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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 often travels with companions.

Beginning with William Hartnell, fourteen actors have headlined the series as the Doctor; as of 2024^[update], Ncuti Gatwa leads the series as the Fifteenth Doctor. The transition from one actor to another 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, their cells regenerate and they are reincarnated, into a different body with mannerisms and behaviour, but the same memories, explaining each actor's distinct portrayal, as they all represent different stages in the life of the Doctor and, together, they form a single lifetime with a single narrative. The time-travelling nature of the plot means that different incarnations of the Doctor occasionally meet. In 2017, Jodie Whittaker, as the Thirteenth Doctor, became the first woman to be cast in the lead role.

The series is a significant part of popular culture in Britain and elsewhere; it has gained a cult following. 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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"A Town Called Mercy" is the third episode of the seventh series of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, transmitted on BBC One in the United Kingdom on 15 September 2012. It was written by Toby Whithouse and directed by Saul Metzstein.

The episode featured alien time traveller the Doctor (Matt Smith) and his companions Amy Pond (Karen Gillan) and Rory Williams (Arthur Darvill) visiting the Wild West, where they encounter a town which is cut off from the rest of the frontier until they hand over Kahler-Jex, an alien doctor, to a cyborg called the Gunslinger. However, the Gunslinger is a product of experiments by Jex to win a civil war on his planet, and the Doctor is unsure of what is the right thing to do. (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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"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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Costumes and prop from Doctor Who, displayed at the Doctor Who Experience in Cardiff.

"Day of the Moon" is the second episode of the sixth series of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. Written by show runner Steven Moffat, and directed by Toby Haynes, the episode was first broadcast on 30 April 2011 on BBC One in the United Kingdom and on BBC America in the United States. The episode is the second of a two-part story that began with "The Impossible Astronaut" on 23 April.

In 1969 America, alien time traveller the Doctor (Matt Smith) along with his companions Amy Pond (Karen Gillan) and Rory Williams (Arthur Darvill), archaeologist River Song (Alex Kingston) and FBI agent Canton Everett Delaware III (Mark Sheppard), attempt to lead the human race into a revolution against the Silence, a religious order of aliens who cannot be remembered after they are encountered. (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 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 the 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 to the Doctor's time machine, the TARDIS. The 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...)
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"Meat" is the fourth episode of the second series of British science fiction television series Torchwood, which was first broadcast on BBC Two on 6 February 2008. It was written by Catherine Tregenna, who had previously written episodes for the first series of the show, directed by Colin Teague 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.

Torchwood initially depicts a small team of alien-hunters known as Torchwood, based in Cardiff. In the premiere episode of the first series Gwen Cooper (Eve Myles) is introduced as a newcomer to the organisation who keeps her job secret from boyfriend Rhys Williams (Kai Owen). The episode "Meat" depicts the two aspects of Gwen's double life coming into conflict as Rhys finds himself caught up in Torchwood's investigation into a corrupt meat trade stemming from human exploitation of a stranded benevolent alien. Rhys helps Torchwood in their attempts to apprehend the human villains of the episode and his bravery makes Gwen realise that she should no longer keep secrets from him. (Full article...)
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"Victory of the Daleks" is the third episode in the fifth series of British science fiction television series Doctor Who. Written by Mark Gatiss and directed by Andrew Gunn, it was first broadcast on BBC One on 17 April 2010.

In the episode, the Doctor (Matt Smith) and his companion Amy Pond (Karen Gillan) arrive in London during the Blitz, where Winston Churchill (Ian McNeice) has employed "Ironsides", a scientific creation from Professor Bracewell (Bill Paterson) to be used as weapons in the war effort. However, the Doctor recognises the Ironsides as his archenemies the Daleks, who plan to destroy Earth by activating a device located inside Bracewell, an android. (Full article...)
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"Fear Her" is the eleventh episode of the second series of the British science-fiction series Doctor Who, first broadcast on BBC One on 24 June 2006. It was written by Matthew Graham and directed by Euros Lyn. Removed from iplayer in August 2024 due to the appearance of Huw Edwards.

The episode takes place in London on the day of the 2012 Summer Olympics opening ceremony. In the episode, the alien time traveller the Doctor (David Tennant) and his travelling companion Rose Tyler (Billie Piper) investigate the lonely girl Chloe Webber (Abisola Agbaje), who has the ability to make people disappear by drawing them. (Full article...)
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"Closing Time" is the twelfth and penultimate episode of the sixth series of the British science fiction television programme Doctor Who, and was first broadcast on BBC One on 24 September 2011. It was written by Gareth Roberts and directed by Steve Hughes. It is a sequel to "The Lodger", an episode Roberts wrote for the previous series.

In the episode, alien time traveller the Doctor (Matt Smith) is going on a "farewell tour" before his impending death and visits his friend Craig Owens (James Corden) in present-day Colchester, who has a new baby son, Alfie. Though not initially intending to stay, the Doctor becomes intrigued by a Cybermen invasion at a local department store. (Full article...)
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"The Hungry Earth" is the eighth episode of the fifth series of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast on 22 May 2010 on BBC One. It was written by Chris Chibnall, who had previously written for Doctor Who and its spin-off series, Torchwood. It is the first episode of a two-part story, the second episode being "Cold Blood", and features the return of the Silurians, a reptile-like humanoid race last seen in 1984's Warriors of the Deep.

In the episode a drilling operation headed by Nasreen Chaudhry (Meera Syal) in 2020 Wales is drilling deep into the earth and disrupting a civilisation of Silurians who dwell beneath the earth. In turn, the Silurians open holes in the ground to experiment on one villager, Mo (Alun Raglan), and hold Mo's son Elliot (Samuel Davies) hostage. After the Silurian Alaya (Neve McIntosh) is subdued in Wales, there is a stalemate between the two settlements as both sides have a hostage. (Full article...)
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Capaldi at the 2019 GalaxyCon Richmond

Peter Dougan Capaldi (/kəˈpældi/; born 14 April 1958) is a Scottish actor and director. He portrayed the twelfth incarnation of the Doctor in the science fiction series Doctor Who and Malcolm Tucker in The Thick of It, for which he received four British Academy Television Award nominations, winning Best Male Comedy Performance in 2010.

Capaldi won an Academy Award for Best Live Action Short Film and the BAFTA Award for Best Short Film for his 1993 short film Franz Kafka's It's a Wonderful Life. He went on to write and direct the drama film Strictly Sinatra and directed two series of the sitcom Getting On. Capaldi also played Mr Curry in the family film Paddington and its sequel Paddington 2, as well as The Thinker in The Suicide Squad. (Full article...)
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"The Wedding of River Song" is the thirteenth and final episode in the sixth series of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, and was first broadcast on BBC One on 1 October 2011. It was written by lead writer and executive producer Steven Moffat and directed by Jeremy Webb.

In the episode, the archaeologist River Song (Alex Kingston) is programmed by the religious order the Silence to kill the alien time traveller the Doctor (Matt Smith) to prevent "the first question" from being asked on a planet called Trenzalore in the Doctor's future. She refuses, and they end up in an alternative timeline where all of time is running simultaneously and beginning to disintegrate. The Doctor tries to restore the universe with the help of River and the alternative universe versions of his companions Amy Pond (Karen Gillan) and Rory Williams (Arthur Darvill). It is revealed that he had already planned escape by posing as himself using the shape-shifting Teselecta. (Full article...)
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The second series of British science fiction programme Doctor Who began on 25 December 2005 with the Christmas special "The Christmas Invasion". A regular series of thirteen episodes was broadcast weekly in 2006, starting with "New Earth" on 15 April and concluding with "Doomsday" on 8 July. In addition, two short special episodes were produced; a Children in Need special and an interactive episode, as well as thirteen minisodes titled Tardisodes. It is the second series of the revival of the show, and the twenty-eighth season overall.

It is the first series to feature David Tennant as the tenth 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. The Doctor continues to travel with his companion Rose Tyler (Billie Piper), with whom he has grown increasingly attached. They also briefly travel with Rose's boyfriend Mickey Smith (Noel Clarke), and Rose's mother Jackie (Camille Coduri). The series is connected by a loose story arc consisting of the recurring word "Torchwood". This is also the first series to be preceded by a Christmas special, the success of "The Christmas Invasion" led to the Christmas special becoming an annual tradition. (Full article...)
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"The Name of the Doctor" is the thirteenth and final episode of the seventh series of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. It was first broadcast on BBC One on 18 May 2013. It was written by Steven Moffat and directed by Saul Metzstein. The episode was watched by 7.45 million viewers in the UK and received positive reviews from critics.

In the episode, an entity called the Great Intelligence (Richard E. Grant) kidnaps Victorian-era Paternoster Gang detectives Madame Vastra (Neve McIntosh), Jenny Flint (Catrin Stewart), and their butler Strax (Dan Starkey), to force their friend, time-travelling alien the Doctor (Matt Smith), to go to the planet Trenzalore, the site of the Doctor's future grave. The Intelligence's plan is to trap the Doctor and then force the Doctor to open a door in time so the Intelligence can reverse all the Doctor's victories. It is the first appearance of John Hurt's War Doctor. The episode is part of a loose trilogy with the subsequent two special episodes, "The Day of the Doctor" (2013) and "The Time of the Doctor" (2013). (Full article...)

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The Dalek Invasion of Earth is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which originally aired in six weekly parts from November 21 to December 26, 1964. This serial marks the final regular appearance of Carole Ann Ford as companion Susan Foreman.

The First Doctor has brought his human companions home to Earth, but two hundred years in their future. Trapped in a strangely quiet and deserted London, the travellers discover that Earth has been conquered by their old enemies — the Daleks. The travellers ally with a band of freedom fighters to reclaim the planet and discover their plan.

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Did you know (auto-generated)

... that the Doctor Who serial The Chase was to feature the Beatles dressed as old men, performing as part of a fictional 50th-anniversary concert, but the idea was rejected by their manager?
... that working broadcast journalists were used as extras for the portions of the Doctor Who episode "73 Yards" that were filmed at the BBC Cymru Wales New Broadcasting House?
... that the Doctor Who episode "The Devil's Chord" references the events of an episode that aired more than sixty years before?
... that according to writer Russell T Davies, he conceived elements of the Doctor Who episode "Empire of Death" decades before he wrote it?
... that "Mission to the Unknown" is the only Doctor Who serial not to feature the Doctor at all?
... that while filming the Doctor Who serial The Myth Makers, William Hartnell was jealous of being upstaged by the other actors?

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“

"Jo, it's all quite simple - I am he and he is me."

"And we are all together, goo-goo-goo-joob?"

”

— Third Doctor and Jo Grant, The Three Doctors

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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 the Doctor Who episode "The Stolen Earth" features cameo appearances by evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins and comedian Paul O'Grady?
... that "The Fires of Pompeii", an episode in the British TV show Doctor Who, is the first appearance of Karen Gillan as the Soothsayer?
... that Roald Dahl Plass, a plaza in Cardiff Bay, has been used as the setting for both Doctor Who and its spin-off Torchwood?

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