Ian McKellen

Sir Ian McKellen (born 25 May 1939) portrayed the voice of the Great Intelligence in the Doctor Who television story The Snowmen.

He is the third knighted actor (after Derek Jacobi and Michael Gambon) and one of the few Oscar nominees to appear in Doctor Who.

He was considered for the role of the Eighth Doctor. He appeared alongside Sylvester McCoy in the 2012 film The Hobbit

In the sitcom  he plays an actor whose "Doctor Who" character was voted "the 10th most popular villain of all time."

He has now been given an honourary doctorate from the University of Ulster.