Since the beginning of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who in 1963, many actors have played the title character of the Doctor on television and in various BBC-licensed spin-offs on television, stage, radio, film, audio plays, and webcasts. The character's ability to periodically regenerate appearance and personality has facilitated the ability of new actors to take over the role – in official and unofficial productions – while in most cases maintaining continuity with the television series.
The incumbent is Ncuti Gatwa, who succeeded David Tennant in the role at the conclusion of the 2023 episode "The Giggle". [1]
Actor (role) | Tenure | First regular appearance | Last regular appearance | |
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William Hartnell (First Doctor) | 23 November 1963 – 29 October 1966 (2 years, 11 months and 6 days) | An Unearthly Child "An Unearthly Child" | The Tenth Planet Episode 4 | |
William Hartnell also played the Doctor in an initial version of An Unearthly Child . This was the first attempt at the first episode of the original series, filmed in September 1963 and first released on The Hartnell Years VHS in 1990. Other First Doctor appearances (click the "Show" tab on the right)
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Patrick Troughton (Second Doctor) | 29 October 1966 – 21 June 1969 (2 years, 7 months, 3 weeks and 2 days) | The Power of the Daleks Episode One | The War Games Episode Ten | |
Other Second Doctor appearances
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Jon Pertwee (Third Doctor) | 3 January 1970 – 8 June 1974 (4 years, 5 months and 5 days) | Spearhead from Space Episode One | Planet of the Spiders Part Six | |
Other Third Doctor appearances
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Tom Baker (Fourth Doctor) | 8 June 1974 – 21 March 1981 (6 years, 9 months, 1 week and 6 days) | Robot Part One | Logopolis Part Four | |
Tom Baker appeared as the Curator in "The Day of the Doctor" (2013). It was implied that he was a future incarnation of the Doctor revisiting "a few of the old favourites" of his past faces, and who had retired from adventuring and was now the curator of the National Gallery in London. [2] Other Fourth Doctor appearances
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Peter Davison (Fifth Doctor) | 21 March 1981 – 16 March 1984 (2 years, 11 months, 3 weeks and 3 days) | Castrovalva Part One | The Caves of Androzani Part Four | |
Other Fifth Doctor appearances
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Colin Baker (Sixth Doctor) | 16 March 1984 – 6 December 1986 (2 years, 8 months, 2 weeks and 6 days) | The Twin Dilemma Part One | The Ultimate Foe Part Two | |
Colin Baker previously appeared on Doctor Who playing a different character in the Fifth Doctor story Arc of Infinity . Other Sixth Doctor appearances
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Sylvester McCoy (Seventh Doctor) | 7 September 1987 – 6 December 1989 (2 years, 2 months, 4 weeks and 1 day) | Time and the Rani Part One | Survival Part Three | |
Sylvester McCoy also briefly played the Sixth Doctor in Time and the Rani , during the regeneration scene, wearing a curly blond wig. Other Seventh Doctor appearances
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Paul McGann (Eighth Doctor) | 27 May 1996 | Doctor Who (TV movie) | ||
Other Eighth Doctor appearances
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Christopher Eccleston (Ninth Doctor) | 26 March 2005 – 18 June 2005 (2 months, 3 weeks and 2 days) | "Rose" | "The Parting of the Ways" | |
Other Ninth Doctor appearances
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David Tennant (Tenth Doctor) | 18 June 2005 – 1 January 2010 (4 years, 6 months and 2 weeks) | "The Christmas Invasion" | "The End of Time" Part Two | |
Other Tenth Doctor appearances
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Matt Smith (Eleventh Doctor) | 1 January 2010 – 25 December 2013 (3 years, 11 months, 3 weeks and 3 days) | "The Eleventh Hour" | "The Time of the Doctor" | |
Other Eleventh Doctor appearances
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Peter Capaldi (Twelfth Doctor) | 25 December 2013 – 25 December 2017 (4 years) | "Deep Breath" | "Twice Upon a Time" | |
Peter Capaldi previously appeared on Doctor Who playing a different character in the Tenth Doctor's episode "The Fires of Pompeii" and in the spin-off Torchwood as John Frobisher. Other Twelfth Doctor appearances
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Jodie Whittaker (Thirteenth Doctor) | 25 December 2017 – 23 October 2022 (4 years, 9 months and 4 weeks) | "The Woman Who Fell to Earth" | "The Power of the Doctor" | |
Other Thirteenth Doctor appearances
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David Tennant (Fourteenth Doctor) [23] | 23 October 2022 – 9 December 2023 (1 year, 1 month, 2 weeks and 2 days) | "The Star Beast" | "The Giggle" | |
Other Fourteenth Doctor appearances
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Ncuti Gatwa (Fifteenth Doctor) [23] | 9 December 2023 – present (4 months and 2 days) | "The Church on Ruby Road" | Incumbent | |
Other Fifteenth Doctor appearances
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Actor | Title | Dates | Role |
---|---|---|---|
Christopher Barry | The Brain of Morbius | 24 January 1976 | Past Doctors seen during the Fourth Doctor's mind-bending battle against Morbius |
Robert Banks Stewart | |||
Christopher Baker | |||
Philip Hinchcliffe | |||
Douglas Camfield | |||
Graeme Harper | |||
Robert Holmes | |||
George Gallaccio | |||
Adrian Gibbs | Logopolis | 28 February – 21 March 1981 | The Watcher, who manifests as a harbinger of the Fourth Doctor's regeneration before merging into the Doctor's dying body |
Richard Hurndall | The Five Doctors | 23 November 1983 | Hurndall replaced Hartnell, who had died in 1975, as the First Doctor for the programme's 20th anniversary special. He appeared in character on Blue Peter alongside Peter Davison on 21 November 1983. [5] |
Michael Jayston | The Trial of a Time Lord | 6 September – 6 December 1986 | The Valeyard, an evil version of the Doctor, an amalgamation of the Doctor's darker sides from between his twelfth and final incarnations |
Geoffrey Hughes | The Ultimate Foe | 29 November – 6 December 1986 | Mr Popplewick, a matrix projection of the Valeyard |
Toby Jones | "Amy's Choice" | 15 May 2010 | The Dream Lord, a darker, psychic manifestation of the Doctor |
John Hurt | "The Name of the Doctor" | 18 May 2013 | The Doctor's incarnation known as the War Doctor, [26] whose actions in the Time War were so drastic that he deemed himself unworthy of the name "Doctor". |
"The Night of the Doctor" | 14 November 2013 | ||
"The Day of the Doctor" | 23 November 2013 | ||
John Guilor | Planet of Giants DVD | 20 August 2012 | Re-dubbed voice work in the reconstruction of the original third and fourth episodes |
"The Day of the Doctor" | 23 November 2013 | Vocal cameo | |
Michael Jones | "Listen" | 13 September 2014 | The First Doctor as a child; uncredited [27] |
David Bradley | "The Doctor Falls" | 1 July 2017 | Similarly to Hurndall, Bradley replaced Hartnell as the First Doctor. Bradley also portrayed Hartnell in the docudrama An Adventure in Space and Time (2013). |
"Twice Upon a Time" | 25 December 2017 | ||
"The Power of the Doctor" | 23 October 2022 | ||
Jo Martin | "Fugitive of the Judoon" | 26 January 2020 | Previously unseen incarnation known as the Fugitive Doctor [28] |
"The Timeless Children" | 1 March 2020 | ||
"Once, Upon Time " | 14 November 2021 | ||
"The Power of the Doctor" | 23 October 2022 | ||
Evan McCabe | "Ascension of the Cybermen" / "The Timeless Children" | 23 February – 1 March 2020 | Brendan, a decoy Matrix construct used to conceal records of the Timeless Child. Brendan is also portrayed as a child and an old man by other, uncredited actors. |
Grace Nettle [29] | "The Timeless Children" | 1 March 2020 | An incarnation of the Timeless Child |
Leo Tang [30] | An incarnation of the Timeless Child | ||
Jesse Deyi [31] | An incarnation of the Timeless Child, and the one who joined the Division | ||
Sacha Dhawan | "The Power of the Doctor" | 23 October 2022 | The Master forces the Doctor to regenerate into him. |
Actor | Title | Dates | Role |
---|---|---|---|
Peter Cushing | Dr. Who and the Daleks | 23 August 1965 | Dr. Who |
Daleks – Invasion Earth: 2150 A.D. | 5 August 1966 |
Actor | Title | Dates | Role |
---|---|---|---|
Richard E. Grant | Scream of the Shalka | 13 November – 18 December 2003 | A previously official Ninth Doctor prior to the programme's 2005 revival |
Actor | Title | Dates | Role |
---|---|---|---|
Trevor Martin | The Seven Keys to Doomsday | 16 December 1974 – 7 January 1975 | Alternative Fourth Doctor (shown on stage to be regenerated from the Third Doctor) [Note 2] |
Michael Sagar | The Seven Keys to Doomsday | 24 November – 8 December 1984 | The Doctor [Note 3] [32] |
David Banks | Doctor Who – The Ultimate Adventure | 29 April 1989 | The Doctor (understudy for Jon Pertwee; performed as the Doctor for two performances when Pertwee fell ill) |
Actor | Title | Dates | Role |
---|---|---|---|
Michael Jayston | He Jests at Scars... | September 2003 | The Valeyard (alternate reality version) |
Trial of the Valeyard | 17 December 2013 | The Valeyard | |
The Sixth Doctor: The Last Adventure | 17 August 2015 | ||
Bernice Summerfield: The Story So Far: Volume Two | 25 September 2018 | ||
The Eighth Doctor: The Time War: Volume Three | 13 August 2019 | ||
Geoffrey Bayldon | Auld Mortality | May 2003 | Alternative First Doctor |
A Storm of Angels | January 2005 | ||
David Warner | Sympathy for the Devil | June 2003 | Alternative Third Doctor |
Masters of War | December 2008 | ||
The New Adventures of Bernice Summerfield. Volumes 3–7 | 24 August 2016 – 20 September 2022 | ||
Bernice Summerfield: The Story So Far: Volume Two | 25 September 2018 | ||
Time Lord Immemorial | 5 October 2023 | ||
David Collings | Full Fathom Five | August 2003 | Alternative Doctor |
Ian Brooker | Alternative Doctor (uncredited) | ||
Arabella Weir | Exile | September 2003 | Alternative Third Doctor |
Nicholas Briggs | September 2003 | The previous incarnation of Arabella Weir's Doctor. [Note 4] | |
The Seven Keys to Doomsday | 23 October 2008 | The Third Doctor | |
The Ninth Doctor Chronicles | May 2017 | The Ninth Doctor | |
Joe Bassett | Master | October 2003 | Child version of the First Doctor heard briefly in a flashback; credited only as "Child". |
Jon Culshaw | The Kingmaker | April 2006 | The Fourth Doctor [Note 5] |
Peter Purves | The Early Adventures | December 2014 – present | The First Doctor |
Frazer Hines | The Jigsaw War | May 2012 | The Second Doctor The Second Doctor in Jamie's body ( The Jigsaw War ) |
The Lost Stories | December 2010 – November 2013 | ||
The Light at the End | 23 October 2013 | ||
The Early Adventures | September 2015 – present | ||
Trevor Martin | The Seven Keys to Doomsday | 23 October 2008 | Alternative Fourth Doctor |
William Russell | The Lost Stories | November 2010 – September 2013 | The First Doctor |
The Light at the End | 23 October 2013 | ||
The Early Adventures | October 2014 – October 2016 | ||
India Fisher | Solitaire | June 2010 | The Eighth Doctor speaking through Charley Pollard |
David Troughton | Serpent Crest: The Hexford Invasion/Survivors in Space | December 2011 | Clone of the Second Doctor |
Terry Molloy | The Curse of Davros | January 2012 | The Sixth Doctor in the body of Davros |
Melvyn Hayes | The Scorchies | 7 March 2013 | The Third Doctor in Professor Baffle's body |
Damian Lynch | Ghost in the Machine | October 2013 | The Third Doctor in Benjamin Chikoto's voice |
Katy Manning | The Third Doctor in Jo's body | ||
Tim Treloar | The Light at the End | 23 October 2013 | The Third Doctor |
The Third Doctor Adventures | September 2015 – present | ||
The Legacy of Time | 17 July 2019 | ||
The Diary of River Song: Series 6 | 27 August 2019 | The Third Doctor (cameo) | |
John Banks | Trial of the Valeyard | December 2013 | The Hermit / The Thirteenth Doctor (a disguise used by the Valeyard) |
Nicola Bryant | The Widow's Assassin | 30 October 2014 | The Sixth Doctor in Peri's body |
Anthony Howell | The End of the Line | August 2015 | Tim Hope (a disguise used by the Valeyard) |
Liz White | The Brink of Death | August 2015 | Genesta (a disguise used by the Valeyard) |
John Hurt | The War Doctor series | December 2015 – February 2017 | The War Doctor |
David Bradley | The First Doctor Adventures | December 2017 – April 2021 | The First Doctor |
The Legacy of Time | 17 July 2019 | The First Doctor (cameo) | |
The Diary of River Song: Series 6 | 27 August 2019 | ||
Anneke Wills | The Crumbling Magician | 18 September 2019 | The First Doctor in Polly's body |
Jacob Dudman | The Tenth Doctor Chronicles | April 2018 | The Tenth Doctor |
The Eleventh Doctor Chronicles | August 2018 – present | The Eleventh Doctor | |
The Twelfth Doctor Chronicles | February 2020 – November 2021 | The Twelfth Doctor | |
Short Trips: Regeneration Impossible | May 2020 | The Twelfth/Eleventh Doctor | |
Derek Jacobi | Deadline | September 2003 | The First Doctor (as imagined by Martin Bannister) |
The War Master: Hearts of Darkness | October 2020 | The Eighth Doctor in The Master's body | |
Tom Baker | The Eighth Doctor Adventures: Stranded 1 | June 2020 | The Curator |
The Eighth Doctor Adventures: Stranded 2 | March 2021 | ||
UNIT: Nemesis: Between Two Worlds | November 2021 | ||
Colin Baker | The Eighth Doctor Adventures: Stranded 4 | April 2022 | |
Once and Future: The Artist at the End of Time | June 2023 | ||
Jonathon Carley | The War Doctor Begins | Jun 2021 – present | The War Doctor |
Michael Troughton | The Third Doctor Adventures: The Annihilators | February 2022 | The Second Doctor |
The Second Doctor Adventures | July 2022 – present | ||
Stephen Noonan | The First Doctor Adventures | 12 Apr 2022 – present | The First Doctor |
Colin Baker | Doctor of War | 13 April 2022 - 27 September 2022 | The Doctor of War (Alternative Fifth Doctor) [33] [34] |
Actor | Title | Dates | Role |
---|---|---|---|
Lenny Henry | The Lenny Henry Show (S2-E5) | 3 October 1985 | The Seventh Doctor |
Rowan Atkinson | The Curse of Fatal Death | 12 March 1999 | The Doctor |
Richard E. Grant | The Quite Handsome Doctor | ||
Jim Broadbent | The Shy Doctor | ||
Hugh Grant | The Handsome Doctor | ||
Joanna Lumley | The Female Doctor [Note 6] | ||
Mark Gatiss | The Web of Caves | 13 November 1999 | The Doctor |
Doctor Who is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series, created by Sydney Newman, C. E. Webber and Donald Wilson, depicts the adventures of an extraterrestrial being called the Doctor, part of a humanoid species called Time Lords. The Doctor travels in the universe and in time using a time travelling spaceship called the TARDIS, which externally appears as a British police box. While travelling, the Doctor works to save lives and liberate oppressed peoples by combating foes. The Doctor often travels with companions.
Big Finish Productions is a British company that produces books and audio plays based, primarily, on science fiction properties. These include Doctor Who, the characters Judge Dredd and Strontium Dog from 2000 AD, Blake's 7, Dark Shadows, Dracula, Terrahawks, Sapphire & Steel, Sherlock Holmes, Stargate, The Avengers, The Prisoner, Timeslip, and Torchwood.
Doctor Who is a British television science fiction series, produced and screened by the BBC on the BBC TV channel from 1963 to 1964, and on BBC1 from 1964 to 1989 and since 2005. A one-off television film, co-produced with Universal Pictures and 20th Century Fox Television, was screened on the Fox Network in the United States in 1996.
The Tenth Doctor is an incarnation of the Doctor, the protagonist of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. He is played by David Tennant in three series as well as nine specials. The character has also appeared in other Doctor Who spin-offs.
"The Parting of the Ways" is the thirteenth episode and the season finale of the revived first series of the British science fiction television programme Doctor Who. The episode was first broadcast on BBC One on 18 June 2005. It was the second episode of the two-part story. The first part, "Bad Wolf", was broadcast on 11 June.
The Ninth Doctor is an incarnation of the Doctor, the protagonist of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. He is portrayed by Christopher Eccleston during the first series of the show's revival in 2005.
Mizero Ncuti Gatwa is a Rwandan-Scottish actor. He is best known as the fifteenth incarnation of the Doctor in the science fiction series Doctor Who (2023–present) and Eric Effiong in the Netflix comedy series Sex Education (2019–2023). Additionally, he has appeared in Barbie (2023) and Masters of the Air (2024).
The fourteenth series of the British science fiction television programme Doctor Who is set to premiere on 11 May 2024, and is expected to air through to 22 June. It will be the fifth series led by Russell T Davies as head writer and executive producer and the first since his return to the show, having previously worked on it from 2005 to 2010. This series is set to be the fourteenth to air following the programme's revival in 2005 and will be the fortieth season overall. The fourteenth series was announced with Davies' return to the programme for its 60th anniversary in 2023 and beyond, with Bad Wolf becoming a co-producer for the series. The series is referred to in marketing and promotional material as "Season One" following the production changes and the acquisition of Doctor Who's international broadcasting rights by Disney+.
The Fifteenth Doctor is the current incarnation of the Doctor, the protagonist of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. He is portrayed by Rwandan-Scottish actor Ncuti Gatwa. His first series companion is Ruby Sunday, played by Millie Gibson.
Amelia Eve Gibson is an English actress. She is best known as Kelly Neelan in the ITV1 soap opera Coronation Street (2019–2022), and Ruby Sunday in the BBC science fiction series Doctor Who (2023–present).
The 2023 specials of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who are three special episodes that aired between 25 November and 9 December 2023, to celebrate the programme's 60th anniversary. They were written by Russell T Davies and marked the start of his second tenure as showrunner, having served in the role from the start of Doctor Who's revival in 2005 until leaving in 2010. The specials were broadcast on BBC One in the United Kingdom and Ireland, and on Disney+ internationally.
The Fourteenth Doctor is an incarnation of the Doctor, the protagonist of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. He is portrayed by Scottish actor David Tennant, who previously portrayed the Tenth Doctor and was last seen on the programme in that role in 2013.
"The Giggle" is the third and final of the 2023 60th anniversary specials of the British science fiction television programme Doctor Who, written by Russell T Davies, directed by Chanya Button and broadcast in the United Kingdom on BBC One on 9 December 2023. It features the final regular appearances of David Tennant as the Fourteenth Doctor and Catherine Tate as Donna Noble, introduces Ncuti Gatwa as the Fifteenth Doctor and guest stars Neil Patrick Harris as the Toymaker, a character last seen in The Celestial Toymaker (1966). The episode also features Jemma Redgrave and Bonnie Langford as UNIT commander Kate Lethbridge-Stewart and Mel Bush, respectively.
"The Church on Ruby Road" is an episode of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. It was broadcast on BBC One on 25 December 2023 as the fourteenth Christmas special since the show's revival in 2005 and also the first since "Twice Upon a Time" (2017). It was written by Russell T Davies and directed by Mark Tonderai. It stars Ncuti Gatwa in his first regular appearance as the Fifteenth Doctor and introduces Millie Gibson as his new companion Ruby Sunday.