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 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...)

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The Sensorites is the seventh serial of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. Written by Peter R. Newman and directed by Mervyn Pinfield and Frank Cox, the serial was first broadcast on BBC1 in six weekly parts from 20 June to 1 August 1964. In the serial, the First Doctor (William Hartnell), his granddaughter Susan Foreman (Carole Ann Ford), and her teachers Ian Chesterton (William Russell) and Barbara Wright (Jacqueline Hill) visit a planet known as the Sense-Sphere to find the cure to a disease afflicting the alien race the Sensorites.

Newman's story for the serial was inspired by 1950s films set during World War II, exploring the notion of soldiers who continued to fight after the war. Pinfield was chosen to direct the first four episodes due to his directing style, while Cox directed the final two episodes. Designer Raymond Cusick avoided the use of right angles in his set designs, recalling Antoni Gaudí's work on the Sagrada Família. The serial premiered with 7.9 million viewers but failed to maintain these figures due to the holiday sports season. Retrospective response for the serial was generally positive, and it later received several print adaptations and home media releases. (Full article...)
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"The Eleventh Hour" is the first episode of the fifth series of the British science fiction television programme Doctor Who, first broadcast on BBC One and BBC HD on 3 April 2010. The episode, written by then-new head writer and executive producer Steven Moffat and directed by Adam Smith, saw a complete change in cast and production crew.

In the episode, the Eleventh Doctor (Matt Smith) crashes the TARDIS into the small English village of Leadworth, where he meets a young Scottish girl named Amelia Pond (Caitlin Blackwood). The Doctor is forced to leave in order to repair damage to the TARDIS caused during his recent regeneration and crash, but promises Amelia he will return in five minutes. However, he arrives twelve years late and is confronted by the grown-up Amelia, now known as Amy (Karen Gillan), who does not trust him. He attempts to regain her trust to help return the shape-shifting alien Prisoner Zero to the galactic police, the Atraxi, before they destroy the Earth for harbouring Prisoner Zero. (Full article...)
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"The Return of Doctor Mysterio" is an episode of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. First broadcast on BBC One on 25 December 2016, it is the twelfth Christmas special since the show's revival in 2005. It was written by Steven Moffat and directed by Ed Bazalgette.

The episode is set in New York City, and involves the Doctor and Nardole linking with journalist Lucy Fletcher (Charity Wakefield) and a superhero called The Ghost (Justin Chatwin) to combat brain-swapping aliens. The only episode of 2016, it stars Peter Capaldi as the Twelfth Doctor, and is the first to feature Nardole (Matt Lucas), who was introduced in the previous Christmas special "The Husbands of River Song", as his companion. (Full article...)
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"The Reality War" is the eighth and final episode of the fifteenth series of the British science-fiction television series Doctor Who. Written by Russell T Davies and directed by Alex Sanjiv Pillai, it is the second of a two-part story alongside the preceding episode, "Wish World". The episode was released simultaneously on BBC iPlayer, BBC One, and Disney+ on 31 May 2025. Ncuti Gatwa stars in his final regular appearance as the Fifteenth Doctor. Varada Sethu and Millie Gibson star as his companions, Belinda Chandra and Ruby Sunday, respectively, in their final appearances. Numerous other performers from Gatwa's time on the show reprise their roles. Jodie Whittaker also returns as the Thirteenth Doctor, while the ending reintroduces Billie Piper, who previously played Rose Tyler, to the series when the Doctor regenerates.

The episode depicts the Doctor and his allies uniting to combat the threat of the Rani, who aims to bring Omega, the first Time Lord, back to the universe to re-create her and the Doctor's home planet Gallifrey under her rule. The Doctor aims to stop the Rani while also preserving the life of Poppy, an infant child the Doctor had with Belinda in an altered reality, who will be erased from existence if the Rani's plans succeed. Primary filming took place in 2024, with some re-shoots reportedly taking place into 2025 causing delayed edits to the episode. "The Reality War" was viewed by a total of 3.44 million. It was also given a limited theatrical release alongside "Wish World". The episode received mixed reviews from critics, who criticised the handling of Belinda's character, the usage of the Rani and Omega as antagonists, the overall plot, and Piper's return, despite some praise for Whittaker's cameo. (Full article...)
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The Edge of Destruction (also referred to as Inside the Spaceship) is the third serial of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. It was written by David Whitaker, and first broadcast on BBC TV in two weekly parts on 8 February and 15 February 1964. The first episode was directed by Richard Martin, while Frank Cox directed the second. In the story, the Doctor (William Hartnell), his granddaughter Susan (Carole Ann Ford), and her teachers Ian Chesterton (William Russell) and Barbara Wright (Jacqueline Hill) are in the Doctor's time and space machine the TARDIS when it appears to be taken over by an outside force. The travellers begin acting strangely and turn against each other.

The serial was commissioned as a "filler", in case the show was not renewed beyond the approved 13 weeks. Whitaker wrote the scripts in two days, based on an idea he had developed during the show's formative weeks; he sought to explore the characters in more depth, as well as the facets of the TARDIS. The serial's original director, Paddy Russell, left the project due to other commitments. The serial premiered with ten million viewers, maintaining the figures from the previous story, and received generally positive responses. The BBC Programme Board voiced concerns regarding a scene in which Susan uses scissors as a weapon, noting that it violated code. The serial received print adaptations, as well as home media releases. (Full article...)
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"The Snowmen" is an episode in the seventh series of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, first broadcast on Christmas Day 2012 on BBC One. It is the eighth Doctor Who Christmas special since the show's 2005 revival and the first to be within a series. It was written by head writer and executive producer Steven Moffat and directed by Saul Metzstein, with the special produced in August 2012, and filmed on location in Newport, Wales and Bristol.

Set in the Victorian era, the story sees the Doctor (Matt Smith), an alien time traveller, retired and in hiding. He is soon forced out of hiding to investigate mysterious, sentient snowmen that are building themselves and meets Clara Oswald (Jenna-Louise Coleman), a governess also investigating the snowmen. With the help of allies – Silurian Madame Vastra (Neve McIntosh), her human wife Jenny Flint (Catrin Stewart), and Sontaran Strax (Dan Starkey) – they discover that the snowmen are being animated by the Great Intelligence (voiced by Ian McKellen) with the help of a man named Dr Simeon (Richard E. Grant). (Full article...)
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Astrid Peth is a fictional character played by Kylie Minogue in the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. She is a one-off companion of the Tenth Doctor who appears in the episode "Voyage of the Damned", which was first broadcast in the UK on 25 December 2007. Minogue's casting in the role was a major coup for Doctor Who, her fame attracting much publicity for "Voyage of the Damned". Subsequently, much of the episode's success in terms of viewing figures was attributed to Minogue's appearance in the role. (Full article...)
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David Tennant as the Fourteenth Doctor in "Wild Blue Yonder" (2023)

The Fourteenth Doctor is an incarnation of the Doctor and the protagonist of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who for the 2023 specials. He is portrayed by Scottish actor David Tennant, who previously portrayed the Tenth Doctor from 2005 to 2010 and again in 2013.

Within the series narrative, the Doctor is a millennia-old alien Time Lord from the planet Gallifrey, with somewhat unknown origins, who travels in time and space in the TARDIS, frequently with companions. At the end of each incarnation's life, the Doctor regenerates, changing their physical appearance and aspects of their personality. Tennant's second incarnation is outwardly similar to the Tenth Doctor, but with a more sentimental and affectionate persona, and a weariness that reflects his life experiences in the centuries since. (Full article...)
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Moffat in 2017

Steven William Moffat (/ˈmɒfət/; born 18 November 1961) is a Scottish television writer, television producer and screenwriter. He is best known for his work as the second showrunner and head writer of the 2005 revival of the BBC sci-fi television series Doctor Who (2010–17), and for co-creating and co-writing the BBC crime drama television series Sherlock (2010–17). In the 2015 Birthday Honours, Moffat was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) for his services to drama.

Born in Paisley, Scotland, Moffat, the son of a teacher, was formerly a teacher himself. His first television work was the teen drama series Press Gang. His first sitcom, Joking Apart, was inspired by the breakdown of his first marriage. Later in the 1990s, he wrote Chalk, inspired by his own experience as an English teacher. Moffat, a lifelong fan of Doctor Who, wrote the comedic sketch episode The Curse of Fatal Death for the Comic Relief charity telethon, which aired in early 1999. His early-2000s sitcom Coupling was based upon the development of his relationship with television producer Sue Vertue. (Full article...)
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"Eve of the Daleks" is the first of three special episodes that followed the thirteenth series of the British science fiction television programme Doctor Who. The episode was first broadcast on BBC One on 1 January 2022 as Doctor Who's annual holiday special. It was written by Chris Chibnall, and directed by Annetta Laufer. It is the third and final part of a loose trilogy that developed in previous festive specials.

In the episode, the Thirteenth Doctor (Jodie Whittaker) and her two companions, Yasmin Khan (Mandip Gill) and Dan Lewis (John Bishop), get trapped in a time loop on New Year's Eve. Once there, they find Sarah and Nick (guest stars Aisling Bea and Adjani Salmon) and the five are repeatedly chased by a Dalek. (Full article...)
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"The Bells of Saint John" is the sixth episode of the seventh series of the British science fiction television programme Doctor Who. It premiered in the United Kingdom on 30 March 2013 on BBC One; the episode was the first of the second half of the series. It was written by Steven Moffat and directed by Colm McCarthy.

The episode marks the third appearance of Jenna-Louise Coleman as Clara Oswald, but her first official appearance as the Eleventh Doctor's new companion. The story focuses on alien time traveller the Doctor (Matt Smith) and his search for Oswald, following two previous encounters with her in different moments of time, both ending in her death. Finding a third version in present-day London, he soon becomes involved in saving her and the rest of Earth from Miss Kizlet (Celia Imrie) and her employer, the Great Intelligence, as they use the world's Wi-Fi to upload people to a datacloud via robots known as Servers, casually referred to as Spoonheads. (Full article...)
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"Something Borrowed" is the ninth episode of the second series of the British science-fiction television series Torchwood. It was first broadcast on BBC Three on 5 March 2008 and repeated on BBC Two one week later. The episode was written by Phil Ford, directed by Ashley Way and produced by Richard Stokes. The episode featured the five initial series regulars John Barrowman, Eve Myles, Burn Gorman, Naoko Mori and Gareth David Lloyd plus recurring actor Kai Owen in a central role.

The episode centres on the marriage of the alien hunter Gwen Cooper (Eve Myles) to the transport manager Rhys Williams (Kai Owen). The wedding is complicated by Gwen's sudden impregnation by an alien, though she resolves to see the day through. When the nuptials are interrupted by an attack from the biological mother of the alien fetus (played successively by Collette Brown, Nerys Hughes and John Barrowman), Rhys, Gwen, and Gwen's teammates at Torchwood must neutralise the threat. Gwen and Rhys ultimately marry, and the wedding guests have their memories wiped. (Full article...)
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A Cleric's uniform, on display at the Doctor Who Experience

The Church of the Papal Mainframe, also known as the Church, is a fictional religious group in the British science-fiction television series Doctor Who. Members of the Church first appeared in the 2010 episodes "The Time of Angels" and "Flesh and Stone", with the Church serving as recurring characters throughout the show. In-universe, the Church is an interstellar, militant church hailing from the 51st century, acting as a "security hub" in the universe. Members of its army utilise religious terminology, with members being referred to as "Clerics", though other ranks exist. The Church has many different allies throughout the show, including the Silents, creatures that, in-universe, a viewer forgets once they look away from a Silent. A splinter group of the Church, dubbed the "Kovarian Chapter" or "The Silence", serve as recurring antagonists, aiming to kill the Eleventh Doctor.

Created by Steven Moffat, the Church has been analysed for its satire of the Church of England, as well as for its portrayal of religion, Anglicanism, and the Church of England's fate in the far future. The Silence's role within the series has also been analysed in relation to the Church. (Full article...)
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Pyramids of Mars is the third serial of the 13th season of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. Written by Robert Holmes and Lewis Greifer under the pseudonym of "Stephen Harris" and directed by Paddy Russell, the serial was first broadcast in four weekly parts on BBC1 from 25 October to 15 November 1975.

The serial is set in the year 1911 in England, Egypt, and Mars. In the serial, the burial chamber of the alien Sutekh, the inspiration for the Egyptian god Set, is unearthed by the archaeology professor Marcus Scarman. Alive but immobilised, Sutekh seeks his freedom by using Professor Scarman as his servant to destroy the jewel in a pyramid on Mars which is keeping him prisoner. (Full article...)
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"Flesh and Stone" is the fifth episode of the fifth series of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. Written by Steven Moffat and directed by Adam Smith, the episode was first broadcast on 1 May 2010 on BBC One. Featuring the Weeping Angels as primary villains and the recurring character River Song (Alex Kingston), it is the conclusion of a two-episode story; the first part, "The Time of Angels", aired on 24 April.

In the episode, the alien time traveller the Eleventh Doctor (Matt Smith), his companion Amy Pond (Karen Gillan), River Song, and Father Octavian (Iain Glen) and his militarised clerics have escaped entrapment by the Weeping Angels, creatures who only move when unobserved by others. They take refuge inside the crashed starship Byzantium, but the Angels pursue them and Amy is on the brink of dying from the imprint of an Angel in her eye. Both the Angels and the Doctor's team face danger from a widening crack in space and time which has the power to erase persons from history. (Full article...)

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"Everything Changes" is an episode in the British science fiction television programme Torchwood, which was first broadcast on 22 October 2006. It is the first episode of the first series.

A man has been murdered in an ongoing spree, and PC Gwen Cooper is surprised when four shady figures take over from the police. They identify themselves only as "Torchwood". One woman, called Suzie by a tall American in a long coat, takes out a metal gauntlet and brings the victim back to life for just two minutes. The American identifies himself as Captain Jack Harkness, but Gwen researches and finds that the last person of this name vanished in 1941. She uses the guise of a pizza delivery person to find Torchwood Institute, only to discover they were expecting her. She is introduced to the entire team, and also shown a Weevil. However, her memory is erased. She meets Suzie again, who admits to the death and shoots herself. Gwen then remembers everything, and is given a job at the institute.

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Did you know (auto-generated)

... that the Doctor Who episode "Lux" is set in Miami, Florida, despite being filmed in Penarth, Wales?
... that "The Well" is a sequel to a 17-year-old Doctor Who episode?
... that "Mission to the Unknown" is the only Doctor Who serial not to feature the Doctor at all?
... that the producers of Doctor Who only wrote a queer romance into the programme's 2022 special episodes after viewers began shipping two characters?
... that a Doctor Who episode took place during the partition of India, and used a unique Indian adaptation of the usual closing theme?
... that the villain of a Doctor Who story reappeared after 49 years?

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“

'Cause that's how I see the universe. Every waking second, I can see what is, what was, what could be, what must not. That's the burden of a Time Lord, Donna. And I'm the only one left.

”

— Tenth Doctor, The Fires of Pompeii

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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

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More did you know?

... that a rough cut of "Deep Breath", the first episode of the eighth series of Doctor Who, was leaked online six weeks before the episode was due to air?
... that the designs for the Doctor Who serial The Sensorites were inspired by Antoni Gaudí's design of the Sagrada Família (pictured) in Barcelona, which has no right angles?
... that the entire fourth serial of Doctor Who is missing after being erased by the BBC in 1967?

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