The Doctor Will See You Now Trivia Quiz

Answer: Agatha Christie

Agatha Christie disappeared in December 1926 after her husband asked for a divorce. She left her house in Berkshire, leaving a note for her secretary stating that she was going on a trip to Yorkshire. Her car, however, was later found above a quarry in Surrey which lead to speculation that she had committed suicide. After much searching, Christie was found ten days later at a hotel in Yorkshire apparently suffering from amnesia. Arthur Conan Doyle helped with the search by taking one of Christie's gloves to a medium.

In the 'Doctor Who' story 'The Unicorn and the Wasp', Christie attends a garden party on the day she disappears. Her memory loss is the result of the destruction of an amulet. She fell unconscious and the Doctor dropped her off at the Yorkshire hotel where she was found ten days later (using his time machine).

Answer: Elizabeth I

Elizabeth I never married, despite numerous courtships and proposals. The most likely candidate seemed to be her childhood friend, Robert Dudley, though he was married at the time. When his wife died it was thought that he would marry the queen, but some politicians made it clear that they would not support the union. In 1563 Elizabeth declared that she would rather be a single beggar than a married queen. In art and literature, her virginity was celebrated.

'Doctor Who' throws all of this down the toilet. The Doctor married Elizabeth in 'The Day of the Doctor'. In 'The End of Time' he tells Ood Sigma, 'Got married, that was a mistake... let me tell you her nickname is no longer...'

Answer: Marco Polo

Marco Polo (1254-1354) travelled around Asia for over 20 years with his father and uncle. On his return to Venice he was imprisoned, and dictated his adventures to a cellmate who wrote everything down. There is some debate about whether Marco Polo actually went to China, or compiled stories based on hearsay. By his own account he was a friend Kublai Khan, but he is not mentioned at all in Chinese sources.

Answer: Vincent Van Gogh

Van Gogh didn't do so well during his lifetime, though now his paintings are worth millions. As the gallery tour guide in 'Vincent and the Doctor' says, 'when he died, you could've sold his entire body of work and got about enough money to buy a sofa... and a couple of chairs.' He suffered from some kind of mental illness, most probably bipolar disorder.

In 1890 he shot himself in the chest and died of an untreated infection from the wound.

Answer: Charles Dickens

In 1868 and 1869, Dickens gave numerous 'farewell readings' of his work after his health began to deteriorate. He is onstage reading 'A Christmas Carol' when he first meets the Doctor - Dickens' number one fan - in 'The Unquiet Dead'. Marley's face had just appeared in the story when a seemingly ghostly apparition begins to glow from the centre of the theatre.

In 1870, he died of a stroke. 'The Mystery of Edwin Drood' is his final novel, but unfortunately it has no end. Dickens died before its completion.

Answer: Winston Churchill

Both Clement Atlee and Winston Churchill were part of the coalition government of the UK during World War II. Churchill served as Prime Minister and Atlee served as Deputy. The Cabinet War Rooms were in the basement of the New Public Offices Building in Westminster. It comprised of a Map Room and meeting rooms for members of the War Cabinet (a select group of MPs) during German air raids on London.

Churchill was re-elected as Prime Minister in 1951 and served until 1955.

Answer: Madame de Pompadour

Jeanne Antoinette Poisson needed a title in order to be a member of the French court, so the king bought the marquisate of Pompadour and gave her the title of Marquise de Pompadour. She was the official chief mistress of Louis XV for six years in the 1700s. Even after relinquishing the title, Madame de Pompadour and the king remained close friends.

In 'The Girl in the Fireplace', the Doctor met Jeanne Antoinette Poisson at various points throughout her life. Thanks to a broken teleport, months and years would pass for her, while the Doctor was only gone for minutes. In the end he went back to her to invite her to travel with him, but she was already dead.

Answer: Adolf Hitler

Hitler survived on monetary support from his mother while he lived in Vienna from 1905 until 1907, when she died. With no income and no qualifications, Hitler was forced to live in hostels and shelters. When World War I began, he joined the Bavarian Army as an Austrian citizen, despite being considered unfit for service in the Austrian Army.

In 'Let's Kill Hitler' the TARDIS (the Doctor's spaceship) crash lands in Berlin in 1938 in Hitler's office. The Doctor tells Rory to 'put Hitler in the cupboard,' where he remains for the rest of the episode.

Answer: Lucius Caecilius Iucundus

Lucius Caecilius Iucundus lived in Pompeii and probably died in the eruption of Vesuvius. Wax tablets, among other things, were found in the ruins of his house. He was immortalised in the Cambridge Latin Course series, which is where the writer of 'Doctor Who' took inspiration for the character's name.

In 'Doctor Who', the Doctor saved Lucius and his family from the volcano. They moved to Rome and worshiped the Doctor and Donna as household gods. In reality, his business records stop in 62AD, coinciding with a devastating earthquake in the area. He probably died seventeen years before Vesuvius erupted.

Answer: Nefertiti

Nefertiti and Akhenaten had six known daughters, some of who became Great Royal Wives to other Pharaohs. Her tomb hasn't been identified, but it has been suggested that a few anonymous mummies might have been her. Despite this, her face is a well-known image thanks to a bust found in Thutmose's ruined workshop.