Nicholas Briggs

Nicholas Briggs (born 29 September 1961) is an English actor, writer, director, sound designer and composer. He is known for voicing the Daleks and Cybermen in the BBC science fiction series Doctor Who (2005–present) and for serving as executive producer of Big Finish Productions since 2006, for which he has written, directed and produced licensed Doctor Who audio dramas.

A lifelong Doctor Who fan, Briggs first came to prominence through his involvement in the fan-produced audio drama series Audio Visuals (1985–1991) and various direct-to-video Doctor Who spin-offs. He joined Big Finish in the late 1990s as one of its founding creative figures. Briggs voiced the Daleks in Big Finish's licensed Doctor Who audio dramas and was subsequently cast in the same role when the television series was revived in 2005. He also appeared on screen in the BBC Doctor Who productions Torchwood (2009), An Adventure in Space and Time (2013) and The Five(ish) Doctors Reboot (2013).

Beyond Doctor Who productions, Briggs directed the BBC Radio 4 comedy Nebulous (2005–2008) and an audio drama adaptation of The Prisoner (2016–2017). He appeared in Noel Clarke's films Adulthood (2008) and 4.3.2.1. (2010). Since 2010, he has frequently portrayed Sherlock Holmes in stage and audio productions.

Early life and education Briggs was born in Lyndhurst, Hampshire on 29 September 1961 and grew up in a housing estate in Totton. He described his upbringing as having a "working-class mentality". His father worked in the car industry and his mother was a secretary. His older brother Colin was a broadcaster who presented BBC Look North for two decades.

Briggs' first public acting role was in the Nativity musical Follow the Star in his final year of school. He went on to technical college to take his A-levels and a drama diploma. He studied at Rose Bruford College with Barry Killerby, known for portraying Mr Blobby. Briggs graduated in 1983 with a degree in theatre arts.

Career

1985–1997: Doctor Who spin-offs Briggs grew up fascinated by the BBC science fiction television series Doctor Who. He did not immediately find acting work following his graduation, so he became involved with a group of fans who produced not-for-profit unlicensed Doctor Who audio dramas called the Audio Visuals. Fueled by Doctor Who 's 1985 hiatus, four seasons were released between 1985 and 1991. Briggs played the Doctor in all but the first Audio Visuals release, From 1985, Briggs hosted Myth Makers, a series of direct-to-video documentaries produced by Reeltime Pictures, in which he interviewed various cast and crew members of Doctor Who. According to Briggs, "Myth Makers gave me an outlet for performance that I wasn’t getting otherwise." He also appeared in the Blade Runner parody Myth Runner as a private detective on the run from his android double—the storyline was a framing device to showcase bloopers from the Myth Makers series. thumb Briggs (second from right) with Doctor Who cast members in 2010Briggs performed occasionally in London fringe theatre, before becoming an editorial assistant at the publishing company Visual Imagination in 1988, working on the magazines Starburst and TV Zone. In 1995, he became editor of the magazine Film Review. Briggs continued to work on fan productions, writing various direct-to-video science fiction films produced by BBV Productions, which were inspired by Doctor Who and featured actors from the series. He also wrote for the Channel 5 soap opera Family Affairs in the late 1990s. Briggs wrote the Auton trilogy (1997–1999), a direct-to-video film series which licensed the Autons from the estate of their creator Robert Holmes. On the Auton films, Briggs stated "they are by no means perfect, in fact they're horribly flawed. But I wrote and directed both of them under fairly impossible budgetary and time constraints, with a lovely team of actors". Undeterred, Briggs wrote and directed The Sirens of Time (1999), the first of Big Finish's monthly Doctor Who: Main Range series. Briggs stated that his performance draws "on all the greats of the past, like [previous Dalek performers] Peter Hawkins, David Graham, Roy Skelton and Michael Wisher", though his favourite is Hawkins.

As a kid, I was always trying to impersonate [the Dalek voice], and fiddling around with tape recorders, and screaming into microphones – not really understanding what went into making the actual electronic noise.

Then, in 1999, I was involved with the creation of the Doctor Who audio adventures from Big Finish, and soon after we started we got an agreement from the Terry Nation estate to do Dalek stories. I was trained as an actor AND had that entire childhood of making Dalek noises behind me, and I said to the producer at the time, "Will it be alright for me to do the Dalek voices, or do you want to see a grown man cry?" Everyone seemed to like it, no one said, "Oh, this doesn't sound like a Dalek", quite the opposite. He co-wrote the 2002 Doctor Who book The Dalek Survival Guide. Briggs voiced the Cyber-Controller and Professor Osborn in the webcast audio series Real Time (2002).

Briggs continued to act on stage. He played Sherlock Holmes in London fringe theatre, and also directed a provincial production of Noël Coward's play Private Lives. Briggs acted in the comedy series The League of Gentlemen (2002). Briggs also voiced a Dalek in a 2004 episode of Coupling written by future Doctor Who showrunner Steven Moffat.

Briggs has voiced the Cybermen since their debut in the revived series in "Rise of the Cybermen" (2006). Other vocal roles include the Nestene Consciousness in "Rose" (2005), the Ice Warrior Skaldak in "Cold War" (2013), and the Judoon in both Doctor Who and its spin-off series The Sarah Jane Adventures. Briggs has also performed many of the monsters' voices for toys, video games and promotional events. thumb Briggs signing autographs in 2008Briggs directed all three series of the BBC Radio 4 science fiction comedy Nebulous (2005–2008). In 2007, he guest starred in the Sapphire and Steel audio drama Water Like a Stone. Briggs voiced the Daleks in a 2007 charity theatre production of The Daleks' Master Plan (1965–1966) at New Theatre Royal. In 2007, he appeared with his Doctor Who cast members in a themed episode of the game show The Weakest Link.

Briggs appeared in Noel Clarke's crime drama film Adulthood (2008).

Briggs appeared in the television series Lewis (2009). He made his first physical appearance in a BBC Doctor Who production when he played parliamentary adviser Rick Yates in the 2009 Torchwood serial Children of Earth. According to Briggs, Davies recommended Briggs to Torchwood 's casting director, as he was leaving Doctor Who and regretted never giving Briggs an on-screen part in the series. In 2010, Briggs played Winston Churchill in the stage show Doctor Who Live and appeared in Clarke's film 4.3.2.1. Briggs has played Count Dracula at Theatre Royal from 2010. Briggs regularly presented BBC Radio 4 Extra's daily science fiction segment Seventh Dimension since 2010.

Briggs's licensed Doctor Who novel The Dalek Generation was published in 2012. Briggs wrote and directed the first series of the Doctor Who audio drama Dark Eyes (2012), which won the 2014 Audio Drama Award for Best Online or Non-Broadcast Drama. In 2012, Briggs played Sherlock Holmes in the touring production Sherlock Holmes - A Study in Fear, an adaptation of "The Final Problem".

2013–present: Later career Briggs with Bernard Cribbins at the Doctor Who 50th Anniversary Celebration Weekend in 2013In 2013, Briggs was involved in various licensed productions which celebrated Doctor Who 's 50th anniversary. He wrote and directed the commemorative Big Finish audio drama The Light at the End. He portrayed Peter Hawkins in the biographical television film An Adventure in Space and Time, which depicts the production of Doctor Who from 1963 to 1966.

Briggs voiced Anforth and Metatron in a 2014 audio adaptation of the fantasy novel Good Omens. Briggs pre-recorded a short cameo as the Daleks for the live podcast stage show 50 Years of Doctor Who: Preachrs Podcast Live 2! (2014).

After Briggs became executive producer of Big Finish, he subsequently "nudged the BBC... very regularly" about obtaining a licence to produce audio dramas based on the revived series of Doctor Who. When AudioGo, which had been producing audiobooks based on the revived series, went into administration in 2013, Briggs "kind of [went] hell for leather to get it sorted out". Big Finish received the licence in 2015. Briggs and Clifford co-hosted The Benji and Nick show, a podcast about cult television shows, until September 2021.

Briggs voiced Nyder, Davros's assistant originated by Peter Miles, in the 2023 Doctor Who minisode Destination: Skaro.

Personal life As of 2017, Briggs lives in Dorset with his wife Stephanie Hornett and son.