Peter Capaldi reprised his role as the Twelfth Doctor in his third and final series; he left after the 2017 Christmas special, while Pearl Mackie portrays the newest companion Bill Potts, after the departure of Jenna Coleman. To avoid leaks while casting the new companion, the production team used the word "Mean Town", an anagram of "Ten Woman"; this is a reference to the fact that Bill is the companion of the tenth series, and was revealed by the casting director Andy Pryor to Radio Times. Mackie made her first appearance in the first episode of the tenth series, and portrays the first openly gay companion.
Casting
Doctor Who (series 10)
Doctor Who (series 10) | Casting
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The main story arc for the first half of the series revolved around the Doctor and Nardole occupying themselves as a university professor and assistant while they guard an underground vault containing Missy, who the Doctor has sworn to protect for a thousand years after her supposed execution.
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The First Doctor returns, played by Richard Hurndall as original actor William Hartnell died in 1975. Tom Baker was asked to return to play the Fourth Doctor but declined. Past companions Elisabeth Sladen (Sarah Jane Smith), Nicholas Courtney (Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart), Carole Ann Ford (Susan Foreman) return for the 20th Anniversary special, whilst Nicholas Courtney also makes an appearance in "Mawdryn Undead".
Doctor Who (season 20) | Main cast
Jon Pertwee makes his first appearance as the Third Doctor replacing Patrick Troughton in the role. Caroline John makes her first appearance as companion and assistant Liz Shaw in "Spearhead from Space" and last in "Inferno".
Doctor Who (season 7) | Main cast
Jon Pertwee continues his role as the Third Doctor, and Jo Grant played by Katy Manning makes her final appearance in "The Green Death".
Doctor Who (season 10) | Main cast
On 5 July 2006, the BBC confirmed that Freema Agyeman would join the show as new companion Martha Jones. Agyeman had previously appeared in the 2006 episode "Army of Ghosts". John Barrowman also returned as Captain Jack Harkness for the three-part series finale.
Doctor Who (series 3) | Main characters
Michelle Gomez and John Simm return as their respective incarnations of the Master. The main story arc for the first half of the series revolved around the Doctor and Nardole occupying themselves as a university professor and assistant while they guard an underground vault containing Missy, who the Doctor has sworn to protect for a thousand years after her supposed execution. Missy later travels with the team in the TARDIS, and eventually partners with her previous incarnation as they all battle a Cyberman onslaught aboard a Mondasian colony ship. Steven Moffat wrote four episodes for the series. Other returning writers who have worked on this series and previous ones include Frank Cottrell-Boyce, Sarah Dollard, Jamie Mathieson, Peter Harness, Toby Whithouse and Mark Gatiss, as well as two new writers for the revived era of the programme, Mike Bartlett and Rona Munro, the latter of whom wrote "Survival", the final serial of the original classic era.
Doctor Who (series 10) | Introduction
Tom Baker continued as the Fourth Doctor. Lalla Ward, who played Princess Astra in the season 16 finale "The Armageddon Factor", returned to the series as the newly regenerated Romana, replacing Mary Tamm in the role. After John Leeson declined to return as K9, David Brierley replaced him in the part for the season's final four serials, including "Shada".
Doctor Who (season 17) | Main cast
Colin Baker and Nicola Bryant continue their roles as the Sixth Doctor and Peri Brown. Patrick Troughton and Frazer Hines return to play the Second Doctor and his companion Jamie McCrimmon in "The Two Doctors". Their last on-screen appearance was (briefly in the case of Hines) "The Five Doctors" in 1983.
Doctor Who (season 22) | Main cast
There were no changes in the primary cast until Steven's departure in the penultimate story, "The Savages". In the final story "The War Machines", Dodo also departs, and the Doctor was joined by Polly (Anneke Wills) and Ben (Michael Craze). Like the previous season, the cast of companions had changed from start to finish.
Doctor Who (season 3) | Main cast
Colin Baker makes his final appearance as the Doctor in this longest-running serial before being fired by the BBC. Nicola Bryant departs as Peri Brown in "Mindwarp". Bonnie Langford makes her debut as the Doctor's future companion Melanie Bush in "Terror of the Vervoids".
Doctor Who (season 23) | Main cast
Patrick Troughton, Frazer Hines and Deborah Watling appear as The Second Doctor, Jamie McCrimmon and Victoria Waterfield respectively. Deborah Watling departs in the penultimate story "Fury from the Deep". Wendy Padbury makes her debut as Zoe Heriot in the season finale, "The Wheel in Space".
Doctor Who (season 5) | Main cast
Jon Pertwee makes his final appearance as the series lead in "Planet of the Spiders", although he would reprise the role of the Third Doctor in the 20th anniversary special episode, "The Five Doctors". Elisabeth Sladen makes her first appearance as Sarah Jane Smith in "The Time Warrior". Tom Baker makes his first uncredited appearance as the Fourth Doctor in Part 6 of Planet of the Spiders, when Jon Pertwee's Doctor is fatally wounded and regenerates into the Fourth Doctor.
Doctor Who (season 11) | Main cast
Sylvester McCoy and Sophie Aldred both continue their roles as the Seventh Doctor and Ace for their final season.
Doctor Who (season 26) | Main cast
William Hartnell appears as the First Doctor for the first two full serials before being succeeded in the role by Patrick Troughton as the Second Doctor for the remaining seven stories. Anneke Wills and Michael Craze continue their roles as Polly and Ben respectively. They are shortly joined by Frazer Hines playing Jamie McCrimmon in "The Highlanders". Polly and Ben depart in the penultimate story "The Faceless Ones", and at the end of the season Deborah Watling makes her debut as Victoria Waterfield in "The Evil of the Daleks".
Doctor Who (season 4) | Main cast
This series dealt with the mystery of the vault and the Doctor’s oath, later exploring the Doctor and Missy’s relationship, and the possibility of Missy "turning good". This season introduces Bill Potts (Pearl Mackie) and Nardole (Matt Lucas) as The Doctor's companions.
List of Doctor Who episodes (2005–present) | Series 10 (2017)
Tom Baker continues his role as the Fourth Doctor. Sarah Jane Smith (Elisabeth Sladen) departs in "The Hand of Fear", before the Doctor is joined by Leela (Louise Jameson) in "The Face of Evil". Uniquely in the 'classic' era of "Doctor Who", no companion appears in "The Deadly Assassin".
Doctor Who (season 14) | Main cast
William Hartnell continued his role as the First Doctor accompanied by his original companions: his granddaughter Susan Foreman (Carole Ann Ford), and schoolteachers Ian Chesterton (William Russell) and Barbara Wright (Jacqueline Hill). Susan departed at the end of the second story "The Dalek Invasion of Earth", and was soon replaced by Vicki (Maureen O'Brien) in "The Rescue". The penultimate story "The Chase" saw the departure of Ian and Barbara, and the arrival of Steven (Peter Purves) as a regular member of the TARDIS crew. At the end of the season, aside from the Doctor, the main cast had changed and would do so the following season when it finished.
Doctor Who (season 2) | Main cast
Season 19 saw the introduction of Peter Davison as the Fifth Doctor. Tegan Jovanka (Janet Fielding), Nyssa (Sarah Sutton) and Adric (Matthew Waterhouse) were his companions. Adric is killed off in the climax of "Earthshock"; a rare instance in the series of a companion dying.
Doctor Who (season 19) | Main cast
Patrick Troughton, Frazer Hines and Wendy Padbury make their final appearances as the Second Doctor, Jamie McCrimmon and Zoe Heriot respectively. Troughton and his fellow actors collectively decided that the workload of "Doctor Who" was exhausting them, and that they would soon depart from the show. From Season 7 onwards the show would never have such a high number of episodes again. The three actors remained with the show until the conclusion of the final season six serial "The War Games".
Doctor Who (season 6) | Main cast
Jon Pertwee continues his role as the Third Doctor, as does Katy Manning playing Jo Grant.
Doctor Who (season 9) | Main cast
Tom Baker and Louise Jameson continue their roles as the Fourth Doctor and Leela. K9, played by John Leeson, makes his first appearance during the second serial "The Invisible Enemy". Louise Jameson makes her final appearance as Leela in "The Invasion of Time".
Doctor Who (season 15) | Main cast
Letts had been the producer of the series since the early Pertwee serials in 1970. He had seen Baker's work in "The Golden Voyage of Sinbad" and hired him for the part. Baker would continue in his role as "the Doctor" for seven seasons, longer than any other actor to play the part. Elisabeth Sladen returned to play the role of companion Sarah Jane Smith throughout the season. Ian Marter joined the cast as Harry Sullivan. The character was created before Baker was cast; there had been discussion of casting an older actor as the Doctor, and so Harry was created as a younger character to handle the action scenes.
Doctor Who (season 12) | Main cast
Tom Baker continued his role as The Fourth Doctor along with Sarah Jane Smith (Elisabeth Sladen). Harry Sullivan, played by Ian Marter, departed in "Terror of the Zygons" and reappeared in "The Android Invasion" as a guest star.
Doctor Who (season 13) | Main cast
Jon Pertwee continues his role as the Third Doctor. Katy Manning makes her first appearance as companion Jo Grant in "Terror of the Autons".
Doctor Who (season 8) | Main cast
Matt Lucas returned in his role as Nardole, as seen in the 2015 and 2016 Christmas specials "The Husbands of River Song" and "The Return of Doctor Mysterio", in a regular role that started from the first episode of the series, but would not appear in every episode. In June 2016, it was announced that Stephanie Hyam would be joining the tenth series. In July 2016, actors Mina Anwar, Ralf Little, and Kaizer Akhtar had been added to the cast and portrayed Goodthing, Steadfast, and Praiseworthy respectively in the second episode. On 16 August 2016, it was announced that David Suchet, famous for his role in "Agatha Christie's Poirot", would appear as a character known as "The Landlord" in the fourth episode, "Knock Knock".
Doctor Who (series 10) | Casting
William Hartnell continues his journey as The First Doctor, accompanied by companions Vicki (Maureen O'Brien) and Steven Taylor (Peter Purves). In the third story "The Myth Makers", Vicki departed and was replaced by Katarina (Adrienne Hill). Katarina's tenure was brief, with the character being killed in episode 4 of the following story, "The Daleks' Master Plan". In some companion lists, Sara Kingdom (Jean Marsh) is included as a companion, though her appearances were limited to later episodes of the serial "The Daleks' Master Plan". Dodo Chaplet (Jackie Lane) joined the Doctor and Steven in the next serial, "The Massacre of St Bartholomew's Eve".
Doctor Who (season 3) | Main cast
In October 2013, actress Neve McIntosh stated in an interview that recurring characters Madame Vastra, Jenny Flint and Strax (known to fans as "the Paternoster Gang") were due to return in the series premiere "Deep Breath". On 24 February 2014, it was announced that "Gavin & Stacey" actor Samuel Anderson will join the cast as the recurring character Danny Pink, a teacher and Clara's colleague at Coal Hill School. Beyond the return of the Paternoster Gang, and the casting of Samuel Anderson, the first major guest star of the series was announced in March 2014 when it was revealed that Keeley Hawes had been cast in episode five as a character named Ms.
Doctor Who (series 8) | Casting
They reprised their roles of the Eleventh Doctor, Amy Pond and Rory Williams, from the previous series. Gillan and Darvill departed the series in the fifth episode, "The Angels Take Manhattan", after which a new companion named Clara Oswald joined the Doctor, played by Jenna-Louise Coleman, remaining with the series for its second half. The main story arc of the series focused on the significance of the character of Clara, whom the Doctor had encountered twice before as Oswin in "Asylum of the Daleks" and as a governess in "The Snowmen". It also features the recurring appearance of the Doctor's enemy, The Great Intelligence, who were later revealed to be trying to gain the Doctor's true name for their own plans.
Doctor Who (series 7) | Introduction
It also stars Jenna Coleman as his companion, Clara Oswald. Also playing a major recurring role in the series is Samuel Anderson as Danny Pink, Clara's boyfriend. The main story arc revolves around a mysterious woman called Missy (portrayed by Michelle Gomez), who is often seen welcoming people who have died throughout the series to the "Promised Land", a place that serves as an apparent afterlife to deceased characters. Missy's true identity is later revealed to be the Doctor's arch-enemy, the Master, who has hatched a plan using the help of the Cybermen and through manipulation of the Doctor and Clara's relationship.
Doctor Who (series 8) | Introduction
Series two was David Tennant's first in the role of the Doctor after he was cast on 28 April 2005. Following his brief appearance in the closing moments of "The Parting of the Ways" he was next seen in the , broadcast on 18 November 2005. "The Christmas Invasion", broadcast one month later, marked his first full episode. Billie Piper continued her role as companion Rose Tyler, for her second and final series, Noel Clarke's character Mickey Smith, a recurring guest character during the first series, featured in several episodes.
Doctor Who (series 2) | Main characters
Series 3 was David Tennant's second series in the role of the Doctor, during which he is joined by three companions: Donna Noble, Martha Jones and Captain Jack Harkness. Actress and comedian Catherine Tate was cast as one-off companion Donna Noble for the Christmas special. At the end of the episode the character turns down the chance to travel in the TARDIS, however Tate later reprised her role and returned for a full series starting in the 2008 episode "Partners in Crime". Following the departure of Billie Piper as Rose Tyler at the end of Series 2, a new full-time companion was needed.
Doctor Who (series 3) | Main characters
Season 18 sees the swan song of Tom Baker as the Fourth Doctor, ending his time after seven years on the program. New companions Adric (Matthew Waterhouse), Nyssa (Sarah Sutton), and Tegan Jovanka (Janet Fielding) make their introductions in "Full Circle", "The Keeper of Traken", and "Logopolis", respectively. Romana, played by Lalla Ward, departs from the series in "Warriors' Gate", along with John Leeson who returns to voice the robot K9. With the arrival of Adric, this season marks the first time since 1967 that the show has given the Doctor a party of three travelling companions.
Doctor Who (season 18) | Main cast
Billie Piper, who played Rose Tyler from the first episode of the first series to the finale of the second series appeared in the three final episodes of the series. She made brief appearances in the episodes "Partners in Crime", "The Poison Sky" and "Midnight". Her return had been planned by Davies since her departure in 2006, and was officially announced on 27 November 2007. John Barrowman, Elisabeth Sladen, Noel Clarke and Camille Coduri, who portrayed previous companions Jack Harkness, Sarah Jane Smith, Mickey Smith and Jackie Tyler respectively, also reappeared in the finale.
Doctor Who (series 4) | Main characters
The seventh series marked Matt Smith's third and final full series as the eleventh incarnation of the Doctor. Karen Gillan and Arthur Darvill, who portray Amy Pond and Rory Williams respectively, departed the programme in the fifth episode. The decision to write the pair out of the series was a mutual decision from Gillan and showrunner Steven Moffat. The actress previously stated that she did not want to make return cameos to the show. On 21 March 2012, it was announced that Jenna Coleman would replace Gillan and Darvill as the next companion. She auditioned for the role in secrecy, pretending it was for something called "Men on Waves", an anagram for "Woman Seven".
Doctor Who (series 7) | Casting
The television series would employ a set of characters completely different from the original book series (the film and radio series would use the characters from the books). The major protagonists were: The main antagonist is the well-respected and ill-tempered surgeon Professor (later Sir) Geoffrey Loftus (Ernest Clark). Most of the plot lines revolve around the students' attempts to meet his demanding expectations.
Doctor in the House (franchise) | Characters
Peter Davison continues his role as the Doctor, accompanied by Janet Fielding (Tegan Jovanka). While Nyssa (Sarah Sutton) leaves halfway through the season in "Terminus", Mark Strickson arrives as new companion Vislor Turlough in "Mawdryn Undead". In the penultimate serial of the season, the shape-shifting android Kamelion (voiced by Gerald Flood) is invited aboard the TARDIS after the Doctor frees him from the Master. Kamelion accepts, though the character itself would only be seen again in Season 21's antepenultimate serial, "Planet of Fire". Past Doctors return for the 20th Anniversary special, with Patrick Troughton and Jon Pertwee appearing as the Second Doctor and Third Doctor.
Doctor Who (season 20) | Main cast
Nicholas Courtney, John Levene and Richard Franklin continue their recurring roles of UNIT personnel Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart, Sergeant Benton and Captain Mike Yates respectively. Previous lead actors William Hartnell and Patrick Troughton return to guest as the First and Second Doctors in the programme's tenth anniversary serial, "The Three Doctors", although illness limited Hartnell's involvement. This was the first time that previous incarnations of the Doctor had returned to the programme, in what would become a regular feature of anniversary episodes. Roger Delgado makes his final appearance as The Master in "Frontier in Space". He died in a car crash in Turkey shortly after the story's transmission.
Doctor Who (season 10) | Recurring and guest cast
The fourth series marked David Tennant's third and final full series as the Doctor, although he continued in the role for the 2008–2010 specials. In the Christmas special, Australian actress and singer Kylie Minogue starred as one-time companion Astrid Peth, who died during the events of the episode. The companions in the regular series had all been in the lead companion role previously: the primary role of Donna Noble, who was introduced in "The Runaway Bride", was played by Catherine Tate for all thirteen episodes. Her return was announced by the BBC on 3 July 2007. Freema Agyeman, who portrayed the Doctor's companion Martha Jones in series three, returned for "The Sontaran Stratagem", "The Poison Sky", "The Doctor's Daughter", "The Stolen Earth" and "Journey's End".
Doctor Who (series 4) | Main characters
These specials marked David Tennant's final run of episodes as the Tenth Doctor and Matt Smith's first appearance as the newly regenerated Eleventh Doctor. They also featured a string of one-time companions beginning in "The Next Doctor" with David Morrissey as Jackson Lake, a man who thinks himself to be the Doctor and his "companion" Rosita Farisi, played by Velile Tshabalala. "Planet of the Dead" featured former "EastEnders" actress, Michelle Ryan, as young thrill-seeking burglar, Lady Christina de Souza. "The Waters of Mars" starred Lindsay Duncan as Adelaide Brooke, Captain of Bowie Base One on Mars. Finally, the two-part "The End of Time" had Bernard Cribbins as recurring character Wilfred Mott as a full-fledged companion for the first time.
Doctor Who (2008–2010 specials) | Main characters
In a 2010 interview, Eccleston revealed that he left the show because he "didn't enjoy the environment and the culture that [they], the cast and crew, had to work in", but that he was proud of having played the role.
Doctor Who (series 1) | Main cast
The ninth series is the second starring Peter Capaldi as the Twelfth Doctor, and the third and final starring Jenna Coleman as the Doctor's companion Clara Oswald. In "Doctor Who Magazine", Michelle Gomez confirmed that she would return as Missy, the latest incarnation of the Master, who served as the main villain in series 8. In February 2015, it was confirmed that Missy would return in "The Magician's Apprentice" / "The Witch's Familiar", the opening episodes of the series. In January 2015, it was announced that actor Paul Kaye had a guest role in the first production block. It was later announced that other guest actors featuring in the first block include Arsher Ali, Morven Christie, Neil Fingleton, Colin McFarlane, and Steven Robertson.
Doctor Who (series 9) | Casting
"Doctor", portrayed by John Dalziel, appeared on 15 May 2012. Dalziel made a cameo appearance, therefore his character was not named, nor was he credited for his role. Dalziel, often known as "JD", is a DJ for Free Radio Coventry & Warwickshire. He appears when he rushes to the aid of Bazza Rogers (Nason Crone). Of his role, Dalziel commenter, "It was exciting to be on the set of one of the country's biggest soap operas. I'd say that my interpretation of the character was very convincing but I certainly wouldn't fancy being a real doctor, there would be far too much blood".
List of Doctors characters (2012) | Doctor
Jean Marsh, who had portrayed Sara Kingdom in "The Daleks' Master Plan" (1965–66), also appeared in "Battlefield" playing the part of the main antagonist.
Doctor Who (season 26) | Guest stars
It also stars Jenna Coleman as the Doctor's companion, Clara Oswald, for her third and final series in the role. Also playing a major recurring role in the series is Maisie Williams as Ashildr, a Viking girl made immortal by the Doctor, which leads to major events resulting from her encounters with the Doctor. The series' main story arc revolves around the mystery of a being called the Hybrid, the combination of two great warrior races. The Hybrid is alluded to with the appearance of many other hybrids such as Osgood and Ashildr. The Doctor's investigation into this being ultimately leads him back to his home planet of Gallifrey, which returns fully in the series.
Doctor Who (series 9) | Introduction
In November 2015, it was announced that Matt Lucas would appear in "The Husbands of River Song" as a guest character named Nardole. On 14 June 2016, it was confirmed that Nardole would return in the 2016 Christmas special, "The Return of Doctor Mysterio", as the Doctor's companion and stay in this role in the tenth series until the finale. Steven Moffat said that Matt Lucas wanted to play Nardole again and so he used the chance to bring Lucas back as a regular.
Nardole | Casting and development
It was the first series to feature Matt Smith as the eleventh incarnation of the Doctor, an alien Time Lord who travels through time and space in his TARDIS (a spacecraft whose exterior resembles a British police box). Karen Gillan is introduced as the Doctor's new companion, Amy Pond. Her fiancé, Rory Williams (Arthur Darvill), appears in seven episodes, travels with the Doctor and Amy, and is a regular character in the next series. Alex Kingston returns as River Song, a mysterious woman from the Doctor's future who summons him twice in this series. The main story arc, covering several episodes, concerns a pattern of cracks in the universe which are sometimes unnoticed by the characters.
Doctor Who (series 5) | Introduction
The Master returned to the show, this time played by Geoffrey Beevers, in "The Keeper of Traken". After the events of "Traken" the Master was thereafter played by Anthony Ainley, who would continue in the part for the rest of the classic series' run. Jacqueline Hill, who had played the First Doctor's companion Barbara Wright, returned in "Meglos", although this time playing a different character, the alien priestess Lexa.
Doctor Who (season 18) | Guest stars
Nicholas Courtney and John Levene continue their roles of Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart and Sergeant Benton, while Richard Franklin makes his final regular appearance as Captain Yates in "Planet of the Spiders"
Doctor Who (season 11) | Recurring cast
Guest stars in the series included Olivia Colman, James Corden, Annette Crosbie, Tony Curran, Iain Glen, Daisy Haggard, Terrence Hardiman, Toby Jones, Helen McCrory, Neve McIntosh, Ian McNeice, Stephen Moore, Lucian Msamati, Bill Nighy, Sophie Okonedo, Bill Paterson, Alex Price, Robert Pugh, Nia Roberts, Meera Syal and Nina Wadia.
Doctor Who (series 5) | Casting
During production of season eleven, it was known that Jon Pertwee would be leaving his role as the Third Doctor and that a new Fourth Doctor would need to be cast for the part. Tom Baker was an out-of-work actor, working in construction at the time. Baker had been a television and film actor, having major parts in several films including "The Vault of Horror" (1973) and as the main antagonist in "The Golden Voyage of Sinbad" the same year. He had written to Bill Slater, the Head of Serials at the BBC, asking for work. Slater suggested Baker to "Doctor Who" producer Barry Letts who had been looking to fill the part.
Doctor Who (season 12) | Main cast
On 4 April 2016, the main cast of the programme was unveiled. Greg Austin, Fady Elsayed, Sophie Hopkins and Vivian Oparah star as four Sixth Formers, with Austin playing a character named Charlie, while Katherine Kelly portrays Miss Quill, a Coal Hill Academy teacher. Nigel Betts reprises his role as Mr. Armitage from "Into the Dalek", "The Caretaker" and "Dark Water" from the eighth series of "Doctor Who". Paul Marc Davis appears in a recurring role in the programme. Anna Shaffer portrays a character named Rachel in the programme. Patrick Ness revealed on Twitter that one of the lead characters would be a male with a boyfriend.
Class (2016 TV series) | Casting
Nicholas Courtney returned as Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart in "Terror of the Zygons" having last appeared in "Robot". John Levene makes his final appearance as Sergeant Benton in "The Android Invasion" after six years in the role.
Doctor Who (season 13) | Recurring cast
The series also introduces Freema Agyeman as the Doctor's new companion Martha Jones, who leaves at the end of the series due to the fact that her family need support whilst recovering from the events of the series finale, which involved her mother, sister and brother being tortured. John Barrowman also reprises his role as Captain Jack Harkness in the final three episodes which serve as the finale. The series is connected by a loose story arc consisting of the recurring phrase "Vote Saxon", which ultimately is revealed to be the return of the Doctor's enemy Time Lord the Master, first played by Derek Jacobi before regenerating into John Simm.
Doctor Who (series 3) | Introduction
He had dismissed the actor originally cast in the part for not being able to perform the role adequately.
Derrick Sherwin | "Doctor Who"
Nicholas Courtney returned to play Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart in "Battlefield". He first appeared with the Second Doctor in 1968 in "The Web of Fear" before becoming a recurring character throughout the Second Doctor to the Fifth Doctor and last appearing in "The Five Doctors" (1983). Anthony Ainley returned to play The Master in "Survival", having last appeared in "The Ultimate Foe" (1986). This was Ainley's final television appearance in the role, though he portrayed the Master one last time in the 1997 computer game "Destiny of the Doctors".
Doctor Who (season 26) | Recurring stars
He did not act in the revived series, although he did so in the spin-off, "The Sarah Jane Adventures" and appeared in archival footage in "Doctor Who" proper. While he acted with Tenth Doctor actor David Tennant in the Big Finish audio dramas "Sympathy for the Devil" and "", Tennant was playing a different character, Colonel Ross Brimmicombe-Wood, on both occasions.
Nicholas Courtney | "Doctor Who"
The Master returned in the 1996 television movie of "Doctor Who", and was played by American actor Eric Roberts. Following the series revival in 2005, Derek Jacobi provided the character's re-introduction in the 2007 episode "Utopia". During that story, the role was then assumed by John Simm who returned to the role multiple times through the Tenth Doctor's tenure. As of the 2014 episode "Dark Water", it was revealed that the Master had become a female incarnation or "Time Lady", going by the name of "Missy" (short for Mistress, the feminine equivalent of "Master"). This incarnation is played by Michelle Gomez.
Doctor Who | The Master
Grant's Shalka Doctor to non-official status. Russell T Davies revealed that Eccleston asked for the role in an e-mail. After the announcement that the show would be returning, Davies revealed that the new companion would "probably" be called Rose Tyler in an edition of "Doctor Who Magazine" published in November 2003. This name was confirmed in March 2004, and it was announced at the same time that former pop star Billie Piper was being considered for the role. Piper was announced as portraying Rose Tyler on 24 May, a character which fulfilled the role of permanent companion during the series, and was welcomed by fans of the show.
Doctor Who (series 1) | Main cast
Davros returns in "Destiny of the Daleks", this time played by David Gooderson.
Doctor Who (season 17) | Guest stars
Nicholas Courtney returns as Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart and he would continue to make regular appearances in "Doctor Who" until season 13. John Levene also makes his first appearance as Sergeant Benton since "The Invasion" in "The Ambassadors of Death" and would continue to make regular appearances until season 13.
Doctor Who (season 7) | Recurring cast
Other companions appear briefly during the Tenth Doctor's "farewell tour": Catherine Tate as Donna Noble, Billie Piper as Rose Tyler, Camille Coduri as Jackie Tyler, Freema Agyeman as Martha Jones, Noel Clarke as Mickey Smith, John Barrowman as Captain Jack Harkness, Elisabeth Sladen as Sarah Jane Smith, and Jessica Hynes as Verity Newman, whose grandmother, Joan Redfern, fell in love with the human John Smith in "Human Nature" and "The Family of Blood". John Simm reprises his role as the Master in "The End of Time".
Doctor Who (2008–2010 specials) | Guest characters
Dr. Rana Mistry, portrayed by Akbar Kurtha, first appeared on 26 March 2000, and made his last appearance 1 June 2001. Rana is a general practitioner, who gets into a relationship with Anoushka Flynn (Carli Norris). Anoushka cheats on Rana with Steve Rawlings (Mark Frost), and when she gets pregnant and does not know who the father is, she leaves Letherbridge.
List of Doctors characters (2000) | Rana Mistry
Ahead of Season 3, during a promo which screened in June 2018 on the Nine Network, it was revealed that the show would be losing a major character; in a spoiler, it was revealed to be Jim Knight. In May 2018, it was announced, that Steve Bisley would be returning for the third season, however, he only appeared in the opening episode.
Doctor Doctor (Australian TV series) | Casting
Terry Molloy makes his final appearance as Davros, the Dalek creator (now acting as the Dalek Emperor) in "Remembrance of the Daleks".
Doctor Who (season 25) | Recurring stars
Anthony Ainley returns as the Master yet again in "The King's Demons" and "The Five Doctors". The Black Guardian played by Valentine Dyall also makes a return in "Mawdryn Undead", "Terminus" and "Enlightenment". The Castellan played by Paul Jerricho appears in "Arc of Infinity" and reprises the role in "The Five Doctors"
Doctor Who (season 20) | Recurring stars
Although portrayed as grumpy and antagonistic in early episodes, the Doctor warms to his companions as the show progresses. The Doctor's granddaughter Susan Foreman was portrayed by Carole Ann Ford, a 23-year-old who typically played younger roles. Lambert was originally in talks with actress Jacqueline Lenya for the role, and several actresses auditioned for the part, including Christa Bergmann, Anne Castaldini, Maureen Crombie, Heather Fleming, Camilla Hasse, Waveney Lee, Anna Palk and Anneke Wills. Ford felt that the character of Susan deteriorated throughout the series; although the show's initial pitch depicted Susan as a strange alien creature, she often played the damsel in distress role, panicking at minor events.
Doctor Who (season 1) | Casting and characters
The original starring cast consisted of Anthony Edwards as Dr. Mark Greene, George Clooney as Dr. Douglas "Doug" Ross, Sherry Stringfield as Dr. Susan Lewis, Noah Wyle as medical student (later Dr.) John Carter, and Eriq La Salle as Dr. Peter Benton. Julianna Margulies guest starred in the pilot as Nurse Carol Hathaway before becoming part of the regular cast. The first additions to the main cast came in Season 2 with Gloria Reuben signing on as Physician Assistant Jeanie Boulet (recurring character in Season 1), and in Season 3 with Laura Innes as Dr. Kerry Weaver (recurring character in Season 2).
Cast of ER | Main cast
On a few occasions, previous actors to have played Doctor have returned to the role, usually guest-starring with the incumbent: In addition to the above, Tom Baker, Davison, Colin Baker, McCoy, McGann, Tennant and Hurt have reprised the role on many occasions since 1999 in audio dramas from Big Finish Productions. Matt Smith made a brief "imagined" cameo seen only by actor William Hartnell (portrayed by David Bradley), in the movie dramatising the early years of Doctor Who "An Adventure in Space and Time".
The Doctor (Doctor Who) | Reprising the role
Nardole's presence with the Doctor throughout series 10 is explained as a continuation from "The Husbands of River Song", with River Song having ordered Nardole to prevent the Doctor from taking extreme actions after her death (going "in extremis"). Nardole is shown reading from River Song's TARDIS-styled diary, first seen in the Tenth Doctor story "Silence in the Library"/"Forest of the Dead", River Song's 'final' adventure. Missy alludes to the Doctor's 'retirement' on Darillium with River ("The Husbands of River Song") and offers her condolences regarding River's death.
Extremis (Doctor Who) | Continuity
Matt Smith, Karen Gillan and Arthur Darvill continued their roles as the Doctor, Amy Pond, and Rory Williams. Darvill had appeared in the previous series in a recurring role in seven episodes, acting as a companion in six of them, but became a regular in this series, having had his "fingers crossed" that this would happen. Alex Kingston returned as River Song. Although Kingston did not expect to return before the fifth series, Moffat always intended for River to return to the series. James Corden also reprised his role as Craig Owens from "The Lodger" in "Closing Time", and Simon Callow briefly reprised his role as Charles Dickens from the first series episode "The Unquiet Dead", as did Ian McNeice who briefly reprised his role as Winston Churchill from the fifth series episode, "Victory of the Daleks" A young version of Amy was played by Gillan's eleven-year-old cousin, Caitlin Blackwood, in the episodes "Let's Kill Hitler" and "The God Complex".
Doctor Who (series 6) | Casting
Since the 2005 revival, the Doctor generally travels with a primary female companion, who occupies a larger narrative role. Steven Moffat described the companion as the main character of the show, as the story begins anew with each companion and she undergoes more change than the Doctor. The primary companions of the Ninth and Tenth Doctors were Rose Tyler (Billie Piper), Martha Jones (Freema Agyeman), and Donna Noble (Catherine Tate) with Mickey Smith (Noel Clarke) and Jack Harkness (John Barrowman) recurring as secondary companion figures. The Eleventh Doctor became the first to travel with a married couple, Amy Pond (Karen Gillan) and Rory Williams (Arthur Darvill), whilst out-of-sync meetings with River Song (Alex Kingston) and Clara Oswald (Jenna Coleman) provided ongoing story arcs.
Doctor Who | Companions
Delphox. Subsequently, Tom Riley, Ben Miller, Hermione Norris, Frank Skinner, Foxes, Christopher Fairbank, Sanjeev Bhaskar, and Chris Addison were cast in guest roles.
Doctor Who (series 8) | Casting
This was eventually revealed to be Charlie, his boyfriend being known as Matteusz. Peter Capaldi, who plays the twelfth incarnation of the Doctor, appears in the opening episode of the programme.
Class (2016 TV series) | Casting
Earlier episodes included a noticeably smaller cast, with episodes more self-contained. However, with the increased number of episodes, the cast also increased to include continuing storylines. The longest serving actor is currently Adrian Lewis Morgan, who has portrayed the role of Jimmi Clay since 5 September 2005.
Doctors (2000 TV series) | Characters
In the revived programme, the pattern is resumed with the transition of the Ninth to the Tenth, the Tenth to the Eleventh and the Twelfth to the Thirteenth Doctor, although Steven Moffat is on record stating the intention was to cast an actor in his mid-30s to 40s for the role of the Eleventh Doctor, despite casting Matt Smith, who is the youngest actor to ever have played the role.
The Doctor (Doctor Who) | Changing faces
The following tables are an overview of all the regular cast members that have appeared throughout the show since 1963.
List of Doctor Who cast members | Series main cast
Barry Biglow, portrayed by David Perks, first appeared on 9 April 2010, and has made infrequent appearances since. He is the campus security guard, and had a crush on Valerie Pitman (Sarah Moyle), and almost married her.
List of Doctors characters (2010) | Barry Biglow
All five of the main actors appeared in every episode. All five play staff who work at the fictional Muryevo Hospital in Russia. Jon Hamm and Daniel Radcliffe received star billing. Despite the programme's short run, several recurring characters emerged:
A Young Doctor's Notebook (TV series) | Cast
Nardole is introduced in the 2015 Christmas special "The Husbands of River Song" as the employee of the Doctor's wife River Song (Alex Kingston). In the course of the episode, he is decapitated, with his head ending up as part of a cyborg body. In the subsequent Christmas episode, "The Return of Doctor Mysterio" (2016), Nardole appears again as the Doctor's companion. The Doctor had rebuilt Nardole's original body, but various media is unclear whether Nardole is now a cyborg or purely organic. For the tenth series, which follows the two specials, Nardole remains the Doctor's assistant. When the series begins, with "The Pilot" (2017), the pair were based in a university in Bristol, where Nardole attempted to keep the Doctor to his oath to guard an alien vault beneath the university.
Nardole | Appearances
Preceded by a Christmas special in December 2016, "The Return of Doctor Mysterio", the series is the third and final series starring Peter Capaldi as the Twelfth Doctor, an incarnation of the Doctor, an alien Time Lord who travels through time and space in his TARDIS, which appears to be a British police box on the outside; Capaldi announced in January 2017 that he would be stepping down from the role after the tenth series. The series introduces Pearl Mackie as Bill Potts, the Doctor's newest travelling companion, and also features Matt Lucas as Nardole, who appeared in the 2015 and 2016 Christmas specials.
Doctor Who (series 10) | Introduction
Additional companions Frazer Hines (Jamie McCrimmon), Wendy Padbury (Zoe Heriot), Caroline John (Liz Shaw) and Richard Franklin (Mike Yates) make cameos throughout the special. Returning villains for the season are Omega ("Arc of Infinity"), Cybermen ("The Five Doctors") and The Mara ("Snakedance"). A lone Dalek and a lone Yeti appear briefly in "The Five Doctors". David Banks makes his second of four appearances in the show in "The Five Doctors" as a Cyber-leader.
Doctor Who (season 20) | Guest stars
Nicholas Courtney and John Levene continue their roles of Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart and Sergeant Benton, while Richard Franklin makes his first appearance as Captain Mike Yates. Roger Delgado makes his first appearance as The Master in "Terror of the Autons" and continues to make appearances in each of the five serials.
Doctor Who (season 8) | Recurring cast
Guest stars included Lois Maxwell, Christopher Lee and "Doctor Who" villain Roger Delgado.
O.S.S. (TV series) | Main cast
However, it does not allow the use of the current Thirteenth Doctor (Jodie Whittaker), or any characters which originate from her era. Nearly all of the companions from the original series have appeared, voiced by their original actors. They include Susan (Carole Ann Ford), Ian Chesterton (William Russell), Vicki (Maureen O'Brien), Steven Taylor (Peter Purves), Sara Kingdom (Jean Marsh), Polly (Anneke Wills), Jamie McCrimmon (Frazer Hines), Victoria Waterfield (Deborah Watling), Zoe Heriot (Wendy Padbury), Jo Grant (Katy Manning), Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart (Nicholas Courtney), Sergeant Benton (John Levene), Mike Yates (Richard Franklin), Leela (Louise Jameson), K9 (John Leeson), Romana I (Mary Tamm), Romana II (Lalla Ward), Adric (Matthew Waterhouse), Nyssa (Sarah Sutton), Tegan Jovanka (Janet Fielding), Vislor Turlough (Mark Strickson), Peri Brown (Nicola Bryant), Melanie Bush (Bonnie Langford) and Ace (Sophie Aldred).
List of Doctor Who audio plays by Big Finish | Cast
2009 also saw the departure of longstanding major characters Ronnie (Seán Gleeson), George (Stirling Gallacher) and Bracken Woodson (Jessica Gallagher). During the 2000s, numerous longstanding characters were introduced, including: Jimmi Clay (Adrian Lewis Morgan), Daniel Granger (Matthew Chambers) and Zara Carmichael (Elisabeth Dermot Walsh). 2009 saw the introduction of the Hollins family; Karen (Jan Pearson), Rob (Chris Walker), Imogen (Charlie Clemmow) and Jack Hollins (Nicolas Woodman).
Doctors (2000 TV series) | 2000s
Guest stars include David Gyasi, Rupert Graves, David Bradley, Riann Steele as Queen Nefertiti in episode 2, Ben Browder, Adrian Scarborough, Garrick Hagon, Steven Berkoff, Ruthie Henshall, Jemma Redgrave, Mike McShane. Dougray Scott, Jessica Raine, David Warner and Liam Cunningham in episode 8, Rachael Stirling and her mother Dame Diana Rigg in episode 11, and Warwick Davis and Tamzin Outhwaite in episode 12. Mark Williams appears in the second and fourth episodes as Rory's father. Alex Kingston returned to the series as her character River Song for Amy and Rory's final episode and the series finale. Richard E. Grant and Tom Ward were cast in the 2012 Christmas special, together with young actor Cameron Strefford playing a younger version of Grant's character.
Doctor Who (series 7) | Casting
Christopher Eccleston and Billie Piper made their debut appearances as The Doctor and Rose Tyler in the first episode of the revived series. Eccleston made his final appearance at the end of the first series, in which he was replaced by David Tennant. The following series saw Piper stepping down of her role in "Doomsday". Freema Agyeman and Catherine Tate appeared as regular companions in the third and fourth series', playing Martha Jones and Donna Noble respectively. David Tennant departed in the two-part story "The End of Time" with Matt Smith replacing him as the Doctor. In the following fifth series, he was joined by Karen Gillan as Amy Pond.
List of Doctor Who cast members | 2005–2013
Will Duncan, portrayed by Richard Mylan, first appeared on 5 March 2010, and made his last appearance on 14 May 2010. Will had an affair with Simon Bond (David Sturzaker), despite being married and having a son.
List of Doctors characters (2010) | Will Duncan
This incarnation's companions include school teacher Clara Oswald (Jenna Coleman), canteen assistant and student Bill Potts (Pearl Mackie) and alien Nardole (Matt Lucas). He also made a guest appearance in the "Doctor Who" spin-off series "Class", appearing in the show's first episode.
Twelfth Doctor | Introduction
He formally joined the Doctor after the Doctor took an oath to guard his Time Lord friend and arch-enemy Missy (Michelle Gomez) for a thousand years. In the same story, Nardole narrowly escapes a deadly bacterial infection due to his alien biology, and he assists Bill and the Doctor in restoring free will to the Earth after history had been rewritten by the menacing alien "Monks". In several following episodes, Nardole repeatedly shows his resourcefulness and adaptability as he joins the Doctor and Bill on other trips, even once working with Missy to repair the TARDIS after it returns to Earth with Nardole inside it while leaving the Doctor and Bill on Mars in the Victorian era ("Empress of Mars").
Nardole | Appearances
Bradley Walsh, Tosin Cole and Mandip Gill replaced Mackie and Matt Lucas as the companions for the show. "Starring" cast members are here defined as actors whose names appear in the opening titles sequence.
List of Doctor Who cast members | 2014–present
After one more season, Sladen left the role of Sarah Jane Smith in the 1976 serial; "The Hand of Fear". Louise Jameson debuted in "The Face of Evil" portraying a character called Leela. They were joined by K-9 in "The Invisible Enemy", a robotic dog voiced by John Leeson and, on a few occasions; David Brierly. Jameson was replaced by Mary Tamm, who played Romana, a Time Lady and one of the Doctor's own species. Tamm stayed on for just one season before her character regenerated in "Destiny of the Daleks" and was portrayed by Lalla Ward. Baker, Ward and Leeson were joined by Matthew Waterhouse, the actor who played Adric, in "Full Circle".
List of Doctor Who cast members | 1974–1981
From 1976 until the show's cancellation in 1989, the Master was portrayed by a succession of actors: Peter Pratt, Geoffrey Beevers and Anthony Ainley. Eric Roberts took on the role for the 1996 "Doctor Who" TV film. Since the show's revival in 2005, the Master has been portrayed by Derek Jacobi, John Simm, Michelle Gomez, and Sacha Dhawan. Gomez portrayed the first female incarnation of the Master, known as Missy. The Master returned in 2020 in the two-part episode "Spyfall", portrayed by Dhawan, who is the youngest main actor to ever play the role.
The Master (Doctor Who) | Introduction
Tate Pitchie-Cooper portrayed a child version of The Landlord. Fady Elsayed, who stars in the "Doctor Who" spin-off "Class", was originally set to guest star in an episode of "Doctor Who". In October 2016, it was announced that Justin Chatwin was set to appear as a superhero in the 2016 Christmas special "The Return of Doctor Mysterio". He was joined by Charity Wakefield, Adetomiwa Edun, Aleksandar Jovanovic and Logan Hoffman. On 16 November 2016 the BBC announced the cast for the fifth episode, which included Kieran Bew, Peter Caulfield, Mimi Ndiweni and Katie Brayben, with Justin Salinger portraying "Tasker", while Rebecca Benson, Daniel Kerr, Juwon Adedokun, Brian Vernel, Ben Hunter, Aaron Phagura, Sam Adewunmi and Billy Matthews were announced to be appearing in the tenth episode.
Doctor Who (series 10) | Casting
Davros makes his first appearance since "Destiny of the Daleks" (1979) this time played by Terry Molloy.
Doctor Who (season 21) | Guest stars
Nickolas Grace previously appeared in the Seventh Doctor audio drama "Bang-Bang-a-Boom!" where he played Loozly, and as the Time Lord Straxus in the Eighth Doctor audio dramas "Human Resources", "Sisters of the Flame" and "Vengeance of Morbius".
Death Is the Only Answer | Cast notes
Anthony Ainley returns in "The Mark of the Rani" as The Master. Kate O'Mara makes her first appearance as the Rani in "The Mark of the Rani". Terry Molloy returns to play Davros in "Revelation of the Daleks" and also played Russell in "Attack of the Cybermen".
Doctor Who (season 22) | Recurring stars
Chibnall had the final say on the actor, although the decision also involved Charlotte Moore and Piers Wenger, the director of content and head of drama for the BBC respectively. On 16 July 2017, it was announced after the 2017 Wimbledon Championships men's finals that Whittaker would portray the thirteenth incarnation of the Doctor. After the tenth series concluded, it was confirmed that neither Matt Lucas or Pearl Mackie would be reprising their roles for the eleventh series as companions Nardole and Bill Potts. Consequently, the eleventh series introduced a new set of companions, including Bradley Walsh, Tosin Cole, and Mandip Gill as Graham O'Brien, Ryan Sinclair and Yasmin Khan, respectively.
Doctor Who (series 11) | Casting
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Yvette Lu | Introduction
John departed in "Inferno" and Katy Manning as Jo Grant, her replacement, appeared in the following serial "Terror of the Autons". Throughout Pertwee's run, Nicholas Courtney, Richard Franklin and John Levene made regular appearances as The Brigadier, Mike Yates and Sergeant Benton respectively.
List of Doctor Who cast members | 1963–1973
Core characters during the series' run included: Several well-known actors and actresses had roles on "The Doctors" throughout its long run, including: Dianne Kirksey as Bobbi Duvall (1981) Among the guest stars on "The Doctors" were Johnny Carson as himself, Don Imus as himself, Judy Collins as Judith Howard, Tony Randall as himself, and Brooke Shields as Elizabeth Harrington.
The Doctors (1963 TV series) | Cast