Doctor Who Series In Order: A Streaming Guide To The Whoniverse 

With 41 seasons and counting since first appearing on British TV in 1963, Doctor Who can easily claim to be both a national treasure and a cultural institution. The story follows the adventures of an extraterrestrial being — a Time Lord called ‘the Doctor’ — who ran away from their home — Gallifrey — in a time travelling spaceship called a TARDIS, which appears in the shape of a British police box. Using this, the Doctor (who is often accompanied by a companion) travels through the universe on a neverending quest to save lives and battle nefarious foes.

In the list below, which we’ve arranged in chronological order, you’ll find each of the actors who have starred as the Doctor since the very first season in 1963. Read on to discover more about each iteration and use the guide below to find out where to stream them on services like BBC iPlayer, AppleTV, Prime Video and elsewhere. 

This article has been updated by Rory O'Connor.

First Doctor: William Hartnell (season 1 - 4, 1963 - 1966)

The first incarnation of the Doctor stuck around for four seasons, from 1963 to 1966, and was played by William Hartnell — an actor who will be familiar to fans of classic British cinema for his supporting turn, opposite Richard Attenborough, in Brighton Rock. 

Compared to later versions of the character, Hartness was a relatively grumpy and mysterious Doctor, but he laid the groundwork for everything that came after.

Second Doctor: Patrick Troughton (season 4 - 6 & 22, 1966 - 1969)

Taking over from Hartnell in 1966, Patrick Troughton is still highly respected among Whovians for establishing the cheeky trickster approach that has been the basis for many of the very doctors ever since.

Before landing the role, the classically trained Troughton had enjoyed a steady career in the movie business, appearing opposite Lawrence Olivier on a number of occasions and playing small parts in historical epics like Jason and the Argonauts. After finishing up as the Doctor, he went on to play Father Brennan in The Omen. 

Third Doctor: John Pertwee (season 7 - 11, 1970 - 1974)

For the third incarnation of Doctor Who, the show’s creators took a new direction with the actor John Pertwee. Running for five seasons, this Doctor — with all his gadgets and fight scenes — is widely considered to be the series’ response to James Bond.

Post Doctor, Pertwee went on to a long career in television, notably starring in the long running children’s series Worzel Gummidge, while continuing to appear at Whovian conventions right up until his death in 1996.

Fourth Doctor: Tom Baker (season 12 - 18, 1974 - 1981)

It might have taken 11 years and 11 seasons before Tom Baker stepped into the TARDIS for the first time, but he quickly enchanted fans with his eccentric approach to the material and soon made the character his own. 

Unmistakable thanks to his wide grin, evocative voice (he famously narrated Little Britain in the early ‘00s) and long stripy scarf, Baker is now considered to be the quintessential early Doctor. 

Fifth Doctor: Peter Davidson (season 19 - 21, 1981 - 1984)

Stepping up to the plate after Baker’S generational seven season run was never going to be easy, so it probably makes sense that the BBC went for a more subtle approach in the years that followed.

The next man up for the job was Peter Davidson, who, at 30 years old, was the youngest actor to take on the role at the time. He isn’t exactly remembered as a classic Doctor, but his gentle approach to the material was generally popular amongst the fan base.

Sixth Doctor: Colin Baker (season 21 - 23, 1984 - 1986)

After just three seasons, Davidson handed over the reins to Colin Baker, a Londoner with a lovely mop of blonde curly hair. 

Unfortunately for Baker, he entered the franchise during a time when the writing wasn’T particularly strong, but he still managed to come out of it with plenty of good will from the fans and his reputation intact.

Seventh Doctor: Sylvester McCoy (season 24 - 26 & movie, 1987 - 1996)

Coming at the tail end of the first generations of Doctors, Sylvester McCoy’s Doctor is rarely considered to be one of the strongest iterations of the long-running show. 

This is largely blamed on the uneven writing at the time — which gave his Doctor a comedic vibe at the start before shifting into something darker in later episodes. Not to worry, he went on to have a career as an entertainer and was later cast to play Radagast in Peter Jackson’s Hobbit trilogy. 

Eighth Doctor: Paul McGann (movie, 1996)

Despite only appearing on screen as the Doctor in the 1996 TV movie, Paul McGann would go on to become a firm favourite in some sections of the fanbase after reprising the role for a number of audio dramas.

The actor was probably one of the most accomplished performers coming into the role, having appeared opposite Richard E Grant in the cult classic Withnail & I while also having small roles in movies like Empire of the Sun and Alien 3. 

Ninth Doctor: Christopher Eccleston (season 1, 2005)

Like with McGann, Christopher Eccleston’s reputation as ninth Doctor far outweighs his single season in the role. Tasked with introducing the show to a new generation after a nine year hiatus, Eccleston — alongside his fan favourite sidekick Billie Piper — hit it out of the park.

With all that, it came as quite a shock to fans when the actor decided to leave the show after just one season — but in fairness, he did go on to have a glittering career, even receiving multiple Emmy nominations for his role as Matt Jamison in The Leftovers. 

Tenth Doctor: David Tennant (season 2 - 4, 2005 - 2010)

It’s fair to say that most Whovians under the age of 40 (as well as plenty of fans older than that) probably consider David Tennant to be the greatest Doctor of them all. 

Over just three seasons in the second half of the oughts, Tenant and writer Stephen Moffat successfully reestablished Doctor Who as one of Britain’s favourite TV shows. 

Eleventh Doctor: Matt Smith (season 5 - 7, 2010 - 2013)

Picking up where Tennant left off was always going to be tough, but Moffat and the BBC managed to strike gold twice in a row when they hired the young Matt Smith to become the 11th actor to play the role.

With his youthful energy and unapologetically whimsical approach, Smith not only charmed audiences in the UK but managed to translate the show’s popularity to a global audience, particularly in the U.S. He has gone on to appear in everything from The Crown to House of the Dragon.

Twelfth Doctor: Peter Capaldi (season 8 - 10, 2013 - 2017)

For the third and final Doctor of the hugely successful Moffat era, the great Peter Capaldi was brought in — an actor who was, at that point, best known for playing the tyrannical and foul-mouthed spin doctor Malcolm Tucker in Armando Iannucci’s The Thick of it.

He may have had to tone down the language for one of the network’s most beloved family shows, but that didn’t mean Capaldi didn’t work in the role. He may have been a little older and less popular than his predecessors, but he was a more than capable Time Lord. 

Thirteenth Doctor: Jodie Whittaker (season 10 - 13, 2017 - 2022)

After Capaldi stepped into the TARDIS for the final time, the BBC decided to take a long-overdue turn and cast a female actor for the very first time in the role.

That landmark appointment went to Jodie Whitaker, who charmed audiences with her warmth and energy for four seasons between 2017 and 2022. The writing was never quite on the Moffat level, but Whitaker more than left her mark on the role. 

Fourteenth Doctor: Ncuti Gatwa (season 14 - 15, 2023 - present)

The most recent Doctor of them all was, similar to Whittaker, another landmark appointment. In 2023, Ncuti Gatwa became the first person of colour to play the Doctor in the show's six decade history. 

With just two seasons released so far (and no news on a third as of yet), it’s still too early to say what Gatwa’s legacy will be — but he’s been nothing if not a popular choice. Outside of the Whoniverse, catch him in everything from Sex Education to Barbie to The Roses. 

Spin-offs and Extras 

There have also been a number of actors who have guest starred as various incarnations of the Doctor, including John Hurt (as the War Doctor) and Jo Martin (as the Fugitive Doctor). There have also been a number of television specials, movies, comic books and spin-off series, such as Torchwood and The Sarah Jane Adventures.