who played the original master in dr who
The Master (Doctor Who) The role was originated by Roger Delgado in 1971, who portrayed the Master until his death in 1973.[1] From 1976 until the show's cancellation in 1989, the Master was portrayed by a succession of actors: Peter Pratt, Geoffrey Beevers and Anthony Ainley. Eric Roberts then took on the role for the 1996 Doctor Who TV movie. Since the show's revival in 2005, the Master has been portrayed by Derek Jacobi, John Simm and Michelle Gomez.
River Song (Doctor Who) River Song is a fictional character created by Steven Moffat and played by Alex Kingston in the British science-fiction series Doctor Who. River Song was introduced to the series as an experienced future companion of series protagonist the Doctor, an alien Time Lord who travels through time in his TARDIS. Because River Song is a time traveller herself, her adventures with the Doctor occur out of synchronisation; their first meeting (from the audience's perspective) is his first and apparently her last. In later appearances, River is a companion, romantic interest and eventual wife of the Doctor in his eleventh incarnation portrayed by Matt Smith. River Song was created by Doctor Who writer Steven Moffat for the show's fourth series in 2008, under the tenure of executive producer Russell T Davies. When Moffat took over Davies' duties as executive producer, he began expanding on the character's background, depicting adventures earlier in River's timeline, upgrading Alex Kingston from a guest star to a recurring actor in the series. Other actresses have subsequently portrayed younger versions of the character.