Leet o actors wha hae pleyed the Doctor

William Hartnell

Patrick Troughton

Jon Pertwee

Tom Baker

Peter Davison

Colin Baker

Sylvester McCoy

Paul McGann

Christopher Eccleston

David Tennant

Matt Smith

Peter Capaldi

Jodie Whittaker

Ncuti Gatwa

Fourteen actors hae portrayed the Doctor in a leadin role in Doctor Who.

Fourteen actors hae portrayed the Doctor in a leadin role in the Breetish science fiction telly series Doctor Who. The series' protagonist, the Doctor is an alien frae a species cried Time Lairds. The transition tae ilka succeedin actor is explained within the narrative throu the plot device o regeneration, whilk allaes Time Lairds a change o cellular structure whan thay near daith, changin thair appearance an personality. The first actor tae portray the Doctor wis William Hartnell beginnin wi An Unearthly Child (1963) throu The Tenth Planet (1966). In the final moments o the serial, the First Doctor regeneratit intae Patrick Troughton's Second Doctor.

The maist recent incarnation, the Fifteent Doctor, wis pleyed bi Ncuti Gatwa, wha took ower the role frae David Tennant followin the conclusion o "The Giggle" (2023). Gatwa departed the role in "The Reality War" (2025).

Ootside o telly mony actors hae pleyed the Doctor in mony BBC-licensed spin-affs on telly, stage, radio, film, an audio pleys. The chairacter's abeelity tae periodically regenerate appearance an personality haes facilitatit the abeelity o new actors tae tak ower the role – in offeecial an unoffeecial productions – while in maist cases maintainin continuity wi the telly series.