Portal:Doctor Who

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Doctor Who is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series, created by Sydney Newman, C. E. Webber and Donald Wilson, depicts the adventures of an extraterrestrial being called the Doctor, part of a humanoid species called Time Lords. The Doctor travels in the universe and in time using a time travelling spaceship called the TARDIS, which externally appears as a British police box. While travelling, the Doctor works to save lives and liberate oppressed peoples by combating foes. The Doctor usually travels with companions.

Beginning with William Hartnell, fourteen actors have headlined the series as the Doctor; the most recent being Ncuti Gatwa, who portrayed the Fifteenth Doctor from 2023 to 2025. The transition between actors is written into the plot of the series with the concept of regeneration into a new incarnation, a plot device in which, when a Time Lord is fatally injured or weakened from old age, their cells regenerate and they are reincarnated into a different body with new mannerisms and behaviour but the same memories. This explains each actor's distinct portrayal, as they all represent different stages in the Doctor's life and, together, form a single lifetime with a single narrative. The time-travelling nature of the plot means that different incarnations of the Doctor occasionally meet. The Doctor can change ethnic appearance or gender; in 2017, Jodie Whittaker became the first woman cast in the lead role, and in 2023, Gatwa became the first black actor to lead the series. The different incarnations wear distinctive costumes; designers include Alexandra Tynan and Barbara Lane.

The series is a significant part of British popular culture and has gained a cult following overseas. It has influenced generations of British television professionals, many of whom grew up watching the series. Fans of the series are sometimes referred to as Whovians. The series has been listed in Guinness World Records as the longest-running science-fiction television series in the world, as well as the "most successful" science-fiction series of all time, based on its overall broadcast ratings, DVD and book sales. (Full article...)

Recognized quality articles

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Thasmin is a fan-nickname given to the ship, a relationship between two fictional characters desired by fans, and later on-screen romance between the thirteenth incarnation of the Doctor, the main character of science fiction television series Doctor Who, and her travelling companion Yasmin Khan. The two characters, portrayed by actresses Jodie Whittaker and Mandip Gill, were shipped as a result of comments made by a character in the 2018 episode "Arachnids in the UK", after which it grew popular in the form of Internet memes and slash fiction. Both Whittaker and Gill became aware of the ship, and Whittaker brought it up with series showrunner Chris Chibnall, who was enthusiastic about including it in the series. The ship was eventually incorporated into the television series, with the romance ending as a result of the departure of both Whittaker and Gill from the series in 2022.

Reception to the ship has been primarily positive, with praise directed towards it as a positive representation of queer and LGBTQ+ communities, though it has been criticized as queerbaiting by some due to how their relationship concluded. (Full article...)
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"73 Yards" is the fourth episode of the fourteenth series of the science fiction television series Doctor Who. The episode was first released in the United Kingdom on BBC iPlayer on 25 May 2024 and was broadcast on BBC One the same night. It was released simultaneously on Disney+ in the United States on 24 May. The episode was written by Russell T Davies and directed by Dylan Holmes Williams.

In the episode, the Fifteenth Doctor (Ncuti Gatwa) suddenly vanishes from a clifftop in Wales after breaking a fairy circle. His companion Ruby Sunday (Millie Gibson), searches for him whilst being followed by a mysterious woman who is always 73 yards away from her. Described by Davies as folk horror, "73 Yards" was the first episode of the fourteenth series to be filmed, with shooting taking place in various locations around Wales in late 2022 and early 2023. (Full article...)
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"The Almost People" is the sixth episode of the sixth series of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, and was first broadcast on BBC One on 28 May 2011. It is the second episode of a two-part story written by Matthew Graham and directed by Julian Simpson which began with "The Rebel Flesh".

Following from "The Rebel Flesh", alien time traveller the Doctor (Matt Smith) and his companions Amy Pond (Karen Gillan) and Rory Williams (Arthur Darvill) are on an acid-pumping factory on a remote island in the 22nd century where the crew of the factory create "Gangers", the Flesh duplicates they control. However, a solar storm has caused the Gangers to become sentient, and the Doctor must prevent a war breaking out between the humans and Gangers. (Full article...)
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The Myth Makers is the third serial of the third season of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. Written by Donald Cotton and directed by Michael Leeston-Smith, the serial was broadcast on BBC1 in four weekly parts from 16 October to 6 November 1965. In the serial, based on Homer's Iliad, the First Doctor (William Hartnell) and his travelling companions Vicki (Maureen O'Brien) and Steven (Peter Purves) land in Troy during the Trojan War. The Doctor is captured by the Greeks and forced to formulate a plan for taking the city, while Steven and Vicki are captured by the Trojans and forced to devise a means of banishing the Greeks; the latter duo meet Katarina (Adrienne Hill), who becomes a companion by the serial's end.

After assuming their positions as story editor and producer in the third season, Donald Tosh and John Wiles wanted to take Doctor Who in new directions, moving towards historical stories and experimenting with humour. Cotton had written several pieces about Greek mythology for BBC Third Programme and elected to make his Doctor Who story about the Trojan Horse. He used several resources to research historical facts. The Myth Makers marked the final appearance of O'Brien as Vicki, a decision made by Wiles during the production break. Hill was cast as new companion Katarina, and made her first appearance in the serial. The Myth Makers was the first serial of the show's third production block. Filming took place at Frensham Ponds from September to October 1965. (Full article...)
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The Twin Dilemma is the seventh and final serial of the 21st season of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in four twice-weekly parts from 22 to 30 March 1984. It was directed by Peter Moffatt and written by Anthony Stevens. The serial stars Colin Baker and Nicola Bryant as the Sixth Doctor and Peri Brown, respectively. The Twin Dilemma was the first to star Baker.

The serial follows the Doctor immediately after regenerating as he works to prevent the alien gastropod Mestor (Edwin Richfield) from plotting to explode the sun of the planet Jaconda to scatter his eggs throughout the universe to conquer it. (Full article...)
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"Blink" is the tenth episode of the third series of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. It was first broadcast on 9 June 2007 on BBC One. The episode was directed by Hettie MacDonald and written by Steven Moffat. The episode is based on a previous short story written by Moffat for the 2006 Doctor Who Annual, titled "'What I Did on My Christmas Holidays' By Sally Sparrow".

In the episode, the Tenth Doctor—a time travelling alien played by David Tennant—is trapped in 1969 and tries to communicate with a young woman in 2007, Sally Sparrow (Carey Mulligan), to prevent the statue-like Weeping Angels from taking control of the TARDIS. Sparrow and her best friend's brother, Larry Nightingale (Finlay Robertson), must unravel a set of cryptic clues sent through time by the marooned Doctor, left in DVD Easter eggs. (Full article...)
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Millie Gibson as Ruby Sunday

Ruby Sunday is a fictional character in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, portrayed by Millie Gibson. She was created by Russell T Davies for the show's fourteenth series, starting with the Christmas special, "The Church on Ruby Road" (2023), Ruby serves as the companion to the Fifteenth Doctor (Ncuti Gatwa), an incarnation of the alien time traveller known as the Doctor. Ruby is a foundling, left on the doorstep of a church by her mother as a baby, with her mother's identity being unknown. After an encounter with the Doctor, the pair travel through time and space in multiple episodes, all while Ruby attempts to discover the identity of her birth mother. This eventually culminates in the two-part finale of the season, "The Legend of Ruby Sunday" and "Empire of Death" (both 2024), in which Ruby discovers the identity of her birth mother as Louise Miller (Faye McKeever), an ordinary woman, and the two reunite. Ruby departs to spend time with her family.

Gibson was cast as Ruby in 2022. She characterised Ruby as being a positive, selfless character, who had a strong bond with the Doctor. Her arc of finding out the identity of her mother was inspired by the Star Wars film series character Rey, a character believed to be a nobody until she was revealed to be a descendent of the character Emperor Palpatine. Davies wanted to subvert the trope of a character secretly being "special", or having important parentage, and thus made Ruby and her mother normal people. (Full article...)
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"The Interstellar Song Contest" is the sixth episode of the fifteenth series of the British science-fiction television series Doctor Who. It was written by Juno Dawson and directed by Ben A. Williams, and released on BBC iPlayer, BBC One, and Disney+ on 17 May 2025, ahead of the final of the Eurovision Song Contest 2025 on BBC One. In the episode, the Fifteenth Doctor (Ncuti Gatwa) and his companion, Belinda Chandra (Varada Sethu), arrive at the Interstellar Song Contest — a futuristic version of the Eurovision Song Contest – where they uncover a plot to kill trillions of people across space headed up by Kid, a member of the Hellion race who seeks to gain revenge for the negative treatment of his species by the Contest's sponsor company.

This was the first Doctor Who television story written by Dawson, who was advised by showrunner Russell T Davies to write a plot around "Die Hard meets Eurovision". Filmed at Wolf Studios Wales in early 2024, the episode utilised over half of the soundstages present on the lot. Several original songs for the programme were created by Dawson, Davies, and composer Murray Gold. The episode received positive reviews from critics, who praised the script, its humour, Gatwa's performance, the political subtext involving the Hellions, and the return of characters Susan Foreman and the Rani. However, there was criticism over the fast pacing, lack of emotional depth, and the weak development of Kid as the story’s villain. (Full article...)
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The Ninth Doctor is an incarnation of the Doctor, the protagonist of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. He is portrayed by Christopher Eccleston during the first series of the show's revival in 2005. As with previous incarnations of the Doctor, the character has also appeared in other Doctor Who spin-offs both during and after the character's televised appearances.

Within the series' narrative, the Doctor is a centuries-old alien Time Lord from the planet Gallifrey who travels in time and space in the TARDIS, frequently with companions. At the end of his life, the Doctor regenerates into a new version of himself, with a changed physical appearance and personality. Eccleston's incarnation of the Doctor is a war-torn loner who is more pragmatic and less eccentric than his previous selves, fiercely determined to protect the innocent at all costs, and prone to using humour to mask the trauma he suffers from as a result of the Time War. Preceded in regeneration by the Eighth Doctor (Paul McGann) and the War Doctor (John Hurt), he is followed by the Tenth Doctor (David Tennant). (Full article...)
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The Wheel in Space is the mostly missing seventh and final serial of the fifth season in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which originally aired in six weekly parts from 27 April to 1 June 1968. This is the fourth serial featuring the Cybermen, and marks the first appearance of Wendy Padbury as companion Zoe Heriot. In this serial, the Doctor (Patrick Troughton) and his travelling companion Jamie McCrimmon (Frazer Hines) become stranded on a seemingly abandoned spaceship. They make contact with the crew of a nearby wheel-shaped space station, only to discover that a group of Cybermen have followed them and plan to hijack the station for their invasion fleet.

This was the first serial featuring the Cybermen not written by either of the villains' creators, Kit Pedler and Gerry Davis. Due to Davis' commitments on The First Lady, Pedler's story notes were developed into the final script by David Whitaker, a veteran Doctor Who screenwriter and the programme's first story editor. (Full article...)
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Hugh Grant in 2014

Hugh John Mungo Grant (born 9 September 1960) is an English actor. He established himself early in his career as a charming and vulnerable romantic leading man, and has since transitioned into a character actor. He has received several accolades including a British Academy Film Award and a Golden Globe Award as well as nominations for two Primetime Emmy Awards. He received an Honorary César in 2006. In 2022, Time Out magazine listed Grant as one of Britain's 50 greatest actors of all time. As of 2025, his films have grossed over US$4 billion worldwide.

Grant made his feature film acting debut in Privileged (1982), followed by the romantic drama Maurice (1987) for which he gained acclaim as well as the Volpi Cup for Best Actor. He then acted in a string of successful period dramas such as The Remains of the Day (1993), Sense and Sensibility (1995) and Restoration (1995). Grant emerged as a star with Richard Curtis's romantic comedy Four Weddings and a Funeral (1994), for which he won the Golden Globe and BAFTA Award for Best Actor. He starred in further romantic comedies such as Notting Hill (1999), Bridget Jones's Diary (2001) and its 2004 and 2025 sequels, About a Boy (2002), Two Weeks Notice (2002), Love Actually (2003) and Music and Lyrics (2007). (Full article...)
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"The Devil's Chord" is the second episode of the fourteenth series of the British science fiction television programme Doctor Who. Released alongside "Space Babies," it was written by Russell T. Davies, directed by Ben Chessell. The episode was released on BBC iPlayer in the United Kingdom on 11 May 2024 and Disney+ in the United States on 10 May.

The story sees the Fifteenth Doctor (Ncuti Gatwa) and Ruby Sunday (Millie Gibson) go to see the British rock band the Beatles in 1963, only to find that the world has lost interest in music as they are confronted by the mysterious Maestro (Jinkx Monsoon). (Full article...)
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"The Pandorica Opens" is the twelfth episode of the fifth series of British science fiction television programme Doctor Who, first broadcast on 19 June 2010 on BBC One. It is the first in a two-part finale; the second part, "The Big Bang", aired on 26 June. The episode was written by head writer and executive producer Steven Moffat and directed by Toby Haynes.

In the episode, the time-travelling archaeologist River Song (Alex Kingston) summons alien time traveller the Doctor (Matt Smith) and his companion Amy Pond (Karen Gillan) to Roman Britain in 102 AD, where underneath Stonehenge lies a fabled prison called the Pandorica that legend tells holds the most fearsome being in the whole universe. However, it is discovered that the Doctor has been put in a trap by an alliance of his greatest enemies to save the universe from cracks in time that were caused by the Doctor's space-time vessel the TARDIS. Amy's fiancé, Rory (Arthur Darvill), who had previously been erased from existence from one of the cracks in the universe, makes a return, though he is revealed to be an Auton duplicate outfitted with his consciousness. (Full article...)
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The Moonbase is the half-missing sixth serial of the fourth season of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast on BBC1 in four weekly parts from 11 February to 4 March 1967.

In this serial, the Second Doctor (Patrick Troughton) and his travelling companions Ben (Michael Craze), Polly (Anneke Wills) and Jamie McCrimmon (Frazer Hines) arrive on the Human colonised Moon in 2070, where the Cybermen plot to take over the base and use it to invade the Earth. This story features the return, and first redesign, of the Cybermen, after their popularity in The Tenth Planet earlier in the season. (Full article...)
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"The Doctor's Wife" is the fourth episode of the sixth series of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was broadcast on 14 May 2011 in the United Kingdom, and later the same day in the United States. It was written by Neil Gaiman and directed by Richard Clark.

In the episode, an entity called House (voiced by Michael Sheen) lures the alien time traveller the Doctor (Matt Smith) and his companions Amy Pond (Karen Gillan) and Rory Williams (Arthur Darvill) to an asteroid outside the universe, by sending a distress call from a Time Lord to the Doctor's time machine, the TARDIS. House removes the matrix of the TARDIS and places it in the body of a woman named Idris (Suranne Jones), who proceeds to help the Doctor prevent House from escaping its pocket universe with the TARDIS. (Full article...)

Selected story

"Mission to the Unknown" is a single-episode Doctor Who story. It is notable as the only such installment in the original run of the series, and also for not featuring any of the regular characters, including the Doctor, although William Hartnell is still credited on-screen.

The story concerns three men struggling to repair their crashed spaceship in a hostile jungle on the planet Kembel. It serves as a prelude to the later serial, The Daleks' Master Plan.

Related portals

Did you know (auto-generated)

... that during the filming of the Doctor Who episode "Boom" some takes lasted up to seven minutes?
... that Susan Twist portrayed seven different roles in the eight episodes of Doctor Who's fourteenth series?
... that "The Well" is a sequel to a 17-year-old Doctor Who episode?
... that Doctor Who star Peter Capaldi was a fan of the series as a child?
... that a popular romantic pairing from Doctor Who was later adapted into the show at the suggestion of lead actress Jodie Whittaker?
... that a baby elephant that starred in The Ark was kept in a van outside the director's home the night before filming?

Selected quote

“

On my travels to Cathay, Ian, I have come to believe many things I'd previously doubted. For instance, when I was a boy in Venice, they told me that in Cathay there was a stone that burned. I did not believe, but there is such a stone: I have seen it. And if stone burns, why not a caravan that flies? Birds fly; I have even seen fish that fly. You are asking me to believe that your caravan can defy the passage of the sun? Move not merely from one place to another, but from today into tomorrow, today to yesterday? No Ian, that I cannot believe.

”

— Marco Polo, Marco Polo

Events

**Recent scheduled events**
Date	Event
29 August 2022	Another SMTV Live crossover episode
1 January 2022	2022 specials
December 2021	Big Finish audio play The Year of Martha Jones [1]
February 2022	Second volume of the Big Finish audio play The Lone Centurion [2]
May 2022	Series 2 of the audio play Doctor Who: The Ninth Doctor Adventures

More did you know?

... that the TARDIS broke while filming the final scene of the Doctor Who episode "The Poison Sky"?
... that Georgia Moffett was selected for the eponymous role in the Doctor Who episode "The Doctor's Daughter", but not because her father is Peter Davison, the Fifth Doctor?
... that the first episode of the first Doctor Who series had to be rerecorded because the TARDIS doors would not close?

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