I’M A DOCTOR WHO SUPERFAN – THESE ARE THE FIVE BEST DOCTORS

When a TV show has lived as many lives as Doctor Who, it’s always going to find itself caught between looking to the future and gazing backwards, misty-eyed. I mean, we’re talking about a programme about a time-travelling alien – it’s only natural.

Having begun in 1963, the long-running sci-fi series is a vastly different beast in 2025. While it’s still airing on the BBC, Disney+ is now pumping money into the show as an international distribution partner. New episodes are released on streaming first rather than it being a Saturday night TV event, and feature a more diverse cast than ever, including the first black actor to play the Doctor in Ncuti Gatwa.

Generally, Gatwa’s 15th Doctor has been well received. Sure, some fans wish he’d cry a little less, but there’s a universal agreement that the Scottish-Rwandan actor has charisma by the bucketful.

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Personally, I find it hard to dislike any of the Doctors, but fans have their favourites – even if, with 14 lead actors (David Tennant has had two stints) to choose from – picking one can be tough. And that’s if you don’t get into alternative Doctors such has John Hurt and Jo Martin, who played different versions of the Time Lord on the show but aren’t considered Doctors proper).

It’s a tricky task to be objective about, too. As a fan who grew up alongside the show’s post-2005 reboot era, I’ll always have a nostalgic soft spot for the actors who first introduced me to the character on screen.

This feeling is one that fans who grew up watching the classic era of the show, in the second half of the 20th century, are well versed in – when actors such as William Hartnell, Jon Pertwee, Tom Baker Peter Davison and Sylvester McCoy captained the Tardis, Obviously, the show’s budget has increased over the decades as technology has progressed, and watching those older episodes takes a healthy willingness to overlook the hokey effects, but they’re worth giving a go. Finding a classic Doctor for whom you develop an affinity feels just as special, because you can really see whose performance shine through.

So, I’ve looked back over my years devotedly watching the show and chosen the five Doctors who most defined it, from the Sixties to today. You can see old episodes featuring all of these Doctors on the BBC.

Christopher Eccleston

The Ninth Doctor (One series, 2005)

If the task of relaunching Doctor Who in 2023 was a challenge, it was one the show – and returning showrunner Russell T Davies – was well versed in. Back in 2005, he’d been tasked with pulling Doctor Who out of a true period in the wilderness.

Young viewers heard their parents share their memories of hiding behind the sofa, but had never seen an episode themselves. To signal the start of a new era, the show needed a strong, distinctive Doctor, and found it in spades in Christopher Eccleston.

Despite only serving with his Sonic Screwdriver for one series, Eccleston – with his leather bomber jacket and shaved head – gave us some of the show’s most iconic episodes. Those span from “The End of the World”, with a guest appearance by Zoë Wanamaker as Lady Cassandra, a face on a piece of skin whose order of “moisturise me” has sparked many a meme, to the genuinely terrifying gas-mask-wearing aliens of “The Empty Child”.

Eccleston was versatile – playful, occasionally, but with a serious intensity. And he and Billie Piper, as retail assistant Rose Tyler, made a great pair.

The series introduced new fans to the franchise, but there was no need to over-explain Who lore (unlike in more recent series). And that was because of Eccleston. New audiences didn’t need to hear lengthy explanations about what a Dalek was. All it took was one glance at his face to get that they were something to fear, and loathe, in equal measure.

Tom Baker

The Fourth Doctor (Seven series, 1974-1981)

Classic Who can feel like an intimidating beast. But for those looking to give the older episodes a go, you won’t go wrong with Tom Baker, who has both quality and quantity on his side.

Spending seven series piloting the Tardis, Baker had the time and space (no pun intended) to figure out his Doctor on-screen, where later stars such as Jodie Whittaker and Gatwa have been inhibited by shorter runs of episodes.

His character could grow, but he also had a charm from the off that immediately brought fans on board. With his broad smile and an ever-present glint in his eye, Baker had a dry wit and gift for improvisation and one-liners that allowed the show to become truly funny.

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He set the blueprint for the Doctor, often asking the writers to amp up the character’s quirks and more alien side, while never forgetting his humanity (largely through his fondness for Jelly Babies). There’s a reason his long stripey scarf and fedora remain the Doctor’s most recognisable and repeated costume, more than 50 years after they were first worn.

That it was Sutekh, a villain from Baker’s era, that Davies decided to bring back for the finale of Gatwa’s first season, says a lot. Baker summed it up best himself: “You may be a Doctor, but I’m the Doctor. The definite article, you might say.”

David Tennant

The 10th and 14th Doctor (Three series and anniversary specials, 2005-2010, 2013, 2022)

Ask most millennial Whovians their favourite Doctor, and the answer you’ll probably get back will be: David Tennant, duh. It’s easy to see why. When he took over the role from Eccleston in 2005, most younger viewers hadn’t seen the Doctor regenerate before.

It would take someone like Tennant, with a level of charisma the likes of which we’re only now seeing again in Gatwa, to convince them that this would work. Immediately, the Scottish actor, performing here in an English accent, established himself as a Tim Lord with a lightness that contrasted sharply with the sincerity Eccleston was known for.

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With his spiky hair, skinny suits and Converse, the 10th Doctor was – dare I say it – kind of cool. His relationship with Piper’s Rose was different too. It was flirtier, ushering in a tendency for the Doctor’s female companions to be slightly in love with him, just as audiences were (until Catherine Tate’s arrival, that is).

In both his original series, the guest appearance in the 2013 50th anniversary special, and his return for the 60th anniversary – the latter move just about teetering on the right side of a reverential comeback without resorting to full-on nostalgia bait – Tennant’s Doctor gave viewers memorable stories and fast-paced adventure.

Most fans point to “Blink” – the first time the terrifying Weeping Angels were featured before their overuse in Matt Smith’s era – as the standout. It’s a great episode, but I’ve always felt that the Cybermen are the triumph of the Tennant era. These human-robot-alien hybrids were always scarier to me than the Daleks. In Tennant’s episodes, they featured heavily enough to drum up genuine fear, and always returned in a way that was unexpected and exciting.

Patrick Troughton

The Second Doctor (Three series, 1966-1969)

The second actor to lead the series, Patrick Troughton played the role of the Doctor when the show was still airing in black and white. But despite his monochromatic setting, he was far more colourful a character than the first Doctor, played by William Hartnell.

Playing a character who could be silly as well as stern, Troughton brought a fresh new side to the Time Lord, and laid out many of the traits we still see today.

Unfortunately, his era isn’t the easiest to recommend from a logistical standpoint. Many of the famed “missing episodes” (from the days when the show was recorded on film) come from this era, and are impossible to track down.

But there are some great ones you can see on BBC iPlayer. “The Enemy of the World”, in which Troughton also plays his doppelgänger, Salamander, is a highlight. Here, the the breadth of the actor’s skill is particularly evident.

Peter Capaldi

The 12th Doctor (Three series, from 2014 to 2017)

If Matt Smith’s Doctor was cut from the same cloth as Tennant’s – young, goofy at times – the subsequent casting of Scottish actor Peter Capaldi felt like a genuinely left-field choice.

At this point, he was a recent Bafta winner best known for playing The Thick of It’s uber-sweary spin doctor Malcolm Tucker. While fears of Capaldi throwing around the C-bomb in the Tardis turned out to be mere fantasy, he did bring that undeniable Tucker bluntness to his characterisation.

He has always been a fine actor – arguably the best to ever inhabit the role – and his more serious take after Smith’s sillier spin took some getting used to. But by the time he’d switched companion Clara Oswald (Jenna Coleman) for Bill Potts (Pearl Mackie), he’d found his stride.

Capaldi showed that the Doctor could have emotional depth without the need for romantic subtext between him and his companions; if anything, the lack of flirtatious energy opened the character up to a whole new world of emotions.

He will always be remembered for bringing a real gravitas to the role, yet over three years, his character went through a major growth arc and we discovered his softer side. If David Tennant is the Doctor for millennials, Capaldi is Gen-Z’s Time Lord.

2025-04-16T06:00:42Z