Portal:Doctor Who

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Doctor Who is a British science fiction television series first broadcast by the BBC in 1963. The series, created by Sydney Newman, C. E. Webber and Donald Wilson, follows the adventures of the Doctor, an extraterrestrial being from a humanoid species known as Time Lords. The Doctor travels through space and time using a time travelling spaceship called the TARDIS, which has an exterior that resembles a British police box. The Doctor encounters various civilisations, which they seek to protect by outwitting foes and solving crises. The Doctor usually travels with a companion.

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 woven into the story via the plot device of regeneration. When a Time Lord is fatally injured or weakened by old age, their cells regenerate into a new body; while they retain their memories, their personality changes. The different portrayals function as distinct stages within a single, continuous narrative. Due to time travel, these different incarnations occasionally cross paths.

A British popular culture staple with a global cult following, the show has shaped generations of British television professionals. 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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"Time Crash" is a mini-episode of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. It was broadcast on 16 November 2007, as part of the BBC One telethon for the children's charity Children in Need. Written by Steven Moffat, it starred David Tennant and brought back Peter Davison as the Doctor.

The episode, set during the last scene of the previous episode "Last of the Time Lords", depicts a humorous encounter between the Doctor's fifth and tenth incarnations, played by Davison and Tennant respectively. "Time Crash" was praised by critics who reviewed the episode, and was a ratings success; it was the most-viewed show of the night, and briefly the most-viewed episode of Doctor Who since 2005, with 11 million viewers. (Full article...)
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"Cold War" is the eighth episode of the seventh series of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. It first aired on BBC One on 13 April 2013, and was written by Mark Gatiss and directed by Douglas Mackinnon.

In the episode, alien time traveller the Doctor (Matt Smith) and his companion Clara Oswald (Jenna-Louise Coleman) land on a Soviet submarine in 1983 during the Cold War, where the Ice Warrior Grand Marshal Skaldak breaks loose and plots revenge against humanity. (Full article...)
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The fifteenth series of the British science fiction television programme Doctor Who premiered on 12 April 2025. This series is also known as "Season Two" following the production changes and the acquisition of Doctor Who's international broadcasting rights by Disney+ prior to the previous series. It is the sixth and final series led by Russell T Davies as head writer and executive producer and the second since his return to the show in 2023, having previously worked on it from 2005 to 2010. This series is the fifteenth to air following the programme's revival in 2005, and is the forty-first season overall.

This is the second and final series to star Ncuti Gatwa as the Fifteenth Doctor, an incarnation of the Doctor, an alien Time Lord who travels through time and space in the TARDIS, which appears to be a British police box from the outside. Varada Sethu joins the series as new companion Belinda Chandra, with Millie Gibson also featuring as Ruby Sunday, the previous series' companion, for her second and final series in the role. The series was preceded by a Christmas episode in December 2024, written by former showrunner and head writer Steven Moffat, where Nicola Coughlan appears as one-off companion, Joy Almondo. (Full article...)
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The eighth series of the British science fiction television programme Doctor Who began on 23 August 2014 with "Deep Breath" and ended with "Death in Heaven" on 8 November 2014. The series was officially ordered in May 2013, and led by head writer and executive producer Steven Moffat, alongside executive producer Brian Minchin. Nikki Wilson, Peter Bennett and Paul Frift served as producers. The series is the eighth to air following the programme's revival in 2005, the thirty-fourth season overall, and the first series since series five not to be split into two parts.

The series is the first to star Peter Capaldi as the Twelfth Doctor, an alien Time Lord who travels through time and space in his TARDIS, which appears to be a British police box on the outside. It also stars Jenna Coleman as his companion, Clara Oswald. Also playing a major recurring role in the series is Samuel Anderson as Danny Pink, Clara's boyfriend. The main story arc revolves around a mysterious woman called Missy (portrayed by Michelle Gomez), who is often seen welcoming people who have died throughout the series to the "Promised Land", a place that serves as an apparent afterlife to deceased characters. (Full article...)
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"The Giggle" is the third and final of the 60th anniversary specials of the British science fiction television programme Doctor Who, written by Russell T Davies, directed by Chanya Button and broadcast in the United Kingdom on BBC One on 9 December 2023. It features the final regular appearances of David Tennant as the Fourteenth Doctor and Catherine Tate as Donna Noble, introduces Ncuti Gatwa as the Fifteenth Doctor and guest stars Neil Patrick Harris as the Toymaker, a character last seen in The Celestial Toymaker (1966). The episode also features the return of Jemma Redgrave and Bonnie Langford as UNIT commander Kate Lethbridge-Stewart and Mel Bush, respectively.

Set directly after the events of "Wild Blue Yonder", the episode sees the Doctor, Donna, and UNIT confronting the return of the Doctor's old enemy, the Toymaker, who is behind a series of signals in a form of a "giggle" being transmitted, causing the human race to go insane over their opinions. (Full article...)
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"Wish World" is the seventh and penultimate episode of the fifteenth series of the British science-fiction television series Doctor Who. The episode is the first in a two-part story, concluding with "The Reality War" one week later on 31 May. In the episode, the Fifteenth Doctor (Ncuti Gatwa) and his companions, Belinda Chandra (Varada Sethu) and Ruby Sunday (Millie Gibson), find themselves living in a false, heteronormative, 1950s-era themed reality. This world was engineered by Conrad Clark at the behest of the Rani, a long-time enemy of the Doctor whose ultimate plan is to make the residents doubt the universe they live in and rescue Omega.

Written by Russell T Davies and directed by Alex Sanjiv Pillai, the episode was released on BBC iPlayer, BBC One, and Disney+ on 24 May 2025. It draws together several themes that were present throughout the fifteenth series and was filmed throughout April and May 2024. Production crews faced issues working with animals and a baby while recording took place. Interior scenes were shot at Wolf Studios Wales. The episode was viewed by 3.16 million. "Wish World" received mixed reviews; critics positively highlighted the execution of the false reality, but some criticised the characterisation of the Rani and the return of Omega. The two-part story was also given a limited theatrical release. (Full article...)
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"The Stolen Earth" is the twelfth episode of the fourth series and the 750th overall episode of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. It was first broadcast on BBC One on 28 June 2008. The episode was written by show runner and head writer Russell T Davies and is the first of a two-part crossover story with spin-offs Torchwood and The Sarah Jane Adventures; the concluding episode is "Journey's End", the finale of the fourth series, broadcast on 5 July.

The finale's narrative brings closure to several prominent story arcs created during Davies' tenure as show runner. In the episode, contemporary Earth and 26 other planets are stolen by the Daleks, aided by their megalomaniacal creator Davros and a shattered but precognitive Dalek Caan. As the Doctor and his companion Donna Noble try to find Earth, his previous companions Jack Harkness, Martha Jones, Sarah Jane Smith, and Rose Tyler convene to contact him and mount a defence against the Daleks. In the episode's climax, the Doctor is gunned down by a Dalek and begins to regenerate. It is the Doctor Who appearance of Torchwood characters Gwen Cooper and Ianto Jones; and SJA characters Luke Smith and Mr Smith. (Full article...)
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An Unearthly Child (sometimes referred to as 100,000 BC) is the first serial of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. It was first broadcast on BBC TV in four weekly parts from 23 November to 14 December 1963. Scripted by Australian writer Anthony Coburn, the serial introduces William Hartnell as the First Doctor and his original companions: Carole Ann Ford as the Doctor's granddaughter, Susan Foreman, with Jacqueline Hill and William Russell as school teachers Barbara Wright and Ian Chesterton. The first episode deals with Ian and Barbara's discovery of the Doctor and his time-space ship, the TARDIS, in a junkyard in contemporary London, and the remaining episodes are set amid a power struggle between warring Stone Age factions who have lost the secret of making fire.

The show was created to fill a gap between children's and young adult programming. Canadian producer Sydney Newman, recently made Head of Drama at the BBC, was tasked with creating the show, with heavy contributions from Donald Wilson and C. E. Webber. Newman conceived the idea of the TARDIS, as well as the central character of the Doctor. Production was led by Verity Lambert, the BBC drama department's first female producer, and the serial was directed by Waris Hussein. Following several delays, the first episode was recorded in September 1963 on 405-line black and white videotape, but was re-recorded the following month due to several technical and performance errors. Several changes were made to the show's costuming, effects, performances, and scripts throughout production. (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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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 tenth series of the British science fiction television programme Doctor Who premiered on 15 April 2017 and concluded on 1 July 2017 with twelve episodes, after it was formally announced in July 2015. The series is led by head writer and executive producer Steven Moffat, alongside executive producer Brian Minchin. It is the third and final series overseen by the two as executive producers, as well as Moffat's sixth and final series as head writer. This series is the tenth to air following the programme's revival in 2005 and is the thirty-sixth season overall.

Preceded by a Christmas special in December 2016, "The Return of Doctor Mysterio", the series is the third and final series starring Peter Capaldi as the Twelfth Doctor, an incarnation of the Doctor, an alien Time Lord who travels through time and space in his TARDIS, which appears to be a British police box on the outside; Capaldi announced in January 2017 that he would be stepping down from the role after the tenth series. The series introduces Pearl Mackie as Bill Potts, and also features Matt Lucas as Nardole. Michelle Gomez and John Simm return as their respective incarnations of the Master. The main story arc for the first half of the series revolves around the Doctor and Nardole occupying themselves at a university while they guard an underground vault containing Missy. Missy later travels with the team in the TARDIS, and eventually partners with her previous incarnation as they battle a Cyberman onslaught. (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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"Cold Blood" is the ninth episode in the fifth series of British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast on 29 May 2010 on BBC One. It was written by Chris Chibnall and directed by Ashley Way. It is the second episode of a two-part story, the first episode being "The Hungry Earth", which features the return of the reptilian humanoid Silurians.

In the episode, deep underground, humans Amy Pond (Karen Gillan) and Nasreen Chaudhry (Meera Syal) have a conference with the Silurians' leader Eldane (Stephen Moore) over sharing the Earth between the two species. Meanwhile, the Silurian warrior Alaya (Neve McIntosh) is kept hostage in Wales by locals Ambrose (Nia Roberts) and Tony (Robert Pugh) until their relatives Mo (Alun Raglan) and Elliot (Samuel Davies) are returned from underground. The negotiations collapse after Alaya is killed by Ambrose for not helping them. (Full article...)
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"Music of the Spheres" is an interactive mini-episode of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who that premiered at the Royal Albert Hall in London before the Intermission of the Doctor Who Prom on 27 July 2008, for which it was especially made. The Doctor Who Prom, including the audio for "Music of the Spheres", was broadcast simultaneously on BBC Radio 3. "Music of the Spheres" was shown on the official BBC Doctor Who website during the interval and the concert itself was filmed for later broadcast on BBC One on 1 January 2009.

The episode has live and pre-recorded components: the pre-recorded component takes place in the TARDIS; the live component is the Doctor Who Prom which took place during the episode's first transmission. Consequently, a major component of the episode is that it breaks the fourth wall: the Doctor (David Tennant) "converses" with the audience and conducts the orchestra to perform his symphony Ode to the Universe. He is antagonised by the Graske (Jimmy Vee), who intends to cause mischief at the Prom. (Full article...)
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"Demons of the Punjab" is the sixth episode of the eleventh series of the British science fiction television programme Doctor Who. It was written by Vinay Patel, directed by Jamie Childs, and first broadcast on BBC One on 11 November 2018.

In the episode, Yasmin Khan asks the Thirteenth Doctor to take her to see her grandmother during her youth. Along with the other companions Graham O'Brien and Ryan Sinclair, they get caught up in the events preceding the partition of India; meanwhile, the Doctor also investigates if aliens are involved in the death of a man killed during their visit. The episode was watched by 7.48 million viewers in the UK during the week following its release, and was met with positive reviews from critics. (Full article...)

Selected story

The Web Planet is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in six weekly parts from February 13, 1965 to March 20, 1965.

The TARDIS is pulled off course by a mysterious force and trapped on the barren, desolate low-oxygen world of Vortis in the Isop galaxy. The Doctor, Barbara, Ian and Vicki are soon swept up in the struggles of the butterfly-like Menoptra, the original denizens of Vortis who were forced to flee the planet for the moon Pictos to escape the encroaching Animus and Zarbi. With assistance from the caterpillar-like Optera, the devolved descendants of the planet's original inhabitants, the TARDIS crew and the Menoptra are able to destroy the Animus at the center of its web complex.

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Did you know (auto-generated)

... that the Doctor Who episode "The Devil's Chord" references the events of an episode that aired more than sixty years before?
... that two-thirds of the six-week budget allocated to the filming of a Doctor Who episode was used up in only three days?
... that the Fugitive Doctor was the first time The Doctor in Doctor Who was portrayed by a black actor?
... that the robotic costumes used in the Doctor Who episode "The Robot Revolution" were 3D printed in thirty-four different pieces before being assembled?
... that "The Christmas Invasion" led to Christmas specials becoming a staple for Doctor Who?
... 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

“

Homo sapiens. What an inventive, invincible species. It's only a few million years since they crawled up out of the mud and learned to walk. Puny, defenceless bipeds. They've survived flood, famine and plague. They've survived cosmic wars and holocausts. And now, here they are, out among the stars, waiting to begin a new life. Ready to outsit eternity. They're indomitable.

”

— Fourth Doctor, The Ark in Space

More did you know?

... that the first spin-off of Doctor Who, K-9 and Company only ever had a pilot episode, A Girl's Best Friend?
... that the War Doctor (played by John Hurt, pictured), introduced in The Night of the Doctor, is a "dark doctor" who will "bring an ancient battle to its devastating conclusion"?
... that Douglas Adams convinced John Cleese to appear in the Doctor Who serial City of Death after learning the comedian would be working in BBC Television Centre on the same day of filming?

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