3 January 2009 Matt Smith’s casting as the Eleventh Doctor is announced in a special edition of Doctor Who Confidential.
11 April 2009 Broadcast of Planet of the Dead, the first episode of Doctor Who to be shot in the High Definition format.
1 January 2010 David Tennant makes his final appearance as the Doctor and Matt Smith takes over. Geronimo!
3 April 2010 9.6 million viewers watch The Eleventh Hour, Matt Smith’s first full adventure as the Doctor. He is joined on his travels by Karen Gillan as Amy Pond. Future companion Rory Williams makes his first appearance, played by Arthur Darvill.
17 April 2010 A ‘new paradigm’ of Daleks makes its first appearance, sporting a revamped design and colourful livery.
24 April 2010 Alex Kingston returns as River Song – the first of many appearances opposite Matt Smith – along with the Weeping Angels.
22 May 2010 The Silurians’ first appearance in the series since Warriors of the Deep 26 years before.
26 January 2011 The Doctor makes his first official appearance on rival commercial channel ITV1, as Matt Smith plays the Doctor in a pre-credits scene specially written by Steven Moffat for the National Television Awards 2011.
14 May 2011 Novelist Neil Gaiman contributes his first script to Doctor Who, in which the TARDIS is given a short-lived human embodiment in the form of Idris, played by Suranne Jones.
4 June 2011 The truth is out there! River Song is revealed to be Melody Pond, the daughter of Amy and Rory in A Good Man Goes to War. Following her dual role as Alaya and Restac in The Hungry Earth and Cold Blood, Neve McIntosh makes her first appearance as Vastra, with Catrin Stewart as Jenny and Dan Starkey as Strax.
21 March 2012 Press conference announcing Jenna Louise-Coleman as the Doctor’s new companion.
1 September 2012Asylum of the Daleks sees the surprise first appearance of Jenna Louise-Coleman, in this story playing Oswin Oswald (aka ‘soufflé girl’).
29 September 2012 Amy and Rory depart from the Doctor’s life for ever, leaving the Time Lord heartbroken.
25 December 2012 Jenna Louise-Coleman makes her second appearance in Doctor Who. The Snowmen sees her playing Clara Oswin Oswald – but how is she linked to soufflé girl? The Great Intelligence encounters the Doctor for the very first time.
23 November 2013 The 50th anniversary of Doctor Who. The adventure continues…
TWO
EVERYONE’S FAVOURITE TIME LORD
THE MANY LIVES AND CHANGING FACES OF THE DOCTOR
‘I’m the Doctor. Well, they call me “the Doctor”, I don’t know why; I call me “the Doctor” too, still don’t know why.’
The Doctor, The Lodger
For a man of mystery, we know an awful lot about the Doctor. His lucky number is 7 (or 74,384,338 depending on when you ask him), his favourite type of jazz is straight blowing, and he tries never to land the TARDIS on a Sunday. But what else is known about Gallifrey’s most famous son?
FIRST AND LAST WORDS
THE FIRST DOCTOR
First: ‘What are you doing here?’
Last: ‘Ah, yes! Thank you. It’s good. Keep warm.’
THE SECOND DOCTOR
First: ‘Slower! Slower! Concentrate on one thing. One thing!’
Last: ‘No! Stop! You’re making me giddy! No, you can’t do this to me! No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no…’
THE THIRD DOCTOR
First: ‘Shoes. Must find my shoes.’
Last: ‘A tear, Sarah Jane? No, don’t cry. While there’s life there’s…’
THE FOURTH DOCTOR
First: ‘… typical Sontaran attitude… stop Linx… perverting the course of human history… I tell you, Brigadier, there’s nothing to worry about. The brontosaurus is large and placid… And stupid! If the square on the hypotenuse equals the sum of the square on the other two sides, why is a mouse when it spins? Never did know the answer to that one.’
Last: ‘It’s the end. But the moment has been prepared for.’
THE FIFTH DOCTOR
First: ‘I… Oh.’
Last: ‘Might regenerate. I don’t know. Feels different this time… Adric?’
THE SIXTH DOCTOR
First: ‘You were expecting someone else?’
Last: Unknown (although he is heard uttering ‘Carrot juice, carrot juice, carrot juice’ at the end of The Trial of a Time Lord)
THE SEVENTH DOCTOR
First: ‘Oh no, Mel.’
Last: ‘Timing malfunction! The Master, he’s out there! He’s out there… I know… I’ve got to stop… him…’
THE EIGHTH DOCTOR
First: ‘Who am I? Who am I?’
Last: Unknown (although he is heard saying ‘Oh no. Not again!’ at the end of Doctor Who)
THE NINTH DOCTOR
First: ‘Run!’
Last: ‘Rose… before I go, I just wanna tell you, you were fantastic. Absolutely fantastic. And do you know what? So was I!’
THE TENTH DOCTOR
First: ‘Hello! Okay— oh. New teeth. That’s weird. So, where was I? Oh, that’s right. Barcelona!’
Last: ‘I don’t want to go!’
THE ELEVENTH DOCTOR
First: ‘Legs! Still got legs, good!! Arms, hands. Ooh, fingers. Lots of fingers. Ears? Yes. Eyes: two. Nose… I’ve had worse. Chin – blimey! Hair… I’m a girl! No! No! I’m not a girl! And still not ginger! There’s something else. Something… important, I’m… I’m-I’m… Ha-ha! Crashing! Geronimo!!’
Last: Unknown.
DOCTOR WHO – THE ORIGINAL TRAILER
‘My name is William Hartnell and, as Doctor Who, I make my debut on Saturday the 23rd of November at 5.15.
The Doctor is an extraordinary old man from another world who owns a time and space machine.
He and his granddaughter, Susan (played by Carole Ann Ford) have landed in England and are enjoying their stay, until Susan arouses the curiosity of two of her schoolteachers (played by William Russell and Jacqueline Hill). They follow Susan and get inside the Ship and Doctor Who decides to leave Earth, starting a series of adventures which I know will thrill and excite you every week.’
Doctor Who radio trailer, November 1963
THE DOCTOR BY NUMBERS
In how many stories or episodes does each Doctor appear? Not counting images from brain scans, mind-wrestling contests or data stamps, here’s a rundown for each incarnation – plus the various other times they popped up in televised minisodes, red-button stories and animated adventures.
WHO’S WHO – THE TWELVE DOCTORS
From William Hartnell to Matt Smith, each actor to play the Doctor has brought their own unique take on the part. But what other roles are on their CV, and how were they cast as the Doctor? Wonderful chaps, all of them…
Full name: William Henry Hartnell
Born: 8 January 1908, St Pancras, London