Doctor Who is split into "Classic Who" from 1963-1989 and "New Who" from 2005-present. There have been 14 actors who have played the Doctor across these eras, with companions joining each Doctor on their adventures through time and space. The show follows the Doctor, a Time Lord who travels via the TARDIS and regularly regenerates into new incarnations when mortally wounded.
2. Doctor Who
? Doctor Who is often referred to as being split
into ¡°Classic Who¡± and ¡°New Who¡±.
? ¡°Classic Who¡± refers to Doctor Who from 23rd
November 1963 to 1989, as well as the 1996
movie with The 8th Doctor, Paul McGann.
? ¡°New Who¡± refers to Doctor Who from 26th
March 2005 ¨C present.
? There have been 14 actors who have played
The Doctor, of which 11 are in the continuity.
3. Classic Who
? The period of ¡°Classic Who¡± lasted from
Saturday 23rd November 1963 to Saturday 6th
December 1989, but includes the 1996 TV
movie.
? There were 8 Doctors within the continuity
during this time. However, 11 actors played
The Doctor.
? The 1st Doctor (also within the continuity) was
William Hartnell.
4. The 1st Doctor
? The 1st Doctor was played by William
Hartnell, whose first episode ¡°An Unearthly
Child¡± aired on Saturday 23rd November 1963.
? As William Hartnell became ill, which affected his
ability to say his lines, he decided to leave the
show. The producers of the show then came up
with the ingenious idea of the character being
able to regenerate, since he was an alien.
? William Hartnell¡¯s last story The Tenth
Planet, aired from 8th October 1966 to 29th
October 1966.
5. The 1st Doctor¡¯s Companions
? Susan Foreman - His Granddaughter (Carole
Ann Ford)
? Barbara Wright (Jacqueline Hill/ Jennie Linden
(¡°Barbara Who¡± film))
? Ian Chesterton (William Russel)
6. The 1st Doctor¡¯s Companions
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?
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Vicki Pallister (Maureen O¡¯ Brien)
Steven Taylor (Peter Purves)
Katarina (Adrienne Hills)
Polly Wright (Anneke Wills)
Ben Jackson (Michael Craze)
7. The 2nd Doctor
? Patrick Troughton was The 2nd Doctor, whose first
episode was Power Of The Daleks, aired on 5th
November 1966, a story which ran until 10th
December 1966.
? Patrick Troughton decided to leave the show, for
fear of being typecast, something which would
later become known as ¡°The Troughton rule.¡±
? His final episode, The War Games aired on 19th
April 1969.
8. The 2nd Doctor¡¯s Companions
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Polly Wright
Ben Jackson
Jamie/ James Robert McCrimmon (Frazer Hines)
Victoria Maud Waterfield (Deborah Watling)
Zoe Heriot (Wendy Padbury)
9. The 3rd Doctor
? The 3rd Doctor was played by Jon Pertwee, in his
first episode Spearhead From Space, which
premiered on 3rd January 1970.
? Jon Pertwee said he would leave to continue his
stage career in the Bedwinner, though he later
said it was due to his good friend Robert Delgado
having passed away; fear of being typecast was
also mentioned.
? His last episode called Planet Of The Spiders aired
on 8th June 1974.
10. The 3rd Doctor¡¯s Companions
? Liz Shaw (Caroline John)
? Jo Grant (Katy Manning)
? Sarah Jane Smith (Elisabeth Sladen)
11. The 4th Doctor
? As The 3rd Doctor regenerated, we said hello to
Tom Baker, who would play The 4th Doctor from
28th December 1974 in Robot ¨C Part 1.
? His last episode Logopolis ¨C Part 4, aired on 21st
March 1981.
? Baker later starred in Doctor Who - Dimensions In
Time as The Doctor, which was a Charity Special.
? Tom Baker holds the record for the actor who has
played The Doctor for the longest time (7 years).
12. The 4th Doctor¡¯s Companions
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Sarah-Jane Smith
Harry Sullivan (Ian Marter)
Leela (Louise Jameson)
Romanadvoratrelundar/ Romana I (Mary
Tamm)
? Romana II (Lalla Ward)
14. The 5th Doctor
? The 5th Doctor is Peter Davison.
? The 5th Doctor¡¯s first story was
Castrovalava, which aired from 4th January to 12th
January 1982.
? His last story was The Caves Of Androzani, which
aired from 8th March ¨C 16th March 1984.
? Peter Davison had a 3-year contract to play The
Doctor, but it is said he did not renew his contract
through fear of being typecast.
15. The 5th Doctor¡¯s Companions
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Adric
Nyssa/ Nyssa Trekan/ Nyssa of Trekan
Tegan Jovanka
Peri Brown (Nicola Bryant)
16. The 6th Doctor
? The 6th Doctor was portrayed by Colin Baker.
? The Twin Dilemma aired from 22 March to 30 March
1984. It was Colin¡¯s first story.
? His last story was The Ultimate Foe, which aired from
29 November 1986 ¨C 6 December 1986.
? Unfortunately, Baker was apparently dismissed from
the show, as the BBC management at the time wanted
to refresh the show possibly due to the BBC Controller
at the time Micheal Grade who criticised the show.
Colin was offered the first 4 episodes of the new
series, but turned them down, as he didn¡¯t want to
miss out on other work during that time.
17. The 6th Doctor¡¯s Companions
? Peri Brown
? Mel/ Melanie Bush (Bonnie Langford)
18. The 7th Doctor
? The 7th Doctor was played by Sylvester McCoy.
? Sylvester McCoy¡¯s first episode and story was
called Time And The Rani. This story aired
from 7th September 1987 ¨C 28th September
1987.
? His last story was Survival, which aired from
22nd November 1989, until the show ended on
6th December 1989, cuing its 16-year hiatus.
19. The 7th Doctor¡¯s Companions
? Mel/ Melanie Bush
? Ace (Sophie Aldred)
20. The 8th Doctor
? Paul McGann was The 8th Doctor.
? He played The Doctor in the 1996 Doctor Who
TV Movie.
? He can also be seen in Doctor Who minisode:
The Night Of The Doctor.
21. The 8th Doctor¡¯s Companions
? Grace Holloway (Daphne Ashbrook)
? Romana III
22. New Who
? ¡°New Who¡± is classified as Doctor Who from
Saturday 26th March 2005 to present.
? It started with the episode Rose.
23. The 9th Doctor
? In the 2005 Doctor Who relaunch, Christopher
Eccleston was The Doctor.
? His first episode was Rose, featuring the
Autons on 26th March 2005.
? After only 1 series, Christopher Eccleston left
the show in The Parting Of The Ways on 18
June 2005.
24. The 9th Doctor¡¯s Companion
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Rose Marion Tyler (Billie Piper)
Mickey Smith (Noel Clarke)
Adam (Bruno Langley)
Captain Jack Harkness (John Barrowman)
25. The 10th Doctor
? Christopher Eccleston¡¯s successor was David
Tennant who played The Doctor for 5 years.
? David¡¯s first full episode was The Christmas
Invasion and his last was The End Of Time Part
2
? Tennant is said to have left, as he wanted to
leave on a high.
26. The 10th Doctor¡¯s Companions
? Rose Marion Tyler
? Mickey Smith
? Martha Jones/ Martha Jones-Smith (Freema
Agyeman)
? Donna Noble (Catherine Tate)
? Sarah Jane Smith
? Captain Jack Harkness
? Wilfred Mott (Bernard Cribbins)
27. The 11th Doctor
? Matt Smith now plays The 11th Doctor and has
been since his May 2010 episode The 11th Hour.
? His latest episode was The Angels Take
Manhattan.
? Matt on leaving the show ¡°When you gotta
go, you gotta go.¡± Another possible reason for his
departure is that he would like to direct. He will
return this Christmas, alongside his newest
companion played by actress Jenna Coleman in
his final episode before he regenerates into...
29. The 11th Doctor¡¯s Companions
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Amelia Pond/ Amy Pond/ Amy Williams (Karen Gillan)
Young Amelia Pond (Caitlin Blackwood)
Rory Williams/ The Last Centurion (Arthur Darvill)
Mels (Nina Toussaint-White)
River Song (Alex Kingston)
Canton Everett Delaware III (Mark Sheppard)
Brian Williams (Mark Williams)
Sarah Jane Smith
Jo Grant
31. Peter Cushing
Peter Cushing played The
Doctor in various Doctor
Who movies, such as Dr.
Who And The Daleks.
However, while still
entertaining, these films
are classed outside the
continuity¡ perhaps due
to the fact that The
Doctor is referred to as
¡°Doctor Who¡± in these
movies?
32. Richard E. Grant
Richard E Grant was
The 9th Doctor in
animated series
Screams Of The
Shalka and The Tenth
Doctor in The Curse
Of Fatal Death.
33. Richard Hurndall
Richard Hurndall
played The 1st Doctor
in The Five Doctors,
as a replacement to
the original 1st Doctor
William Hartnell who
had passed away
prior to this date.
34. The 1st Master
The 1st Master was
played by Robert
Delgado from 1971 to
1973.
37. The 4th Master
The 4th Master was
played by Eric Roberts
in 1996 in the Doctor
Who TV Movie.
38. The 5th Master
The 5th Master was
played by Derek Jacobi
in 2007 in the Doctor
Who: Series 3: Utopia.
39. The 6th Master
The 6th Master was
played by John Simm in
Doctor Who: Series 3
from Utopia to The Last
Of The Time Lords, as
well as The End Of Time
Part 1 and The End Of
Time Part 2.
40. The Valeyard
The Valeyard is described
as an incarnation of The
Doctor between his 12th
and final incarnations
with all the dark
attributes of The Doctor.
In Doctor Who: Trial Of A
Timelord, he was played
by Michael Jayston.