It's impossible to think of David Tennant without picturing his excitable Tenth Doctor in Doctor Who. But before landing that iconic role he had to wade through years of eclectic projects and dodgy outfits.

These are the highlights of Dave's varied career before he landed in the TARDIS in 2005:

1. Anti-smoking film (1987)

This may seem like a crap Gregory's Girl sequel, but it's actually anti-smoking propaganda at its finest, and it was David's first ever acting role. We doubt The Doctor would allow such rude behaviour in the TARDIS.

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2. Dramarama (1988)

David's first proper telly role also had a supernatural tinge. Here, he played a sullen kid who is able to see the ghosts of his ancestors (one of which he also played). Pretty handy.

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3. Rab C Nesbitt (1993)

If you were a Scottish actor in the 1990s, you had to be in Rab C Nesbitt. Even better, David played a new transvestite barmaid that Rab took a shine to.

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4. The Bill (1995)

…And if you were a British actor in the 1990s, you simply had to be in The Bill. He played a suspicious caretaker who insisted on his innocence. How could you not believe that face?

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5. Jude (1996)

Nope, this isn't a Doctor Who anniversary special that you haven't seen, it's just a period drama that starred both Tennant and his predecessor Christopher Eccleston. And Kate Winslet. And Game of Thrones' Liam Cunningham. And June Whitfield. What a cast!

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6. LA Without a Map (1998)

David landed the lead role in this largely forgotten romcom that also starred Julie Delpy, Vincent Gallo and Johnny Depp, in which he played a local undertaker who has a fling with a Hollywood actress. Sounds like Notting Hill ripped this off a year later.

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7. Duck Patrol (1998)

Are you seriously telling us there was a sitcom starring David Tennant and Richard Wilson as river police on the Thames, and it wasn't a hit? How is that possible?

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8. Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased) (2000)

David hams it up to the max as a crazed artist who was actually behind the death of Vic Reeves's titular Randall in the very first episode. Oh, whoops. Sorry, spoilers!

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9. People Like Us (2001)

Tennant was one of the subjects of this forgotten gem of a mockumentary comedy series, in which he played Rob, a seriously struggling actor. It's rare to see him in full deadpan mode, but he's excellent.

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10. Boots advert (2002)

It's crazy to think that David Tennant was ever in an advert, especially when it wasn't because he was David Tennant. And especially as he has hardly any lines in it. Still, he probably helped Boots that Christmas.

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11. Scream of the Shalka (2003)

Two years before Doctor Who returned, and three years before David landed the big role himself, he actually appeared very briefly as a caretaker in the online animated series Scream of the Shalka starring Richard E Grant. Was this simply a bizarre audition?

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12. Bright Young Things (2003)

After a few years in the wilderness, David made a comeback in this Stephen Fry-directed period drama that also featured early performances from Michael Sheen and James McAvoy. Shame about the 'tache.

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13. Blackpool (2004)

You're not imagining things, that really is David Tennant singing along to The Smiths in full song-and-dance mode. David Morrissey also starred in the musical comedy serial that we can't help but fancy a sequel to sometime soon.

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14. Casanova (2005)

Just a year before his first full series as The Doctor, David jumped up another notch in the mainstream ladder with this Russell T Davies retelling of the life of 18th-century Italian adventurer Giacomo Casanova. Everyone from Peter O'Toole to Rose Byrne to Matt Lucas also starred in the three-parter.

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15. The Quatermass Experiment Live (2005)

Proving that 2005 really was the year of the Tennant, this special live remake of the iconic 1950s sci-fi series saw him play a very different Doctor alongside Jason Flemyng's Quatermass.

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16. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2005)

A mere few months before he drove the TARDIS in Doctor Who, he had his biggest movie role to date as supreme baddie Barty Crouch Jr.

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