Dr. Alexander "Sandy" McDonald (born 5 November 1937) is a retired minister of the Church of Scotland

Church of Scotland

The Church of Scotland, known informally by its Scots language name, the Kirk, is a Presbyterian church, decisively shaped by the Scottish Reformation....

.

Dr. McDonald was born in Bishopbriggs

Bishopbriggs

Bishopbriggs is a town in East Dunbartonshire, Scotland. The area was once part of the historic parish of Cadder - originally lands granted by King William the Lion to the Bishop of Glasgow, Jocelin, in 1180. It was later part of the county of Lanarkshire and subsequently an independent burgh from...

, Scotland in 1937, the son of Jessie Helen Low and Alexander M. McDonald. He worked in the timber industry in the 1950s, prior to National Service in the Royal Air Force

Royal Air Force

The Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...

. Following theological studies in the 1960s, he served as minister at St David's Parish Church, Bathgate

Bathgate

Bathgate is a town in West Lothian, Scotland, on the M8 motorway west of Livingston. Nearby towns are Blackburn, Armadale, Whitburn, Livingston, and Linlithgow. Edinburgh Airport is away...

 (1968-1974), then at St Mark's Parish Church, Ralston

Ralston

Ralston is a small, suburban settlement in Renfrewshire, Scotland, bordering onto the eastern edge of the town of Paisley...

 (1974-1988) and then as General Secretary of the Church of Scotland's Board of Ministry until he retired in 2002. He was Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland

Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland

The Moderator of the General Assembly of Church of Scotland is a Minister, Elder or Deacon of the Church of Scotland chosen to "moderate" the annual General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, which is held for a week in Edinburgh every May....

 1997-1998. His formal title (following the end of his Moderatorial year) is The Very Reverend Dr. Alexander McDonald.

Television career

In the early 1980s, he co-presented the Scottish Television Religious magazine programme 'That's The Spirit!'.

Personal life

He survives his wife Helen, who died on 15 July 2007. He has a daughter, Karen, and two sons, Blair, and actor David Tennant

David Tennant

David Tennant is a Scottish actor. In addition to his work in theatre, including a widely praised Hamlet, Tennant is best known for his role as the tenth incarnation of the Doctor in Doctor Who, along with the title role in the 2005 TV serial Casanova and as Barty Crouch, Jr...

, of Doctor Who

Doctor Who

Doctor Who is a British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC. The programme depicts the adventures of a time-travelling humanoid alien known as the Doctor who explores the universe in a sentient time machine called the TARDIS that flies through time and space, whose exterior...

fame. In May 2008, he made a silent cameo appearance in the Doctor Who

Doctor Who

Doctor Who is a British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC. The programme depicts the adventures of a time-travelling humanoid alien known as the Doctor who explores the universe in a sentient time machine called the TARDIS that flies through time and space, whose exterior...

episode "The Unicorn and the Wasp

The Unicorn and the Wasp

"The Unicorn and the Wasp" is the 7th episode in the revised fourth series of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was aired by BBC One on 17 May 2008 at 19:00. Perhaps due to its later broadcast, it received an overnight audience rating of 7.7 million, making it the...

," playing the part of a footman alongside his son.