The History Of The Doctors

David Tennant as the 10th Doctor

First Appearance: The Parting of the Ways
Last Appearance: The End of Time Part Two
Time As Doctor: 18 June 2005 – 1 January 2010

 

Tennant's was actually put forward as a candidate for the role of the Ninth Doctor in 2004, although the role went to Christopher Eccleston. With Eccleston's announcement on 31 March 2005 that he would not be returning for a second series, the BBC confirmed Tennant as his replacement in a press release on 16 April 2005. He made his first, brief appearance as the Tenth Doctor in the episode "The Parting of the Ways" (2005) at the end of the regeneration scene, and also appeared in a special 7-minute mini-episode shown as part of the 2005 Children in Need appeal, broadcast on 18 November 2005. He began filming the new series of Doctor Who in late July 2005. His first full-length outing as the Doctor was a sixty-minute special, "The Christmas Invasion", first broadcast on Christmas Day 2005.

 

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Christopher Eccleston as the 9th Doctor

First Appearance: Rose
Last Appearance: The Parting Of The Ways
Time As Doctor: 26 March – 18 June 2005

 

On 20 March 2004, it was announced that Eccleston was to play the ninth incarnation of the Doctor in the revival of the legendary BBC science fiction television series Doctor Who, which began transmission on 26 March 2005. He was considered by many fans to be well suited to the role and praised for his ability to switch seamlessly between being humorous and playful to deadly serious. On 30 March 2005, the BBC released a statement, ostensibly from Eccleston, saying that he had decided to leave the role after just one series, because he feared becoming typecast. On 4 April, the BBC revealed that Eccleston's "statement" was falsely attributed and released without his consent. The BBC admitted that they had broken an agreement made in January not to disclose publicly that he only intended to do one series. The statement had been made after journalists made queries to the press office.

 

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Paul McGann as the 8th Doctor

First Appearance: Doctor Who
Last Appearance: Doctor Who
Time As Doctor: 27 May 1996

 

Paul McGann played the eighth incarnation of the Doctor in the Doctor Who 1996 television movie. The television movie also starred Eric Roberts, Daphne Ashbrook, and the outgoing Seventh Doctor, Sylvester McCoy. McGann's brother, Mark McGann, also auditioned for the title role. The Doctor Who television movie was a joint venture between the BBC, Universal Studios and the Fox Broadcasting Network. McGann had signed a contract to appear as the Eighth Doctor in a new Doctor Who series, if Fox or Universal exercised their option. Thus, the television movie was supposed to be a "back door pilot" in that, if it obtained respectable ratings, the new series would continue to be produced. The movie aired on 14 May 1996 in the US and on 27 May 1996 in the UK. Although it earned 9.08 million viewers and was very successful in the UK, ratings were very low in the United States. As a consequence, Fox did not exercise its option to pick up the series and Universal could not find another network who was interested in airing a new Doctor Who series. Thus no new series was produced until 2005, after all the contractual rights had returned to the BBC, and the movie became McGann's only televised appearance as the Eighth Doctor.

 

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Sylvester McCoy as the 7th Doctor

First Appearance: Time and the Rani Part One
Last Appearance: Doctor Who
Time As Doctor: 7 September 1987 – 6 December 1989 - 27 May 1996

 

He took over the lead role in Doctor Who in 1987 from previous incarnation Colin Baker, and so becoming the Seventh Doctor. He remained on the series until it was shelved in 1989 (see List of Doctor Who serials). As Colin Baker declined the invitation to film the regeneration scene, he briefly wore a wig and was the 6th Doctor in the regeneration scene. He played the Doctor in the 1993 charity special Dimensions in Time, and again in 1996, appearing in a cameo at the beginning of the Doctor Who television movie where he handed the role over to Paul McGann. In his first series, McCoy, a comedy actor, portrayed the character with a degree of clown-like humour, but script editor Andrew Cartmel soon changed that when fans argued that the character (and plots) were becoming increasingly lightweight. The Seventh Doctor developed into a much darker figure than any of his earlier incarnations, manipulating people like chess pieces and always seeming to be playing a deeper game. McCoy generally approved of this, as it allowed him to play more of a dramatic role.

 

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Colin Baker as the 6th Doctor

First Appearance: The Caves of Androzani Part Four
Last Appearance: The Ultimate Foe Part Two
Time As Doctor: 16 March 1984 – 6 December 1986

 

Baker made his first appearance in Doctor Who as Commander Maxil in the story Arc of Infinity (1983). Producer John Nathan-Turner described Baker's performance as being "quite arch" and a little sassy. Despite this, Baker's character became one of the few characters actually to shoot the Doctor, then played by Peter Davison. At the time of Baker’s casting as Davison's successor, he became the only "Doctor" actor to have appeared in the television series as another character prior to taking on the leading role. When Baker was cast to replace Davison, many fans cited that shooting scene in Arc of Infinity, prompting Baker to say jokingly that he got the part of the Doctor by killing the incumbent. Colin is no relation to Tom Baker, who played the Fourth Doctor in Doctor Who for seven years.

 

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Peter Davison as the 5th Doctor

First Appearance: Logopolis
Last Appearance: The Caves of Androzani
Time As Doctor: 21 March 1981 – 16 March 1984

 

In 1981, Davison signed a contract to play the Doctor for three years, succeeding Tom Baker (the Fourth Doctor) and, at age 29, is the second youngest actor to have played the lead role. Attracting such a high-profile actor as Davison was as much of a coup for the programme's producers as getting the role was for him, but he did not renew his contract because he feared being typecast. Reportedly, Patrick Troughton (who had played the Second Doctor and whom Davison had watched on the programme as a teenager) had recommended to Davison that he leave the role after three years, and Davison followed his advice. The Fifth Doctor encountered many of the Doctor's best-known adversaries, including the Daleks (in Resurrection of the Daleks) and the Cybermen (in both Earthshock and The Five Doctors). However, Peter Davison has since stated that he also felt too young for the role, and if given the chance at the role now he would have made a better Doctor.

 

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Tom Baker as the 4th Doctor

First Appearance: Planet of the Spiders
Last Appearance: Logopolis
Time As Doctor: 8 June 1974 – 21 March 1981

 

In 1974, Baker took on the role of the Doctor from Jon Pertwee. He was recommended to producer Barry Letts by the BBC's Head of Serials, Bill Slater, who had directed Baker in Play of the Month. Impressed by Baker on meeting him, Letts was convinced he was right for the part after seeing his performance in The Golden Voyage of Sinbad. Baker was working on a construction site at the time, as acting jobs were scarce. Initially he was dubbed "Boiler Suit Tom" by the media, as he had been supplied for a press conference with some old studio set clothes to replace his modest garments. He quickly made the part his own. As the Doctor, his eccentric style of dress and speech—particularly his trademark long scarf and fondness for jelly babies—made him an immediately recognisable figure, and he quickly caught the viewing public's imagination. Baker played the Doctor for seven consecutive seasons over a seven-year period, making him the longest-serving actor in the part on-screen. Baker himself suggested many aspects of the Fourth Doctor's personality. The distinctive scarf came about by accident: James Acheson, the costume designer, had provided far more wool than was necessary to the knitter, Begonia Pope, and Ms. Pope knitted all the wool she was given; it was Baker who suggested that he wear the resulting—ridiculously over-long—scarf.

 

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Jon Pertwee as the 3rd Doctor

First Appearance: Spearhead from Space
Last Appearance: Planet of the Spiders
Time As Doctor: 3 January 1970 – 8 June 1974

 

In 1969, Pertwee was selected by producer Peter Bryant to take over as the Doctor from Patrick Troughton in the television series Doctor Who. Pertwee had already applied for the role and was surprised to find he had been shortlisted for it. Prior to becoming The Doctor, Pertwee had relatively little interest in the programme[citation needed]. In a departure from the Doctor's first two incarnations, Pertwee played the character as an active crusader with a penchant for action and fancy clothes, even while the character was exiled on Earth and serving with UNIT. He played the Doctor for five seasons from 1970 to 1974, at the time the longest stint of any of the actors who played the part, surpassing predecessors William Hartnell and Patrick Troughton's three years each in the role, although due to shortened broadcast seasons, he appeared in fewer episodes than Hartnell. Of the eleven actors to portray the role, only his immediate successor, Tom Baker, would play the Doctor for longer (seven years from 1974–1981). In early 1974, Pertwee announced he would step down as the Doctor in order to resume his stage career in The Bedwinner, also citing typecasting in the role as the reason for leaving. His last fulltime appearance in the series was in the story "Planet of the Spiders"' in June 1974. Pertwee later reprised the role in the 20th anniversay story The Five Doctors, in two radio adventures and on stage in The Ultimate Adventure. On 14 April 1971, Pertwee was the subject of Thames Television's This Is Your Life which featured the first television appearance of his son Sean Pertwee, who went on to become an actor.

 

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Patrick Troughton as the 2nd Doctor

First Appearance: The Tenth Planet
Last Appearance: The War Games
Time As Doctor: 29 October 1966 – 21 June 1969

 

In 1966, Doctor Who producer Innes Lloyd decided to replace William Hartnell in the series' lead role. The continued survival of the show depended on audiences accepting another actor in the role, especially given the bold decision that the replacement would not be a Hartnell lookalike or soundalike. Lloyd later stated that Hartnell had approved of the choice, saying, "There's only one man in England who can take over, and that's Patrick Troughton" (Howe, Stammers and Walker, 68). Lloyd chose Troughton because of his extensive and versatile experience as a character actor. After he was cast, Troughton considered various ways to approach the role, to differentiate his portrayal from Hartnell's amiable-yet-tetchy patriarch. Troughton's early thoughts about how he might play the Doctor included a "tough sea captain" and a piratical figure in blackface and a turban. Doctor Who creator Sydney Newman suggested that the Doctor could be a "cosmic hobo" in the mould of Charlie Chaplin, and this was the interpretation eventually chosen (Howe, Stammers and Walker, 68–69). Troughton was the first Doctor to have his face appear in the opening titles & one of only two "Doctor Who" actors to play two roles in the same story when he appeared as Salamander in "The Enemy Of The World".

 

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William Hartnell as the 1st Doctor

First Appearance: An Unearthly Child
Last Appearance: The Tenth Planet
Time As Doctor: 23 November 1963 – 29 October 1966

 

Hartnell's performance in This Sporting Life was noted by Verity Lambert, the producer who was setting up a new science-fiction television series for the BBC, Doctor Who. Lambert offered him the title role. Although Hartnell was initially uncertain, Lambert and director Waris Hussein convinced him to take the part and it became the character for which he gained the highest profile and is now most remembered. Hartnell later revealed he took the role as it led him away from the gruff, military roles in which he was becoming increasingly typecast, and came to particularly relish the attention and affection that playing the character had brought him from children. Doctor Who earned Hartnell a regular salary of £315 per episode by 1966 (equivalent to £4,050.90 in modern terms). In comparison, his co-stars Anneke Wills and Michael Craze earned £68 and £52 per episode at the same time. Throughout his tenure as the Doctor, William Hartnell wore a wig and very few photographs exist of him dressed as the Doctor without the wig.

 

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