Actor (role) |
Tenure |
First regular appearance |
Last regular appearance
|
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]
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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)
- Television: The Three Doctors – 30 December 1972 – 20 January 1973 (last appearance in-character)[4]
|
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]
|
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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
|
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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
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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
- Television: Disney Time – 25 August 1975
- LP: The Pescatons – July 1976
- Radio: Exploration Earth, Episode 3: "The Time Machine" – 4 October 1976
- Stage: Blackpool Exhibition video skit – 1976
- Television: Christmas sketch – December 1978
- Television commercial: Doctor Who Season 17 Trailer – August 1979[10]
- LP: Genesis of the Daleks – October 1979 (audio version of serial with new narration performed in-character)
- Television commercials: Keep Australia Beautiful – 1979
- Television commercials: Prime Computers – 1979–1980
- Television: Shada – July 1992
- Cassette: The Evil of the Daleks – 6 July 1992 (audio version of serial with new narration performed in-character)
- Cassette: The Power of the Daleks – 2 August 1993 (audio version of serial with new narration performed in-character)
- Cassette: Fury from the Deep – 4 October 1993 (audio version of serial with new narration performed in-character)[11]
- Television: Dimensions in Time – 26–27 November 1993
- Television commercials: New Zealand Superannuation Services – 10 February 1997
- Computer game: Destiny of the Doctors – 5 December 1997
- Television: Doctor Who Night – 13 November 1999 (in character as a Doctor, after Paul McGann)
- Audio: Hornet's Nest – 3 September 2009 – 3 December 2009
- Audio: Demon Quest – 2 September 2010 – 2 December 2010
- Audio: Serpent Crest – 8 September 2011 – 8 December 2011
- Audio: Big Finish Productions – 9 January 2012 onwards (first story Destination Nerva)
- Television: Shada – 24 November 2017
- Immersive experience: Time Fracture - 26 May 2021 (pre-recorded audio)
|
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
|
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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
|
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Colin Baker previously appeared on Doctor Who playing a different character in the Fifth Doctor story Arc of Infinity.[16]
|
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]
|
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Sylvester McCoy also briefly played the Sixth Doctor in Time and the Rani, during the regeneration scene, wearing a curly blond wig.[17][18]
|
Paul McGann (Eighth Doctor) |
27 May 1996 |
Doctor Who (TV movie)
|
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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"
|
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Other Ninth Doctor appearances
- Television commercial: Doctor Who (series 1) "A trip of a lifetime" – 15 March 2005[20]
- Video: "Dr. Who Proposal" – 21 April 2014[21]
- Video: "Video message from Christopher Eccleston to #drwhodaniel" – 14 December 2015[22]
- Video: "Christopher Eccleston reprises Doctor Who role to wish Blaine & Liam well on their wedding day." – 9 September 2018[23]
- Audio: Big Finish Productions – May 2021 onwards (first story Ravagers)
|
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
|
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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"
|
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Peter Capaldi (Twelfth Doctor) |
25 December 2013 – 25 December 2017 (4 years) |
"Deep Breath" |
"Twice Upon a Time"
|
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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.
|
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"
|
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Other Thirteenth Doctor appearances
- Escape room: Worlds Collide – 16 January 2019
- Video game: The Runaway – 16 May 2019
- Video game: The Edge of Time – 12 November 2019
- Escape room: A Dalek Awakens – 9 March 2020
- Web: Message from the Doctor – 25 March 2020
- Web: United we stand, 2m apart – 8 April 2020
- Video game: The Lonely Assassins – 19 March 2021
- Immersive experience: Time Fracture – 26 May 2021 (pre-recorded video)
- Video game: The Edge of Reality – 14 October 2021
- Podcast: Redacted – 17 April 2022 – 19 June 2022
|
David Tennant (Fourteenth Doctor)
|
23 October 2022 – 9 December 2023 (1 year, 1 month, 2 weeks and 2 days)
|
"The Star Beast"[35]
|
"The Giggle"[36]
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Ncuti Gatwa (Fifteenth Doctor)
|
9 December 2023 – present (6 months, 2 weeks and 3 days)
|
"The Church on Ruby Road"[36]
|
Incumbent
|
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Other Fifteenth Doctor appearances
- Television: An Adventure in Space and Time (cameo) – 23 November 2023[33]
- Television: Match of the Who – 4 May 2024
- Television commercials: BBC One ident – 6 May 2024
- Television commercials: Countdown to Doctor Who series 14 – 8–10 May 2024
- Television: Tales of the TARDIS: Pyramids of Mars – 20 June 2024
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