The Doctor 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.
161-614: 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 . Within the series' narrative, the Doctor is a millennia-old alien Time Lord from the planet Gallifrey , with somewhat unknown origins, who travels in time and space in their TARDIS , frequently with companions. Usually, at
322-495: A kilt and vest when dancing in a nightclub . Downe said this was a "chance to see how far we could go and it works because he can really wear it." The leather coat worn by the Doctor in both the special and first episode " Space Babies " was inspired by "seventies America" mixed with "UK-based eighties ska ", with the trousers inspired by Gurkha trousers. The photoshoot for Coggan's interview also revealed two costumes from series 15 , described as "an elaborate tartan jacket with
483-574: A scientist or an engineer . However, he does occasionally show medical knowledge and has stated on separate occasions that he studied under Joseph Lister and Joseph Bell . In The Moonbase (1967), the Second Doctor mentions that he studied for a medical degree in Glasgow during the 19th century. The Fourth Doctor was awarded an honorary degree from St. Cedd's College, Cambridge, in 1960. He has been mocked by his fellow Time Lords for adhering to such
644-598: A "doctor of time travel". The revived programme establishes that Time Lords invent their own names. In " The Sound of Drums " (2007), the Tenth Doctor remarks to the Master that they both chose their names, with the Master calling him sanctimonious for identifying himself as "the man who makes people better". The Eleventh Doctor , in " The Name of the Doctor ", elaborates that the name is a promise to be: "Never cruel or cowardly. Never giving up and never giving in." This statement
805-611: A "lowly" title as "Doctor", although in The Armageddon Factor (1979), Drax congratulates him on achieving his doctorate, indicating it was at least a somewhat respectable title. In " The Girl in the Fireplace " (2006), he draws an analogy between the title and Madame de Pompadour 's. In The Mutants (1972), an official asks the Third Doctor if he is, in fact, a doctor, to which the Doctor replies "I am, yes"; when asked what he
966-500: A "suit skirt"; though Downe thought they would have to "wait a bit of time" before introducing that, as it's "such a big jump from former Doctors." Gatwa likened the Doctor to Captain Britain , and wanted "to travel through all the subcultures of Britain" through the Doctor's fashion. Davies said he was familiar with cosplay and wanted cosplayers to have "a great big swimming pool" of costumes to replicate. He also wanted to "put it back into
1127-665: A "time splinter" of future companion Clara Oswald using the name Oswin wipes all knowledge of the Doctor from the Daleks' collective memory. This knowledge is regained when the Daleks conquer the Church of the Silence in " The Time of the Doctor " (2013). The Doctor is not present on Solomon's database in " Dinosaurs on a Spaceship " and holds a conversation about his newfound anonymity in " The Angels Take Manhattan " with River Song. In " Nightmare in Silver ",
1288-471: A PhD in cheesemaking (" The God Complex "). In the first episode, the Doctor's granddaughter Susan goes by the surname "Foreman", and the junkyard in which Barbara and Ian find him bears the sign "I.M. Foreman". When addressed by Ian with this name, the Doctor responds, "Eh? Doctor who? What's he talking about?" Ian realises that "Foreman" is not the Doctor's name, when Barbara addresses the Doctor as "Doctor Foreman"; Ian asks Barbara, "That's not his name. Who
1449-650: A Time ", it is revealed that the Doctor also left to investigate the mystery of why good prevails in a universe where evil would seem to have so many advantages. It would be after his encounter with the Twelfth Doctor that the First Doctor realised that his actions made the difference in the balance between good and evil, with the Twelfth Doctor stating "The universe generally fails to be a fairy tale, but that's where we come in." In other media, more has been revealed of
1610-529: A Time Lord lady named Patience who was the widow of Omega , one of the founding-fathers of Gallifreyan society who fell into an anti-matter universe. Patience later met and married the Doctor and together they had thirteen children. Once their first-born son announced the arrival of a baby, the family was targeted by the Lord President, as the child was to be conceived naturally and only the Loom-born could inherit
1771-556: A brother in " Smith and Jones ", and sisters in " Arachnids in the UK ". In " It Takes You Away ", the Thirteenth Doctor claims that she had seven grandmothers. Later in the same scene, she mentions that her favourite grandmother, Granny 5, alleged Granny 2 was "a secret agent for the Zygons ". Throughout the revival, the Doctor routinely attempts to change the topic when questioned about being
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#17328441066581932-435: A costume designer who had previously worked on the 60th anniversary specials , was tasked with designing the Doctor's extensive wardrobe. Downe first drew up numerous mood boards containing different ideas for the costumes, and presented them to Gatwa and the production team; the boards included "all kinds of gender-pushing, societal-pushing outfits". One of them was an image of a "well-known American football player " wearing
2093-519: A data bridge between new viewers and old." Conversely, some reviewers were critical of the Fifteenth Doctor's characterisation, or the scripts of Gatwa's tenure. The Doctor 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 has portrayed
2254-431: A demon in the 13th century, the residents of a convent called the Doctor the "sainted physician". This was proposed by Moffat on Usenet 16 years before "A Good Man Goes to War": Here's a particularly stupid theory. If we take "The Doctor" to be the Doctor's name — even if it is in the form of a title no doubt meaning something deep and Gallifreyan — perhaps our earthly use of the word "doctor" meaning healer or wise man
2415-588: A dissident Time Lady, who opposed the Time Lord High Council's plan to escape the Time War. When she reveals her face to the Doctor, his reaction indicates that he recognises her. Julie Gardner, in the episode's commentary, states that while some have speculated that the Time Lady is the Doctor's mother, neither she nor Russell T. Davies is willing to comment on her identity. When later asked by Wilfred who she was,
2576-634: A duplicate version of the TARDIS to embark on new adventures. The Fourteenth Doctor appeared in Comic Relief 's Red Nose Day special for 2023, in which host Lenny Henry regenerates into him as the Fourteenth Doctor rushes off to host the show. A costume based on the Fourteenth Doctor's was also added to the video game Fall Guys as part of a promotion for the 60th anniversary specials. Tennant, Tate, and showrunner Russell T Davies participated in
2737-459: A fixed number of twelve regenerations, meaning that every Time Lord had a total of thirteen incarnations including the original. The plot of " The Time of the Doctor " involves the Doctor receiving a new cycle of regenerations from the Time Lords before his expected demise, triggering the regeneration into the Twelfth Doctor , played by Peter Capaldi . The origins of the programme were explored in
2898-518: A form portrayed by David Tennant. The BBC later clarified that Gatwa would portray the Fifteenth Doctor , following on from three special episodes in which David Tennant would play the Fourteenth Doctor. The Fourteenth Doctor's run consisted of three special episodes as part of the BBC's commemoration of Doctor Who ' s 60th anniversary, led by returning executive producer Russell T Davies . Tennant
3059-563: A former classmate of his named Drax. Drax calls the Doctor "Theta Sigma", or "Thete" for short, an alias which is clarified as being the Doctor's nickname at the Prydon Academy on Gallifrey in The Happiness Patrol and is mentioned again in the 2010 episode " The Pandorica Opens ". In the 2015 episode " The Zygon Inversion ", The Doctor tells Osgood that his first name is "Basil". Doctor Who spin-off media have suggested that
3220-406: A glance into the eyes to put the subject under a trance. The Doctor can read an entire book cover to cover in a second by thumb-flipping the pages before his eyes ( City of Death , " Rose ", " The Time of Angels "). Though medical skills he shows early in the programme are rudimentary, by Remembrance of the Daleks he can perform sophisticated medical diagnoses merely by touching someone's ear. He
3381-461: A joke. Due to the retroactive creation of a numberless War Doctor and the Tenth Doctor's aborted regeneration in " The Stolen Earth "/" Journey's End ", the Eleventh Doctor was the final incarnation in his natural cycle. The Time Lords used a crack in the universe to give him a new cycle consisting of an unknown number of regenerations in " The Time of the Doctor ", triggering the regeneration into
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#17328441066583542-633: A kilt and a stunning all-white look". Downe also incorporated references to previous Doctors in Gatwa's costumes; Louise Griffin of Radio Times noted that Gatwa's costume for "Rogue" includes a burgundy velvet jacket reminiscent of the Third Doctor 's ( Jon Pertwee ) costumes. Gatwa expressed an affinity for the style of Pertwee's Doctor, jokingly claiming that "our Doctors are the only two who dress like sluts". Writing in British Vogue , Radhika Seth described
3703-511: A last resort. According to the alien villain Chedaki in the episode The Android Invasion , "his entire history is one of opposition to conquest". As a time traveller, the Doctor has been present at, or directly involved in, countless major historical events on the planet Earth and elsewhere – sometimes more than once. In the 2005 series premiere, " Rose ", it is revealed that the Ninth Doctor
3864-513: A mockery of feminine traits and drag culture by having Tennant appearing in clothing designed for Whittaker. Tennant and Tate appeared as the Fourteenth Doctor and Donna Noble in three specials to commemorate the programme's 60th anniversary in November 2023. Following the specials and the character's in-universe "bi-generation" into the Fifteenth Doctor, Davies stated that there were no further plans to bring Tennant's Fourteenth Doctor back and that
4025-444: A more sentimental and affectionate persona, and a weariness that reflects his life experiences in the centuries since. Prior to the reveal of David Tennant's Fourteenth Doctor, the BBC had announced that the Thirteenth Doctor , portrayed by Jodie Whittaker , would be succeeded as the programme's lead by a new Doctor portrayed by Ncuti Gatwa . However, Whittaker's final appearance surprised audiences when she instead regenerated into
4186-496: A new body. It is stated in The Deadly Assassin that Time Lords can only regenerate a total of twelve times, giving a theoretical final total of thirteen incarnations. However, The Doctor has a natural ability to regenerate an infinite number of times. It is possible to exceed this limit: in "The Five Doctors" the Time Lords offer the Master, who is inhabiting a Trakenite body after exhausting his original twelve regenerations,
4347-480: A new direction for the series. Cartmel wished to restore the character's "awe, mystery and strength" and make him "once again more than a mere chump of a Time Lord" – an idea the media dubbed the " Cartmel Masterplan ". Under Cartmel, the show foreshadowed this concept; however, its 1989 cancellation meant that it was never realised onscreen. The proposed backstory was fully explored in Platt's 1997 novel Lungbarrow , where
4508-481: A new regeneration cycle as a reward for his help and cooperation, and at some point, during the Time War they resurrected him, with his new body having at least one regeneration of its own. Regeneration is apparently optional, as in " Last of the Time Lords " the Master refuses to regenerate despite the Tenth Doctor's pleading. In addition, there are ways of killing a Time Lord that do not permit regeneration; for example, more than once it has been implied that stopping both
4669-408: A parent or his family life, as in " Fear Her ", " The Beast Below " and " A Good Man Goes to War ". In " The Empty Child ", a hospital doctor named Dr. Constantine says to him, "Before this war began, I was a father and a grandfather. Now I'm neither. But I'm still a doctor." The Ninth Doctor 's reply is, "Yeah. I know the feeling." In " The Doctor's Daughter ", when discussing the topic of parenthood,
4830-457: A repair shop on Gallifrey. In later episodes, the Doctor mentions that he once took a driving test to pilot a TARDIS and failed, and that he threw the instruction manual in a supernova because he disagreed with it. In " The Doctor's Wife ", Idris (the TARDIS's living soul in a human body) mentions that the Doctor had been travelling with her for 700 years, which indicates that he would have been 200 years old when he first borrowed her. In " Twice Upon
4991-527: A spy named Vansell, Millennia, Rallon and Jelpax. With this group, he learns about the Celestial Toymaker and travels to his realm in a type 18 TARDIS with Deca members Rallon and Millennia, who are killed. This leads to the Doctor's expulsion from the academy, condemned to five hundred years in Records and Traffic Control. In The Quantum Archangel , it is revealed the Doctor studied cosmic science alongside
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5152-541: A strange old man and hear Susan's voice coming from inside what appears to be a police box. Pushing their way inside, the two find that the exterior is camouflage for the dimensionally transcendental interior of the TARDIS . The old man, whom Susan calls "Grandfather", kidnaps Barbara and Ian to prevent them from telling anyone about the existence of the TARDIS, taking them on an adventure in time and space. The first Doctor, says cultural scholar John Paul Green, "explicitly positioned
5313-484: A super-human level of stamina and the ability to absorb, withstand and expel large amounts of certain types of radiation (the Tenth Doctor stated they used to play with Röntgen bricks in the nursery, after absorbing the radiation from an x-ray of significantly magnified power). This ability would seem to have limitations which have yet to be fully explained, as the Doctor is harmed by radiation in The Daleks , Planet of
5474-410: Is an excellent cricket player ( Black Orchid ) and in " The Lodger " he proves to be a prodigiously talented footballer despite unfamiliarity with some of the game's basic rules. Though reluctant to engage in combat against living opponents, this is not for lack of skill; the Doctor is conversant with both real and fictitious styles of unarmed combat (most obviously the "Venusian Aikido" practised by
5635-517: Is attempting to let go of much of his recent emotional trauma, with a more emotionally balanced, liberated, fun-loving, and affectionate outward persona. In contrast to previous Doctors, the Fifteenth Doctor's stories include a greater focus on fantasy elements, intended by showrunner Russell T Davies to "increase the danger" and have a "bigger, wider sense of imagination". His first episode as lead actor aired on 25 December 2023, and his first full series premiered on 11 May 2024. Before Gatwa's casting
5796-404: Is direct result of the Doctor's multiple interventions in our history as a healer and wise man. In other words, we got it from him. This is a very silly idea and I'm consequently rather proud of it. The anonymity of the Doctor is the theme of series 7 of the revived programme. After faking his death, the Doctor erases himself from the various databases of the universe. In " Asylum of the Daleks ",
5957-634: Is disintegrated and later woven into the Doctor. The Timeless Child reveal partly took inspiration from this. The Doctor's adoptive mother Tecteun was a native to Gallifrey and an explorer of the Shobogans. She adopted the Doctor when she was the timeless child. She led the Division ;after the destruction of Gallifrey by the Spy Master. She was involved in the creation of the Flux ;and
6118-523: Is endangered, frequently conjuring the heavy snow from the day she was abandoned at the church of Ruby Road as baby. Late in the season, the Doctor begins a romance with a time and space travelling male bounty hunter known as Rogue ( Jonathan Groff ) in the episode of the same name . Over the course of the season, the Doctor and Ruby repeatedly encounter the same woman's likeness (played by Susan Twist ) across time and space, which they first begin to notice in " Dot and Bubble ". In " The Legend of Ruby Sunday ",
6279-444: Is he? Doctor who?" In an ultimately unused idea from documents written at the programme's inception, Barbara and Ian would have subsequently referred to the Doctor as "Doctor Who", given their not knowing his name. Throughout both the classic and revived programme, a running joke is that when the Doctor is introduced as just the Doctor, characters reply "Doctor who?" Another variation is "Doctor what?" The story arc running throughout
6440-502: Is known of the Doctor: not even his name, the actual form of which remains a mystery. In the first serial, An Unearthly Child , two teachers from Coal Hill School in London, Barbara Wright and Ian Chesterton , become intrigued by one of their pupils, Susan Foreman , who exhibits high intelligence and unusually advanced knowledge. Trailing her to a junkyard at 76 Totter's Lane, they encounter
6601-515: Is no longer [the Virgin Queen]...". The joke continues in " The Beast Below ", featuring future British monarch Queen Elizabeth X or Liz Ten, and the marriage is finally shown in "The Day of the Doctor" during an adventure with Zygons . In the 2010 Christmas special, " A Christmas Carol ", the Eleventh Doctor accidentally marries Marilyn Monroe but later questions the authenticity of the chapel in which they were married. Steven Moffat did not consider
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6762-435: Is only honorary; the Tenth Doctor, however, considers the name to be his legitimate academic rank in " The Waters of Mars " (2009), describing his "name, rank and intention" as "The Doctor; doctor; fun." In an interview with The Age in 2003, Tom Baker mentioned that the Doctor is called so because he is "a doctor of time and relative dimension in space". Apart from being called a doctor of the TARDIS, he has been described as
6923-536: Is qualified in, the Doctor replies, "Practically everything." The Fourth Doctor states that his companion, Harry Sullivan , is a doctor of medicine, while he is "a doctor of many things" ( Revenge of the Cybermen , 1975). The Fifth Doctor claims to be a doctor "of everything" in Four to Doomsday (1982), and a message to the same effect is related from the Tenth Doctor in " Utopia " (2007). In " The Tsuranga Conundrum " (2018),
7084-607: Is repeated in the next episode, " The Day of the Doctor ", by the War Doctor , the Tenth Doctor and the Eleventh Doctor collectively. By contrast, the Eleventh Doctor had earlier spoke of the War Doctor as being the man who broke that promise, being the one to fight in the Time War before learning the actual fate of the Time Lords. Since contradicted by the television series, the 2003 Telos novella Frayed by Tara Samms , set prior to
7245-499: Is used in the title of the serial Doctor Who and the Silurians , but this was a captioning error rather than an in-story mention. The only other time this occurs is in the title of episode five of The Chase , which is titled "The Death of Doctor Who". In " World Enough and Time " (2017), the Doctor's old friend and archenemy the Master (as Missy ) insists that the Doctor's real name is in fact Doctor Who and that he chose it himself;
7406-521: The Fourteenth Doctor , with Olly Alexander , Lydia West , Omari Douglas , T'Nia Miller and Fisayo Akinade ranking highly in bookies' odds. Rumours also circulated that David Tennant would reprise his role, having previously portrayed the Tenth Doctor during Davies' time as showrunner, or that Jo Martin , who debuted as the Fugitive Doctor during Whittaker's tenure, would be revealed as
7567-528: The London Evening Standard additionally praised the return of Tennant's Doctor, noting that it helped draw back fans of the series from Tennant's initial time on the show while being able to become its own separate identity from the Tenth Doctor. Constance Grady, writing for Vox , criticised the character's bi-generation, which allowed the Fourteenth Doctor to live on in-universe. She criticised it for apparent bias towards Tennant's incarnation of
7728-492: The 2022 British Academy Television Awards , Gatwa stated that David Tennant , who portrayed the Tenth Doctor , and Jodie Whittaker, who played the Thirteenth Doctor , both called him to express their support. Following the broadcast of " The Church on Ruby Road ", Martin Belam of The Guardian said Gatwa "totally owned the episode". Jordan King of Empire Magazine described his performance as "a breath of fresh air" and said he
7889-517: The Eighth Doctor remarks that he is half-human on his mother's side, and recalls watching a meteor storm with his father on Gallifrey. The revived series never addresses a human mother again and at times even contradicted this remark: The half-human clone of the Tenth Doctor is initially disgusted to be half-human ("Journey's End") and the Twelfth Doctor rejects that he could be a hybrid of human and Time Lord ("Hell Bent"). The Doctor mentions having had
8050-603: The Eighth Doctor Adventures novel The Adventuress of Henrietta Street , the Doctor's second heart was surgically removed, resulting in the loss of his abilities to metabolise drugs and go without air; these are restored when he begins to grow a new heart after his old one 'dies' ( Camera Obscura ). In his final serial , the Second Doctor states that Time Lords can live forever, "barring accidents". When "accidents" do occur, Time Lords can usually regenerate into
8211-405: The Fifteenth Doctor since " The Giggle " (2023). Within the fictional narrative, the Doctor is a Time Lord who travels through time and space in a dimensionally transcendental – "bigger on the inside" – time machine : the TARDIS . This time machine, whose name is an acronym for Time And Relative Dimension(s) In Space , takes the exterior form of a 1963 police telephone call box and retains
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#17328441066588372-605: The Second Doctor , returning for one series before regenerating into a female incarnation. Tom Baker , who played the Fourth Doctor , had returned in the 2013 special " The Day of the Doctor " as a character known as the Curator, suggested to be a possible incarnation of the Doctor. Davies stated in an interview that despite the Tenth and Fourteenth Doctors' similarities, the Fourteenth
8533-514: The Seventh Doctor , tweeted his pleasure over another Scottish actor taking the reins of the Doctor. At the 2022 Paris Fan Festival, Matt Smith , who portrayed the Eleventh Doctor , openly expressed his support to Gatwa taking on the role. In an interview with STV News , Peter Capaldi , who portrayed the Twelfth Doctor , stated that he believed that Gatwa would be "an amazing Doctor." During
8694-445: The Tenth Doctor during Davies' initial time as showrunner, or that Jo Martin , who debuted as the Fugitive Doctor during Whittaker's tenure, would be revealed as the Fourteenth incarnation. On 8 May 2022, Gatwa posted an Instagram picture featuring two red heart emojis, a plus sign, and a blue box emoji. The post, alongside comments from incoming Doctor Who showrunner Russell T Davies, led to speculation that Gatwa had been cast as
8855-550: The Thirteenth Doctor states that she is a doctor of "medicine, science, engineering, candyfloss, Lego, philosophy, music, problems, people, hope. Mostly hope." While talking with Harry in Robot (1974–1975), the Doctor says, "You may be a doctor, but I'm the Doctor. The definite article, you might say." In The Ark in Space (1975), aired later that year, the Doctor mentions that his doctorate
9016-587: The collective consciousness of the Cybermen informs the Doctor that he could be reconstructed from the "hole" — the missing records — that he has left behind, a mistake which the Doctor intends to rectify. Few individuals are said to know the Doctor's true name. River Song whispered something to the Tenth Doctor to make him trust her during " Silence in the Library "/" Forest of the Dead ", confirmed to have been his name towards
9177-663: The "Doctor Who: Lockdown" events, which were watchalongs of various episodes of the show held by the Doctor Who community during the COVID-19 pandemic , with informal discussion between the three as a result of "Lockdown" leading to the 60th anniversary specials and the reprisals of Tennant and Tate's roles. Davies initially teased their return by not disclosing the true nature of it, hinting that Tennant and Tate may have been reprising their roles via flashbacks or via an alternate universe . Davies originally planned to bring back Tennant as
9338-418: The 50th anniversary special " The Day of the Doctor ". The Tenth and Eleventh Doctors explained that Hurt's regeneration was not the Doctor because his actions during the Time War were a betrayal of the promise that name symbolized. "The Day of the Doctor" revisited the last day of the Time War after "The End of Time" and revealed that the interference of the future Doctors and future companion Clara Oswald caused
9499-564: The Armageddon Factor , it is revealed that the Doctor scraped through the academy with 51% on his second attempt. In The Time Meddler , it is said that the Doctor was fifty years before the Meddling Monk . In Time and the Rani , the Doctor claims to have attended university alongside the Rani , specialising in thermodynamics. At the academy, he met his childhood friend the Master and
9660-605: The Big Finish spin-off audio series Gallifrey and Bernice Summerfield . In the novel Father Time , the Eighth Doctor, during his hundred-year exile on Earth, found an orphaned Time Lord girl named Miranda whom he adopted and raised until she was 16. In the novel Sometime Never... , she returned to the Doctor with her daughter Zezanne. She was also the central character in a three-issue comic book series published by Comeuppance Comics in 2003. Author Lance Parkin, who devised
9821-510: The Cybermen . The Doctor's standing in Time Lord society has waxed and waned over the years, from being a hunted man who was eventually punished with a forced regeneration and an exile sentence on Earth, to being appointed Lord President of the High Council. He does not assume the office for very long, fleeing Gallifrey after his appointment rather than accepting the limitations on his freedom that
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#17328441066589982-425: The Daleks , Susan and her husband David adopt three children whom they name David Campbell Jr, Ian and Barbara; named after David himself, Ian Chesterton and Barbara Wright , respectively. Irving Braxiatel , a character first introduced in the novel Theatre of War , was initially hinted at, and later confirmed to be, the Doctor's biological older brother. He has since become a recurring character, especially within
10143-558: The Doctor ", released as a prelude to the 50th anniversary special, featured Paul McGann reprising his role as the Eighth Doctor and was set during the Last Great Time War, albeit much earlier than during "The End of Time". The mini-episode presented him as a conscientious objector to the war who regenerated under controlled circumstances into the War Doctor ( John Hurt ), a previously unseen incarnation created retroactively by Steven Moffat , Davies' successor as head writer, for
10304-484: The Doctor ": "Never cruel nor cowardly. Never give up. Never give in." The episode " The Timeless Children " revised the Doctor's origins, revealing a scientist and space explorer named Tecteun who found a lone, mysterious child with a supernatural physiology – one not belonging to any other life form or species – and an immense intelligence. She adopted the child and studied her, successfully grafting her regeneration capacity (and possibly other traits) into her own species,
10465-410: The Doctor as grandfather to his companion Susan". He wore long white hair and Edwardian costume, reflecting, Green says, a "definite sense of Englishness". When Hartnell left the programme after three years due to ill health, the role was handed over to character actor Patrick Troughton . As of 25 December 2018 , official television productions have depicted fourteen distinct incarnations of
10626-552: The Doctor as one of 45 cousins grown from his house's genetic loom as an adult. By contrast, the TV programme has shown Time Lords as children and stated that Time Lords can have sexual relationships. The Doctor is assumed to be or to have been married to Susan's grandmother, including by head writer Steven Moffat . In " Blink ", the Doctor mentioned that he was rubbish at his own wedding. In The Virgin New Adventures novel Cold Fusion ,
10787-437: The Doctor attempts to solve the mystery of Ruby's origins and the mysterious woman. They uncover that "The One Who Waits" is the Doctor's old enemy Sutekh ( Gabriel Woolf ), the god of death, and that he has been secretly attached to the Doctor's TARDIS for most of his travels. In the end, the Doctor and Ruby defeat Sutekh, and say a bittersweet goodbye in " Empire of Death " after reuniting Ruby with her birth mother. In " Joy to
10948-427: The Doctor by allowing him to continue to exist while other incarnations died and changed, stating that "Tennant gets treated as though he is somehow more the Doctor than any other incarnation". Charles Pulliam-Moore of The Verge additionally noted that while there were avenues for Tennant's Doctor to explore independently of Gatwa, he felt that Tennant being kept around existed only to placate those uncomfortable with
11109-400: The Doctor evades answering the question, making their connection unclear. In Doctor Who: The Writer's Tale – The Final Chapter , Russell T Davies states that the character was conceived as the Doctor's mother, but her identity was left ambiguous to allow viewers to make up their own minds. In spin-off media, several individuals related to the Doctor have made appearances, and do not appear in
11270-433: The Doctor in the seventh series, particularly in " The Angels Take Manhattan ", confirmed that they were married; in "The Name of the Doctor", the Doctor refers to her as his "wife" after seeing a grave stone with her name on it, after initially answering "yes" when Clara asks if she was an "ex". In " The End of Time ", the Tenth Doctor mentions marrying Queen Elizabeth I and implies that they had sex, stating: "her nickname
11431-507: The Doctor is revealed as " the Other ", a mysterious figure in Gallifreyan lore who co-founded Time Lord society with Rassilon and Omega . After a curse renders Gallifrey sterile, the Other devises biotechnological looms to "weave" new Time Lords; his granddaughter Susan is Gallifrey's last natural child. To escape a civil war with Rassilon, the Other throws himself into the loom system, where he
11592-570: The Doctor recalled his origins as a high-born Gallifreyan. In The Time Monster , the Doctor says he grew up in a house on a mountainside and talks about a hermit who lived under a tree behind the house and inspired the Doctor when he was depressed. He is later reunited with this former mentor, now on Earth posing as the abbot K'anpo Rimpoche, in Planet of the Spiders . In " The Girl in the Fireplace ", according to Madame de Pompadour who psychically linked with
11753-478: The Doctor reveals that he is able to perceive the fabric of time, discerning "fixed points" and "points in flux" – moments when history must remain as it was originally versus moments when he can change or influence the original course of events, as well as all past, present and possible future events. However, in " Kill the Moon ", the Twelfth Doctor claims that there are "grey areas", points in time for which he cannot see
11914-417: The Doctor tries to reassure his companion that Missy is joking, although later in the episode he self-identifies by that name. In " Twice Upon a Time ", before regeneration the Twelfth Doctor states that no one would ever understand his name except for children, saying: "If their hearts are in the right place and the stars are too, children can hear your name." Peter Capaldi offered his own theory regarding
12075-517: The Doctor wiped following a Time Lord biological metacrisis by him in his similar-looking tenth incarnation – and her daughter Rose ( Yasmin Finney ). Encountering the alien Meep who plans on destroying London, the Doctor is forced to trigger the metacrisis, granting Donna access to the knowledge that will enable them to save the city. Donna seems to perish until it is revealed that Rose has inherited some of her mother's repressed Time Lord abilities, allowing
12236-756: The Doctor's early life. In the Past Doctor Adventures novel Divided Loyalties , the Doctor recalls his Academy years in a dream induced by the Celestial Toymaker. According to this, he was a member of an organisation called the Deca, ten brilliant Academy students campaigning for increased Time Lord intervention, alongside Mortimus (the Meddling Monk) , Ushas (the Rani) , Koschei (the Master) , Magnus (the War Chief) , Drax ,
12397-498: The Doctor's hearts simultaneously would accomplish this (as demonstrated in the Eleventh Doctor story " The Impossible Astronaut "). The Chancellery Guard (Gallifrey's equivalent of a police force) are armed with stasers, weapons capable of suppressing regeneration. In Death of the Doctor , a serial from spin-off programme The Sarah Jane Adventures , the Eleventh Doctor flippantly responds to Clyde Langer that he can regenerate "507" times; writer Russell T. Davies intended this line as
12558-463: The Doctor's memories, the Doctor experienced a very lonely childhood. An elderly woman on Gallifrey died and was shrouded in veils and surrounded by flies, giving the Doctor recurring nightmares, which the confession dial in " Heaven Sent " would later visualise to torment him. In " Listen ", it is ambiguously revealed the Doctor as a child often slept alone in a barn in the Drylands (a desert region outside
12719-461: The Doctor's other families (adopted or not) are rare in the programme. In The Tomb of the Cybermen , when asked about his family, the Second Doctor says his memories of them are alive when he wants them to be; otherwise they sleep in his mind and he forgets. In The Curse of Fenric , when asked if he has family, the Seventh Doctor replies that he does not know. In the 1996 television movie ,
12880-399: The Doctor's real name, commenting: "I don't think human beings could even really say his name. But I think we might be able to hear it, at a certain frequency. If the stars are in the right place, and your heart's in the right place, you'll hear it." On occasion, the Doctor uses other aliases, such as "John Smith". In the Fourth Doctor serial The Armageddon Factor , the Doctor runs into
13041-431: The Doctor's surname as she believed was the intent of the dialogue. The 2011 mid-series finale " A Good Man Goes to War ", also written by Moffat, suggested through the character of River Song that the Doctor's travels had influenced the etymology of the word "doctor", perverting its meaning on some worlds from "wise man" or "healer" to "great warrior". In " The End of Time " (2009–2010) it is mentioned that after he smote
13202-408: The Doctor, during an edited repeat of the 2013 docudrama An Adventure in Space and Time , airing on 23 November 2023, Doctor Who ' s sixtieth anniversary. In the original version, while preparing to film his regeneration scene , William Hartnell ( David Bradley ) looks across the TARDIS console and sees a vision of Matt Smith , the actor who played the then-incumbent Eleventh Doctor during
13363-428: The Doctor. The longest-lasting on-screen incarnation is the Fourth Doctor , played by Tom Baker for seven years. Within the narrative, these changes were explained as regeneration , a biological process which heals a Time Lord when their incarnation is about to die. Consequently, the Time Lord is given a wholly new body. In The Deadly Assassin , the concept of a regeneration limit is introduced, giving Time Lords
13524-583: The Doctor. This was later confirmed that same day by the official Doctor Who Twitter account. Gatwa is the first black actor, first African-born actor, and first openly queer actor to headline as the Doctor. He is also the fourth Scottish actor to play the character. In an article released on the Doctor Who website, Gatwa said, "This role and show means so much to so many around the world, including myself, and each one of my incredibly talented predecessors has handled that unique responsibility and privilege with
13685-513: The DoctorDonna's powers to be shared safely between the two. Later, Donna spills coffee on the TARDIS console, forcing it into an uncontrolled dematerialisation. The TARDIS crash lands aboard a spaceship that is adrift at the farthest edge of the universe, where they encounter shape-shifting entities known as "Not-Things". When they return to Camden, a few days after their departure, they discover Wilf ( Bernard Cribbins ) has been keeping watch for
13846-488: The Fifteenth Doctor's costumes were designed to reflect the planet or time period visited in each episode, including a Regency era costume for the episode " Rogue " and a "meticulously tailored pinstripe suit" for the 1960s-set " The Devil's Chord ". The Doctor's suit was inspired by images of the Rolling Stones . In the 2023 Christmas special " The Church on Ruby Road ", the Doctor wears three different costumes; including
14007-415: The Fifteenth Doctor's early costumes as ranging "from a tangerine-coloured knit and a bright blue double-breasted pinstripe suit, to a glossy leather trench paired with a sweatshirt zipped down to expose his chest and a set of delicate gold necklaces, summarising that " Doctor Who is getting sexy". Prior to the first appearance of the Fifteenth Doctor, Gatwa made an uncredited cameo as himself, in costume as
14168-679: The Fourteenth Doctor in Liberation of the Daleks , a story that picks up straight after the ending of "The Power of the Doctor", depicting roughly the first hour of the Fourteenth Doctor's life. Liberation of the Daleks leads directly into the Fourteenth Doctor's next televised appearance – a minisode aired during the Children in Need telethon on 17 November 2023, informally titled " Destination: Skaro ". A short comic strip titled "Under Control", published as part of Doctor Who: The Official Annual 2024, depicted
14329-638: The Fourteenth Doctor shortly after regeneration confronting the Sycorax , a recurring alien species in the series. On 24 November 2023, Tennant appeared in character as the Fourteenth Doctor for the CBeebies Bedtime Story . As part of Doctor Who 's 60th anniversary specials , the Fourteenth Doctor next appears in " The Star Beast ". Arriving in Camden Town , the Doctor bumps into former companion Donna Noble ( Catherine Tate ) – who had her memory of
14490-401: The Fourteenth incarnation. In May 2022, Ncuti Gatwa was announced as the actor who would take over from Jodie Whittaker in the role following a series of special episodes throughout 2022 . At the end of the final special, "The Power of the Doctor", it was revealed following Whittaker's regeneration that the Doctor had regenerated into an incarnation portrayed by Tennant, with Gatwa being
14651-500: The Homeworld/Gallifrey abandon their names to symbolise how they are leaving their culture. Similarly, the novel Lungbarrow reveals that the Doctor's name has been struck from the records of his family and therefore cannot be spoken. Quite apart from his name, why the Doctor uses the title "The Doctor" has never been fully explained on screen. The Doctor, at first, said that he was not a physician , often describing himself as
14812-560: The Legacy of Rassilon; as a result, the Doctor's children were systemically culled. The Doctor managed to help Patience escape through the use of the Machine, a prototype TARDIS, after assuring that her daughter-in-law had given birth to a girl named Susan and promised that he would keep the child safely away from Gallifrey. In " The Wedding of River Song ", the Doctor marries recurring companion and love interest River Song . Comments by both River and
14973-542: The Master, taught by Cardinal Sendok. In the Virgin Missing Adventures novel Goth Opera , it is said the Doctor was a frequent prankster while at the academy, introducing cats into Gallifrey's ecosystem with his friend Ruath and electrifying a "perigosto stick" belonging to his teacher, Borusa. Feeling that too much of the Doctor's backstory had been revealed by the Seventh Doctor 's era, writers Andrew Cartmel , Ben Aaronovitch and Marc Platt developed
15134-468: The Shobogans, and herself. This species, who would eventually become the Time Lords, was restricted to a limit of twelve regenerations by a later incarnation of Tecteun. Tecteun and their child were eventually inducted into a clandestine Time Lord organisation known as the Division. After an unknown amount of regenerations, Tecteun's child began calling themself "Doctor". The Fugitive Doctor , true to her title,
15295-512: The Spiders and " The End of Time ". The Doctor has withstood, with minimal damage, exposure to electricity deadly enough to kill a human ( Terror of the Zygons , Genesis of the Daleks , " Aliens of London ", " The Christmas Invasion ", " The Idiot's Lantern ", " Evolution of the Daleks " and spin-off audio Spare Parts ). Certain stories imply that the Time Lord is resistant to cold temperatures (" 42 "). To counter extreme trauma, such as exposure to
15456-547: The TARDIS, who warns them that the world is coming to an end. The Doctor and Donna team up with UNIT, where the Doctor is reunited with several allies from past adventures to combat a plot by the Toymaker ( Neil Patrick Harris ) to create global anarchy. In the ensuing battle, the Fourteenth Doctor is shot by the Toymaker, but instead of regenerating, the Doctor "bi-generates" – a supposedly mythical Time Lord process where
15617-489: The Tenth Doctor confirms that he had at one point been a father and that he lost his children "a long time ago", saying "When they died that part of me died with them"; the nature of their deaths, however, has never been explained, as it is suggested that whatever happened to his family is very painful for the Doctor to talk about. In " The Woman Who Fell to Earth " when the Thirteenth Doctor is questioned how she copes with
15778-486: The Tenth Doctor, and not as a separate incarnation, with the 60th anniversary specials instead being flashbacks to unseen Tenth Doctor adventures. Several actors and actresses were heavily rumoured to be taking over from Whittaker, including Hugh Grant , Michael Sheen , Kris Marshall , Richard Ayoade , Michaela Coel , Kelly Macdonald , and Lenny Henry . Davies's return also led to speculation that an actor he had previously worked with in other projects would join him as
15939-517: The Third, Twelfth and Thirteenth Doctors), has won several sword fights against skilled opponents, and is able to make extremely difficult shots with firearms and, in The Face of Evil , with a crossbow. Thanks to exposure to many of history's greatest experts, including those from the future, the Doctor is a talented boxer, musician, organist, scientist and singer (able to shatter windows with his voice), and has
16100-426: The Twelfth Doctor ( Peter Capaldi ). The Twelfth Doctor later claims to be uncertain he "won't keep regenerating forever" ("Kill the Moon"), and even Rassilon, the president of the Time Lords, expresses uncertainty about how many regenerations the Doctor has available to him. Other skills include his mental communication with other Time Lords, in some cases over a galaxy's distance. His skill with hypnosis requires only
16261-425: The War Doctor to change his plan at the last moment. Ultimately, Gallifrey was hidden in a parallel dimension and the Daleks destroyed themselves in the ensuing crossfire; to all observers, it appeared as though the two races had been annihilated together. The unsynchronized timestreams caused the War Doctor to forget the specifics of his actions at this time. The Doctor remembered committing the apparent genocide during
16422-496: The Wasp " (2008) he was able to sense the changes in his body's enzymes (i.e. cyanide poisoning) and expel the cyanide from his body by ingesting a concoction of ginger beer , protein foods and salts. The Doctor has shown a resistance to temporal effects and has demonstrated telepathic ability, both the ability to mentally connect to other incarnations of themselves they have encountered (" The Five Doctors "), and an ability to enter into
16583-500: The World ", the Doctor is expected to meet one-off companion Joy ( Nicola Coughlan ). In series 15 , the Doctor and Ruby are set to be joined by a new companion, Belinda Chandra ( Varada Sethu ). Angus Robertson , Scotland's Culture Secretary , congratulated Gatwa on his casting. Actor and singer Olly Alexander , thought to be among the front-runners for the role, tweeted his joy at the casting. Fellow Scot Sylvester McCoy , who portrayed
16744-515: The academy and his affiliation with the notoriously devious Prydonian chapter of Time Lords. In " The Sound of Drums ", the Doctor describes an academy initiation where, at the age of eight, Gallifreyan children were taken from their families and made to look into the Untempered Schism, a gap in the fabric of reality, to view the Time Vortex. According to the Doctor, when regarding the effects of
16905-432: The alias "Dr. Bowman" in the 1996 Doctor Who television movie . Fourteenth Doctor 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. Within
17066-409: The appearance throughout the programme. Human companions accompany the Doctor through their adventures and serve as audience surrogate characters to ask questions which allow the Doctor to provide relevant exposition. "Doctor" is a self-selected alias. In episodes specifically under showrunner Steven Moffat , the story arcs surrounding events in the Doctor's future implied serious consequences in
17227-429: The character of Dr Who first begins appearing in existing documentation from May of that year. It is possible that series co-creator Donald Wilson may have named the character; in a 1971 interview Wilson claimed to have come up with the series' title, and when this claim was put to Newman he did not dispute it. The character was first portrayed by William Hartnell in 1963. At the programme's beginning, nothing at all
17388-412: The character of Miranda, has hinted that her real father is a future incarnation of the Doctor which, if so, would make Zezanne the Doctor's biological granddaughter as well. The Virgin New Adventures novel Lungbarrow presents an alternative take on the Doctor's origins, suggesting that Time Lords are "loomed" in large batches of "cousins" and not produced via sexual reproduction. Lungbarrow portrays
17549-477: The character uses "the Doctor" because his actual name is impossible for humans to pronounce. For instance, the novel Vanderdeken's Children relates that the Doctor has already told Sam his real name, which is entirely alien and virtually unpronounceable. This is repeated by companion Peri Brown in the radio serial Slipback . The Faction Paradox encyclopaedia The Book of the War states that all renegades from
17710-418: The character was "parked". Davies joked that the Fourteenth Doctor had died following the specials, stating that "He went to Venice, 2063, when the city sank, and he went into a whirlpool, which is really sad..." This was later debunked by a reference to the Fourteenth Doctor made in the episode " The Legend of Ruby Sunday ". (2024) The unexpected return of Tennant was praised by some, though others criticised
17871-485: The character's name, most frequently in the spin-off material of the 1960s and 1970s, but occasionally also in the TV series itself. For example, in The Gunfighters the Doctor assumes the name of Doctor Caligari and subsequently responds to the question "Doctor who?" with "yes, quite right." In the serial The War Machines , the computer WOTAN commands that "Doctor Who is required", and his human agents also use
18032-428: The children's house", with clothes that every child has "under the stairs somewhere." Gatwa's initial inclination for the Fifteenth Doctor's style was inspired by Ralph Lauren 's "preppy" designs in collaboration with Morehouse College and Spelman College , noting the colleges' Black histories. The production team opted for less "traditional" looks, wanting to "push it forward". Interviewer Devan Coggan disclosed that
18193-511: The city capital), was withdrawn from other children, and was cared for by guardian figures who privately doubted the child's ability as an eventual Time Lord. Through the dialogue, it is suggested that several Gallifreyan children were pressured into joining the army, a path which did not sit right with the Doctor's pacifist beliefs, and as a result he wished to enroll into the Time Lord Academy instead. The classic series refers to his time at
18354-462: The conclusion of Whittaker's final episode, " The Power of the Doctor " (2022), her Doctor instead regenerated into a form similar to the Tenth Doctor . Gatwa was subsequently confirmed as the Fifteenth Doctor, following Tennant's Fourteenth Doctor 's tenure over the 2023 specials . Executive producer Russell T Davies stated "the path to Ncuti's 15th Doctor is laden with mystery, horror, robots, puppets, danger and fun!" Gatwa appeared in character for
18515-491: The docudrama An Adventure in Space and Time as part of the 50th-anniversary celebrations of Doctor Who , which starred David Bradley as William Hartnell . Although Time Lords resemble humans, their physiology differs in key respects. Like other members of their race, the Doctor has two hearts (binary vascular system), a "respiratory bypass system" that allows the Doctor to go without air, an internal body temperature of 15–16 °C (60 °F) and occasionally exhibits
18676-416: The end of "Forest of the Dead". The events of " The Time of the Doctor " make it clear that his people, the Time Lords, know his true name, despite calling him by his chosen alias as "the Doctor" even in formal settings such as court. Despite the common belief amongst some areas of the fanbase that the Doctor should never be referred to by the name of the series, "Doctor Who" is actually fairly often used as
18837-461: The end of each incarnation's life, the Doctor regenerates ; as a result, their physical appearance and personality changes. However, the Fifteenth Doctor emerged unconventionally, via "bi-generation", in which he split from his predecessor, the Fourteenth Doctor 's body, rather than replacing him, allowing both incarnations to co-exist. In contrast to his predecessors, Gatwa portrays a Doctor who
18998-403: The event of the Doctor's true name being spoken, with the nature of these finally revealed in " The Time of the Doctor ". Spin-off media offer the explanation that the Doctor's true name is unpronounceable by humans. In " The Name of the Doctor ", the Eleventh Doctor tells companion Clara Oswald that the name "Doctor" is essentially a promise he made. The promise itself is revealed in " The Day of
19159-431: The events of past serials such as Genesis of the Daleks have been retroactively attributed to the Time War. It was never shown on-screen until " The End of Time ", which was both Davies' last story as head writer and producer and David Tennant 's last regular story as the Tenth Doctor. This episode featured brief views of Gallifrey and the Time Lords on the last day of the Time War. The 2013 mini-episode " The Night of
19320-546: The fifteenth incarnation of the character. Tennant starred in the programme as the Tenth Doctor from 2005 to 2010 and is the first actor to portray two incarnations of the character over several episodes. The return of an actor as a new incarnation of the Doctor was proposed by Doctor Who co-creator Sydney Newman in a 1986 exchange with then- BBC One controller Michael Grade after the dismissal of Sixth Doctor actor Colin Baker ; Newman envisaged Patrick Troughton , who portrayed
19481-409: The first time in the trailer for the 2023 specials. I came to the show with that notion, thinking, 'Why do we keep repeating the same clothes?' To be blunt, with the bigger budget, we have the freedom to play and explore this stuff. Russell T Davies In a departure for the character of the Doctor, the Fifteenth Doctor wears a variety of clothing rather than adopting one distinct style. Pam Downe,
19642-450: The incarnation, Tennant's performance helped to encapsulate and showcase the Doctor's growth since the Tenth Doctor, as well as highlighting Tennant's own personal strengths as the Doctor. Rachel Leishman of The Mary Sue noted that despite the feeling of a "cop-out" with Tennant's return, the ability of Tennant's Doctor to come back and expand on the emotions the Tenth Doctor left behind "feels right for what this Doctor is". Vicky Jessop of
19803-413: The initiation on participants: "Some would be inspired, some would run away and some would go mad (as he suggests happened to his nemesis, the Master )." When asked to which group he belonged, he replied, "Oh, the ones that ran away. I never stopped!" The Doctor was taught by future Lord President Borusa and Azmael , where he met Drax , with whom he attended a Tech course as part of the class of '92. In
19964-465: The lives of his ninth, tenth and eleventh incarnations up until the time of the Eleventh Doctor's present. The character of the Doctor was created by BBC Head of Drama, Sydney Newman . The first format document for the programme that was to become Doctor Who – then provisionally titled The Troubleshooters – was written in March 1963 by C. E. Webber , a staff writer who had been brought in to help develop
20125-400: The loss of her family, she states that she carries the memories of them with her and thus makes them a part of who she is, saying "even though they're gone from the world ... they're never gone from me." In " The End of Time ", a mysterious individual, referred to in the episode credits as "The Woman", appears unexpectedly to Wilfred Mott throughout both episodes. She is later revealed to be
20286-504: The malevolent deity the Toymaker ( Neil Patrick Harris ), and later use the remaining power of the latter's lingering reality-warping domain to duplicate the TARDIS. The Fifteenth Doctor shares some words of wisdom with his predecessor, who returns the favour by wishing him luck, before setting off for new adventures in his version of the TARDIS. The Doctor next appears in " The Church on Ruby Road " in which he meets new companion Ruby Sunday ( Millie Gibson ) and faces off against goblins. In
20447-415: The marriages to Elizabeth I and Marilyn Monroe to count when questioned on how many wives the Doctor had had, remarking that he was married to Susan's grandmother and River Song. An adventurous scientist, the Doctor usually solves problems with his wits rather than with force. With the exception of his sonic screwdriver (which cannot kill, wound or maim), the Doctor detests weapons and uses violence only as
20608-471: The memories of other individuals (" The Girl in the Fireplace "). The Doctor can apparently reverse this process, sharing their memory with another, as shown in " The Lodger ". Some humans can enter the Doctor's memories after the Doctor enters theirs, as demonstrated by Madame de Pompadour (much to the Doctor's surprise) in "The Girl in the Fireplace", when she explains, "A door, once opened, may be stepped through in either direction." In " The Fires of Pompeii ",
20769-486: The moon. This event had a massive impact on the Doctor, who theorized that he himself was possibly the Hybrid. This is one reason the Doctor has stated as to why he decided to leave Gallifrey – out of fear. He has given convoluted and contradictory reasons as to why he left, for many reasons such as because his life path was pre-determined from his hidden previous life. The Doctor stole a TARDIS with his granddaughter Susan from
20930-457: The move to bring back an actor who had previously portrayed the Doctor; Diane Darcy felt Tenannt's comeback to be preemptive damage control by Davies to ward off any protentional criticisms of Ncuti Gatwa 's incoming performance. Elisa Guimarães of Collider saw the return of Tennant to the series as a "cop-out", noting how bringing back Tennant after Whittaker's run as the Doctor and before Gatwa's made it seem to casual audiences as though there
21091-671: The name of "Doctor von Wer" (a German approximation of "Doctor Who"), and signs himself as "Dr. W" in The Underwater Menace . He similarly poses as "the Great Wizard Quiquaequod" in The Dæmons ( qui , quae and quod being, respectively, the masculine, feminine and neuter Latin translation of the nominative form of who ). The Master also utilised Latin translation in the same serial, posing as "Mr Magister". The Eighth Doctor 's companion Grace briefly refers to him by
21252-411: The name. The Third Doctor 's car, dubbed "Bessie", carried the plate WHO 1, the only ongoing reference to the "Doctor Who" enigma in the original programme. The Third Doctor later drove an outlandish vehicle called the "Whomobile" in publicity materials, but it is never referred to as such in the programme, being simply known as "the Doctor's car" (or "my car", as the Doctor puts it). The name "Doctor Who"
21413-399: The new incarnation splits off as a separate physical entity. The Fourteenth Doctor teams up with the new Fifteenth Doctor ( Ncuti Gatwa ) to defeat the Toymaker. The Fifteenth Doctor warns his predecessor that he's worn himself out and needs to process the psychological impact of recent events. The Fourteenth Doctor settles down with Donna and her family, while the Fifteenth Doctor goes off in
21574-521: The outcome. Like many other alien species in the programme, the Doctor is able to sense when their own species is within proximity through an inherent telepathic connection. The Doctor exhibits some weaknesses uncommon to humans. For example, according to The Mind of Evil (1971), a tablet of aspirin could kill him. In " Cold Blood ", a process meant to decontaminate him of bacteria from the surface of Earth causes him intense pain, and he says it could have killed him if allowed to proceed to completion. In
21735-410: The pair grew up together. In " The End of Time ", the Master recollects their childhood together where they would run all day across his father's field, described as 'pastures of red grass stretching far across the slopes of Mount Perdition' and the boys would call up at the sky. In " World Enough and Time ", the Doctor claims that they both made a special pact where together they would visit every star in
21896-511: The poisonous fungus in The Seeds of Death and after being shot in Spearhead from Space , the Doctor can go into a self-induced coma until they recover. The Doctor's hypersensitive body and senses enable them to detect anomalies humans cannot, such as identifying alien species, blood type or chemical composition by taste and determining location or time period by sniffing the air. In " The Unicorn and
22057-400: The programme's first episode in 1963, presents the alternative explanation that the Doctor was given that name by medical staff on a foreign planet and liked it. To make up for his lack of a practical name, the Doctor often relies upon convenient pseudonyms. In The Gunfighters (1966), the First Doctor uses the alias Dr. Caligari . In The Highlanders (1966–67), the Second Doctor assumes
22218-538: The project. Webber's document contained a main character described as "The maturer man, 35–40, with some 'character twist'." Newman was not keen on this idea and – along with several other changes to Webber's initial format – created an alternative lead character named Dr Who, a crotchety older man piloting a stolen time machine, on the run from his own far-future world. No written record of Newman's conveyance of these ideas – believed to have taken place in April 1963 – exists, and
22379-482: The role would place on him (" The Five Doctors "), and is eventually deposed in absentia ( The Trial of a Time Lord ). By the time of his twelfth incarnation, he is regarded by many Gallifreyans as a war hero, "the man who won the Time War" (" Hell Bent "). In the first series of the 2005 revival, writer Russell T Davies introduced the concept of the Time War to streamline the Doctor's backstory for new viewers of
22540-508: The ruins of Gallifrey, unravel the Web of Time and burn a billion hearts to heal its own. The Wraiths then revealed to him the secret passage leading to another side of the city. The last anyone heard from him was that he apparently stole the moon and the President's wife; however, this was revealed to have been a lie spread about by the Shobogans when in reality it was the President's daughter and he lost
22701-432: The same, but different. That has echoes of the past, but it's also a bit something of the now as well." The Fourteenth Doctor's clothes regenerated with his appearance from the Thirteenth Doctor's, rather than him choosing them like in most of his regenerations. Davies explained that he wished for the Doctor's clothes to change as part of the first regeneration from a female to a male Doctor, fearing it would be interpreted as
22862-424: The series narrative, the Doctor is a millennia-old alien Time Lord from the planet Gallifrey , with somewhat unknown origins, who travels in time and space in the TARDIS , frequently with companions . At the end of each incarnation's life, the Doctor regenerates , changing their physical appearance and aspects of their personality. Tennant's second incarnation is outwardly similar to the Tenth Doctor, but with
23023-440: The show's fiftieth anniversary year. For the 2023 repeat, the scene was edited to replace Smith with Gatwa. Gatwa first appears as the Fifteenth Doctor in the 60th anniversary special episode " The Giggle ", appearing in the final third of the story as the Fourteenth Doctor ( David Tennant ) appears to regenerate but instead "bi-generates", introducing the new Doctor as a separate physical entity. The two Doctors team up to defeat
23184-484: The show. It was a war across all of time and space which ended when the Doctor presumably destroyed both the Time Lords and the Daleks . The Doctor's remorse for his actions in his Ninth , Tenth and Eleventh incarnations is a key part of his characterisation throughout the revival. The Time War happened between the 1996 television movie and 2005 opening episode " Rose " according to the show's internal chronology, although
23345-464: The significance of the Doctor's name in his episodes since 2006's " The Girl in the Fireplace ", in which historical figure Madame de Pompadour reads the Doctor's mind and remarks, "Doctor who? It's more than just a secret, isn't it?" According to the in-vision commentary on the DVD release, David Tennant had to inform actress Sophia Myles (who played Madame de Pompadour) that she was not, in fact, revealing
23506-506: The sinking when tracking an alien entity in the novel The Left-Handed Hummingbird . The Doctor has also encountered many of Earth's historical figures. It is his tendency for becoming "involved" with the universe – in direct violation of official Time Lord policy – that has caused the Doctor to be labelled a renegade by the Time Lords as stated in The War Games . However, the Doctor's actions are largely tolerated as he saved Gallifrey and
23667-425: The subsequent episodes, the Doctor and Ruby encounter a surprising amount of magical and supernatural threats, including a fairy circle in " 73 Yards " and Maestro ( Jinkx Monsoon ), the child of the Toymaker, in " The Devil's Chord ". Maestro warns that more evil extra-dimensional gods from their pantheon are pursuing the Doctor, including "The One Who Waits". Ruby herself also exhibits strange qualities when her life
23828-465: The television series, such as his grandchildren John and Gillian , who appeared alongside the First and Second Doctors in comics and annuals. Two different, conflicting accounts exist on the descendants of Susan after leaving the Doctor. In the audio play " An Earthly Child ", it is revealed that Susan has had a half-human child, Alex Campbell, the Doctor's great-grandson. Alternatively, in the novel Legacy of
23989-421: The tenure of the Eleventh Doctor involved the oldest question in the universe, revealed in " The Wedding of River Song " to be "Doctor who?", giving the phrase in-universe significance. In " The Name of the Doctor ", the Doctor's real name was revealed to be the password used to enter the Doctor's tomb following his death on the planet Trenzalore. The story arc was resolved in " The Time of the Doctor ", wherein it
24150-489: The universe several times. The Time Lords are partial to sending him on missions when deniability or expendability is needed, implied to have begun after his capture during The War Games and witnessed further in later stories, the Time Lords directing the Doctor and/or the TARDIS to specific locations in Colony in Space , The Curse of Peladon , The Mutants , Genesis of the Daleks , The Brain of Morbius and Attack of
24311-463: The universe; however, the Master was 'too busy burning them'. In " Hell Bent ", one day at the academy, the Doctor found himself lost inside the Cloisters (an area located deep beneath the citadel) and spent four days inside. He was contacted by a Wraith who told him about the prophecy of a legendary creature known as 'the Hybrid', prophesied to have been crossbred from two warrior races that would stand in
24472-448: The utmost care. I will endeavour my utmost to do the same." Davies added, "Ncuti dazzled us, seized hold of the Doctor and owned those TARDIS keys in seconds... I promise you, 2023 will be spectacular!" Gatwa had previously been announced as Jodie Whittaker 's successor as the programme's lead, and many reports stated he would play the Fourteenth Doctor and that Whittaker's Thirteenth Doctor would regenerate into Gatwa's incarnation. At
24633-426: Was "a real gift". Gatwa's performance in series 14 earned praise from critics. Many writers for The Independent called Gatwa's acting "interstellar" and "mesmerising". Naina Bajekal of Time magazine believed that Gatwa was "bringing Doctor Who into a new era". Mary McNamara of Los Angeles Times called Gatwa "an absolute delight" and wrote that his "unbridled exuberance makes this an easy sell and serves as
24794-621: Was announced, several actors were heavily rumoured to be taking over from Whittaker, including Hugh Grant , Michael Sheen , Kris Marshall , Richard Ayoade , Michaela Coel , Kelly Macdonald , and Lenny Henry . Russell T Davies' return as the programme's showrunner also led to speculation that an actor he had previously worked with in other projects would join him as the Fourteenth Doctor , with Olly Alexander , Lydia West , Omari Douglas , T'Nia Miller , and Fisayo Akinade ranking highly in bookies' odds. Rumours also circulated that David Tennant would reprise his role, having previously portrayed
24955-519: Was instrumental in preventing a family from boarding the Titanic prior to her fateful voyage. In " The End of the World ", the Doctor recalls having been on board and surviving the Titanic's sinking to find himself "clinging to an iceberg". The Fourth Doctor mentioned this event in Robot and The Invasion of Time , where he insists that the sinking was not his fault; the Seventh Doctor became involved in
25116-431: Was little confidence in either's ability to make the show successful. She believed Tennant's return overshadowed both of them and was a "major step back" for the series. Tennant's portrayal as the Fourteenth Doctor received widespread praise, though there was some mixed feelings towards the concept of bi-generation. Alex Donaldson of VG247 praised Tennant's performance, stating that while he initially had doubts about
25277-424: Was more "human" than the Tenth. The Fourteenth tends to say things the Tenth would not have said, once saying that he loved his companions. In an interview with BBC News following the announcement of his role reprisal, Tennant commented on his Doctor's appearance, saying: "To a sort of casual viewer, I look like I'm sort of dressed in the same way as I used to be. But actually we've gone for something that's sort of
25438-519: Was on the run from the Division in a TARDIS disguised as a police box. The details of their life were also redacted from the Matrix – only snippets remaining, masked as the story of the Irish Garda Brendan. The true origins of the Time Lords remained hidden from themselves and from the Doctor. The First Doctor's subsequent childhood on Gallifrey has been little described in the series. In " Hell Bent "
25599-514: Was praised for his performance, though some criticised the move to bring back an actor who had previously portrayed the Doctor. The Fourteenth Doctor first appears at the conclusion of " The Power of the Doctor " (2022) immediately following the Thirteenth Doctor 's regeneration. The Doctor notices that his appearance has reverted to a form similar to that of the Tenth Doctor (played by David Tennant ). The following month, Doctor Who Magazine announced that their monthly comic strip would feature
25760-404: Was revealed that the question had been projected by the Time Lords across all of time and space through a "crack in the skin of the universe" as a means of contacting the Doctor and seeing whether it was safe to leave the parallel universe in which their planet, Gallifrey , had been left following the events of " The Day of the Doctor ". This arc was penned by Steven Moffat , who has been exploring
25921-448: Was the one to release Swarm from imprisonment as part of the Division's plan to destroy the universe. She was disintegrated by Swarm shortly after briefly confronting the Thirteenth Doctor after she found out her true origins as the timeless child. Other than Tecteun and Susan Foreman , his granddaughter with whom he travelled during the first two seasons and who has been mentioned occasionally since, references to
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