I tease JP in my thread title but I actually loved her in Day of the Doctor. I understand I'm in the minority.

I'm asking those who cringed at JP in DotD to share WHY they did so?

And to maybe talk about other casting decisions through the years that have caught you wrong and share why.

Personally, very few for me. Loved John Sim. Liked Eric Roberts ...even enjoyed Miss Langford as Bonnie. To me the most perfect DW casting decision ever made, however, started at the very beginning with Mr Hartnell.

I never found Karen Gillian "too sexy" or Sly McCoy too "clownish."

But to those that did...why?

Sylvester McCoy
Bonnie Langford
Sophie Aldred
Ken Dodd
Richard Briers

Pretty much all of McCoy's era really. JNT just made crap decision after crap decision.

Terry Malloy as Davros, and Matthew Waterhouse...he just couldn't act.

Joanna Paige's performance was fine, it was just that she didn't look much like the "Good Queen Bess" with which we're all familiar from her portraits.

The only one I even remotely agree with you here on is poor Mathew Waterhouse. He just really couldn't act to save his life, could he, lol? The lad seemed to have one facial expression and one only. Still, its all subjective, eh? I loved Sophie from the getgo. I did NOT enjoy Bonnie's performance early on but on second run I really appreciated the character of Mel. You bring some good names from the past up - thanks for the reply!

Good point. I think we just saw Ten messing around with her when she was "young and hot" years before she was "old and angry" with him.

Bruce Purchase as the Pirate Captain in 'The Pirate Planet'. He ruins such a fantastic serial and mishandles what should have been one fo the great villains with his shouting and OTT bluster.

Good one!

Of course, the portraits, and written descriptions, of her would have been done knowing that she was the ultimate authority in the land.

Kylie Minogue

(can't say I'm over excited at the prospect of Matt Lucas this xmas either but he may prove me wrong)

I suppose it's bit like people saying that Jenna Coleman is far too attractive to play Queen Victoria, as we only tend to think of the old and crabby Queen, when she was actually attractive in her youth!

Joanna Paige, it has to be said, was rather Welsh in her portrayal of Queen Elizabeth

I hate to admit it, but I really wasn't referring to Joanna Paige's youthfulness. It could have been "Bess" at any age.

Nor her Welshness.

I was just expecting someone, ah, less, err, "full".

When I first heard Doctor Who was being brought back I almost didn't watch because I couldn't stand Billie Piper. Was proved very wrong.

Again. Catherine Tate. Wasn't at all happy about that but Donna remains firmly atop the list of my favourite companions. I even now love every single minute of series four. It's the one I've rewatched the most.

Joanna Paige. Hated her. She stood out like a badly acted sore thumb. No idea why as I don't mind her at all. Just hated her in this episode.

Hated Matt Smith his first series too. But that's basically because he wasn't David Tennant. Once I got over myself I really warmed to him and by the end absolutely loved him.

Pretty much this, except I never did warm to Matt Smith at all. The reason that I have a problem with Joanna Paige's Elizabeth is that it seems to me like they really wanted Miranda Richardson and gave her Blackadder II to view in prep.

The only ones on your list I would agree with are Richard Briers and Matthew Waterhouse.

Loved Briers in The Good Life and Ever Decreasing Circles but his role in Doctor Who was overblown and in the last episode of Paradise Towers his character must be one of the most cringe inducing ever. The story was already awful upto that episode without the main villain looking as if he'd just stepped out of the theatre.

As for Waterhouse, there's not much else to say about him that hasn't been discussed a hundred times or more already!

McCoy, for me it was the stories not him that were the problem. As for Bonnie, well, as discussed in a thread I started recently, it was more the character and the scripts that were the problem and she has proved herslef as an actress in the Big Finish stories and EastEnders.

Aldred I never had any problems with, compared to Mel she was awesome and I liked the fact she had some good material to get stuck into her Season 26.

Now Ken Dodd I may have agreed with you had he appeared in any other Doctor Who story but for me that performance and that character fitted so neatly into the lightweight nature of DATB, it's why it's one of Mel's better stories as well.

As for Terry Molloy, I know Michael Wisher will always be the ultimate Davros and Julian Bleach plays him really well too, but for me, my personal favourite is Molloy as like Davison as The Doctor, he was sort of the first Davros I grew up with and I used to love his ranting and the creepy low tone of voice he gave to the character.

I respect that. For me, as I was in my late teens/early 20s, I just saw my favourite show deteriorating beyond all recognition.

I'm not really a fan of Matt Lucas (who will apparently be in this year's Christmas episode), but I suppose I'll wait until after the episode before passing judgement.

Karen Gillan
Arthur Darvill

Walliams managed not to mess up The God Complex so maybe it'll all be fine.

Ha ha! Nice one As if.

Yes I hated his performance. Toe curling and over the top

I thought JP and DT worked well together. After all the jokes about the Doctor wanting red hair he ends up romancing one of history's most famous red hairs.

JP also played his wife in the chessey but fun christmas film Nativity 2 . Yes she did end up giving birth in a barn to not just one baby but twin boys.

The trouble is - that's exactly what the character was supposed to be as written in the script. There were several references to the fact that the Captain was hiding his masterplan behind a deliberate 'disguise' of shouting and bluster. What else was the actor supposed to do?

Some interesting mentions on here!

I was about 10 years old when Adric was in Doctor Who and he really didn't annoy me at the time, or make me think Matthew Waterhouse was a poor actor. Even now that I'm older I still don't hate him although I can see why others find him irritating.

Richard Briers, I thought, was great in the role when he was just the Chief Caretaker (basically, a comedy role). It was only when he was 'possessed' by the Great Architect it all went down the toilet with a loud flush.

I do struggle with Sylvester McCoy and Sophie Aldred simply because the quality of their acting (I think) was so poor. When McCoy was paired with Bonnie Langford in season 24 it worked better for me, simply because it was such a light and silly season that it suited McCoy's abilities much better. But paired with Aldred and with more serious stories in seasons 25 and 26, I think the gaps showed.

I am pleased Beryl Reid hasn't been mentioned. Her Earthshock character seems to be casually named as an example of poor casting, but I've always really enjoyed her Captain Briggs.

I absolutely love Joanna Paige. Shes gorgeous in G&S and the Superdrug ads a few years ago. Id prob marry her if I could.

Danny effing Pink