This is a list of actors who have appeared in the long-running Britishscience fiction television series,Doctor Who.

The following tables are an overview of all the regular cast members that have appeared throughout the show since 1963.

William Hartnell,Carole Ann Ford,William Russell andJacqueline Hill first appeared asthe Doctor,Susan Foreman,Ian Chesterton andBarbara Wright respectively in the show's debut serial;An Unearthly Child. Ford departed inThe Dalek Invasion of Earth in 1964 and was replaced byMaureen O'Brien playing a character calledVicki. Russell and Hill departed together the following year inThe Chase and were subsequently replaced byPeter Purves asSteven Taylor.Adrienne Hill took over from O'Brien for a short period of time as Katarina.Jean Marsh subsequently played the character ofSara Kingdom also for a short period of time before being replaced byJackie Lane asDodo Chaplet inThe Massacre in 1966. Purves and Lane stepped down from their roles at around the same time and were replaced byAnneke Wills andMichael Craze who playedPolly andBen Jackson.

Patrick Troughton took over from Hartnell in thefourth season as theSecond Doctor and starred alongside Wills and Craze and, after they stepped down,Deborah Watling,Frazer Hines andWendy Padbury who respectively playedVictoria Waterfield,Jamie McCrimmon andZoe Heriot. At the end ofThe War Games, Troughton was replaced byJon Pertwee who began his run as theThird Doctor alongsideCaroline John asLiz Shaw in the 1970 serial;Spearhead from Space. John departed afterInferno andKaty Manning asJo Grant, her replacement, appeared in the following serialTerror of the Autons. Throughout Pertwee's run,Nicholas Courtney,Richard Franklin andJohn Levene made regular appearances asThe Brigadier,Mike Yates andSergeant Benton respectively.

Katy Manning stepped down from the role ofJo Grant at the end of thetenth season inThe Green Death. She was replaced byElisabeth Sladen inThe Time Warrior asSarah Jane Smith. Jon Pertwee was subsequently replaced byTom Baker at the end ofSeason 11 inPlanet of the Spiders.Nicholas Courtney andJohn Levene reprised their roles as theBrigadier andSergeant Benton numerous times during Baker's run. TheFourth Doctor and Sarah Jane were joined on their adventures byHarry Sullivan, played byIan Marter, before he left them inTerror of the Zygons. After one more season, Sladen left the role of Sarah Jane Smith in the 1976 serial;The Hand of Fear.Louise Jameson debuted inThe Face of Evil portraying a character calledLeela. They were joined byK-9 inThe Invisible Enemy, a robotic dog voiced byJohn Leeson and, on a few occasions;David Brierly.

Jameson was replaced byMary Tamm, who playedRomana, a Time Lady and one of the Doctor's own species. Tamm stayed on for just one season before her character regenerated inDestiny of the Daleks and was portrayed byLalla Ward. Baker, Ward and Leeson were joined byMatthew Waterhouse, the actor who playedAdric, inFull Circle. Romana and K-9 departed together inWarriors' Gate. The 1981 serialLogopolis was the first to introduceSarah Sutton andJanet Fielding asNyssa andTegan Jovanka respectively, but the last to star Tom Baker as the Doctor.

Peter Davison starred as theFifth Doctor starting in thenineteenth season alongsideMatthew Waterhouse,Sarah Sutton andJanet Fielding, before Waterhouse departed when Adric was dramatically killed off inEarthshock. InMawdryn Undead, a new companion calledVislor Turlough was introduced, played byMark Strickson. Sutton stepped down from the role of Nyssa inTerminus and Kamelion, an unusual robotic character voiced byGerald Flood, was introduced inThe King's Demons.

For "The Five Doctors" – the show's 20th anniversary special –Carole Ann Ford,Nicholas Courtney,Elisabeth Sladen,Lalla Ward,Wendy Padbury,Caroline John,Richard Franklin,John Leeson andFrazer Hines reprised their roles as, respectively,Susan Foreman,Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart,Sarah Jane Smith,Romana,Zoe Heriot,Liz Shaw,Mike Yates,K-9 andJamie McCrimmon.^[1] The special was broadcast between thetwentieth andtwenty-first seasons.^[2]

Davison, Fielding and Strickson continued on until Fielding stepped down from the role inResurrection of the Daleks. She was replaced inPlanet of Fire byNicola Bryant asPeri Brown, a serial which also marked the final appearance of Strickson and Flood. Davison was replaced byColin Baker inThe Caves of Androzani and Bryant was replaced withBonnie Langford asMel Bush, a few years later, after her character was killed off inMindwarp.Sylvester McCoy took over from Baker inTime and the Rani and Langford was replaced bySophie Aldred asAce at the end of thetwenty-fourth season. The series was axed in 1989, but aTV movie was made in 1996 which sawPaul McGann taking over from McCoy andDaphne Ashbrook making her first and only appearance asGrace Holloway.^[3]

Upon the revival ofDoctor Who,Christopher Eccleston would be the first actor to portray thenewest incarnation ofthe Doctor.^[4] Multiple actresses were considered to play the Doctor's nextcompanion, withBillie Piper announced as the frontrunner to star as Rose Taylor.^[5] The role ultimately went to Piper, with the character’s name changed toRose Tyler.^[6] Eccleston and Piper made their debut in "Rose".^[7] For the second half of thefirst series they were joined byJohn Barrowman asCaptain Jack Harkness.^[8] Due to disagreements with the producers and network executives, Eccleston departed after a single series^[9][10] and was succeeded byDavid Tennant portraying theTenth Doctor beginning at the end of "The Parting of the Ways".^[11] Barrowman was also written off at the end of this series and would go on to lead his ownspin-off series,Torchwood.^[12] Tennant's first full episode was "The Christmas Invasion" which led into thesecond series with Piper continuing her role.^[13] Elisabeth Sladen and John Leeson returned toDoctor Who in the series two episode "School Reunion" reprising their roles as Sarah Jane Smith and K-9, respectively.^[14] The two would also go on to star in their own spin-off,The Sarah Jane Adventures.^[15][16] Piper left in the second series finale, "Doomsday".^[17]Catherine Tate starred asDonna Noble, the Doctor's one off companion in "The Runaway Bride", and was briefly introduced in "Doomsday".^[18]Freema Agyeman replaced Piper for theseries three,^[19] and appeared asMartha Jones from "Smith and Jones" to "Last of the Time Lords".^[20] Agyeman had previously appeared in a separate role in "Doomsday" and was cast as Jones following positive reception from the producers; the two characters were later explained to be cousins.^[19] Barrowman briefly re-joined the show for the three-part third series finale.^[21]Derek Jacobi andJohn Simm portrayed new incarnations ofthe Master.^[22]

Tennant was joined byKylie Minogue portrayingAstrid Peth in the 2008 Christmas special, "Voyage of the Damned".^[23] This episode also introducedBernard Cribbins asWilfred Mott, later revealed to be Donna's grandfather, who would continue to recur acrossseries four.^[24] Cribbins was not originally expected to appear outside of the special, but was asked to return in place of Howard Attfield who had portrayed Donna's dad Geoff and died unexpectedly while filming was still underway.^[25][26] Despite having another actress and character lined up for the fourth series, the producers ultimately decided to ask Tate to return instead.^[18] Piper returned for this series making a set of various cameo appearances.^[27][28] Ageyman also returned for three episodes mid-series.^[29]Alex Kingston was introduced as a mysterious time-traveler calledRiver Song in the later portion of the series during which her character waskilled-off.^[30] The series four two-part finale saw numerous cast members return including Piper, Barrowman, Agyeman, Sladen, and Leeson,^[31] while also featuring the departure of Tate.^[32] Tennant decided to leave the role following aseries of specials^[33] which featuredDavid Morrissey,Michelle Ryan, andLindsay Duncan as one-time companions in their respective episodes.^[34][35][36] "The End of Time" saw the return of Cribbins, this time as the Doctor's companion.^[37] This episode also saw brief cameo appearances from Piper, Tate, Agyeman, Barrowman, and Sladen ahead of Tennant's regeneration.^[38]

Matt Smith was named as Tennant's replacement as theEleventh Doctor and first appeared in "The End of Time".^[39] In thefifth series premiere, "The Eleventh Hour",Karen Gillan joined Smith and playedAmy Pond.^[40][41] Gillan previously played a soothsayer in the series four episode "The Fires of Pompeii"^[42]Rory Williams was introduced as a recurring character portrayed byArthur Darvill.^[43][44] Kingston was re-introduced in the fifth series and was revealed as another time traveler who meets with the Doctor out of order.^[45] Darvill was then promoted to the main cast beginning with "The Impossible Astronaut", theseries six opening episode.^[46] Kingston continued to recur throughout the sixth series as well.^[47]

Smith continued his role throughout the entirety of theseventh series and thefollowing specials.^[48]Claire Skinner starred as Madge Arwell in theChristmas special that preceded series seven.^[49] This special also saw Gillan and Darvill make guest appearances.^[50] The two then returned for the first part of the series before departing in "The Angels Take Manhattan".^[51]Jenna-Louise Coleman was announced as a new companion,Clara Oswald, to succeed Gillan and Darvill.^[52] Coleman made an unannounced guest appearance (as Oswin Oswald) in the series opener, "Asylum of the Daleks",^[53] before joining the main cast from "The Snowmen".^[54][55] Alex Kingston continued to recur in the series.^[56] Beginning with the subsequent specials Coleman dropped "Louise" from her acting name.^[57] The first special celebrating the fiftieth anniversary of the series was titled "The Day of the Doctor" and saw the return of David Tennant and Billie Piper.^[58]Christopher Eccleston was initially set to return in the special as well but was later replaced byJohn Hurt, who played anincarnation of the Doctor not previously known.^[59] Gillan made a brief cameo appearance in the second and final special, "The Time of the Doctor".^[60] This episode also saw the departure of Smith.^[61]

Peter Capaldi took over as theTwelfth Doctor following Smith's departure and debuted his first full episode in "Deep Breath".^[62][63] Capaldi made a cameo appearance in "The Day of the Doctor" and a guest appearance at the end of "The Time of the Doctor" after being cast in the role.^[64][65] He had also previously appeared in theDoctor Who episode "The Fires of Pompeii" and in thethird series of spin-off seriesTorchwood, roles which were later connected to the Twelfth Doctor.^[66] Smith also held a minor role in "Deep Breath" in an appearance that was filmed prior to his departure.^[67] Coleman returned once more for theeighth andninth series before exiting in "Hell Bent".^[68][69]Michelle Gomez appeared throughout the eighth series as an unknown character that was later revealed to be the next incarnation of the Master, this time going by Missy.^[70] Gomez also appeared in the two-part ninth series premiere.^[71] TheChristmas special that bridged the two series featured an appearance byNick Frost asSanta Claus,^[72] a role that was introduced through a cameo in theeighth series finale.^[73]

Coleman's departure was followed by two Christmas specials ahead of thetenth series, thefirst of which featured a final appearance by Kingston^[74] and thesecond featuring the return ofMatt Lucas asNardole from the first, but this time in a starring role.^[75][76] Lucas continued this role through the end of the tenth series which also saw the introduction ofPearl Mackie portrayingBill Potts.^[77] Gomez recurred once more in the series^[78] and Simm reprised his role alongside Gomez in the tenth series finale.^[79] The "Twice Upon a Time" Christmas special included the departure of both Capaldi and Mackie from the series.^[80][81] It also saw one-off appearances byDavid Bradley who had been cast as the First Doctor andMark Gatiss as The Captain.^[82][83] Bradley was first introduced in thefinal episode of the tenth series.^[84] Coleman and Lucas both made guest appearances in the special as well.^[85] TheThirteenth Doctor, portrayed byJodie Whittaker, was introduced at the end of the episode.^[86]

Whittaker's first series as the Thirteenth Doctor began its broadcast in late 2018.^[87]Bradley Walsh,Tosin Cole andMandip Gill replaced Mackie and Lucas as the companions for the show.^[88] Thetwelfth series saw the reintroduction of the Master, this time played bySacha Dhawan who recurred across the series.^[89] Meanwhile, Barrowman briefly returned toDoctor Who as Harkness in "Fugitive of the Judoon", after a ten year absence from the series, and starred in the 2021 New Year's Day special, "Revolution of the Daleks".^[90] "Fugitive of the Judoon" also introduced a new, previously unknown, incarnation of the Doctor referred to as theFugitive Doctor portrayed byJo Martin, a role that carried over into thethirteenth series andsubsequent specials as well as thefifteenth series.^[91][92][93]

Walsh and Cole left the series following "Revolution of the Daleks", and were succeeded byJohn Bishop for the thirteenth series.^[94] Whittaker, Gill, and Bishop continued their roles through the 2022 specials; Whittaker then departed^[95] alongside Gill^[96] and Bishop.^[97] The final special, "The Power of the Doctor", commemorating the BBC'scentenary, saw the return ofDavid Bradley,Peter Davison,Colin Baker,Sylvester McCoy, andPaul McGann as theFirst,Fifth,Sixth,Seventh, andEighth doctors, respectively.^[98]Sophie Aldred andJanet Fielding also starred in the episode, reprising their roles asAce andTegan Jovanka.^[99] Walsh briefly returned in the episode as well,^[100] withWilliam Russell,Katy Manning, andBonnie Langford portraying former companionsIan Chesterton,Jo Grant, andMel Bush.^[101] With his appearance, Chesterson broke theGuinness World Record for "longest gap between TV appearances as the same character" with over 57 years since his last appearance in 1965.^[102]

On 8 May 2022,Ncuti Gatwa was cast as theFourteenth Doctor.^[103] David Tennant and Catherine Tate were also announced to be returning to the series in a similarset of specials airing in 2023 to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the series.^[104] Following Tennant's re-introduction to the series at the end of "The Power of the Doctor" it was revealed that Gatwa would actually be playing theFifteenth Doctor while Tennant would hold the role of the Fourteenth.^[105] Bernard Cribbins appeared in the 2023 specials as Wilfred Mott in a posthumous role because of Cribbins' death after completing filming.^[106] Langford also reprised her role once more in the final special, "The Giggle".^[107] Gatwa was first introduced in this episode,^[108] before his first full episode in the2023 Christmas special,^[109] with thefourteenth series screening in 2024.^[110] This series is also set to see Langford make further guest appearances.^[111] In May 2024, it was revealed thatNicola Coughlan would star as the Doctor's one-off companion in the 2024 Christmas special.^[112] Gatwa and Gibson continued their roles into thefifteenth series,^[113][114] joined byVarada Sethu,^[115] who first appeared in the episode "Boom" (2024) as an unrelated character.^[116] They departed at the end of "The Reality War".^[117]

Actors with roles which they have reprised over multiple episodes or stories without being part of the main cast.

This is a list of actors who have madeguest appearances inDoctor Who. These actors were well-known names at the time of their appearance in the series, which frequently caused interest in the media towards the latest story. Actors who became famousafter theirDoctor Who appearance are not present in this list.

• Companion (Doctor Who)