8 surprising celebrity cameos in your favourite TV dramas from Inspector Morse to Doc Martin

We all love a good series and if there's one thing that British TV gets right everytime, it's a classic murder mystery or gripping drama. Plenty of our favourites from over the years have been reappearing on daytime TV providing much-needed nostalgia as well as gripping plotlines.

From time to time, many a famous face would make a cameo appearance in these classic shows. Whether it's an Academy Award winner, a Bond star or even a member of the royal family, viewers have been treated to very well-known guest stars over the years. To celebrate the shows for old time's sake, we've done a roundup of some very surprising cameo appearances you might have missed previously.

Sigourney Weaver – Doc Martin

Sigourney Weaver, best known for her roles in some of the popular sci-fi films over the years such as Alien, appeared in Doc Martin back in 2015 for its eighth series. The Academy Award-nominee played the part of an American tourist in the show, who finds herself feeling unwell during her trip to the Cornish village of Portwenn, and pays a visit to the doctor.

It turns out that Sigourney's role was orchestrated by her close friendship with Doc Martin star Selina Cadell, who plays Mrs Tishell, with whom Sigourney has been friends since 1974. Small world!

MORE: Who is Heartbeat star John Duttine and where is he now?

Benedict Cumberbatch – Heartbeat

Oscar nominee Benedict Cumberbatch appeared in classic TV drama Heartbeat not once, but twice over the years. The Imitation Game star's first appearance was in 2000, playing the role of Charles in the episode 'The Good Doctor'.

His second stint on the show came four years later when he reprised his role for the episode 'No Hard Feelings.' The actor played Charles, who is the nephew of Lord Ashfordly, and becomes involved in the solving of a hit and run case involving his uncles old Bentley.

MORE: Heartbeat cast before and after: take a look at how stars have changed over the years

Carey Mulligan – Miss Marple

Back in 2006, Carey Mulligan appeared in The Sittaford Mystery episode of Miss Marple for its second series. The actress, perhaps best known today for her role as Daisy Buchanan opposite Leonardo Di Caprio in The Great Gatsby, played Violet Willett in the show, which marked one of her early career roles. She's also appeared in Suffragette, Pride and Prejudice and more.

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Daniel Craig – Heartbeat

James Bond himself (well, sort of) once appeared in Heartbeat. In one of his early TV roles, Daniel Craig featured in the drama in 1993 in a one-off episode as Peter Begg.

Although he was relatively unknown back then, the actor has certainly made a name for himself since thanks to his role as 007 and in other successful films such as Layer Cake and Knives Out.

Sophie Winkleman – Endeavour

Lady Frederick Windsor, also known as Sophie Winkleman, appeared in two episodes of Endeavour during the show's sixth series, which was released last year. The actress, who has also starred in a number of other big TV programmes and films, played the role of Isobel Humbolt in the detective series.

Danny Dyer – A Touch of Frost

We couldn't believe how young Danny Dyer looked during his appearance on A Touch of Frost! A fresh faced Danny played Shaun in the show back in 1995 series opposite lead star David Jason. Danny played Shaun, who gave an impassioned speech about the football star who passed away suddenly after being kicked in the head during a game, while DI Frost investigates the murder case. As it was one of Danny's first TV jobs, he was just 18 years old at the time. Aw!

Elizabeth Hurley – Inspector Morse

Elizabeth Hurley was just 23 years old when she played the part of Julia in Inspector Morse. In the episodes, Morse investigates the murder of a missing schoolgirl, with Julia brought in to give information on what she knows.

Since then, Elizabeth has starred in plenty of other well-known shows and films including Austin Powers, Bedazzled and The Royals.

Orlando Bloom – Midsomer Murders

Yes, that's right. Pirates of the Caribbean star Orlando Bloom had one of his earliest TV roles in ITV's Midsomer Murders. The actor played Peter Drinkwater in the episode "Judgement Day" back in 2000 before his international success. Unfortunately, however, the stint in the show didn't last long as his character was stabbed in the chest with a pitchfork. Ouch.

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