Midsomer Murders, alongside four years on the soap opera Hollyoaks. Amongst Collins' occasional movie credits was Attack The Block, the 2011 science-fiction film which starred the future Thirteenth Doctor, Jodie Whittaker; the same year, they could also be seen together in an episode of Black Mirror.

In the Twenties, Collins' projects included episodes of Magpie Murders, Champion and Culprits, plus the super-hero movie The Flash. In 2023, he reprised the role of Shaun for Doctor Who's sixtieth anniversary, assisting the Fourteenth Doctor -- again played by Tennant -- in The Star Beast before making a cameo appearance at the end of The Giggle.

Credits
Actor, Shaun Temple
The End Of Time
The Star Beast
The Giggle

Updated 20th December 2023