Since 2005, when Doctor Who was revived after 16 years off screen, there have been six faces who have picked up the mantle to play the Doctor, in an official sense. However, they’re not the only Doctors we’ve seen.
There are a whole string of Doctors and Doctor-adjacent characters, such as Jackson Lake, who briefly believed himself to be an incarnation of the Doctor after having his memories altered by a Cyberman, who appear throughout the series. While I haven’t mentioned all of them here, I’ve taken what I consider to be the man faces and ranked them.
10 The 14th Doctor (Ncuti Gatwa)
I know that he’s only been the Doctor for four episodes, and I truly wish I could place Ncuti Gatwa higher up on this list because, as an actor, he has some serious talent. However, the storyline is severely lacking and there are so many questions left unanswered that I can’t even fathom him being anywhere other than here on this list.
That said, the one episode of season 14 that I would consider a ‘proper Doctor Who’ episode, The Devil’s Chord, does display that he can play the role well and perhaps in future I’ll have reason to switch this list around a little.
9 Master Doctor
Imagine waiting countless years to become the Doctor, finally achieving it via forced regeneration and then screwing it up by being, for lack of a better word, an idiot. Not that anyone expected any differently.
There’s something truly incredible about witnessing the Master in the now familiar clothing of Jodie Whittaker’s Doctor, complete with delicate ear chain, while he prances around feeling proud of himself. Then, wearing what can only be described as his attempts to don clothing from every era, he gets marooned on a planet which only exists where it does because he has ambitions that are far too big.
We love to hate him, but the Master Doctor was a truly bizarre moment in time that deserves a mention.
8 War Doctor
The ninth known iteration of the Doctor, and the only one ever to have put down the Sonic and picked up a gun. After using the Moment to try and bring about the end of the war between the Daleks and the Timelords, the War Doctor is offered a glimpse of his future and sets to work with his future incarnations to end the genocide of both races.
Sadly, thanks to some timey-wimey nonsense, the Doctor doesn’t remember his time as the War Doctor, and is led to believe that they destroyed Gallifrey instead of saving it. It’s a hard to watch moment in Doctor Who history, but the War Doctor deserves a place here as much as any other.
7 The 9th Doctor (Christopher Eccleston)
The first face of the Doctor when the show’s revival happened in 2005, Christopher Eccleston brought in an impressive 10.81 million viewers during this first episode. He was only the Doctor for one season, which I would say is a shame but it did bring David Tennant into the starring role.
However, Eccleston’s episodes do cement his place as a part of history and I will never stop loving the entire Bad Wolf storyline. What really shines from his era, though, is Rose, who went on to star alongside David Tennant and is still a beloved companion.
6 The 13th Doctor (Jodie Whittaker)
Jodie Whittaker’s Doctor is close to my heart, mostly for the fact that she proved women could play the part too, but also because of some specific episodes. The six episodes which make up the Flux story are all-time favorites for me, not to mention her jaunt into the Pendle Witch Trials and, although he didn’t show up for very long, John Bishop made one hell of a companion in the shape of Dan.
5 Fugitive Doctor
Although not considered an official Doctor, we discovered during Jodie Whittaker’s time that the Fugitive Doctor is indeed one of the Doctor’s iterations that had been forgotten due to memories being erased and kept by Division.
Every time the Fugitive Doctor appears on screen, you just know that things are about to get both badass, and a little confusing. Although she’s halfway down this list, she remains one of my favorite Doctors purely because of her no-punches attitude and lack of time for tomfoolery.
4 The 12th Doctor (Peter Capaldi)
With Stephen Moffat as showrunner, Peter Capaldi’s Doctor had some truly amazing storylines. From his one-man battle inside the time prison, to the introduction of everybody’s favorite Sontaran Strax and the reptilian detective Vastra. All of this isn’t even touching on the heartbreak of Clara’s story, ending with her taking a TARDIS back to Galiffrey to fix her own timeline after the Doctor loses all memories of her as his companion.
3 Doctor Donna
Part Timelord, Part Human. While she may not be an ‘official’ iteration of the Doctor, I can’t write this list without including Doctor Donna. She absorbed the knowledge of the Timelords in order to save the Doctor, turned into an all round badass and as a viewer, isn’t that the dream? To know everything the Doctor does and be able to use it for good?
2 The 11th Doctor (Matt Smith)
Matt Smith’s Doctor is the reason we have the rather disgusting pairing of Fish Fingers and Custard, and his adventures brought in 7.5 million viewers per week on average. The 11th Doctor had arguably the best companion story, with Amy and Rory Pond along on his adventures. The whole plot of Amy being the mother of River Song is a head-twisting, timey-wimey joy ride.
1 The 10th and 14th Doctor (David Tennant)
The 10th Doctor, who was so good and so beloved that they brought him back to be the 14th as well. David Tennant’s Doctor lives on in other timelines not once, but twice – once with Rose and once with Donna and her family after the first ever bi-regeneration.
When David Tennant was the face of the Doctor, viewing figures hit an all time high of 13.31 million viewers and the promise of Tennant’s return in The Power of the Doctor and the three 60th anniversary special episodes in 2023 dragged old fans back in, boosting view counts by over four million over the previous episode. That speaks for itself, really.
