From 1963 to the current, Physician Who has seen 13 completely different incarnations of the Physician, and because of the problems of time journey, he has returned on a number of events. Over time, completely different Docs have reappeared on-screen for a mess of adventures, consistently reminding audiences of the Physician’s long-spanning lifetimes. Even with the opportunity of a paradox, a number of Docs have crossed paths with each other for the sake of the universe, though these adventures do not usually final very lengthy.

With the affirmation of David Tennant’s (the Tenth Physician) return because the fourteenth incarnation within the sixtieth anniversary particular, audiences will expertise a Physician regenerating again right into a earlier incarnation for the primary time ever. It isn’t, nevertheless, the primary time a Physician has returned to the present outdoors their unique period. The Physician’s timeline is difficult, and it’ll solely increase with Physician Who season 14. Though the universe is a giant place, previous faces can, and can, return.

11 First Physician: 4 Instances

The First Physician’s preliminary look was in An Unearthly Youngster, which aired in November 1963. The First Physician was initially performed by William Hartnell up till the Physician’s first regeneration in 1966, after 4 seasons within the function. Hartnell then reprised the function for the particular “The Three Docs,” celebrating the tenth anniversary of the present. After his loss of life, the character was recast, performed by Richard Hurndall within the 1983 particular “The 5 Docs,” and by David Bradley within the 2017 episodes “The Physician Falls” and “Twice Upon A Time,” in addition to a cameo as one of many Thirteenth Physician’s Guardians of the Edge within the episode “The Energy of the Physician.“

10 Second Physician: 3 Instances

Lasting three common seasons airing from 1966 to 1969, the function of the Second Physician was performed by Patrick Troughton. Troughton’s period of Physician Who holds the report for probably the most lacking episodes, with 59 episodes nonetheless unfound. His final common look was within the episode “The Conflict Video games” in 1969, when the Physician was exiled to twentieth-century Earth by the Time Lords and compelled to regenerate. Troughton reprised the function of the Second Physician on three events: the tenth anniversary episode “The Three Docs,” the twentieth anniversary episode “The 5 Docs,” and the 1985 particular “The Two Docs.”

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9 Third Physician: 2 Instances

The Third Physician’s period lasted throughout 5 seasons, airing from 1970 to 1974, and was performed by Jon Pertwee. Pertwee was the primary Physician to be broadcast in color, within the 1970 episode “Spearhead from Area.” Audiences on the time had been stunned by Pertwee’s casting, having beforehand cemented his profession as a dramatic performer. The Third Physician’s period ended with the episode “Planet of the Spiders” alongside companion Sarah Jane Smith (Elisabeth Sladen), who continued to journey with him into his fourth incarnation. The Third Physician returned on-screen in two situations, the twentieth anniversary episode “The 5 Docs,” and the thirtieth anniversary particular “Dimensions in Time.”

8 Fourth Physician: 3 Instances

Lasting seven consecutive seasons, Tom Baker, performed the Fourth Physician from 1974 to 1981. Because the Fourth Physician, Baker is the longest-serving actor to play the Time Lord, throughout each the basic and fashionable eras of the present. The Fourth Physician did seem in “The 5 Docs,” though this incarnation did not cross paths with every other Physician, and the footage used had been taken from the unfinished “Shada” story. He additionally starred in “Dimensions in Time” particular. Baker was additionally the one basic period Physician to look within the fiftieth anniversary particular “The Day of the Physician” because the museum’s curator, making obscure implications as as to whether he was or was not the Physician.

7 Fifth Physician: 2 Instances

Peter Davison’s run because the Fifth Physician lasted three seasons, solely spanning from 1982 to 1984. The Fifth Physician’s period got here to an finish as he sacrificed himself to save lots of companion Peri (Nicola Bryant), earlier than regenerating. Davison’s first reprisal of the function was within the 2007 particular “Time Crash,” reverse David Tennant (the Tenth Physician), set moments earlier than that 12 months’s festive particular “Voyage of the Damned.” This particular was the primary occasion of a classic-era Physician and a modern-era Physician crossing paths. Following this, the Fifth Physician then had yet one more on-screen cameo, as one of many Thirteenth Physician’s Guardians of the Edge.

6 Sixth Physician: 2 Instances

From 1984 to 1986, the Sixth incarnation of the Physician was portrayed by Colin Baker, and as a result of a BBC hiatus, solely appeared in eight tales (every story break up into 4 episode chunks) altogether. Whereas touring with Mel, the TARDIS is attacked by the Rani, leaving the Physician injured and resulting in his regeneration, though it was by no means explicitly defined on-screen what precisely precipitated it. The Sixth Physician appeared within the “Dimensions in Time” particular in 1993, and as soon as once more within the Thirteenth Physician’s thoughts within the episode “The Energy of the Physician.”

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5 Seventh Physician: 2 Instances

Sylvester McCoy took over the function of the Physician in 1987, up till the present’s cancelation in 1989, lasting for less than three seasons. This incarnation was not seen on-screen once more till the 1996 Physician Who tv film whereas transporting the stays of the Grasp from Skaro again to Gallifrey. His look didn’t final lengthy nevertheless, because the Grasp took management of the TARDIS and crashed, and upon stepping out of the TARDIS, the Physician was caught in a gang capturing, inflicting him to regenerate. The one different look of the Seventh Physician was in “The Energy of the Physician,” the place an aged model of him appeared within the Thirteenth Physician’s thoughts.

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4 Eighth Physician: 2 Instances

The Eighth Physician, performed by Paul McGann, solely holds one story from his official period. The 1996 Physician Who tv film aired seven years after Physician Who‘s cancelation, and no regeneration was seen on-screen till 2013. The Eighth Physician first returned to Physician Who within the minisode “The Night time of the Physician,” a prologue to the fiftieth anniversary particular “The Day of the Physician,” which launched The Conflict Physician (John Damage). McGann’s Eighth Physician made one more return alongside a number of of his predecessors when showing earlier than Jodie Whittaker’s soon-to-regenerate Physician as a Guardian of the Edge in “The Energy of the Physician.”

3 Ninth Physician: None

Christopher Eccleston’s Ninth Physician is the one Physician to not return to the franchise on-screen. The primary Physician to be launched within the 2005 reboot, 9 solely lasted twelve episodes, earlier than sacrificing his life to save lots of Rose Tyler (Billie Piper), who had absorbed the time vortex into her thoughts. Eccleston left Physician Who after one season, citing inventive variations with the BBC as being one purpose for stepping away. Eccleston nonetheless has an excellent relationship with Physician Who, and ceaselessly stars within the Huge End audios, however has made it clear in interviews that he’s unlikely to reprise the function.

2 Tenth Physician: 2 Instances

Probably the most featured Physician put up the 2005 reboot, David Tennant’s unique period spanned from 2006 to 2010, earlier than regenerating with the intention to save the lifetime of Wilfred Mott (Bernard Cribbins). The Tenth Physician lasted for 3 common seasons and one season of specials earlier than Tennant stepped away together with Russell T. Davies, who was changed by Steven Moffat as Showrunner. The Tenth Physician returned to screens within the fiftieth anniversary particular “The Day of the Physician,” reverse Matt Smith (Eleventh Physician) and John Damage (The Conflict Physician). Tennant is about to reprise the function of the Physician as soon as extra within the sixtieth anniversary particular, this time because the fourteenth incarnation of the Time Lord.

1 Eleventh, Twelfth, and Thirteenth Physician: None

The three most up-to-date incarnations of the Physician (Matt Smith, Peter Capaldi, and Jodie Whittaker, chronologically) are but to make a reappearance of their respective roles. It could possibly be argued that the Eleventh Physician did return in Capaldi’s first episode, “Deep Breath” after he calls Clara (Jenna Coleman) in an try to persuade her that the Twelfth Physician was in actual fact him. Each Smith and Whittaker have spoken about being open to returning sooner or later, though nothing has been written as such, whereas Capaldi has dominated out a Physician Who return, stating that regardless of being a long-time fan and getting the possibility to play his dream function, has accomplished his time.