Fourteen actors have portrayed the Doctor in a leading role in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. The series' protagonist, the Doctor is an alien from a species called Time Lords. The transition to each succeeding actor is explained within the narrative through the plot device of regeneration, which allows Time Lords a change of cellular structure when they near death, changing their appearance and personality. The first actor to portray the Doctor was William Hartnell beginning with An Unearthly Child (1963) through The Tenth Planet (1966). In the final moments of the serial, the First Doctor regenerated into Patrick Troughton's Second Doctor.
The most recent incarnation, the Fifteenth Doctor, was played by Ncuti Gatwa, who took over the role from David Tennant following the conclusion of "The Giggle" (2023). Gatwa departed the role in "The Reality War" (2025).
Outside of television many actors have played the Doctor in various BBC-licensed spin-offs on television, stage, radio, film, audio plays, and webcasts. The character's ability to periodically regenerate appearance and personality has facilitated the ability of new actors to take over the role – in official and unofficial productions – while in most cases maintaining continuity with the television series.
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Television
Series leads
{| class="wikitable"
|+
|-
! scope="col" | Actor (role)
! scope="col" | Tenure
! scope="col" | First regular appearance
! scope="col" | Last regular appearance
|-
|-
! scope="rowgroup" rowspan="2" |William Hartnell<br />(First Doctor)
|23 November 1963 – 29 October 1966<br />()||An Unearthly Child<br />"An Unearthly Child"||The Tenth Planet<br />Episode 4
|-
| colspan="3" |
|- style="border-top: 3px solid black;"
! scope="rowgroup" rowspan="2" |Patrick Troughton<br />(Second Doctor)
|5 November 1966 – 21 June 1969<br />() ||The Power of the Daleks<br />Episode One||The War Games<br />Episode Ten
|- style="border-top: 3px solid black;"
! scope="rowgroup" rowspan="2" |Jon Pertwee<br />(Third Doctor)
|3 January 1970 – 8 June 1974<br />() ||Spearhead from Space<br />Episode One||Planet of the Spiders<br />Part Six||Logopolis<br />Part Four
|- style="border-top: 3px solid black;"
! scope="rowgroup" rowspan="2" |Peter Davison<br />(Fifth Doctor)
|4 January 1982 – 16 March 1984<br />() ||Castrovalva<br />Part One||The Caves of Androzani<br />Part Four
|Television: Dimensions in Time – 26–27 November 1993|Computer game: Destiny of the Doctors – 5 December 1997
|Audio: Big Finish Productions – 19 July 1999 onwards (first story The Sirens of Time)
|Immersive experience: Time Fracture – 26 May 2021 (pre-recorded audio)|Television: "The Power of the Doctor" – 23 October 2022
|Television: Tales of the TARDIS: Earthshock – 1 November 2023
|- style="border-top: 3px solid black;"
! scope="rowgroup" rowspan="2" |Colin Baker<br/>(Sixth Doctor)
|22 March 1984 – 6 December 1986<br />()
|The Twin Dilemma<br/>Part One
|The Ultimate Foe<br/>Part Two
|-
| colspan="3" |Colin Baker previously appeared on Doctor Who playing a different character in the Fifth Doctor story Arc of Infinity.
|- style="border-top: 3px solid black;"
! scope="rowgroup" rowspan="2" |Sylvester McCoy<br/>(Seventh Doctor)
|7 September 1987 – 6 December 1989<br/>()
|Time and the Rani<br/>Part One
|- style="border-top: 3px solid black;"
! scope="rowgroup" rowspan="2" |David Tennant<br/>(Tenth Doctor)
|25 December 2005 – 1 January 2010<br/>()
|"The Christmas Invasion"
|"The End of Time"<br/>Part Two|Stage/Radio: Doctor Who Prom – 13–14 July 2013|Television commercial: 50 years trailer – 19 October 2013|DVD Extras: INFORARIUM and Rain Gods, two of three special scenes included in the Complete Seventh Series Box Set – 28 October 2013|Television: The Science of Doctor Who – 14 November 2013|Television: Doctor Who: The Ultimate Guide – 18 November 2013|Television: An Adventure in Space and Time (cameo) – 21 November 2013|Television: "Deep Breath" – 23 August 2014
|"Twice Upon a Time"
|-
| colspan="3" |Peter Capaldi previously appeared on Doctor Who playing a different character in the Tenth Doctor episode "The Fires of Pompeii" and on the spin-off Torchwood as John Frobisher.
|- style="border-top: 3px solid black;"
! scope="rowgroup" rowspan="2" |Jodie Whittaker<br />(Thirteenth Doctor)
|7 October 2018 – 23 October 2022<br/>()
|"The Woman Who Fell to Earth"
|"The Power of the Doctor"
|-
| colspan="3" |
|- style="border-top: 3px solid black;" span class="anchor" id="Fourteenth Doctor"
! scope="rowgroup" rowspan="2" |David Tennant<br/>(Fourteenth Doctor)
|25 November 2023 – 9 December 2023<br />()
|"The Star Beast"
|"The Giggle"
|-
| colspan="3" |
|- style="border-top: 3px solid black;" span class="anchor" id="Fifteenth Doctor"
! scope="rowgroup" rowspan="2" |Ncuti Gatwa<br />(Fifteenth Doctor)
| 25 December 2023 – 31 May 2025<br />()
| "The Church on Ruby Road"
|-
!row=scope |Robert Banks Stewart
|-
!row=scope |Christopher Baker
|-
!row=scope |Philip Hinchcliffe
|-
!row=scope |Douglas Camfield
|-
!row=scope |Graeme Harper
|-
!row=scope |Robert Holmes
|-
!row=scope |George Gallaccio
|-
!row=scope |Adrian Gibbs
|Logopolis||28 February – 21 March 1981||The Watcher, who manifests as a harbinger of the Fourth Doctor's regeneration before merging into the Doctor's dying body.
|
|-
!row=scope |Richard Hurndall
|"The Five Doctors"||23 November 1983||Hurndall replaced Hartnell, who had died in 1975, as the First Doctor for the programme's 20th anniversary special. He also appeared in character on Blue Peter alongside Peter Davison on 21 November 1983.
|
|-
!row=scope |Michael Jayston
| rowspan="2" |The Trial of a Time Lord||6 September – 6 December 1986||The Valeyard, an evil version of the Doctor, an amalgamation of the Doctor's darker sides from between his twelfth and final incarnations.
|
|-
!row=scope |Toby Jones
|"Amy's Choice"||15 May 2010||The Dream Lord, a darker, psychic manifestation of the Doctor.
|
|-
!row=scope rowspan="2" |John Guilor
|Planet of Giants DVD||20 August 2012||Re-dubbed voice work in the reconstruction of the original third and fourth episodes of this First Doctor serial.
|
|-
|"The Day of the Doctor"||23 November 2013||Vocal cameo.
|
|-
!row=scope rowspan="3"| John Hurt
|"The Name of the Doctor" ||18 May 2013 ||rowspan="3"|The Doctor's incarnation known as the War Doctor, whose actions in the Time War were so drastic that he deemed himself unworthy of the name "Doctor".
|
|-
| "The Night of the Doctor" ||14 November 2013
|
|-
| "The Day of the Doctor" ||23 November 2013
|
|-
!row=scope |Michael Jones
|"Listen"
|13 September 2014||The First Doctor as a child; uncredited.
|
|-
!row=scope rowspan="3" | David Bradley
| "The Doctor Falls" || 1 July 2017 || rowspan="3" |Similarly to Hurndall, Bradley replaced Hartnell as the First Doctor. Bradley also portrayed Hartnell in the docudrama An Adventure in Space and Time (2013).
| rowspan="3" |
|-
|"Twice Upon a Time"
|25 December 2017
|-
|"The Power of the Doctor"
|23 October 2022
|-
! rowspan="5" row="scope" |Jo Martin
|"Fugitive of the Judoon"
|26 January 2020
| rowspan="5" |Previously unseen incarnation known as the Fugitive Doctor.
|
|-
|"The Timeless Children"
| 1 March 2020
|-
| "Once, Upon Time"
| 14 November 2021
|-
|"The Power of the Doctor"
|23 October 2022
|-
| "The Story & the Engine"
| 10 May 2025
|
|-
!row=scope |Grace Nettle
|rowspan=4|"The Timeless Children"
|rowspan=4|1 March 2020
|rowspan=4|Incarnations of the Timeless Child, who is revealed to be the Doctor.
| rowspan="4" |
|-
!row=scope |Leo Tang
|-
!row=scope |Jac Jones
|-
!row=scope |Jesse Deyi
|-
!row=scope |Sacha Dhawan
|"The Power of the Doctor"
|23 October 2022
|The Master forces the Doctor to regenerate into him.
|
|-
!row=scope |Richard E. Grant
|"Rogue"
|8 June 2024
|An "unknown" Doctor who appears amongst the Doctor's previous faces. This was confirmed by Russell T. Davies to represent the Doctor from Scream of the Shalka.
|
|-
!row=scope |Billie Piper
|"The Reality War"
|31 May 2025
|The Fifteenth Doctor regenerates into a form resembling former companion Rose Tyler, portrayed by Billie Piper, though Piper's official role remains undisclosed.
|
|}
Audio
{| class="wikitable"
|+
|-
! Actor !! Title !! Dates !! Role
!
|-
|rowspan="2"|Geoffrey Bayldon||Auld Mortality||May 2003||rowspan="2"|Alternative First Doctor
| rowspan="2"|
|-
|A Storm of Angels||January 2005
|-
| rowspan="6" |David Warner||"Sympathy for the Devil"||June 2003|| rowspan="6" |Alternative Third Doctor, known as the Unbound Doctor.
| rowspan="2"|
|-
|"Masters of War"||December 2008
|-
|The New Adventures of Bernice Summerfield. Volumes 3–7 ||24 August 2016 – 20 September 2022
|
|-
|Bernice Summerfield: The Story So Far: Volume Two
|25 September 2018
|
|-
|"Time Lord Immemorial"
|5 October 2023
|
|-
|"The War Master Part 1"
|2 July 2024
|
|-
|David Collings|| rowspan="2" |"Full Fathom Five"|| rowspan="2" |August 2003||Alternative Doctor||
|-
|Ian Brooker||New incarnation of Collings' Doctor||
|-
| rowspan="5" |Michael Jayston||"He Jests at Scars..."||September 2003||Alternate reality version of the Valeyard
|
|-
|"Trial of the Valeyard"|| 17 December 2013|| rowspan="4" |The Valeyard
|
|-
|The Sixth Doctor: The Last Adventure || 17 August 2015
|
|-
|Bernice Summerfield: The Story So Far: Volume Two
|25 September 2018
|
|-
|The Eighth Doctor: The Time War: Volume Three
|13 August 2019
|
|-
|Arabella Weir|| rowspan="2" |"Exile"||rowspan="2"|September 2003||Alternative Third Doctor
| rowspan="2" |
|-
| rowspan="3" |Nicholas Briggs||The previous incarnation of Arabella Weir's Doctor
|-
|"Seven Keys to Doomsday"||23 October 2008||The Third Doctor
|
|-
|The Ninth Doctor Chronicles
|May 2017
|The Ninth Doctor
|
|-
|rowspan="3"|Jon Culshaw||"The Kingmaker"||April 2006||The Fourth Doctor
|
|-
|"The Threshold"||15 February 2022||The Third Doctor
|
|-
|The Twelfth Doctor Adventures||Upcoming||The Twelfth Doctor
|
|-
|Trevor Martin||"Seven Keys to Doomsday"||23 October 2008||Alternative Fourth Doctor
|
|-
| rowspan="3" |William Russell||The Lost Stories||November 2010 – September 2013|| rowspan="3" |The First Doctor
|
|-
|The Light at the End||23 October 2013
|
|-
|The Early Adventures||October 2014 – October 2016
|
|-
| rowspan="3" |Frazer Hines||The Lost Stories||December 2010 – November 2013|| rowspan="3" |The Second Doctor
|rowspan="3"|
|-
|The Light at the End||23 October 2013
|-
|The Early Adventures||September 2015 – November 2019
|-
| rowspan="6" |Tim Treloar||The Light at the End||23 October 2013|| rowspan="3" |The Third Doctor
|rowspan="4"|
|-
|The Third Doctor Adventures
|September 2015 – present
|-
|The Legacy of Time
|17 July 2019
|-
|The Diary of River Song: Series 6
|27 August 2019
| The Third Doctor (cameo)
|-
|Once and Future
|May 2023 – October 2023
|rowspan="2"|The Third Doctor
|
|-
|"Deathworld"
|16 August 2024
|
|-
|John Banks||"Trial of the Valeyard"||December 2013||The Hermit / The Thirteenth Doctor (a disguise used by the Valeyard)||
|-
|Peter Purves||The Early Adventures||December 2014 – August 2021 ||The First Doctor
|
|-
|Anthony Howell||"The End of the Line"||rowspan="2"|August 2015||Tim Hope (a disguise used by the Valeyard)
|
|-
|Liz White|| "The Brink of Death"|| Genesta (a disguise used by the Valeyard)
|
|-
| John Hurt|| The War Doctor series|| December 2015 – February 2017 || The War Doctor
|
|-
|"The Union"
|October 2023
|
|-
| rowspan="3" |Tom Baker
|The Eighth Doctor Adventures: Stranded 1
|June 2020
| rowspan="5" |The Curator (implied to be a future version of the Doctor)
|
|-
|The Eighth Doctor Adventures: Stranded 2
|March 2021
|
|-
|UNIT: Nemesis: Between Two Worlds
|November 2021
|
|-
| rowspan="3" |Colin Baker
|The Eighth Doctor Adventures: Stranded 4
|April 2022
|
|-
|"The Artist at the End of Time"
|June 2023
|
|-
|Doctor of War
|13 April 2022 – 27 September 2022
|The Doctor of War (Alternative Fifth Doctor)
|
|-
|rowspan="3"|Jonathon Carley
|The War Doctor Begins
|June 2021 – December 2023
|rowspan="3" |The War Doctor
|
|-
|The War Doctor Rises
|August 2024 – present
|
|-
|Susan's War: Family Ties
|28 August 2024
|
|-
| rowspan="4" |Michael Troughton||The Third Doctor Adventures: The Annihilators
|February 2022
| rowspan="4" |The Second Doctor
|
|-
|The Second Doctor Adventures
|July 2022 – present
|
|-
|Once and Future
|May 2023 – October 2023
|
|-
|"Deathworld"
|16 August 2024
|
|-
|rowspan="3"|Stephen Noonan
|The First Doctor Adventures
|12 April 2022 – present
|rowspan="3"|The First Doctor
|
|-
|Once and Future
|May 2023 – October 2023
|
|-
|"Deathworld"
|16 August 2024
|
|-
|rowspan="2"|Jo Martin
|"Coda – The Final Act"
|November 2024
|rowspan="2"|The Fugitive Doctor
|rowspan="2"|
|-
|The Fugitive Doctor series
|January 2025 – present
|-
|Miles Taylor
|The Eleventh Doctor Adventures
|26 March 2026 – present
|The Eleventh Doctor
|
|}
The Doctor in others' bodies
{| class="wikitable"
|+
|-
! Actor !! Title !! Dates !! Role
!
|-
|India Fisher||"Solitaire"||June 2010||The Eighth Doctor speaking through Charley Pollard||
|-
|Terry Molloy||"The Curse of Davros"||January 2012||The Sixth Doctor in the body of Davros||
|-
|Frazer Hines||"The Jigsaw War"||May 2012||The Second Doctor in Jamie's body
|
|-
|Melvyn Hayes||"The Scorchies"||7 March 2013||The Third Doctor in Professor Baffle's body||
|-
|Damian Lynch|| rowspan="2" |"Ghost in the Machine"||rowspan="2"|October 2013||The Third Doctor in Benjamin Chikoto's voice
|rowspan="2"|
|-
|rowspan="2"|Katy Manning||The Third Doctor in Jo's body
|-
|"The Key to Many Worlds"||7 May 2025||The Sixth Doctor in Iris Wildthyme's body||
|-
|Nicola Bryant||"The Widow's Assassin"||30 October 2014||The Sixth Doctor in Peri's body
|
|-
|Anneke Wills
|"The Crumbling Magician"
|18 September 2019
|The First Doctor in Polly's body
|
|-
|Derek Jacobi
|The War Master: Hearts of Darkness
|October 2020
|The Eighth Doctor in The Master's body
|
|}
Other media
{| class="wikitable"
|+
|-
!scope=col | Actor
!scope=col | Title
!scope=col | Dates
!scope=col | Role
!scope=col | Medium
!scope=col |
|-
! scope="rowgroup" rowspan="2" | Peter Cushing
|Dr. Who and the Daleks
|23 August 1965
| rowspan="2" |Dr. Who
| rowspan="2" |Film
| rowspan="2" |
|-
|Daleks – Invasion Earth: 2150 A.D.
|5 August 1966
|-
!scope="row" |Trevor Martin
| rowspan="2" |Doctor Who and the Daleks in the Seven Keys to Doomsday
|16 December 1974 – 7 January 1975
|Alternative Fourth Doctor
| rowspan="2" |Stage play
|
|-
!scope="row" |Lenny Henry
|The Lenny Henry Show (S2-E5)
|3 October 1985
|The Seventh Doctor
|Parody
|
|-
!scope="row" |David Banks
|Doctor Who – The Ultimate Adventure
|29 April 1989
|The Doctor (one performance)
| Stage play
|
|-
!scope="row" |Rowan Atkinson
| rowspan="5" |The Curse of Fatal Death|| rowspan="5" |12 March 1999||The Doctor
| rowspan="6" |Official parody
| rowspan="5" |
|-
!scope="row" |Richard E. Grant
|The Quite Handsome Doctor
|-
!scope="row" |Jim Broadbent
|The Shy Doctor
|-
!scope="row" |Hugh Grant
|The Handsome Doctor
|-
!scope="row" |Joanna Lumley
|The Female Doctor
|-
!scope="row" |Mark Gatiss
|The Web of Caves||13 November 1999||The Doctor
|
|-
!scope="row" |Richard E. Grant
|Scream of the Shalka
|13 November – 18 December 2003
|A previously official Ninth Doctor prior to the programme's 2005 revival
| rowspan="11" |Webcast
|
|-
!scope="row" |David Bradley
|rowspan="10"|Doctors Assemble!||rowspan="10"|23 May 2020||The First Doctor||rowspan="10"|
|-
!scope="row" |Chris Walker-Thompson
|The Second Doctor
|-
!scope="row" |Jon Culshaw
|The Third, Fourth and Fifth Doctors
|-
!scope="row" |Angus Villiers-Stuart
|The Sixth and Eighth Doctors
|-
!scope="row" |Wink Taylor
|The Seventh Doctor
|-
!scope="row" |Jonathon Carley
|The War and Twelfth Doctors
|-
!scope="row" |Pete Walsh
|The Ninth Doctor
|-
!scope="row" |Jacob Dudman
|The Eleventh Doctor
|-
!scope="row" |Debra Stephenson
|The Thirteenth Doctor
|-
! scope="row" |Elliott Crossley
|The Tenth Doctor
|-
!scope="row" |Hammed Animashaun
|Saturday Night Live UK (S1-E6)
|2 May 2026
|The Doctor
|Parody
|
|-
|}
See also
- List of Doctor Who parodies
- List of actors considered for the part of the Doctor