It’s never easy to hang up the TARDIS keys. What circumstances led to the departure of the biggest Doctor Who actors?
William Hartnell
William Hartnell was the very first Doctor Who actor – the original, you might say. He lived and breathed the part, and probably would have stayed in the TARDIS forever if he’d been able.
Unfortunately, Hartnell was stricken with ill health owing to a condition called arteriosclerosis – a hardening of the arteries which affected his cognitive abilities, making it difficult to remember his lines. Consequently, Hartnell would sometimes get grouchy with his co-stars and directors, causing problems on both sides of the camera.
By 1966, it was clear that William Hartnell would have to step aside, and his departure was mutually agreed. The BBC was committed to Doctor Who, however, and decided to ‘regenerate’ their eponymous hero into the younger Patrick Troughton.
Patrick Troughton
The next of our Doctor Who actors enjoyed a solid three years of travel through time and space, but the actor had to endure a punishing filming schedule. In fact, there were no fewer than 44 episodes in Troughton’s final season, and these episodes were shot on a weekly basis, so there was little time to relax. And whilst the demands of the role weren’t solely responsible for Troughton’s departure, they were a factor; Troughton was an established character actor, and was also keen to take on more diverse roles.
Jon Pertwee
When Jon Pertwee left the TARDIS in 1974, he was the longest-serving Doctor Who actor, having led the show for five years. And like Hartnell, Jon Pertwee loved his time in the TARDIS; he felt a great degree of responsibility towards his audience (namely children) and wanted them to feel ‘protected’ by his Doctor. His departure, therefore, did not come easily.
Nonetheless, the decision was Pertwee’s alone. By the time he came to film Season 11, his fellow Doctor Who actor and good friend Roger Delgado (who played the Master) had been tragically killed. His co-star Katy Manning had also departed, and the producer Barry Letts was similarly keen to move on. Pertwee could see that the programme was changing, and he felt that he should make a change too.
Tom Baker
To date, Tom Baker is the longest-serving Doctor Who actor in terms of total, unbroken time on the programme. He piloted the TARDIS for seven consecutive years, almost obsessively; he described himself in the 90’s Doctor Who Night documentary as being “drunk” on playing such a benevolent character and, like Hartnell, would probably have stayed forever, given half the chance.
That being said, his final year on the programme wasn’t the easiest. He was in a relationship with his co-star Lalla Ward and, like many relationships, this wasn’t always the smoothest of rides, and the actors have spoken candidly about the problems this sometimes created on set. Moreover, a new production team had been installed, led by producer John Nathan-Turner and Christopher H. Bidmead, who were keen to make a fresh start and ring in the changes.
Alas, one of these changes meant a new Doctor Who actor, and at the start of Season 18 it was gently suggested that this might be the best time for him to leave. As with Hartnell, this was mutually agreed, but it can’t have been easy for Baker. According to legend, he made a quiet departure after shooting his final scene and didn’t stick around for a drink in the BBC bar. He did, however, offer some invaluable advice to his successor Peter Davison – although, apparently, it was too noisy for Davison to hear, so he just nodded politely.
In subsequent years, Tom Baker has openly admitted that he still considers himself to be the Doctor, and struggles with the idea of there being ‘other’ Doctors. That is not to say that there is any tension between his fellow Doctor Who actors, but it’s clear that he lived and breathed the part in a way that his successors didn’t.
Peter Davison
By all accounts, Peter Davison enjoyed his time on Doctor Who and has been one of its biggest advocates in the years since his departure. However, he did also note that it wasn’t “the most satisfying acting job” he’d ever done, and when he announced his departure in 1983, he revealed that he was keen to move onto other things.
Interestingly, this decision came about after chatting to one of his fellow Doctor Who actors – Patrick Troughton – whom he met while working on ‘The Five Doctors.’ Troughton advised him that three years was the optimum amount of time to spend on the programme, and suggested that Davison should move on.
Colin Baker
Unfortunately, Colin Baker has the ‘accolade’ of being the only Doctor Who actor on this list to be categorically fired, although one could argue that William Hartnell and Tom Baker were leaned on heavily. This was through no fault of Colin’s; it’s no secret that the BBC hated Doctor Who in the 1980s, and Baker was simply in the wrong place at the wrong time. The Corporation had tried (unsuccessfully) to axe the programme, and its next move was to ask John Nathan-Turner to recast the incumbent Time Lord.
Colin Baker did make the BBC a counter-offer, however, saying that he would happily film the whole of the next season if they would left him regenerate at the end. According to Baker, the BBC said that they would consider this, but never got back to him. Baker’s regeneration, therefore, was a faked and somewhat rushed affair, with the new Time Lord Sylvester McCoy standing in for him in a blonde wig.
Despite the unpleasant circumstances surrounding his exit, Colin Baker has (like Peter Davison) been one of Doctor Who‘s biggest champions in recent years. He continues to be a regular attendee on the convention circuit, and has performed in swathes of new audio adventures for Big Finish alongside many of his fellow Doctor Who actors like Nicola Bryant and Bonnie Langford. He even returned to the programme for the BBC’s centenary special ‘The Power of the Doctor‘ in 2022, and of course the Tales of the TARDIS minisode in 2023.
Sylvester McCoy
It’s hard to say when the next of our Doctor Who actors ‘left’ the TARDIS. His final, regular appearance was in 1989’s ‘Survival,’ but he didn’t exactly leave, because the programme was quietly cancelled. McCoy, therefore, was left adrift in time and space until his brief appearance in the 1996 TV movie, where he regenerated into Paul McGann.
However, had Doctor Who not been axed, then McCoy would likely have regenerated at the end of his fourth season. His fellow Doctor Who actor Sophie Aldred has also noted that she would have left during the 1990 series.
Paul McGann
Similar to Sylvester McCoy, Paul McGann did not actively quit the role of the Doctor. He came on board for the 1996 TV movie, with the promise of going into a full series if the film was well-received. And he came close; McGann revealed in subsequent interviews that he had already started the process of house-hunting in Canada, just in case he would be required to move there full-time.
Alas, it was not to be, and McGann was left holding the TARDIS keys until March 2005, when the Time Lord returned with a brand new face…
Christopher Eccleston
The next of our Doctor Who actors only appeared for one season – but what a season it was. In fact, one could argue that Doctor Who‘s return wouldn’t have lasted longer than a year if Christopher Eccleston’s first series had bombed.
Thankfully, it was a roaring success, and after the triumph of the first episode, the media were chomping at the bit to find out whether the Ninth Doctor would be staying aboard the good ship TARDIS. And this is a question that every Doctor Who actor must navigate at some point. Initially, Eccleston nimbly dodged the questions, pointing out that he’d already filmed the equivalent of two series, and he remained non-committal as to his long-term plans.
However, it was soon revealed that he would be departing at the end of the 2005 series and that a new Doctor Who actor would be filling his shoes for a 2005 Christmas special, and two further series. At first, the BBC issued a statement that Eccleston’s departure was because he wanted to avoid being typecast, but it later transpired that this statement had been wrongly attributed to Eccleston, and the Beeb retracted it.
In later years, Christopher Eccleston has opened up about his time on the programme, admitting that his relationship with the production team wasn’t always the smoothest. More recently, the actor has been less guarded, with Eccleston revealing that he would only return to Doctor Who if Russell T Davies, Jane Tranter, Phil Collinson and Julie Gardner were “sacked.”
David Tennant
The next of our Doctor Who actors is, arguably, one of the most popular Time Lords of all time. David Tennant loved being at the TARDIS controls, and for a while he was in two minds as to when, exactly, he should quit. At one point, there was a real possibility of him staying on with the incoming showrunner Steven Moffat, but in the end Tenant departed alongside Russell T Davies, Julie Gardner and Phil Collinson (who weren’t sacked, we should stress.)
According to Tennant, he left at this point because he wanted to go at a time when he might still be missed, and he didn’t want to wait until people were bored of him. Although it’s hard to imagine if anyone could ever get bored of Tennant, given how many times he has returned over the years, much to the delight of fans.
Matt Smith
It’s unclear as to when, exactly, the next of our Doctor Who actors chose to leave. On the surface, it appears to have been a rather rushed affair; Matt Smith completed his third season in 2013, and the show rocketed towards its 50th anniversary without Smith under contract. And then, all of a sudden, Matt Smith regenerated – right at the end of the next episode, which was the 2013 Christmas special.
News of Matt Smith’s departure was leaked in the weeks prior to the official announcement, and although these whispers were initially dismissed, they turned out to be true. But we don’t know much about the circumstances surrounding the news, other than the fact that Matt Smith had been playing the Time Lord for over four years by this point (which is a long time for any Doctor Who actor) and the role was taking its toll on him physically. In fact, Smith was barely able to walk by the 2013 Christmas special, having sustained a knee injury which required surgery.
Peter Capaldi
Mysteriously, the next of our Doctor Who actors developed the same knee problem as Matt Smith during his time in the TARDIS. Perhaps it has something to do with those endless gravel quarries, or the winding corridors which all look the same.
Bad knees notwithstanding, Capaldi hung up his TARDIS keys in the 2017 Christmas special, departing alongside showrunner Steven Moffat and making way for a new Time Lord and new production team.
It’s unclear whether the incoming Chris Chibnall wanted to ‘clean house’ and bring in his own Doctor, or whether Capaldi left of his own volition. Certainly, the Twelfth Doctor’s last words prior to his regeneration (“Doctor, I let you go”) would suggest that he was more passive than pro-active in the decision-making process, but this is pure speculation on our part. He’d certainly had a good innings by December 2017, having played the Doctor for four years, so it would make sense if he had simply decided it was time to move on.
Jodie Whittaker
According to the next of our Doctor Who actors, Jodie Whittaker made a “three series and out” pact with showrunner Chris Chibnall – although it didn’t quite go down this way. It is true that she and Chibnall left at the same time, but their plans were derailed by the COVID pandemic, which led to a curtailed third series and a collection of specials which built-up to her regeneration.
Interestingly, when Whittaker hung up her TARDIS keys, there was no Doctor Who actor waiting in the wings to take her place. At the time of filming, the BBC hadn’t cast her successor, and David Tennant’s surprise appearance (to coincide with the 60th anniversary) was inserted later.
We won’t include David Tennant for a second time on this list, as he seemingly was only signed-on for three specials, and his regeneration was always part of the plan. You can read more about it here.
Ncuti Gatwa
There are a number of theories and conspiracies surrounding Ncuti Gatwa’s departure, which we won’t unpack here lest we get exterminated by the Daleks. But Gatwa stated in subsequent interviews that he was disappointed not to have met the metal mutants from Skaro, and he also confessed to having very tired knees. Leg injury, it seems, is an occupational hazard for any Doctor Who actor.
At the time of writing, we do not (officially) have another Doctor Who actor in control of the TARDIS. Sure, Gatwa’s Doctor regenerated into Billie Piper, but she hasn’t been announced as the Doctor. It will be interesting to see how this next period of Doctor Who history unfolds, and one day (maybe) we will return to continue this epic blog post.
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