In the 20 years since Doctor Who returned to our screens, the Doctor has regenerated on 15 separate occasions, despite only being portrayed by six main actors. 16 years after the series was cancelled in 1989, Doctor Who returned with Christopher Eccleston in the titular role of the Ninth Doctor in 2005, introducing the long-running sci-fi series to modern audiences. Since then, David Tennant, Matt Smith, Peter Capaldi, Jodie Whittaker, and Ncuti Gatwa have all appeared as different incarnations of the Doctor, but many more regenerations have been seen on-screen.
Jodie Whittaker’s era as the Thirteenth Doctor provided more information about the origin of the Time Lords’ regenerative abilities. The Doctor was revealed to be the Timeless Child, a being from another universe who was able to regenerate an unlimited number of times, changing their entire body when they became ill, old, or deceased. Early Gallifreyans harnessed this ability and fused it with their own genetics to become Time Lords, but the Doctor is still unique among them. Since 2005, 15 separate regenerations of various kinds have been seen on-screen, each shaping the mythology of Doctor Who even more.
15) Ninth Doctor to Tenth Doctor in “The Parting of the Ways”
After receiving only one 13-episode-long season as the Doctor alongside Billie Piper’s Rose Tyler, Christopher Eccleston’s Ninth Doctor regenerated in 2005’s “The Parting of the Ways.” The Doctor sacrificed this incarnation by absorbing the power of the Heart of the TARDIS from Rose, saving her life. Eccleston has explained that he left because of behind-the-scenes trouble with Russell T. Davies and producers, and because of differences of opinions of how the Doctor should be played. Even so, Eccleston has an important place in Doctor Who’s history as the man who brought the show back after such a long hiatus.
14) Tenth Doctor to Tenth Doctor in “The Stolen Earth” & “Journey’s End”
The 2008 episodes “The Stolen Earth” and “Journey’s End” teased audiences with the regeneration of David Tennant’s Tenth Doctor, as he was shot by a Dalek moments before reuniting with Rose Tyler, who had traveled across the boundary of universes. Tennant’s Doctor was immensely popular, traveling alongside Rose, Freema Agyeman’s Martha Jones, and Catherine Tate’s Donna Noble, so it was a good choice that this regeneration was redirected to the Doctor’s severed hand from the 2005 Christmas episode. Tennant continued on as the Doctor, though his true regeneration was on the horizon.
13) Doctor’s Hand to Metacrisis Doctor & DoctorDonna in “Journey’s End”
After the Tenth Doctor regenerated just enough to heal from the Dalek attack in “Journey’s End,” and put all the other regeneration energy into his severed hand, that energy had to go somewhere. After the TARDIS was almost destroyed in the Dalek Crucible, Donna touched the Doctor’s hand, which caused a new, human version of the Doctor, also played by Tennant, to regenerate from the extremity. This imbued Donna with a Time Lord’s brain, which ultimately forced the Doctor to wipe her memory, and also introduced a Doctor who could remain on the parallel Earth as Rose Tyler’s partner.
12) Tenth Doctor to Eleventh Doctor in “The End of Time”
After his half-finished regeneration and the introduction of the Metacrisis Doctor and DoctorDonna, it soon officially became David Tennant’s time to move on. The Tenth Doctor’s official regeneration occurred after he absorbed a lethal dose of radiation while saving the life of Wilfred Mott (the late Bernard Cribbins), Donna’s grandfather who helped in the battle against the Master (John Simm). Tennant was arguably the most popular Doctor, so his farewell tour of past companions and eventual regeneration was hugely emotional, marking the end of an era, as Russell T. Davies also left the show in 2010’s “The End of Time.”
11) Eleventh Doctor’s Stopped Regeneration in “The Impossible Astronaut” (& More)
Just as the Tenth Doctor had a half-finished regeneration, so did Matt Smith’s Eleventh Doctor, but this included a bigger twist. In 2011’s “The Impossible Astronaut,” the Doctor was shot by the titular astronaut, later revealed to be an out-of-control River Song (Alex Kingston), pushing him to regenerate in front of River, Amy Pond (Karen Gillan), and Rory Williams (Arthur Darvill). However, the astronaut shot the Doctor again, mid-regeneration, which shockingly killed him dead. The rest of Smith’s sophomore season was spent unraveling this mystery, and, of course, the Doctor was able to reverse his demise, but not for long.
10) Eighth Doctor to War Doctor in “The Night of the Doctor”
Paul McGann debuted as the Eighth Doctor in the 1996 TV movie, Doctor Who. McGann’s Eighth Doctor has since starred in a slew of audiobooks and novels, despite not having a full live-action season, but he reprised the role in the 2013 short, “The Night of the Doctor,” a prologue to the 50th anniversary special. This mini-episode saw the Eighth Doctor, with his regeneration and the Time War impending, consume an elixir that allowed him to choose the characteristics of his next incarnation. He chose to transform into a hardened warrior to do what needed to be done.
9) War Doctor to Ninth Doctor in “The Day of the Doctor”
The Eighth Doctor’s regeneration created this incarnation, who renounced the name “Doctor,” suggesting that he was actually “Doctor No More.” Portrayed by Hollywood legend John Hurt, the War Doctor is the incarnation who used a sentient weapon, the Moment, to eradicate both the Time Lords and the Daleks, ending the Time War and saving reality at great cost. 2013’s “The Day of the Doctor” saw the Tenth and Eleventh Doctors help the War Doctor to end the Time War while saving the Time Lords, amending their greatest regret, and allowed the War Doctor to comfortably regenerate into Christopher Eccleston’s Ninth.
8) Eleventh Doctor to Twelfth Doctor in “The Time of the Doctor”
At the time, the lore was that Time Lords only got 13 regenerations before finally dying, so Doctor Who needed to find a workaround after the Tenth Doctor’s half-done regeneration and the War Doctor’s debut actually made the Eleventh Doctor the 13th. Saving the Time Lords in “The Day of the Doctor” created the perfect opportunity, as Clara Oswald (Jenna Coleman) begged the Time Lords to give the Doctor more regenerations as a reward, which they did. Dying of old age, the Eleventh Doctor was greeted be a vision of Amy Pond before regenerating, starting a new chapter.
7) Twelfth Doctor Faked in “The Lie of the Land”
While the transformation of the Eleventh Doctor into Peter Capaldi’s Twelfth Doctor changed the process, making it a quick snap rather than an all-out spectacle, 2017’s “The Lie of the Land” marked a return to form. In an alternate history ruled over by the Monks, Bill (Pearl Mackie), aware of the truth, finds the Doctor, who has seemingly been working with the Monks to subjugate humanity. Distraught, Bill shoots the Doctor, causing him to regenerate, but this was quickly revealed to be a test for Bill – a fake regeneration to ensure Bill was not under the Monks’ influence.
6) Twelfth Doctor to Thirteenth Doctor in “Twice Upon a Time”
During 2017’s “The Doctor Falls,” Capaldi’s Twelfth Doctor is shot while fighting various incarnations of Cybermen on a colony ship traveling from Mondas, the homeworld of the Cybermen. This begins his regeneration, but he refuses to go through with it until after an adventure alongside the First Doctor (David Bradley) and a WWII Captain (Mark Gatiss) in the Christmas special, “Twice Upon a Time.” Both the First and Twelfth Doctors regenerated after battles with the Cybermen, and both felt happy to do so after fighting alongside each other.
5) The Doctor’s Original Regenerations in “The Timeless Children”
Controversially, Jodie Whittaker’s run as the Thirteenth Doctor completely changed the entire lore and history of Doctor Who. In 2020’s “The Timeless Children,” the Master (Sacha Dhawan) brought the Doctor to Gallifrey and revealed that the Doctor is the fabled Timeless Child. Jo Martin’s Fugitive Doctor was revealed to be an incarnation of the Doctor from before the character’s mind was wiped, prior to William Hartnell’s debut as the time-traveler in 1963. The Doctor’s early regenerations were shown in flashbacks, with Gallifreyan Tecteun experimenting on the young Timeless Child to harness their regenerative ability and create the Time Lords.
4) The Master Forced The Thirteenth Doctor’s Regeneration in “The Power of the Doctor”
In Jodie Whittaker’s final Doctor Who episode, 2022’s “The Power of the Doctor,” she went through not one, but two regenerations. The first was caused by the Master, who strangely forces the Doctor to regenerate into the Master. While undergoing this process, the Thirteenth Doctor met with several former incarnations at the Edge of Existence, including the First, Sixth (Colin Baker), Fifth (Peter Davison), Eighth, and Seventh Doctors, who give her advice on how to reverse the forced regeneration. Nevertheless, the Master eventually bests the Doctor, firing a lethal Qurunx energy beam at her, which begins her official regeneration.
3) Thirteenth Doctor to Fourteenth Doctor in “The Power of the Doctor”
After being mortally wounded by the Master, the Thirteenth Doctor got ice cream with Yasmin Khan (Mandip Gill), looking at Earth from the TARDIS, before bidding farewell without actually saying goodbye. After dropping Yas at home, the Doctor made her way to Durdle Door, where she proclaimed that the next Doctor is “it,” and regenerated beautifully into – wait – David Tennant? Ncuti Gatwa had already been confirmed to be the next Doctor, so Tennant’s return was incredibly surprising. This regeneration marked the end of Chris Chibnall’s polarizing era of Doctor Who and the return of Russell T. Davies.
2) Fourteenth Doctor Bi-Generation to Fifteenth Doctor in “The Giggle”
David Tennant and Catherine Tate returned to Doctor Who as the Doctor and Donna Noble for three specials to celebrate the series’ 60th anniversary. This provided the opportunity for Donna’s tragic ending from 2008 to be resolved, while this trilogy of specials also ended in a shocking twist for the regeneration sequence. After being shot with the Toymaker’s galvanic beam, the Doctor bi-generated, allowing both Tennant’s Fourteenth and Gatwa’s Fifteenth Doctors to exist simultaneously. The Fourteenth decided to retire on Earth, living with Donna and her family, while the Fifteenth departed for his own adventures.
1) Fifteenth Doctor to Billie Piper in “The Reality War”
Unfortunately, Ncuti Gatwa’s departure from Doctor Who was shrouded in rumors of behind-the-scenes drama which may have cut his time as the Doctor short. His final episodes, “Wish World” and “The Reality War,” felt rushed and were speculated to have been changed at the last minute, leading to the Doctor sacrificing his life to bring Poppy (Sienna-Robyn Mavanga-Phipps) from the alternate reality back to life. Poppy was originally going to be revealed to be the Doctor and Belinda Chandra’s (Varada Sethu) daughter, Susan Foreman’s (original Doctor Who actor Carole Ann Ford) mother, but this was altered in reshoots.
In “The Reality War,” the Doctor used a regeneration to shift the timeline, establishing a new one where Poppy exists as Belinda’s daughter, but not his. The Doctor then underwent a full regeneration, which saw him transform into Billie Piper, seemingly returning to Doctor Who as the Sixteenth Doctor. The fact that she wasn’t credited as the Doctor has raised questions, however, but with no future yet confirmed for Doctor Who, it’s unclear when this mystery will be solved. It’s a shame to see Gatwa’s Fifteenth Doctor leave so quickly, but exciting to see where Doctor Who might go next.
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