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The Doctor

Updated: 12/11/2025, 12:16:42 PM Wikipedia source

The Doctor, sometimes known as Doctor Who, is the protagonist of the long-running BBC science fiction television series Doctor Who. An extraterrestrial Time Lord, the Doctor travels the universe in a time travelling spaceship called the TARDIS, often with companions. Since the show's inception in 1963, the character has been portrayed by fourteen lead actors. The transition to each succeeding actor is explained within the show's narrative through the plot device of regeneration, a biological function of Time Lords that allows a change of cellular structure and appearance with recovery following a mortal injury. A number of other actors have played the character in stage and audio plays, as well as in various film and television productions. The Doctor has also been featured in films and a vast range of spin-off novels, audio dramas and comic strips. Ncuti Gatwa most recently portrayed the Fifteenth Doctor from "The Giggle" (2023) up to "The Reality War" (2025).

Infobox

First appearance
An Unearthly Child (1963)
Created by
Sydney Newman
Portrayed by
mw- William Hartnell (1963–1966) Patrick Troughton (1966–1969) Jon Pertwee (1970–1974) Tom Baker (1974–1981) Peter Davison (1982–1984) Colin Baker (1984–1986) Sylvester McCoy (1987–1989, 1996) Paul McGann (1996) Christopher Eccleston (2005) David Tennant (2005–2010, 2023) Matt Smith (2010–2013) Peter Capaldi (2014–2017) Jodie Whittaker (2018–2022) Ncuti Gatwa (2023–2025)
Other actors
Richard Hurndall (1983) John Hurt (2013) David Bradley (2017, 2022) Jo Martin (2020–2022, 2025)
Species
Time Lord
Spouse
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Children
Jenny (daughter)
Relatives
Susan Foreman (granddaughter) Tecteun (adoptive parent)
Home planet
Gallifrey
Main incarnations
First Second Third Fourth Fifth Sixth Seventh Eighth Ninth Tenth Eleventh Twelfth Thirteenth Fourteenth Fifteenth
Other incarnations
The Valeyard War Doctor Fugitive Doctor

Tables

· Changing faces › Actors
Date
Date
Actor
Date
Incarnation
Age
No. ofseries
Date
No. ofepisodes
Age
William Hartnell
1963
1963–1966
William Hartnell
Actor
William Hartnell
Incarnation
First Doctor
No. ofseries
4
No. ofepisodes
134
No. ofstories
29
Tenure start
23 November 1963
Tenure start
55
Tenure end
29 October 1966
Tenure end
58
Patrick Troughton
1966
1966–1969
Patrick Troughton
Actor
Patrick Troughton
Incarnation
Second Doctor
No. ofseries
3
No. ofepisodes
119
No. ofstories
21
Tenure start
5 November 1966
Tenure start
46
Tenure end
21 June 1969
Tenure end
49
Jon Pertwee
1970
1970–1974
Jon Pertwee
Actor
Jon Pertwee
Incarnation
Third Doctor
No. ofseries
5
No. ofepisodes
128
No. ofstories
24
Tenure start
3 January 1970
Tenure start
50
Tenure end
8 June 1974
Tenure end
54
Tom Baker
1974
1974–1981
Tom Baker
Actor
Tom Baker
Incarnation
Fourth Doctor
No. ofseries
7
No. ofepisodes
172
No. ofstories
41
Tenure start
28 December 1974
Tenure start
40
Tenure end
21 March 1981
Tenure end
47
Peter Davison
1982
1982–1984
Peter Davison
Actor
Peter Davison
Incarnation
Fifth Doctor
No. ofseries
3
No. ofepisodes
69
No. ofstories
20
Tenure start
4 January 1982
Tenure start
30
Tenure end
16 March 1984
Tenure end
32
Colin Baker
1984
1984–1986
Colin Baker
Actor
Colin Baker
Incarnation
Sixth Doctor
No. ofseries
3
No. ofepisodes
31
No. ofstories
8
Tenure start
22 March 1984
Tenure start
40
Tenure end
6 December 1986
Tenure end
43
Sylvester McCoy
1987
1987–1989
Sylvester McCoy
Actor
Sylvester McCoy
Incarnation
Seventh Doctor
No. ofseries
3
No. ofepisodes
42
No. ofstories
12
Tenure start
7 September 1987
Tenure start
44
Tenure end
6 December 1989
Tenure end
46
Paul McGann
1996
1996–1996
Paul McGann
Actor
Paul McGann
Incarnation
Eighth Doctor
No. ofseries
No. ofepisodes
1
No. ofstories
1
Tenure start
27 May 1996
Tenure start
36
Tenure end
27 May 1996
Tenure end
36
Christopher Eccleston
2005
2005–2005
Christopher Eccleston
Actor
Christopher Eccleston
Incarnation
Ninth Doctor
No. ofseries
1
No. ofepisodes
13
No. ofstories
10
Tenure start
26 March 2005
Tenure start
41
Tenure end
18 June 2005
Tenure end
41
David Tennant
2005
2005–2010
David Tennant
Actor
David Tennant
Incarnation
Tenth Doctor
No. ofseries
3
No. ofepisodes
47
No. ofstories
36
Tenure start
25 December 2005
Tenure start
34
Tenure end
1 January 2010
Tenure end
38
Matt Smith
2010
2010–2013
Matt Smith
Actor
Matt Smith
Incarnation
Eleventh Doctor
No. ofseries
3
No. ofepisodes
44
No. ofstories
39
Tenure start
3 April 2010
Tenure start
27
Tenure end
25 December 2013
Tenure end
31
Peter Capaldi
2014
2014–2017
Peter Capaldi
Actor
Peter Capaldi
Incarnation
Twelfth Doctor
No. ofseries
3
No. ofepisodes
40
No. ofstories
35
Tenure start
23 August 2014
Tenure start
56
Tenure end
25 December 2017
Tenure end
59
Jodie Whittaker
2018
2018–2022
Jodie Whittaker
Actor
Jodie Whittaker
Incarnation
Thirteenth Doctor
No. ofseries
3
No. ofepisodes
31
No. ofstories
24
Tenure start
7 October 2018
Tenure start
36
Tenure end
23 October 2022
Tenure end
40
David Tennant
2023
2023–2023
David Tennant
Actor
David Tennant
Incarnation
Fourteenth Doctor
No. ofseries
No. ofepisodes
3
No. ofstories
3
Tenure start
25 November 2023
Tenure start
52
Tenure end
9 December 2023
Tenure end
52
Ncuti Gatwa
2023
2023–2025
Ncuti Gatwa
Actor
Ncuti Gatwa
Incarnation
Fifteenth Doctor
No. ofseries
2
No. ofepisodes
18
No. ofstories
16
Tenure start
25 December 2023
Tenure start
31
Tenure end
31 May 2025
Tenure end
32
Actor
Incarnation
No. ofseries
No. ofepisodes
No. ofstories
Tenure start
Tenure end
Date
Age
Date
Age
William Hartnell
First Doctor
4
134
29
23 November 1963
55
29 October 1966
58
Patrick Troughton
Second Doctor
3
119
21
5 November 1966
46
21 June 1969
49
Jon Pertwee
Third Doctor
5
128
24
3 January 1970
50
8 June 1974
54
Tom Baker
Fourth Doctor
7
172
41
28 December 1974
40
21 March 1981
47
Peter Davison
Fifth Doctor
3
69
20
4 January 1982
30
16 March 1984
32
Colin Baker
Sixth Doctor
3
31
8
22 March 1984
40
6 December 1986
43
Sylvester McCoy
Seventh Doctor
3
42
12
7 September 1987
44
6 December 1989
46
Paul McGann
Eighth Doctor
1
1
27 May 1996
36
27 May 1996
36
Christopher Eccleston
Ninth Doctor
1
13
10
26 March 2005
41
18 June 2005
41
David Tennant
Tenth Doctor
3
47
36
25 December 2005
34
1 January 2010
38
Matt Smith
Eleventh Doctor
3
44
39
3 April 2010
27
25 December 2013
31
Peter Capaldi
Twelfth Doctor
3
40
35
23 August 2014
56
25 December 2017
59
Jodie Whittaker
Thirteenth Doctor
3
31
24
7 October 2018
36
23 October 2022
40
David Tennant
Fourteenth Doctor
3
3
25 November 2023
52
9 December 2023
52
Ncuti Gatwa
Fifteenth Doctor
2
18
16
25 December 2023
31
31 May 2025
32

References

  1. Such naming is often thought to be erroneous, since the character is exclusively referred to as "The Doctor" onscreen an
  2. In World Enough and Time, the Doctor states of the Master and himself "I think she was a man back then. I'm fairly sure
  3. Photos of the actors, not necessarily during the period they portrayed the character
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  6. "The Day of the Doctor". Doctor Who. 2013. BBC One.
  7. "Deep Breath". Doctor Who. 2014. BBC One.
  8. The episode takes place during the Second World War
  9. Following Hartnell's death in 1975, actor Richard Hurndall substituted in his role as the First Doctor in 1983's 20th-an
  10. The War Doctor was introduced in "The Name of the Doctor" and follows Paul McGann's "Eighth Doctor" and precedes Christo
  11. The Eleventh Doctor (played by Matt Smith) revealed himself to be the final incarnation, owing to the existence of the W
  12. Stated by Wilkin who recognises the Fourth Doctor in Shada.
  13. McGann reprised the character for the mini-episode "The Night of the Doctor", which was made available on BBC's Red Butt
  14. See Regional accents of English.
  15. Various spinoff media, including the novel World Game (2005) and the audio series Beyond War Games (2022), suggest that
  16. The regeneration required "a little push" from fellow Time Lord K'anpo Rimpoche before it could proceed.
  17. Colin Baker did not appear in the regeneration scene from Time and the Rani, as he declined to participate. Instead, Syl
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