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Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errorsFree Scan →Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitchesFind Drivers →The main television sequence has fifteen numbered Doctors, from William Hartnell’s First Doctor to Ncuti Gatwa’s Fifteenth. David Tennant appears twice in that order—as the Tenth and Fourteenth Doctors. This list follows the numbered franchise sequence, not the Doctor’s personal chronology; the War Doctor and Fugitive Doctor need separate notes because they do not fit as additional numbered entries.
It covers principal on-screen portrayals in the main television sequence, with significant television exceptions noted below. It is not a roster of every performer across audio, stage, voice work, parody, or other media.
Who played each Doctor in order?
The numbered order below is the familiar production and franchise sequence. It is not a straightforward timeline of the Doctor’s life: some incarnations were revealed later as part of previously hidden history.
| Number | Actor | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| First | William Hartnell | The first regular television Doctor. The BBC’s First Doctor profile identifies Hartnell with the role. |
| Second | Patrick Troughton | Followed Hartnell. |
| Third | Jon Pertwee | Followed Troughton. |
| Fourth | Tom Baker | Followed Pertwee. |
| Fifth | Peter Davison | Followed Baker. |
| Sixth | Colin Baker | Followed Davison. |
| Seventh | Sylvester McCoy | Followed Colin Baker. |
| Eighth | Paul McGann | The Eighth Doctor. |
| Ninth | Christopher Eccleston | Began the 2005 television revival. |
| Tenth | David Tennant | Tennant later returned as the Fourteenth Doctor. |
| Eleventh | Matt Smith | Followed the Tenth Doctor’s regeneration. |
| Twelfth | Peter Capaldi | Followed Smith. |
| Thirteenth | Jodie Whittaker | The first woman to play a numbered Doctor. |
| Fourteenth | David Tennant | Tennant’s second numbered Doctor. The BBC describes the Fifteenth Doctor’s arrival as a bi-generation, in which the Fourteenth continues to exist. |
| Fifteenth | Ncuti Gatwa | The BBC’s Fifteenth Doctor profile identifies Gatwa as the actor, lists The Giggle as his first regular appearance and The Reality War as his most recent appearance. |
The ordered actor chronology is also presented by Radio Times; the BBC profiles directly confirm the First and Fifteenth Doctor details noted above.
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Where do the War Doctor and Fugitive Doctor fit?
War Doctor: John Hurt
John Hurt played the War Doctor, an incarnation placed between the Eighth and Ninth Doctors in story chronology. He is significant to the Doctor’s history, but he is not an extra numbered entry in the standard fifteen-Doctor sequence.
Fugitive Doctor: Jo Martin
Jo Martin’s Fugitive Doctor is a hidden incarnation revealed in the modern series. Her place is within the Doctor’s previously concealed past, rather than as a conventional numbered successor in the production-order list. The BBC confirmed Martin’s return in the Fugitive Doctor role in its June 25, 2026 article about Circuit Breaker: Jo Martin on her return as the Fugitive Doctor.
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Other actors who have portrayed numbered Doctors
The names in the main list identify the principal actor associated with each numbered incarnation, not every performer who has briefly played one. David Bradley has portrayed the First Doctor in later television appearances; Richard Hurndall also played the First Doctor in The Five Doctors. These are portrayals of Hartnell’s incarnation, not additional Doctors. The BBC’s The Five Doctors episode page provides official episode context, and Radio Times includes Bradley in its wider actor chronology.
That distinction matters if “every actor” is taken literally: a complete list spanning brief appearances, voice work, audio, stage and other media would be broader than the principal television sequence here.
Is Billie Piper the next Doctor?
Not on the basis of the BBC’s May 31, 2025 announcement. Piper appeared in the regeneration reveal after Gatwa’s Fifteenth Doctor, but the BBC did not identify her character or assign her an ordinal. Showrunner Russell T Davies said: “It’s an honour and a hoot to welcome her back to the TARDIS, but quite how and why and who is a story yet to be told.” The announcement is available from the BBC’s report on Gatwa’s regeneration.
The BBC’s June 10, 2026 update said the previously announced Christmas episode would not proceed and that the programme’s next phase was subject to a competitive tender. That is production context, not an addition to or change in the established numbered actor sequence: An update on the future of Doctor Who.
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