Текст книги "Doctor Who: Who-ology (Dr Who)"

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23 November 1988Doctor Who celebrates its Silver Jubilee with Silver Nemesis, an adventure that appropriately pits the Doctor and Ace against the Cybermen.

23 March 1989 Jon Pertwee stars as the Doctor in the first performance of stage show Doctor Who: The Ultimate Adventure at the Wimbledon Theatre, London. Colin Baker takes over the role from Pertwee on 5 June.

12 July 1989 Roger Laughton, Director of Co-Production at BBC Enterprises, receives a telephone call from American-based television producer Philip Segal. Segal expresses an interest in forging a transatlantic co-production deal with the BBC to continue Doctor Who into the 1990s.

23 November 1989 On Doctor Who’s 26th anniversary, Sylvester McCoy attends a studio session to record the voiceover that will be played in the closing seconds of Survival, the final story of Season 26. These are the final lines recorded for the original 26-year run of Doctor Who.

6 December 1989 After 26 years and 695 broadcast episodes, Doctor Who’s original television run comes to an end as the Doctor and Ace walk off into the distance. But as history will prove, the Doctor still has work to do.

The 1990s

June 1991 Virgin Books publishes the first novel in the Doctor Who New Adventures series, Timewyrm: Genesis by John Peel. The book is the first full-length novel featuring the Doctor not to be based on a TV story or unused script.

27 August 1993 BBC Radio Five broadcasts the first episode of Doctor Who: The Paradise of Death, a brand new radio adventure for Jon Pertwee as the Doctor, with Elisabeth Sladen as Sarah and Nicholas Courtney as the Brigadier, written by Third Doctor producer Barry Letts.

26 November 1993 To celebrate Doctor Who’s 30th anniversary, Jon Pertwee, Tom Baker, Peter Davison, Colin Baker and Sylvester McCoy appear as the Doctor in Dimensions in Time, a two-part adventure that forms part of that year’s BBC Children in Need telethon. Broadcast in experimental 3D, the story features members of the cast of BBC soap opera East-Enders and the return of many companions from Doctor Who’s 30-year history, several for the last time. Kate O’Mara makes her third and final appearance as the Rani.

12 September 1994 With continuing rumblings of a US co-production deal for Doctor Who going back to Philip Segal’s phone call to the BBC in July 1989, film and TV actor Paul McGann tapes a screen test for the role of the Doctor in London.

5 January 1996 Over a year after he first auditioned, Paul McGann is confirmed as the new Doctor at a photo call held at the Doctor Who Exhibition at Longleat. Two days later he flies to Vancouver to begin filming the first new Doctor Who in production since 1989. He is joined by Sylvester McCoy to allow a regeneration scene from the Seventh to the Eighth Doctor to be filmed.

14 May 1996 Paul McGann makes his one and only screen appearance as the Doctor with the worldwide debut of the feature-length TV movie Doctor Who on the Fox network in America.

20 May 1996 Jon Pertwee passes away at the age of 76.

27 May 1996 The first UK broadcast of the Doctor Who TV movie attracts 9.1 million viewers – making it the highest-rated television drama that week. The episode is dedicated to the memory of Jon Pertwee. Sadly, the success of the TV movie in the UK does not lead to a new series. Yet…

2 June 1997 Publication of the novel The Eight Doctors by Terrance Dicks commences BBC Books’ own line of original Doctor Who fiction. Paul McGann’s reading of the novelisation of the TV movie is released as part of the BBC Radio Collection.

7 September 1998 Paul McGann returns to the role of the Doctor with the release of Earth and Beyond, an audiobook short-story collection for the BBC Radio Collection.

19 July 1999 Big Finish Productions releases Doctor Who: The Sirens of Time, a full-cast audio drama starring Peter Davison, Colin Baker and Sylvester McCoy as the Doctor. It begins a monthly range that, as of May 2013, has released 173 original Doctor Who audio dramas featuring TV Doctors and companions, as well as numerous spin-off adventures.

The 2000s

January 2001 Paul McGann reprises the role of the Doctor once again, with the release of audio drama Storm Warning from Big Finish, the first of a series that is still running 12 years later.

26 September 2003 As Doctor Who approaches its 30th anniversary, the Daily Telegraph breaks the news that a new series of Doctor Who is being developed by acclaimed writer Russell T Davies. The paper’s report quotes BBC One Controller Lorraine Heggessey confirming the news.

13 November 2003 The first episode of The Scream of the Shalka, an animated BBC webcast starring Richard E. Grant as the Doctor, goes live.

23 November 2003Doctor Who’s 40th anniversary.

20 March 2004 After much tabloid speculation, Christopher Eccleston is announced as the new Doctor.

24 May 2004 Actress and former pop singer Billie Piper is announced as companion Rose Tyler.

18 July 2004 Television-based Doctor Who goes into production for the first time in the 21st century.

20 July 2004 As the Doctor Who cast and crew prepare to film night scenes in Cardiff, regional news programme BBC Wales Today carries interviews with Christopher Eccleston, Billie Piper and Russell T Davies – and the Ninth Doctor’s look is revealed for the first time.

1 January 2005 The first teaser trailer for the new series of Doctor Who is broadcast on BBC One. It is almost time – but not yet…

26 March 2005 With audiences promised ‘the trip of a lifetime’, the first new episode of Doctor Who for nine years, Rose, is broadcast at 7pm. It attracts an average audience of 10.8 million viewers. As well as Christopher Eccleston and Billie Piper, Rose also features first appearances from Noel Clarke as Mickey Smith and Camille Coduri as Jackie Tyler. The Autons, last seen in 1971’s Terror of the Autons, are the first monsters encountered by the new Doctor, and a new orchestral arrangement of the theme tune is provided by composer Murray Gold.

30 March 2005 After the success of Rose, the BBC announces that Doctor Who has been commissioned for a second series. While Billie Piper will return as Rose, the news that Christopher Eccleston will not be continuing as the Doctor is also revealed.

16 April 2005 A BBC press release confirms that lifelong Doctor Who fan David Tennant has been cast as the Tenth Doctor.

30 April 2005 The first appearance of the Daleks (or, at least, a Dalek) in the new series.

21 May 2005 John Barrowman makes his debut as Captain Jack Harkness. Steven Moffat contributes his first script to the new series with The Empty Child.

11 June 2005Bad Wolf features the first on-screen reference to Torch-wood in Doctor Who.

15 June 2005 At a special BAFTA screening of The Parting of the Ways, executive producer Russell T Davies reveals to an ecstatic audience that Doctor Who has been re-commissioned for a third series and a second Christmas special.

18 June 2005 Christopher Eccleston makes his final appearance as the Ninth Doctor, and David Tennant appears, briefly, as the Tenth.

17 October 2005 Press announcement that BBC Three will air a post-watershed Doctor Who spin-off, Torchwood. The series will star John Barrowman as Captain Jack.

18 November 2005 David Tennant’s second appearance as the Tenth Doctor is watched by 10.8 million viewers as part of the BBC Children in Need telethon, in a special episode later titled Born Again by writer Russell T Davies.

25 December 2005 The broadcast of The Christmas Invasion sees David Tennant make his full debut as the Doctor.

29 April 2006School Reunion sees the Doctor reunited with Elisabeth Sladen’s Sarah-Jane Smith for the first time since The Five Doctors. K-9 Mark III is destroyed to be replaced by Mark IV and Mickey Smith becomes the first non-white companion to join the Doctor.

13 May 2006 The first appearance of the Cybermen in the new series.

1 July 2006 Catherine Tate makes her first, surprise appearance as (the unnamed) Donna Noble in the closing moments of Doomsday.

14 September 2006 Press announcement that Elisabeth Sladen will star in a new Doctor Who spin-off, The Sarah Jane Adventures, created for the children’s channel CBBC by Russell T Davies.

13 October 2006 Director James Strong shoots establishing shots in New York for the upcoming Daleks in Manhattan – the first time the series has ever been shot in the United States of America.

22 October 2006Torchwood debuts on BBC Three.

1 January 2007 Elisabeth Sladen stars in the debut episode of The Sarah Jane Adventures, ahead of the hugely successful series that will run for five years.

31 March 2007 The first appearance of the Judoon, a rhino-faced alien police force, in Smith and Jones.

9 June 2007 The first appearance of the Weeping Angels, in Blink.

16 June 2007 The first appearance of the Master in Doctor Who since the 1996 TV movie. Sir Derek Jacobi briefly plays the latest incarnation, before John Simm assumes the role at the climax of Utopia.

16 November 2007 Classic and modern Doctor Who come together in Time Crash. The Tenth Doctor meets the Fifth Doctor, both with brainy specs, in a timey-wimey special episode written especially for Children in Need night by Steven Moffat.

25 December 2007 13.3 million viewers tune in to watch pop star Kylie Minogue guest star as Astrid alongside David Tennant in the annual Christmas special, Voyage of the Damned. It is the second highest-rated television programme of 2007.

5 April 2008 Catherine Tate returns to Doctor Who as Donna Noble – this time joining the Doctor as his new companion for an entire series. Billie Piper makes a surprise reappearance as Rose Tyler in Partners in Crime.

26 April 2008 The first appearance of the Sontarans in the new series.

31 May 2008 The first appearance by Alex Kingston as River Song. But who is she?

28 June 2008 Davros appears for the first time in 20 years, now played by Julian Bleach.

5 July 2008 For the first time in its history, Doctor Who is the most-watched television programme of the week: 10.6 million viewers tune in to Journey’s End to see if the Tenth Doctor will regenerate following the cliffhanger ending to the previous week’s The Stolen Earth. He doesn’t.

29 October 2008 David Tennant wins the award for Outstanding Drama Performance at the National Television Awards. He accepts the award live from Stratford-Upon-Avon where he is appearing in Hamlet for the Royal Shakespeare Company. During his acceptance speech, he announces that he will be leaving Doctor Who.

3 January 2009 Matt Smith’s casting as the Eleventh Doctor is announced in a special edition of Doctor Who Confidential.

11 April 2009 Broadcast of Planet of the Dead, the first episode of Doctor Who to be shot in the High Definition format.

The 2010s

1 January 2010 David Tennant makes his final appearance as the Doctor and Matt Smith takes over. Geronimo!

3 April 2010 9.6 million viewers watch The Eleventh Hour, Matt Smith’s first full adventure as the Doctor. He is joined on his travels by Karen Gillan as Amy Pond. Future companion Rory Williams makes his first appearance, played by Arthur Darvill.

17 April 2010 A ‘new paradigm’ of Daleks makes its first appearance, sporting a revamped design and colourful livery.

24 April 2010 Alex Kingston returns as River Song – the first of many appearances opposite Matt Smith – along with the Weeping Angels.

22 May 2010 The Silurians’ first appearance in the series since Warriors of the Deep 26 years before.

26 January 2011 The Doctor makes his first official appearance on rival commercial channel ITV1, as Matt Smith plays the Doctor in a pre-credits scene specially written by Steven Moffat for the National Television Awards 2011.

14 May 2011 Novelist Neil Gaiman contributes his first script to Doctor Who, in which the TARDIS is given a short-lived human embodiment in the form of Idris, played by Suranne Jones.

4 June 2011 The truth is out there! River Song is revealed to be Melody Pond, the daughter of Amy and Rory in A Good Man Goes to War. Following her dual role as Alaya and Restac in The Hungry Earth and Cold Blood, Neve McIntosh makes her first appearance as Vastra, with Catrin Stewart as Jenny and Dan Starkey as Strax.

21 March 2012 Press conference announcing Jenna Louise-Coleman as the Doctor’s new companion.

1 September 2012Asylum of the Daleks sees the surprise first appearance of Jenna Louise-Coleman, in this story playing Oswin Oswald (aka ‘soufflé girl’).

29 September 2012 Amy and Rory depart from the Doctor’s life for ever, leaving the Time Lord heartbroken.

25 December 2012 Jenna Louise-Coleman makes her second appearance in Doctor Who. The Snowmen sees her playing Clara Oswin Oswald – but how is she linked to soufflé girl? The Great Intelligence encounters the Doctor for the very first time.

23 November 2013 The 50th anniversary of Doctor Who. The adventure continues…

TWO

EVERYONE’S FAVOURITE TIME LORD

THE MANY LIVES AND CHANGING FACES OF THE DOCTOR

‘I’m the Doctor. Well, they call me “the Doctor”, I don’t know why; I call me “the Doctor” too, still don’t know why.’

The Doctor, The Lodger

For a man of mystery, we know an awful lot about the Doctor. His lucky number is 7 (or 74,384,338 depending on when you ask him), his favourite type of jazz is straight blowing, and he tries never to land the TARDIS on a Sunday. But what else is known about Gallifrey’s most famous son?

FIRST AND LAST WORDS

THE FIRST DOCTOR

First: ‘What are you doing here?’

Last: ‘Ah, yes! Thank you. It’s good. Keep warm.’

THE SECOND DOCTOR

First: ‘Slower! Slower! Concentrate on one thing. One thing!’

Last: ‘No! Stop! You’re making me giddy! No, you can’t do this to me! No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no…’

THE THIRD DOCTOR

First: ‘Shoes. Must find my shoes.’

Last: ‘A tear, Sarah Jane? No, don’t cry. While there’s life there’s…’

THE FOURTH DOCTOR

First: ‘… typical Sontaran attitude… stop Linx… perverting the course of human history… I tell you, Brigadier, there’s nothing to worry about. The brontosaurus is large and placid… And stupid! If the square on the hypotenuse equals the sum of the square on the other two sides, why is a mouse when it spins? Never did know the answer to that one.’

Last: ‘It’s the end. But the moment has been prepared for.’

THE FIFTH DOCTOR

First: ‘I… Oh.’

Last: ‘Might regenerate. I don’t know. Feels different this time… Adric?’

THE SIXTH DOCTOR

First: ‘You were expecting someone else?’

Last: Unknown (although he is heard uttering ‘Carrot juice, carrot juice, carrot juice’ at the end of The Trial of a Time Lord)

THE SEVENTH DOCTOR

First: ‘Oh no, Mel.’

Last: ‘Timing malfunction! The Master, he’s out there! He’s out there… I know… I’ve got to stop… him…’

THE EIGHTH DOCTOR

First: ‘Who am I? Who am I?’

Last: Unknown (although he is heard saying ‘Oh no. Not again!’ at the end of Doctor Who)

THE NINTH DOCTOR

First: ‘Run!’

Last: ‘Rose… before I go, I just wanna tell you, you were fantastic. Absolutely fantastic. And do you know what? So was I!’

THE TENTH DOCTOR

First: ‘Hello! Okay– oh. New teeth. That’s weird. So, where was I? Oh, that’s right. Barcelona!’

Last: ‘I don’t want to go!’

THE ELEVENTH DOCTOR

First: ‘Legs! Still got legs, good!! Arms, hands. Ooh, fingers. Lots of fingers. Ears? Yes. Eyes: two. Nose… I’ve had worse. Chin – blimey! Hair… I’m a girl! No! No! I’m not a girl! And still not ginger! There’s something else. Something… important, I’m… I’m-I’m… Ha-ha! Crashing! Geronimo!!’

Last: Unknown.

DOCTOR WHO – THE ORIGINAL TRAILER

‘My name is William Hartnell and, as Doctor Who, I make my debut on Saturday the 23rd of November at 5.15.

The Doctor is an extraordinary old man from another world who owns a time and space machine.

He and his granddaughter, Susan (played by Carole Ann Ford) have landed in England and are enjoying their stay, until Susan arouses the curiosity of two of her schoolteachers (played by William Russell and Jacqueline Hill). They follow Susan and get inside the Ship and Doctor Who decides to leave Earth, starting a series of adventures which I know will thrill and excite you every week.’

Doctor Who radio trailer, November 1963

THE DOCTOR BY NUMBERS

In how many stories or episodes does each Doctor appear? Not counting images from brain scans, mind-wrestling contests or data stamps, here’s a rundown for each incarnation – plus the various other times they popped up in televised minisodes, red-button stories and animated adventures.

WHO’S WHO – THE TWELVE DOCTORS

From William Hartnell to Matt Smith, each actor to play the Doctor has brought their own unique take on the part. But what other roles are on their CV, and how were they cast as the Doctor? Wonderful chaps, all of them…

WILLIAM HARTNELL – THE FIRST DOCTOR

Full name: William Henry Hartnell

Born: 8 January 1908, St Pancras, London

Died: 23 April 1975, Marden, Kent

First Screen Appearance: Say it with Music (1932)

First regular Doctor Who appearance: An Unearthly Child Episode 1 (1963)

Final regular Doctor Who appearance: The Tenth Planet Episode 4 (1966)

Final guest Doctor Who appearance: The Three Doctors Episode 4, 20 January 1973

Before settling on acting, William ‘Billy’ Hartnell trained for various careers, including boxer and jockey. He made his theatre debut in the mid-1920s, and clocked up numerous screen roles from the early 1930s. Hartnell himself claimed he was stereotyped in hard-man roles, with a starring turn as Dallow in Brighton Rock (1947) amongst his notable work.

In 1958, Hartnell played the title role in Carry on Sergeant, the film that spawned the popular comedy series. It was a role not unlike Sgt Major Bullimore that Hartnell played in the ITV comedy The Army Game between 1957 and 1961. It was this role and that of a sports agent in the film This Sporting Life (1963) that brought Hartnell to the attention of a young BBC producer, Verity Lambert, who was casting the lead in a new family drama series in 1963.

William Hartnell defined Doctor Who, and Doctor Who defined his career away from the hard men he had been known for. He was a hero to a generation of children and over three years he laid the foundations for his ten successors.

Ill health ultimately forced Hartnell to give up the role he loved so much in 1966. Appropriately enough, his final TV work would see him return to Doctor Who in 1973 to celebrate the series’ 10th anniversary in The Three Doctors, alongside Patrick Troughton and Jon Pertwee.

Until the broadcast of The Snowmen, the First Doctor was the incarnation that boasted the most televised stories set in the past. In 2013, the Eleventh Doctor will take the lead. Just.

PATRICK TROUGHTON – THE SECOND DOCTOR

Full Name: Patrick George Troughton

Born: 25 March, 1920, Mill Hill, London

Died: 28 March 1987, Columbus, Georgia, USA

First Screen Appearance: Hamlet (1947)

First regular Doctor Who appearance: The Tenth Planet Episode 4 (1966)

Final regular Doctor Who appearance: The War Games Episode 10 (1969)

Final guest Doctor Who appearance: The Two Doctors Part 3 (1985) Performing in a production of JB Priestley’s Bees on the Boat Deck while a pupil at Mill Hill School gave a young Patrick Troughton his passion for acting. He attended the Embassy School of Acting, which ultimately led to a scholarship in New York.

Troughton returned to Britain at the outbreak of the Second World War, briefly entering theatre rep before joining the Royal Navy. After the war, the actor wasted no time getting back to the theatre, before film and television roles appeared on his CV. Television was his first love, and he had the distinction in 1953 to be the first actor to play Robin Hood on TV.

In 1966, he was offered the chance to take over from William Hartnell in Doctor Who. Troughton possibly had the most difficult task of any incoming Doctor, being the first to follow the original and much-loved first Doctor. It was a huge success and the concept of regenerating the Doctor was established.

Troughton remained in the role for three years, but his fear of typecasting and the punishing schedule influenced his decision to leave in 1969. Just as he had before Doctor Who, the actor worked tirelessly, for example clocking up roles in the children’s drama The Feathered Serpent (1976), as Father Brennan in The Omen (1976) and as Cole Hawkins in The Box of Delights (1984).

Always a private man, Troughton largely shied away from the publicity that Doctor Who brought, although he reprised the Doctor a total of three times. He passed away in 1987 while attending a Doctor Who convention in America.

JON PERTWEE – THE THIRD DOCTOR

Full Name: John Devon Roland Pertwee

Born: 7 July 1919, Chelsea, London

Died: 20 May 1996, Timber Lake, Connecticut, USA

First Screen Appearance: A Yank at Oxford (1938)

First regular Doctor Who appearance: Spearhead from Space Episode 1 (1970)

Final regular Doctor Who appearance: Planet of the Spiders, Part 6 (1974)

Final guest Doctor Who appearance: Dimensions in Time, Part 2 (1993) Jon Pertwee was expelled from the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts (RADA), but that didn’t stop him becoming a huge star of stage, screen and radio before Doctor Who. Following time in the Royal Navy during the Second World War, Pertwee made a name for himself as a comedy actor in the radio series Waterlogged Spa and as Chief Petty Officer Pertwee in The Navy Lark, also on radio between 1959 and 1977.

In 1963, Pertwee appeared on stage with Frankie Howerd in A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, and would appear in the big screen version of the musical, as well as four appearances in the Carry On series.

It was Pertwee himself who asked his agent to go after the role of the Doctor when it became known that Patrick Troughton was leaving in 1969. To his surprise, he was already high on the shortlist and was ultimately successful. Doctor Who relaunched – in colour – in 1970, with Pertwee at the helm as a debonair man of action.

Throughout Pertwee’s five years in the TARDIS, Doctor Who would see its popularity soar and, despite a tough schedule, the actor found time for other work, and would continue in The Navy Lark at the same time as Doctor Who. In 1974, he took over as host of the ITV quiz programme Whodunnit?

Leaving Doctor Who in 1974, Pertwee gave life to another popular children’s character, Worzel Gummidge, between 1979 and 1981, with a brief revival in 1987.

The actor never cut his ties to Doctor Who, returning for the series’ 20th-anniversary special, The Five Doctors, in 1983 and the Children in Need charity special, Dimensions in Time in 1993. He also reprised the role on stage for The Ultimate Adventure in 1996 and in two BBC radio series broadcast in 1993 and 1996.

If the UNIT stories are set in the near future (which seems to have been the intention of the production team at the time) then, other than the Eighth, the Third is the only Doctor never to have had a televised story set in the present day.

TOM BAKER – THE FOURTH DOCTOR

Full Name: Thomas Stewart Baker

Born: 20 January 1934, Liverpool

First Screen Appearance: The Winter’s Tale (1967)

First regular Doctor Who appearance: Planet of the Spiders Part 6 (1974)

Final regular Doctor Who appearance: Logopolis Part 4 (1981)

Final guest Doctor Who appearance: Dimensions in Time Part 2 (1993) Tom Baker followed a spiritual road in his early life, leaving school to become a novice monk in the Catholic faith at the age of 15. After six years, Baker turned his back on his training and served his National Service with the Royal Army Medical Corps, where he first developed a love for performing. After a brief stint in the Merchant Navy, the future Time Lord attended Rose Bruford College of Speech and Drama, and eventually found himself in Laurence Olivier’s National Theatre company in the late 1960s.

Olivier was instrumental in Baker landing his first major film role, as the monk Rasputin in Nicholas and Alexandra in 1971. His performance earned him a Golden Globe nomination for Best Supporting Actor.

Baker hit hard times in 1973, and worked as a labourer on a London building site. In desperation, he wrote to BBC Head of Serials Bill Slater, enquiring about work opportunities. It happened that Slater was due to meet with Doctor Who producer Barry Letts about casting Jon Pertwee’s successor. After Letts viewed the actor’s performance in 1973’s The Golden Voyage of Sinbad, and several meetings, Tom Baker was unveiled as the new Doctor in early 1974.

Tom Baker holds the record as the longest-serving Doctor, appearing in seven seasons and 172 episodes, his unpredictable performance scoring a hit with audiences around the world. He left the role in 1981, claiming there was nothing left to achieve in the part. He would return to the Doctor in 2009 to record brand new audio adventures for the BBC and Big Finish Productions.

Tom Baker remains much loved by audiences to this day, his subsequent roles in The Chronicles of Narnia, The Life and Loves of a She Devil, Monarch of the Glen, Randall & Hopkirk (Deceased) and as the distinctive voice of Little Britain maintaining his status as a national treasure.

The Fourth Doctor holds the record for the most televised stories set on or visiting alien worlds – 28. The other Doctors have a long way to go to beat him: the Tenth Doctor can rustle up 12 stories, while the First comes third with 11.

PETER DAVISON – THE FIFTH DOCTOR

Full Name: Peter Moffett

Born: 13 April 1951, Streatham, London

First Screen Appearance: Warship (TV series, 1974)

First regular Doctor Who appearance: Logopolis Part 4 (1981)

Final regular Doctor Who appearance: The Caves of Androzani Part 4 (1984)

Final guest Doctor Who appearance: Time Crash (2007)

In 1981, at the age of 29, Peter Davison was the youngest actor to be cast as the Doctor – a record he held until the casting of Matt Smith in 2009.

Born Peter Moffett and later adopting the stage name Davison, he attended the Central School of Speech and Drama, and on graduating worked as a stage manager at Nottingham Playhouse. His first major television work was on the ITV children’s drama The Tomorrow People – where he met his future wife Sandra Dickinson. A role in the drama Love for Lydia followed, but it was the rebellious Tristan Farnon in All Creatures Great and Small that made Davison a household name. He played Tristan on and off for 12 years.

In the early 1980s, sitcoms Holding the Fort and Sink or Swim strengthened Davison’s reputation as one of Britain’s leading television actors, making him Doctor Who producer John Nathan-Turner’s top choice to take over from Tom Baker.

Initially reluctant, believing he was too young, Davison eventually agreed to take on the part, affording him his first true leading man role. His Doctor was a youthful, vulnerable figure that, like his predecessors, scored a hit with audiences, and took Doctor Who to its 20th-anniversary season. Davison decided to leave after three seasons – at the time of his casting, a chance meeting with Patrick Troughton had seen the former Doctor advising him to do no more than three years.

Following Doctor Who, Davison has remained a popular face on British TV, adding lead roles in A Very Peculiar Practice, Campion, At Home with the Braithwaites and The Last Detective. In 2009 he became the only past Doctor to appear in Doctor Who since its 2005 return, joining David Tennant in the TARDIS for the Children in Need special Time Crash. Since 1999, Davison has continued to play the Doctor in Big Finish Production’s range of original audio dramas.

RICHARD HURNDALL – THE OTHER FIRST DOCTOR

Full Name: Richard Gibbon Hurndall

Born: 3 November 1910, Darlington

Died: 13 April 1984, London

First Screen Appearance: Androcles and the Lion (TV, 1946)

Doctor Who appearance: The Five Doctors (1983)

After training at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts (RADA) Richard Hurndall started treading the boards first in repertory and later with the Royal Shakespeare Company where his roles included Bassanio in The Merchant of Venice and Orlando in As You Like It. Later he shifted to radio, becoming a member of the BBC Radio Drama repertory company in 1952, going on to play Sherlock Holmes seven years later in a five-part adaptation of The Sign of Four.

Even though Hurndall had made his television debut in 1946, it wasn’t until the 1960s that he regularly started appearing on the small screen. The next two decades saw him guesting on a number of cult TV shows including Steptoe and Son, Ripping Yarns, The Avengers, Callan, The Persuaders and Jason King.

It was a 1981 appearance in Blake’s 7 that gave Hurndall a unique place in the Doctor Who hall of fame. At the time, series producer John Nathan-Turner was planning The Five Doctors, the 90-minute 20th-anniversary special. There was only one snag. William Hartnell had passed away in 1975. Who could play the First Doctor? Watching Hurndall’s performance as Nebrox in Assassin, an episode from Blake’s 7’s fourth season, the producer saw in him someone who could mimic Hartnell’s idiosyncratic performance. And so Hurndall became the first actor to be cast in a previous Doctor’s role. At 73, he was 18 years older than William Hartnell had been when he originally played the First Doctor.

Sadly, Hurndall died of a heart attack just five months after his interpretation of the First Doctor was broadcast.

COLIN BAKER – THE SIXTH DOCTOR

Full Name: Colin Baker

Born: 8 June 1943, London

First Screen Appearance: The Adventures of Don Quick (TV, 1970)

First regular Doctor Who appearance: The Caves of Androzani Part 4 (1984)

Final regular Doctor Who appearance: The Trial of a Time Lord Part 14 (1986)

Final guest Doctor Who appearance: Dimensions in Time Part 2 (1993) Following training at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Arts, Colin Baker made his television debut at the beginning of the 1970s, winning early roles in The Adventures of Don Quick, Happy Ever After and a noted supporting appearance in a BBC adaptation of The Road to Freedom. During this period, Baker shared a flat with David Troughton, the son of Second Doctor Patrick Troughton, and was best man at his wedding.