The Doctor, the time-traveling protagonist of Doctor Who, has worn many faces across their long journey through time and space. Fans grow attached to various actors in the role and ranking them is a common exercise for longtime viewers. Here are the doctors ranked from worst to best. Just keep in mind that they’re all great and none of them are even remotely “bad,” some are just more iconic or memorable than others.
The Sixth Doctor
Colin Baker’s Sixth Doctor is somewhat unusual, as he had very little screen time due to an 18-month Who hiatus. He was widely disliked at the time for being a surprisingly cold and distant version of the Doctor, perhaps owing to a particularly rough regeneration from his Fifth incarnation. The Sixth Doctor is mostly remembered as a short-lived and short-tempered grouch, but he has plenty of fans.
The Fifth Doctor
The Fifth Doctor, played by Peter Davison, was the face of the show from 1982 to 1984. He’s largely remembered as an unremarkable protagonist, due in large part to the writers at the time shying away from more complex scripts and a push for the show to look sleeker and more modern. Still, Davison’s Doctor is quite likable when he has good material to move through!
The First Doctor
No disrespect to fans of the earliest episodes of the show, but William Hartnell’s First Doctor isn’t easy to love. The slower pace and very 60s designs of the sets just make his episodes a bit of a slog. Bizarrely, this version of the Doctor is also a bit of a jerk, often acting in heartless ways toward his companions. He mellowed with time, though, and his scripts picked up dramatically toward the end of his run. This Doctor remains memorable for being the original.
The Eighth Doctor
Paul McGann’s Eighth Doctor only ever appeared in the 1996 TV movie that was intended to be a backdoor pilot for a revival to the series. He made a great impression there as a charismatic and likable protagonist—and one of the biggest “what ifs” in Who history. Unfortunately, this TV movie is regarded as one of the worst Who episodes due to its glossier production and simultaneously self-referential plot. Fans in the States wouldn’t buy into the franchise until about a decade later.
The War Doctor
Veteran actor John Hurt impressed fans with his turn as The War Doctor in the show’s 50th Anniversary special. This “hidden” incarnation actually was the ninth overall iteration of the Doctor, appearing between the Eighth and Ninth Doctors. His gravitas and excellent performance quickly endeared him to fans.
The Ninth Doctor
Christopher Eccleston’s Ninth Doctor is the “first” Doctor for a certain generation of Who fans. He’s the initial Doctor of the revived series that started in 2005, but he only stuck around for one season due to Eccleston’s disagreements with the BBC over the work environment and culture. Despite his short tenure, he’s very memorable and has some excellent adventures with standout companion Rose.
The Seventh Doctor
For a long time in the 90s and early 00s, it felt like Sylvester McCoy’s Seventh Doctor would be the final Time Lord to star in his own TV series after the franchise went into a long hiatus in 1989. The Seventh Doctor himself was an intriguing protagonist and hid some deeper darkness, hinting at the agelessness and mysterious nature of the long-lived time traveler.
The Thirteenth Doctor
Jodie Whittaker’s Thirteenth Doctor was the first time the mainline Doctor has appeared as a woman after a regeneration. She was a fast-talking, fast-thinking Time Lord who kept a closer group of companions (called her “Fam”) and tackled deeper issues of her complex past. Sadly, she was also saddled with some lackluster scripts, making her time in the role a bit complex.
The Third Doctor
Jon Pertwee’s classic Third Doctor is one of the most theatrical and tricky protagonists of the classic era show. His tenure was notable for being largely grounded to a single time period, as he worked on Earth with UNIT to solve sci-fi problems in the then-modern setting of the early 70s.
The Twelfth Doctor
Peter Capaldi’s Twelfth Doctor was a change of pace from a spate of youthful, boyish protagonists. His older, grumpier portrayal harkened back to classic series Doctors like the First, Third, and Seventh. Fans initially resisted his character, but he quickly grew on them and became a favorite.
The Fifteenth Doctor
Ncuti Gatwa is the first black Doctor and the current bearer of the historic mantle. He’s been phenomenal so far in his first season as the Time Lord, bringing a youthful energy tinged with underlying sadness that is immediately evocative of Matt Smith’s Doctor. His ranking in some fans’ estimation might go up as his run continues. It’s historically tough to judge a Doctor off a single season, hence the low ranking of short-lived Doctors like Six, Eight, War, and Nine.
The Eleventh Doctor
Matt Smith played his Eleventh Doctor like an eccentric professor and propelled the series to its best American ratings ever. This boyish-looking Doctor hid wisdom beyond his appearance—after all, each regeneration is still the same person, just with a new face. Smith was blessed by some of the show’s best scripts and a genuinely excellent run of fan-favorite Who.
The Second Doctor
Patrick Troughton’s Second Doctor is somehow simultaneously unique in the role and the blueprint for what was to follow. The Second Doctor was resourceful and confident but impish and quick to admit when he was out of his depth. His quick wit, funny retorts, and twinkling charm all became synonymous with the show and helped create the version of Who we love today.
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The Fourth Doctor
Tom Baker’s Fourth Doctor is a fan favorite of the classic era and, for some people, the avatar of the Doctor as a whole. Baker is endlessly charismatic and idiosyncratic in the role and was bolstered tremendously by fantastic scripts from fan-favorite writer Robert Holmes. His iconic absurdly long scarf and predilection to offering candy to friends and foes alike makes him a very memorable protagonist.
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The Tenth/Fourteenth Doctor
Forgive us for a bit of sleight of hand with this final entry, but it feels unfair to list David Tennant twice. While the Tenth and Fourteenth Doctors are technically different iterations of the character, they also sort of aren’t. Ten helped introduce a massive international audience to the show on the back of Tennant’s excellent performance and consistently great storylines. Fourteen, on the other hand, marked a return for a beloved actor after a lengthy goodbye to Whittaker’s Thirteenth Doctor.
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