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This upcoming weekend it is time for one of our favorite comic cons again... On the 5th and 6th of April, the FACTS mothership will land at Flanders Expo in Ghent (Belgium) for the weekend. We will be there on Saturday and now we will tell you all about the amazing actor/actress guestlist!

Attention to all Whovians! Last year, he had to cancel his appearance, but we have great news for you: The Tenth Doctor is coming the Heroes Dutch Comic Con! In 2005 (after an absence of 16 years), the immensely popular TV show "Doctor Who" returned to the screens, with Christopher Eccleston in the role of the titular Ninth Doctor.  Unfortunately, it soon became clear that Eccleston would not be reprising his role for the second season, thus making way for a new (Tenth) Doctor. The actor that was chosen to play that Tenth Doctor was David Tennant, who is widely considered to be one of the best British stage and screen actors of his generation. He played the role for three series, a total of 50 episodes (from 2005 until 2022), multiple specials, podcasts and much more. David Tennant is still considered as one of the best Doctors ever by a lot of "Doctor Who" fans, but he is known for so much more. Let us tell you some more about Mister David Tennant.

Growing up Tennant went to Ralston Primary School, followed by Paisley Grammar School. During these school years, he appeared in every school production of a play he could and it was clear that he had a lot of talent. When he was 11 years old, he was spotted by Scottish actress Edith MacArthur. She told David's parents that he had enough talent to become a successful stage actor. Meanwhile he was still an avid fan of "Doctor Who" and he even wrote essays about the show at school (and very impressive ones according to his teachers). As mentioned before, David was hell bent on becoming an actor and later mentioned that the lack of control over his own life annoyed him when he was a teenager. He took control attended Saturday classes at a youth theatre group of the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama (now The Royal Conservatoire). At the age of 16, David did an audition and become one of the Academy's youngest students ever and studied Drama from 1988 until 1991. During his time at the RSAMD, he appeared in and directed over a dozen of productions. He left Drama School in 1991 and worked in theatre for years, honing his craft. When he applied for an Equity card, he discovered that to meet the rules of the Screen Actors Guild, he had to legally change his name. This was because there was already a David McDonald registered. He took his surname from Neil Tennant (one of the frontmen of The Pet Shop Boys) and thus became David Tennant.

After graduating, he auditioned for the political Scottish Theatre Group 7:84 and he landed his first professional part with the role of Giri The Hitman in their touring theatre production of The Resistible Rise of Arturo Uiith. In 1994, after a few years in theatre and TV (with mixed reviews) David landed the role of the manic depressive Campbell Baine in "Takin' Over The Asylum". Tennant often recalls that the role of Baine changed his life. About getting the role he says they were searching for someone who could 'believably act 19 and bonkers'. He played the role for 6 episodes (1994) and received a lot of critical acclaim. In 1995, he played the role of pageboy Nicholas Beckett in a production of Joe Orton's "What The Butler Saw" at the Lyttelton Theatre in London. In 1996 (he just turned 25), David joined the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC). He played the role of Touchstone in "As You Like It" and in the years that followed David was applauded for his theatrical roles in "Romeo and Juliet", "The Herbal Bed" and "The Rivals". In the meantime he also kept making a name for himself on the small screen, with (minor) roles TV shows and TV movies. According to the biography on his own website, there are three TV roles that stood out in this period (just before his major breakthrough). In 2004, David played the role of the flirtatious clergyman Gibson in 6 episodes of "He Knew He Was Right". In that same year, David was showered with compliments for his portrayal of D.I. Peter Carlisle in 6 episodes of "Blackpool". In 2005, David took the spotlight with his performance as the titular character of "Casanova". Later that year his life came to full circle, when he was announced for the role of the Tenth Doctor in the show that played such a big role in his life so far: "Doctor Who". When he got offered the role, he did have to think about taking it. Why? Because his agent (who according to David was brilliant at her job) advised against it. Ultimately he accepted the offer and in June of 2005, his lifelong dream came true, when he appeared as the Doctor for the first time. David played the role for 3 seasons and a whole lot of specials (and spin-offs), before he handed it over to Matt Smith in 2010. Most recently he appeared in three 60th anniversary specials (2023). Also in 2005, David stepped into the magical world of Harry Potter, with his role as Barty Crouch Jr. in "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire".

Over the last 15 years, David played a wide spectrum of roles in TV series and movies. It is impossible to talk about all of them, but we will pick some of them for you. In 2010, David voiced the dragon Spitelout in the Dreamworks animation movie "How To Train Your Dragon"  (a role he would reprise in 2 episodes of "DreamWorks Dragons", 12 episodes of "Dragons: Race to the Edge" and "How To Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World"). In 2011, David played the role of Peter Vincent in the remake of the 80s horror movie "Fright Night". Also in 2011, he played Benedick in "Much Ado About Nothing".In 2013, David portrayed Will Burton in "The Escape Artist". From 2013 until 2017,  David plays opposite Olivia Colman in the BBC police drama "Broadchurch". Eventually he plays the role of D.I Alec Hardy in 24 episodes. In 2014, David plays Det. Emmett Carver in 10 episodes of "Gracepoint". From 2015 until 2017, David appears as Kilgrave in 13 episodes of Marvel's "Jessica Jones". In 2018, David plays the role of Cale Erendreich in the Thriller "Bad Samaritan" and he plays John Knox in the Costume Drama "Mary, Queen of Scots". In 2019, he lands the role of demon Crowley (opposite Michael Sheen as an angel) in the Dark Comedy series "Good Omens" (the third season os expected later this year). In 2023, David voices droid Huyang in "Ashoka". I think we made it clear that David is not only a great actor, but also a very versatile actor. We can't wait to see him at Heroes Dutch Comic Con.

A Doctor without a companion is like a bird without wings. So when we think of the Tenth Doctor, we automatically think of Rose Tyler as his companion. Rose is portrayed by British actress Billie Piper and she will be accompanying David Tennant in Utrecht!

Billy Paul Piper was born Lianne Paul Piper on 22 September 1982 in Swindon, Wiltshire, England (U.K.). She was the eldest (of 4) born to Paul Piper and Mandy Kent. Although her birth name was Lianne, most people knew her by the name Billie from a young age. It wasn't long before her parents legally changed her name to Billie Piper. Billie grew up in a working class family and from a young age, she showed a lot of talent for performing. Born and raised in Swindon, Billie went to the local primary school in Swindon, called Brookfield Primary School and it was here that she showed the first sparks of her talent. She moved on to secondary school (Brandon Forest School) in Purton (near Swindon). It soon became clear that Billie had the talent and the drive to pursue a career in the performing arts. Her parent were very supportive and saw the necessity to move to a more specialized school. Eventually she was accepted into the prestigious Sylvia Young Theatre School.

The school is known for the strong combination of traditional academic subjects (including mathematics, sciences, history etc.) and a strong performing arts program (including drama, singing, dance and musical theatre). Other notable alumni that the school produced are (among others): Amy Winehouse, Nicholas Hoult, Emma Bunton and Jessie J. During her time at the school, Billy boarded in London on weekdays and returned to Swindon in the weekends. Ever since she was a child, Billie was working in the entertainment industry as a child model and TV commercial actress. In 1997 (Billy was 15 years old), she did a commercial for Smash Hits magazine, she was dancing energetically on screen promoting the teen music magazine. The advertisement was aired nationwide and Billie became a recognizable face because of it.It also drew the attention of Virgin Records. They were looking for young new talent and Billie's image perfectly fit the pop music landscape of this period (late 90s). In 1997, Billie signed a record deal at Virgin Records and thus becoming one of the youngest artists ever to land a major record contract (at 15 years old). A year later, Billy debuted with the single "Because We Want To", which came in at the number 1 position in the UK Singles Chart. This made Billie the youngest artist to ever debut at #1 in the UK, as well as the first British female singer to debut at #1 with the first single. The follow-up single "Girlfriend" also entered the charts at the #1 position. Her debut album "Honey to the B" became platinum (selling more than 300000 copies). In 2000, Billie released her second studio album, named "Walk of Life". It produced two top 10 singles, including a #1 single called "Day & Night". In 2003, Billie announced that she wanted to focus on her acting career, which meant the end of her music career. Billie later explained that although she looked as a carefree and confident popstar, her short time in the music industry came with some personal struggles and challenges. One of these struggles was her battle with anorexia after a TV presenter called her fat, when she was only 16 years old. Through starvation and laxatives she hoped to drop weight. In her biography she talks about the fact that at one point she managed five days without solid food, living on only coffee and Diet Coke (and Marlboros). She even passed out in a Covent Garden Club and was carried out and brought to a hospital. Billie mentions she still has some mental health issues she has to deal with and dealing with her perfectionism is a constant struggle. The mental issues and the lack of control she had over the creative process, made her reconsider the path she was on. Billie decided she wanted to go back to her true passion which was acting.

Billie started to study acting furiously and started to make a name for herself through both stage and screen roles. In 2003, Billie landed her first significant TV role in BBC's adaptation of "The Canterbury Tales". She played the role of Alison Crosby in the first episode called "The Miller's Tale". Her real breakthrough came in 2005, when she was cast as companion Rose Tyler in the reboot of "Doctor Who". Billie started out opposite the ninth doctor played by Christopher Eccleston and later she played opposite David Tennant (Tenth Doctor). She quickly grew out to be a fan favorite and especially the combination Tennant-Piper turned out to be immensely popular. Billie played the role of Rose Tyler in 35 episodes (and multiple specials) of the show from 2005 until 2008. From 2007 until 2011, Billie gained critical acclaim for her role as Belle/Hannah in "Secret Diary of a Call Girl". The show is based on the real-life memoir of a high-end London escort known as Belle du Jour. Over the last decade Billie proved to be a very versatile actress on stage as well as on screen. Let us tell you about some of her roles post "Doctor Who". From 2014 until 2016, Billie played the role of Brona Croft/Lilly Frankenstein in the gothic horror series "Penny Dreadful". Billie's character had an amazing arc throughout the three seasons and critics see it as one of her best roles ever, playing a character wit so many layers. One of the other roles Billie is widely applauded for is the role of the character Her in the modern stage adaptation of the play "Yerma". She played the role in 2016, 2017 and 2019. From 2020 until 2022, Billie played the role of Suzie Pickles in the HBO show "I Hate Suzie". The show revolves around Suzie, a former teen pop star turned actress (sounds familiar right?) whose life explodes when her phone is hacked and some of her private photos are leaked. In 2022, Billie plays opposite Bella Ramsay and Andrew Scott in the coming-of-age movie "Catherine Called Birdy" (as Lady Aislinn). In 2024, Billy portrayed Sam McAlister in "Scoop". A Netflix movie about the famous BBC interview with Prince Andrew, regarding his friendship with Epstein. A few weeks ago Billie surprised friend and foe with her comeback to the "Doctor Who" universe in the final episode of the current season. We won't give any spoilers, but the scene caused the internet to explode. We certainly haven't heard the last of this remarkable woman yet!