Fourteen actors have portrayed the Doctor in a leading role in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who . The series' protagonist, the Doctor is an extraterrestrial Time Lord. The transition to each succeeding actor is explained within the narrative through the plot device of regeneration, which allows Time Lords a change of cellular structure and appearance. The first actor to portray the Doctor was William Hartnell beginning with An Unearthly Child (1963) through The Tenth Planet (1966). In the final moments of "The Tenth Planet", the First Doctor regenerated into Patrick Troughton's Second Doctor.
The incumbent Fifteenth Doctor is played by Ncuti Gatwa, who took over the role from David Tennant following the conclusion of "The Giggle" (2023).
Outside of television many actors have played the Doctor on 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. Several other actors have also been considered for the role.
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" [1] | The Tenth Planet Episode 4 [2] | |
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. [3] 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 [5] | The War Games Episode Ten [6] | |
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. [8] [9] 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 . [16] 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 [17] | Survival Part Three [13] | |
Sylvester McCoy also briefly played the Sixth Doctor in Time and the Rani , during the regeneration scene, wearing a curly blond wig. [17] [18] Other Seventh Doctor appearances
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Paul McGann (Eighth Doctor) | 27 May 1996 | Doctor Who (TV movie) [19] | ||
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" [35] | "Twice Upon a Time" [36] | |
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. [37] 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" [40] | "The Power of the Doctor" | |
Other Thirteenth Doctor appearances
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David Tennant (Fourteenth Doctor) | 23 October 2022 – 9 December 2023 (1 year, 1 month, 2 weeks and 2 days) | "The Star Beast" [41] | "The Giggle" [42] | |
Other Fourteenth Doctor appearances
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Ncuti Gatwa (Fifteenth Doctor) | 9 December 2023 – present (8 months and 2 weeks) | "The Church on Ruby Road" [42] | Incumbent | |
Other Fifteenth Doctor appearances
|
Actor | Title | Dates | Role | Ref |
---|---|---|---|---|
Christopher Barry | The Brain of Morbius | 24 January 1976 | Past Doctors seen during the Fourth Doctor's mind-bending battle against Morbius. | [46] |
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. | [47] |
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. | [12] |
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. | [48] |
Geoffrey Hughes | The Ultimate Foe | 29 November – 6 December 1986 | Mr Popplewick, a matrix projection of the Valeyard. | [49] |
Toby Jones | "Amy's Choice" | 15 May 2010 | The Dream Lord, a darker, psychic manifestation of the Doctor | [50] |
John Guilor | Planet of Giants DVD | 20 August 2012 | Re-dubbed voice work in the reconstruction of the original third and fourth episodes | [51] |
"The Day of the Doctor" | 23 November 2013 | Vocal cameo | [52] | |
John Hurt | "The Name of the Doctor" | 18 May 2013 | The Doctor's incarnation known as the War Doctor, whose actions in the Time War were so drastic that he deemed himself unworthy of the name "Doctor" | [53] |
"The Night of the Doctor" | 14 November 2013 | [54] | ||
"The Day of the Doctor" | 23 November 2013 | [55] | ||
Michael Jones | "Listen" | 13 September 2014 | The First Doctor as a child; uncredited | [56] |
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). | [57] |
"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 | [58] |
"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. | [59] |
Grace Nettle | "The Timeless Children" | 1 March 2020 | Incarnations of the Timeless Child | [60] |
Leo Tang | ||||
Jesse Deyi | ||||
Sacha Dhawan | "The Power of the Doctor" | 23 October 2022 | The Master forces the Doctor to regenerate into him. | [61] |
Richard E. Grant | "Rogue" | 8 June 2024 | An "unknown" Doctor who appears amongst the Doctor's previous faces. | [62] |
Actor | Title | Dates | Role | Ref |
---|---|---|---|---|
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 | |||
Dark Gallifrey: The War Master Part 1 | 2 July 2024 | |||
David Collings | "Full Fathom Five" | August 2003 | Alternative Doctor | |
Ian Brooker | Alternative Doctor (uncredited) | |||
Michael Jayston | "He Jests at Scars..." | September 2003 | Alternate reality version of the Valeyard | |
"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 | |||
Arabella Weir | "Exile" | September 2003 | Alternative Third Doctor | [63] |
Nicholas Briggs | The previous incarnation of Arabella Weir's Doctor. | |||
"Seven Keys to Doomsday" | 23 October 2008 | The Third Doctor | ||
The Ninth Doctor Chronicles | May 2017 | The Ninth Doctor | ||
Jon Culshaw | "The Kingmaker" | April 2006 | The Fourth Doctor | [64] |
Trevor Martin | "The Seven Keys to Doomsday" | 23 October 2008 | Alternative Fourth Doctor | [65] |
India Fisher | "Solitaire" | June 2010 | The Eighth Doctor speaking through Charley Pollard | |
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 | |||
Frazer Hines | The Lost Stories | December 2010 – November 2013 | The Second Doctor The Second Doctor in Jamie's body ( The Jigsaw War ) | |
"The Jigsaw War" | May 2012 | |||
The Light at the End | 23 October 2013 | |||
The Early Adventures | September 2015 – present | |||
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 | |
Peter Purves | The Early Adventures | December 2014 – present | The First Doctor | |
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 | |||
Jacob Dudman | The Doctor Chronicles | April 2018 – present | The Tenth, Eleventh and Twelfth Doctors | |
Big Finish Short Trips | September 2019 – February 2022 | [66] | ||
Anneke Wills | "The Crumbling Magician" | 18 September 2019 | The First Doctor in Polly'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 | ||
"The Artist at the End of Time" | June 2023 | |||
Doctor of War | 13 April 2022 – 27 September 2022 | The Doctor of War (Alternative Fifth Doctor) | [67] [68] | |
Derek Jacobi | The War Master: Hearts of Darkness | October 2020 | The Eighth Doctor in The Master's body | |
Jonathon Carley | The War Doctor Begins | June 2021 – December 2023 | The War Doctor | [69] |
The War Doctor Rises | August 2024 – present | |||
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 April 2022 – present | The First Doctor |
Actor | Title | Dates | Role | Medium | Ref |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Peter Cushing | Dr. Who and the Daleks | 23 August 1965 | Dr. Who | Film | [70] |
Daleks – Invasion Earth: 2150 A.D. | 5 August 1966 | ||||
Trevor Martin | Doctor Who and the Daleks in the Seven Keys to Doomsday | 16 December 1974 – 7 January 1975 | Alternative Fourth Doctor | Stageplay | [65] |
Michael Sagar | 24 November – 8 December 1984 | The Doctor [Note 2] | [71] | ||
Lenny Henry | The Lenny Henry Show (S2-E5) | 3 October 1985 | The Seventh Doctor | Official parody | [72] |
Rowan Atkinson | The Curse of Fatal Death | 12 March 1999 | The Doctor | [73] | |
Richard E. Grant | The Quite Handsome Doctor | ||||
Jim Broadbent | The Shy Doctor | ||||
Hugh Grant | The Handsome Doctor | ||||
Joanna Lumley | The Female Doctor | ||||
Mark Gatiss | The Web of Caves | 13 November 1999 | The Doctor | [74] | |
Richard E. Grant | Scream of the Shalka | 13 November – 18 December 2003 | A previously official Ninth Doctor prior to the programme's 2005 revival | Webcast | [75] |
David Bradley | Doctors Assemble! | 23 May 2020 | The First Doctor | [76] | |
Chris Walker-Thompson | The Second Doctor | ||||
Jon Culshaw | The Third, Fourth and Fifth Doctors | ||||
Angus Villiers-Stuart | The Sixth and Eighth Doctors | ||||
Wink Taylor | The Seventh Doctor | ||||
Jonathon Carley | The War and Twelfth Doctors | ||||
Pete Walsh | The Ninth Doctor | ||||
Elliott Crossley | The Tenth Doctor | ||||
Jacob Dudman | The Eleventh Doctor | ||||
Debra Stephenson | The Thirteenth 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.
The Curse of Fatal Death is a Doctor Who special made specifically for the Red Nose Day charity telethon in the United Kingdom, and was originally broadcast in four parts on BBC One on 12 March 1999 under the title Doctor Who and the Curse of Fatal Death. Later home video releases are formatted as two parts and drop the "and" in the title. It follows in a long tradition of popular British television programmes producing short, light-hearted specials for such telethon events.
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 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. In 2023, Tennant returned to the role, this time as the fourteenth incarnation of the Doctor.
"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 Power of the Daleks is the completely missing third serial of the fourth season of British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in six weekly parts from 5 November to 10 December 1966. It is the first full story to feature Patrick Troughton as the Second Doctor.
The second series of British science fiction programme Doctor Who began on 25 December 2005 with the Christmas special "The Christmas Invasion". A regular series of thirteen episodes was broadcast weekly in 2006, starting with "New Earth" on 15 April and concluding with "Doomsday" on 8 July. In addition, two short special episodes were produced; a Children in Need special and an interactive episode, as well as thirteen minisodes titled Tardisodes. It is the second series of the revival of the show, and the twenty-eighth season overall.
The first series of the 2005 revival of the British science fiction programme Doctor Who began on 26 March 2005 with the episode "Rose". This marked the end of the programme's 16 year absence from episodic television following its cancellation in 1989, and the first new televised Doctor Who story since the broadcast of the television movie starring Paul McGann in 1996. The finale episode, "The Parting of the Ways", was broadcast on 18 June 2005. The show was revived by longtime Doctor Who fan Russell T Davies, who had been lobbying the BBC since the late 1990s to bring the show back. The first series comprised 13 episodes, eight of which Davies wrote. Davies, Julie Gardner and Mal Young served as executive producers, Phil Collinson as producer.
The Twelfth Doctor is an incarnation of the Doctor, the protagonist of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. He is portrayed by Scottish actor Peter Capaldi in three series as well as four specials. As with previous incarnations of the Doctor, the character has also appeared in other Doctor Who spin-offs.
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.
"The Day of the Doctor" is a special episode of the British science fiction television programme Doctor Who, marking its 50th anniversary. It was written by Steven Moffat, who served as an executive producer alongside Faith Penhale. It was shown on BBC One on 23 November 2013, in both 2D and 3D. The special was broadcast simultaneously in 94 countries, and was shown concurrently in 3D in some cinemas. It achieved the Guinness World Record for the largest ever simulcast of a TV drama and won the Radio Times Audience Award at the 2014 British Academy Television Awards.
"The Time of the Doctor" is an episode of the British science fiction television programme Doctor Who, written by Steven Moffat and directed by Jamie Payne, and was broadcast as the ninth Doctor Who Christmas special on 25 December 2013 on BBC One. It features the final regular appearance of Matt Smith as the Eleventh Doctor and the first full appearance of Peter Capaldi as the Twelfth Doctor following his brief cameo in the previous episode "The Day of the Doctor". The episode also features Jenna Coleman as the Doctor's companion Clara Oswald, plus several enemies of the Doctor, including the Daleks, Cybermen, Silence and Weeping Angels.
The Thirteenth Doctor is an incarnation of the Doctor, the protagonist of the BBC science fiction television series Doctor Who. She is played by Jodie Whittaker, the first woman to portray the character, in three series as well as five specials.
"The Power of the Doctor" is the third and final of the 2022 specials of the British science fiction television programme Doctor Who, and was broadcast on BBC One on 23 October 2022. The episode was ordered for the centenary of the BBC's launch, airing five days after. It was written by Chris Chibnall, and directed by Jamie Magnus Stone.
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.
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 and the protagonist of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who for the 2023 specials. 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.