This timeline details the 13 Doctor Who actors that have played the TV character The Doctor from 1963 to present day
23rd November 1963 – 29th October 1966
First Doctor
William Hartnell (1908 – 1975)Starred in 134 episodes
First Appearance – Season One – ‘An Unearthly Child’
Last Appearance – Season Four – ‘The Tenth Planet’ episode 4
Also appeared in the ‘The Three Doctors’ a four-episode serial shown at the beginning of the tenth season.
5th November 1966 – 21st June 1969
Second Doctor
Patrick Troughton (1920 – 1987)Starred in 119 episodes
First Appearance – Season Four – ‘The Power of the Daleks Episode 1’
Last Appearance – Season Six – ‘The War Games Episode 10’
Also appeared in: ‘The Three Doctors’ a four-episode serial shown at the beginning of the tenth season; ‘The Five Doctors’ shown in November 1983 and ‘The Two Doctors’ a three-episode serial shown in 1985.
3rd January 1970 – 8th June 1974
Third Doctor
Jon Pertwee (1919 – 1996)Starred in 128 episodes
First Appearance – Season Seven – ‘Spearhead from Space Episode 1’
Last Appearance – Season Eleven – ‘Planet of the Spiders Episode 6’
Also appeared in: ‘The Five Doctors’ shown in November 1983
28th December 1974 – 21st March 1981
Fourth Doctor
Tom Baker (b. 1934)Starred in 172 episodes
First Appearance – Season Twelve – ‘Robot Episode 1’
Last Appearance – Season Eighteen – ‘Logopolis Episode 4’
4th January 1982 – 16th March 1984
Fifth Doctor
Peter Davison (b. 1951)Starred in 128 episodes
First Appearance – Season Nineteen – ‘Castrovalva Episode 1’
Last Appearance – Season Twenty-One – ‘The Caves of Androzani Episode 4’
22nd March 1984 – 6th December 1986
Sixth Doctor
Colin Baker (b. 1943)Starred in 31 episodes
First Appearance – Season Twenty-One – ‘The Twin Dilemma Episode 1’
Last Appearance – Season Twenty-Three – ‘The Ultimate Foe Episode 2’
7th September 1987 – 6th December 1989
Seventh Doctor
Sylvestor McCoy (b. 1943)Starred in 42 episodes
First Appearance – Season Twenty-Four – ‘Time and the Rani Episode 1’
Last Appearance – Season Twenty-Six – ‘Survival Episode 3’
Also appeared in ‘Dr Who: The Television Movie’ 1996 and ‘The Day of the Doctor’ 2013
27th May 1996
Eighth Doctor
Paul McGann (b. 1959)Starred in the television movie
Only Appearance – ‘Dr Who: The Television Movie’
26th March 2005 – 18th June 2005
Ninth Doctor
Christopher Eccleston (b. 1964)Starred in 13 episodes
First Appearance – Series One – ‘Rose’
Last Appearance – Series One – ‘The Parting of the Ways’
25th December 2005 – 1st January 2010
Tenth Doctor
David Tennant (b. 1971)Starred in 47 episodes
First Appearance – Series Two – ‘The Christmas Invasion’
Last Appearance – Series Four – ‘The End of Time’
Also appeared in ‘The Day of the Doctor’ 2013
3rd April 2010 – 25th December 2013
Eleventh Doctor
Matt Smith (b. 1982)Starred in 44 episodes
First Appearance – Series Five – ‘The Eleventh Hour’
Last Appearance – Series Seven – ‘The Time of the Doctor’
23rd August 2014 – 25th December 2017
Twelfth Doctor
Peter Capaldi (b. 1958)Starred in 40 episodes
First Appearance – Series Eight – ‘Deep Breath’
Last Appearance – Series Ten – ‘Twice Upon a Time’
25th December 2017 – Present
Thirteenth Doctor
Jodie Whittaker (b. 1982)Starred in 29 episodes to date
First Appearance – Series Ten – ‘Twice Upon a Time’
Is the current Doctor
Published Feb 04, 2022 @ 12:50 pm – Updated – [last-modified]
Harvard Reference for this page:
Heather Y Wheeler. (2022). Doctor Who Actors 1963 – Present. https://www.thetimelinegeek.com/doctor-who-actors-1963-present. Last accessed [date]