Born: 14th November 1959 (as Paul John McGann)
Episodes Broadcast: 1996, 2013, 2022

Occupying a unique place in the annals of Doctor Who, Paul McGann was both the shortest- and longest-serving of Doctors, enjoying less than ninety minutes of screen time but considered the incumbent for two months shy of nine years. He was born in Liverpool, Merseyside and harboured early ambitions to be a track star. McGann started acting while still at school, and he was encouraged to audition for the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art. After graduating in 1981, he found work at the Haymarket Theatre, where he began a relationship with assistant stage manager Annie Milner. McGann made his television debut in a 1982 installment of Play For Today. The same year, he and his brothers -- Joe, Mark and Stephen -- gained press attention for their work in the West End musical Yakety Yak!. A brief attempt at pop stardom followed, with The McGanns releasing their debut single, Shame About The Boy, in 1983.

McGann's first major television role was opposite Robert Lindsay in the comedy-drama Give Us A Break. He then starred in the historical saga The Monocled Mutineer and made his film debut in the 1987 cult classic Withnail & I, playing “I” to Richard E Grant's Withnail. Other work during the late Eighties included the movies Empire Of The Sun, The Rainbow and Dealers. He and Milner had a son, Joseph, in 1988. Second son Jake followed in 1990; he would later appear in several Doctor Who audio plays from Big Finish Productions. McGann and Milner were married in 1996.

McGann's film appearances during the Nineties included the science-fiction sequel Alien³

McGann continued to divide his time between movies and television during the Nineties, with film appearances including the science-fiction sequel Alien³, an adaptation of The Three Musketeers with Tim Curry, and FairyTale: A True Story with Peter O'Toole. On the small screen, McGann was in Nice Town and co-starred with his brothers in The Hanging Gale. However, a severe football injury forced him to give up the title role in Sharpe to Sean Bean.

In late 1995, McGann was approached about playing the Eighth Doctor in Doctor Who (1996), a telefilm and unofficial pilot which attempted to revive the programme as a British-American co-production following its cancellation in 1989. His brother, Mark, had been short-listed at an earlier stage of the project's development. McGann was wary of the prospect of spending several years in the United States should a new Doctor Who series result, and he finally committed to the production just two weeks before the start of filming in January 1996. But while Doctor Who (1996) was a ratings success in the United Kingdom, it made little impact in the North American market, and the FOX network passed on its option for more. It appeared that McGann's association with Doctor Who had come to a swift and unceremonious end.

His focus now largely on television, McGann rounded out the Nineties with roles in Our Mutual Friend and Forgotten. Early work in the twenty-first century included Fish and a popular series of Hornblower telefilms, as well as the Anne Rice horror movie Queen Of The Damned. In 2001, McGann was persuaded to reprise the role of the Eighth Doctor for Big Finish, with Storm Warning becoming the first in a long line of Doctor Who audio dramas, several of which were subsequently broadcast on BBC Radio. Television appearances later in the decade included Tripping Over, True Dare Kiss and Collision.

During the 2010s, McGann had a recurring role in Luther and starred in Holby City for a year. Other work included Jonathan Creek, Waking The Dead and Ripper Street. In 2013, McGann made a surprise return to Doctor Who, with the online minisode The Night Of The Doctor marking his first on-screen appearance as the Eighth Doctor in more than seventeen years. Here McGann finally had the chance to record his regeneration scene, as part of the festivities surrounding Doctor Who's fiftieth anniversary. He could also be seen in the comic tribute The Five(ish) Doctors Reboot. McGann's career continued into the Twenties, with credits including an episode of Modern Love. In 2022, he reprised the Eighth Doctor for The Power Of The Doctor, which celebrated the BBC's centenary and saw the regeneration of Jodie Whittaker's Thirteenth Doctor.