The Doctor

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The Doctor
Doctor Who character
The Doctor as portrayed by the series leads in chronological order, left to right from top row.
First appearance	An Unearthly Child (1963)
Created by	Sydney Newman
Portrayed by	William Hartnell (1963–1966) Patrick Troughton (1966–1969) Jon Pertwee (1970–1974) Tom Baker (1974–1981) Peter Davison (1982–1984) Colin Baker (1984–1986) Sylvester McCoy (1987–1989) Paul McGann (1996) Christopher Eccleston (2005) David Tennant (2005–2010, 2023) Matt Smith (2010–2013) Peter Capaldi (2014–2017) Jodie Whittaker (2018–2022) Ncuti Gatwa (2023–present) Other actors Richard Hurndall (1983) Richard E. Grant (2003, 2024) John Hurt (2013) David Bradley (2017, 2022) Jo Martin (2020–2022)
Character biography
Species	Time Lord
Spouse	Elizabeth I River Song
Children	Jenny
Relatives	Tecteun (adoptive parent) Susan Foreman (granddaughter) Amy Pond (mother-in-law) Rory Williams (father-in-law)
Home planet	Gallifrey
Main incarnations	First Second Third Fourth Fifth Sixth Seventh Eighth Ninth Tenth Eleventh Twelfth Thirteenth Fourteenth Fifteenth
Other incarnations	Fugitive Doctor War Doctor Shalka Doctor Valeyard

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.

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 the Fifteenth Doctor since "The Giggle" (2023).