| The Tenth Doctor | |
|---|---|
| Doctor Who character | |
.jpg) David Tennant as the Tenth Doctor | |
| First regular appearance | "The Christmas Invasion" (2005) |
| Last regular appearance | "The End of Time Part 2" (2010) |
| Introduced by | Russell T Davies |
| Portrayed by | David Tennant |
| Preceded by | Christopher Eccleston (Ninth Doctor) |
| Succeeded by | Matt Smith (Eleventh Doctor) |
| Information | |
| Tenure | 25 December 2005 – 1 January 2010 |
| No of series | 3 |
| Appearances | 36 stories (47 episodes) |
| Companions |
|
| Chronology | |
TheTenth Doctor is an incarnation ofThe Doctor, theprotagonist of the Britishscience fiction television seriesDoctor Who. He is played byDavid Tennant in three series and nine specials. As with previous incarnations of The Doctor, the character has also appeared in otherDoctor Who spin-offs both during and after the character's televised appearances. In 2023, Tennant returned to the role, this time as thefourteenth incarnation of The Doctor.
Within the series' narrative, the Doctor is a centuries-oldalienTime Lord from the planetGallifrey whotravels in time and space in theTARDIS, frequently withcompanions. The Doctorregenerates; as a result, the physical appearance and personality of the Doctor changes. Tennant's portrayal of the Tenth Doctor is of an outwardly charismatic and charming adventurer whose likable and easygoing attitude can quickly turn to righteous fury when provoked. Preceded in regeneration by theNinth Doctor (Christopher Eccleston), he is followed by theEleventh Doctor (Matt Smith).
This incarnation's companions include some who travelled withhis previous incarnation: working-class shop assistantRose Tyler (Billie Piper), her boyfriendMickey Smith (Noel Clarke), and former "Time Agent"Captain Jack Harkness (John Barrowman), as well as medical studentMartha Jones (Freema Agyeman) and fierytemp workerDonna Noble (Catherine Tate). He eventually parts ways with them all by the end of the 2008 series finale, "Journey's End", after which he attempts to travel alone for the duration of the2008–2010 specials before being accompanied by Donna's grandfatherWilfred Mott (Bernard Cribbins) on his final adventure in "The End of Time".
Executive producerRussell T Davies revivedDoctor Who after a 16-year absence with the premiere of "Rose" in 2005. Following the BBC's announcement of a second series being commissioned, the story broke thatChristopher Eccleston, who played the titularNinth Doctor, would not be returning for the second series. On 16 April 2005, the BBC announced that David Tennant had been selected for the role of the Tenth Doctor.[12] His first appearance in the series was for 20 seconds following the Ninth Doctor's regeneration at the end of "The Parting of the Ways". His first full episode as the Doctor, barring an appearance in a "mini-episode" during the 2005Children in Need show, was the 2005 Christmas Special, "The Christmas Invasion". He then appeared in the2006,2007 and2008 series. Rather than a traditional series run, 2009 and early 2010 featured Tennant in a series of four specials. He also guest-starred in the 2009 two-partThe Sarah Jane Adventures storyThe Wedding of Sarah Jane Smith. Tennant also appears in two animated serialsThe Infinite Quest andDreamland. In 2013, Tennant reprised his role as the Tenth Doctor for the 50th anniversary special, "The Day of the Doctor",[13] and returned toDoctor Who as theFourteenth Doctor in 2023 for three60th anniversary specials.[14][15]
The Tenth Doctor speaks with anEstuary English accent, rather than theLancashire dialect (Christopher Eccleston's own dialect) that the Ninth Doctor used, theReceived Pronunciation of most earlier Doctors, or Tennant'sScottish English. David Tennant toldSFX magazine in 2006 that Russell T Davies had asked him to drop his natural Scottish accent, because he felt "we'd like to not go for another obvious regional accent, because I suppose they'd done that".[16] In a 23 December interview onBBC Radio 1, Tennant explained that a line had been scripted for the Christmas special explaining that the newly regenerated Doctor had imprinted onRose Tyler's accent "like a chick hatching from an egg", but the line was cut from the final episode. He also has two "catchphrases" which were allons-y (a French term meaning "let's go".) and molto bene (an Italian term meaning "very good"). These two terms were apparent in many of his episodes.
In the audiobookThe Last Voyage, the Tenth Doctor states that he is notneurotypical.[17] The depictions of the personalities of the Tenth and Eleventh Doctors shared certain similarities[18][19] e.g. both being youthful, energetic, friendly, childlike, "good boyfriend Doctors", asSteven Moffat described them[20] and, according toMark Gatiss "very human Doctors" when compared to other incarnations.[21][22]
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The Doctor complains that his tenth incarnation is not "ginger". However, this incarnation was happy to have sideburns and to have more hair than his previous incarnation. He wears his own brown hair in various ways throughout the series (unstyled in "The Christmas Invasion", a 1950s-style quiff in "The Idiot's Lantern", and flattened forwards in "The Runaway Bride" and "The Day of the Doctor") but mainly styled it in a spiked-up fashion throughout most of the series, with this style being described by friend and later one-time companion Wilfred Mott as being a "modern style sort of hair. All sticky-uppy". He has dark brown eyes and is perceived by most, including companions and other characters such as his future incarnation as "slim and a little bitfoxy".[23] They chose these kind of foxier, more slim and younger men for the show earlier on to attract attention and gain traction for this "regenerated" version of Doctor Who called "New Who".
His costume was unveiled on 27 July 2005.[24] He generally wears either a dark brown (with bluepinstripes) or a blue (with rust red pinstripes) four-buttoned suit with a shirt and a tie, or a shirt and t-shirt, a light brown faux-suededuster coat (which he claims was given to him byJanis Joplin), and different coloured pairs ofConverse All-Star trainers, depending on his suit. According to an interview onParkinson, David Tennant and Russell T Davies got the idea for the Tenth Doctor's costume from an outfitJamie Oliver had worn onParkinson just after Tennant had taken the role.[25] David Tennant has commented that he would vary the combination of the buttons he fastened on his jacket in different episodes. Tennant thought the look was verygeek chic.[24][26]
The Doctor dons a pair of dark tortoise-shell rectangular frame glasses, an affectation (along with his signature footwear) borrowed from theFifth Doctor. On one occasion, he wears a pair ofRed-Cyan 3D glasses, both as a joke and for practical reasons. Despite appearing in only one story, the glasses became an accessory commonly associated with Tennant's incarnation of the character.[27] Costume Designer Louise Page cited that it is the costume she is most proud of from her time onDoctor Who.[28]
The Ninth Doctor (Christopher Eccleston)regenerates into the Tenth Doctor at the climax of thefirst-series (2005) finale, "The Parting of the Ways"; he then reintroduces himself to his companionRose Tyler (Billie Piper) in aChildren in Need mini-episode called "Born Again". In the 2005 Christmas special, "The Christmas Invasion", he is in a comatose state for most of the episode, following his regeneration. After eventually waking up, he defeats the alienSycorax and saves Earth; in the process, he loses a hand, which regrows owing to his recent regeneration. Amongst othersecond-series (2006) adventures, the Doctor and Rose saveQueen Victoria (Pauline Collins) from a werewolf in "Tooth and Claw", resulting in the creation of the anti-alienTorchwood Institute. In "School Reunion", The Doctor shares an adventure with two former companions, journalistSarah Jane Smith (Elisabeth Sladen) and robot dogK9 (voiced byJohn Leeson), before taking on Rose's boyfriendMickey (Noel Clarke) as a second companion. The TARDIS slips through a crack in the Time Vortex causing them to be stranded on a parallel Earth, where they encounter theCybermen in the episode, "Rise of the Cybermen". After saving parallel Earth, Mickey decides to stay and help stop the Cybermen around the world despite The Doctor telling him he can never return in "The Age of Steel". He and Rose become stranded on a planet orbiting around a black hole in "The Impossible Planet", where The Beast is waiting with a Torchwood team. While there, in "The Satan Pit", The Beast taunts The Doctor and Rose about Rose's death. During the 2012 Olympic Games in "Fear Her", The Doctor picks up the Olympic flame and carries it to the end, starting the Games. The series finale takes place in contemporary London, where modern-day Torchwood is the scene for war between the evil alienDaleks and parallel-universecyborgs the Cybermen; saving the Earth costs the Doctor Rose, who is stranded in a parallel universe, along with Mickey and her mother, in "Doomsday".
In the closing scene of "Doomsday", a mysterious bride calledDonna Noble (Catherine Tate) inexplicably appears in his TARDIS. The 2006 Christmas special, "The Runaway Bride" sees The Doctor and bride-to-be Donna save the Earth; Donna saves The Doctor from going too far in his revenge against the alienRacnoss, and although she declines his offer of companionship, she tells The Doctor he may need a new companion to keep him in check. In thethird series (2007), The Doctor takes onMartha Jones (Freema Agyeman) as his new companion. Together, they witness the mysteriousFace of Boe (Struan Rodger) prophecy to The Doctor that "you are not alone", in "Gridlock". They are rejoined by former companionCaptain Jack Harkness (John Barrowman) in a three-episode adventure beginning with "Utopia", where presumed-deceased archenemy and fellow Time LordThe Master (John Simm) becomesPrime Minister of the United Kingdom and ages The Doctor. Martha's plan sees The Doctor infused with the world's psychic energies, and he easily defeats The Master, who seemingly refuses to regenerate and dies in The Doctor's arms. Following this adventure, in thedénouement of series finale "Last of the Time Lords", Jack and Martha both depart the TARDIS, and The Doctor is shocked to see what appears to be theRMSTitanic crash into it. Set moments prior, anotherChildren in Need mini-episode, "Time Crash", features a brief encounter between Tennant's Tenth Doctor and theFifth Doctor (Peter Davison), containingmeta-humour surrounding the fact David Tennant had watched and loved Davison's Doctor as a child. In parallel with the third series, Tennant lends his voice to the animated serialThe Infinite Quest.
The 2007 Christmas special, "Voyage of the Damned", sees The Doctor and a waitress,Astrid Peth (Kylie Minogue), save the Earth from the impending crash of the starshipTitanic; Astrid dies heroically, and The Doctor encountersWilfred Mott (Bernard Cribbins) for the first time. In the premiere episode of thefourth series (2008), "Partners in Crime", The Doctor is reunited with Donna Noble, Wilfred's granddaughter, who becomes his regular companion. In "Planet of the Ood", the alienOod prophesy the Tenth Doctor's demise. Martha accompanies them for three episodes; in two, entitled "The Sontaran Stratagem" and "The Poison Sky", The Doctor battles the war-hungry alienSontarans, and last of which sees him become a father of sorts toJenny (Georgia Tennant), in "The Doctor's Daughter". He meets archaeologist and future companionRiver Song (Alex Kingston) for the first time from his perspective in the two-parter, "Silence in the Library" and "Forest of the Dead"; she dies, but he stores her consciousness to a hard drive to live on forever, after accepting that one day she will come to mean a lot to him. After Donna encounters Rose in a parallel world in "Turn Left", the Doctor realises that Rose's words to Donna — "Bad Wolf" — must herald the end of the world. In finale episodes "The Stolen Earth" and "Journey's End" (which cross over with spin-offsTorchwood andThe Sarah Jane Adventures), the Doctor and Donna reunite with former companions Rose, Sarah Jane, Martha, Jack, and Mickey to save the universe fromDavros (Julian Bleach), the creator of the Daleks. The Doctor was fatally wounded during the event, causing him to regenerate, although he chooses to maintain his current self while transferring residual energy into his previously severed hand. This results in a metacrisis that creates a half-human Doctor who would leave to have a romantic relationship with Rose in the parallel universe, while also imbuing Donna with a Time Lord's mind. This forces the Doctor to erase Donna's memories of their adventures together in order to save her life. ADoctor Who Prom mini-episode, "Music of the Spheres", features a lone Doctor composing his musicalOde to the Universe before being interrupted by the small alienGraske (Jimmy Vee).
In lieu of a 2009 series, Tennant appears as the Tenth Doctor, without a regular companion, in several special episodes over the course of 2008 and 2009, the last of which aired on New Year's Day, 2010. In the Christmas special "The Next Doctor", The Doctor mistakenly believes he has met a later incarnation of himself in an amnesiac Londoner (David Morrissey), with whom he savesVictorian-era London. "Planet of the Dead" (Easter 2009) features jewel thief Lady Christina de Souza (Michelle Ryan) as The Doctor's one-off companion, and The Doctor is presented with a prophecy of his imminent death, with a woman telling him 'he will knock four times'. Tennant makes a crossover appearance in aThe Sarah Jane Adventures two-parter, "The Wedding of Sarah Jane Smith", in which a powerful being known as the Trickster (Paul Marc Davis) also alludes to the Tenth Doctor's impending demise. In "The Waters of Mars", The Doctor tries to alter history and avert the death of one-off companion Adelaide Brooke (Lindsay Duncan); when she kills herself, he begins to feel his mortality weigh down upon him. In the animated serialDreamland, The Doctor is joined by two one-off companions in 1950sRoswell, New Mexico. In the two-part send-off "The End of Time", The Doctor confronts the Ood about their original prophecy and is led to contemporary Earth where, in the second part, the again-resurrected Master restores Gallifrey and the Time Lords to existence, although he redeems himself by assisting The Doctor to defeat Time Lord PresidentRassilon (Timothy Dalton) before disappearing alongside the other Time Lords. However, Wilfred finds himself trapped in a chamber that is about to be flooded with radiation. He knocks on the glass door four times, fulfilling the prophecy of The Doctor's death. The Doctor sacrifices his life to prevent Wilfred's death, exposing himself to 500,000rads of deadly radiation and triggering hisregeneration. He holds it back and is shown visiting several companions.[a] He gives Donna a winning lottery ticket on her wedding day, buying it with money he borrowed from her late father in the past, saves Martha and Mickey from a Sontaran sniper, saves Sarah Jane's sonLuke (Tommy Knight) from a car, introduces Jack to a romantic interest (Russell Tovey), and finally, just before regenerating into theEleventh Doctor (Matt Smith), informs Rose in 2005 that she is about to have a "great year". As he begins regenerating once in the TARDIS, his last words are "I don't want to go".
Tennant reprised the role for the show's 50th anniversary in "The Day of the Doctor" (2013), appearing alongside theEleventh Doctor (Matt Smith), future companionClara Oswald (Jenna Coleman) and a forgotten past incarnation, theWar Doctor, played byJohn Hurt. In the special, which from the Tenth Doctor's perspective takes place between the2008–2010 specials "The Waters of Mars" and "The End of Time", the Doctor unintentionally marriesQueen Elizabeth I (Joanna Page) while luring out aZygon. He helps the other Doctors in saving Gallifrey at the Time War's conclusion, but will not retain memories of the event. His final words are, once again "I don't want to go" after being told that he will die on Trenzalore.
At the conclusion of the 2022 specials, theThirteenth Doctor regenerates into theFourteenth Doctor, who bears the same form as the Tenth.[29]
David Tennant has also made numerous cameo appearances as The Doctor outside ofDoctor Who, frequently inspoof appearances. Singer and actressCharlotte Church spoofsDoctor Who alongside an actor playing the Tenth Doctor in her ownThe Charlotte Church Show (2006). In an appearance onThe Friday Night Project in 2007, Tennant plays a female companion to the Tenth Doctor (Justin Lee Collins) on the Pink Planet, where they are confronted by the alien Gay Lord (Alan Carr). When the show becameThe Sunday Night Project, Catherine Tate appeared in askit playing the Tenth Doctor. Tennant starred opposite Catherine Tate in her ownThe Catherine Tate Show special (2007) asLauren Cooper's (Tate) teacher Mr. Logan, whom Cooper teases for his resemblance to the Doctor; eventually, he reveals himself to be the Tenth Doctor and shrinks Cooper into a 5" Rose Tyleraction figure. In the final episode ofExtras (December 2007), a brief scene shows The Doctor and an unidentifiedWren companion attacked by Schlong, a slug-like alien played byAndy Millman (Ricky Gervais). The Tenth Doctor is also featured in political satire; in a 2007 episode ofDead Ringers, when faced by the question ofGordon Brown's succession,Tony Blair (impressionistJon Culshaw) regenerates into David Tennant after promising "New Labour is all about renewal", later vowing 100 more years of power. Tennant modifies his first line in "The Parting of the Ways" ("New teeth, that's weird"), to "New Labour, that's weird" and proceeds to address the public in a Tony Blair impression resembling Culshaw's. Tennant also guest-voiced his incarnation of The Doctor in an episode ofFamily Guy (2016). He later played the role in full costume for a sketch withThe Muppets in a live performance atThe O2 Arena in 2018.
As the face of theDoctor Who franchise for 2005–2010, the Tenth Doctor appears extensively inDoctor Who spin-off media; in the majority of these series, the character simply takes after the place of the Ninth Doctor, and in turn is replaced by the Eleventh following the debut ofthe 2010 series. Novels featuring the Tenth Doctor are all published byBBC Books. The character appears inNew Series Adventures novels spanning fromThe Stone Rose (April 2006) toThe Krillitane Storm (September 2009). A number ofDecide Your Destiny novels were published between July 2007 and March 2008, as well as five books published as a part ofQuick Reads Initiative, a government-sponsoredadult literacy project. BBC Children's Books released their own 10-part series,The Darksmith Legacy, supported by an interactive tie-in website. Additionally, short stories are frequently published inDoctor Who Magazine,The Doctor Who Storybook series (2007–2010 editions), the BBC website, and annuals and suchlike; one example is the story "The Lodger" byGareth Roberts, later adapted into an Eleventh Doctortelevision episode of the same name. National newspapersThe Daily Telegraph andThe Sunday Times have each published one Christmas-themed Tenth Doctor short story. Additionally, the Tenth Doctor appears in a novelisation of hisThe Sarah Jane Adventures crossover appearance. The Tenth Doctor also appears extensively in comic books, replacing the Ninth Doctor in those published inDoctor Who Magazine, and the younger-audienceDoctor Who Adventures andDoctor Who: Battles in Time. American comic book publisher initially published a 2008 Tenth Doctor and Martha Jones miniseries between January and June 2006. This was later followed by a truly ongoing Tenth Doctor series in July 2009, set during the 2008–2010 specials and lasting sixteen issues before relaunching with the Eleventh Doctor. In stories set after "Journey's End", The Doctor is accompanied by numerous one-off and recurring companions who do not feature in the television series.
Outside ofDoctor Who literature, penciller Georges Jeanty includes a cameo of the Tenth Doctor and Rose in a panel ofBuffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight story arc "No Future for You". The Tenth Doctor was utilised in the Americansatirical politicalcartoon strip,This Modern World. Arriving in 2003, the Doctor hints to Sparky the Wonder Penguin (the strip's main character) that in five years' time, the nextPresident could bea black man, with the middle name Hussein, whose father was a Muslim.[30] The character also appeared in a story arc of the webcomicPvP, in which character Brent Sienna hallucinates materialising in the TARDIS.[31]
As is the case with the BBC Books novels, the Tenth Doctor replaced the Ninth as the face of theDoctor Who audiobook series, beginning withPest Control in May 2008 and ending withDead Air in March 2010. The majority are read by David Tennant, save one read by Michelle Ryan and two by Catherine Tate. A number of Tenth Doctor novels were also abridged to become audiobooks, again featuring David Tennant's voice alongside other cast members such as Freema Agyeman and television series guest stars such as Georgia Tennant,Reggie Yates andAnthony Head; the last of these scheduled isJudgement of the Judoon, for December 2010.
On 26 October 2015, it was announced Tennant would reprise his role forThe Tenth Doctor Adventures, a series of full-cast audio stories produced byBig Finish Productions. The first volume of stories had the reprise of Catherine Tate as Donna Noble, consisting ofTechnophobia,Time Reaver, andDeath and the Queen, which were released in May 2016.[32] The second volume of stories saw Billie Piper reprise her role as Rose Tyler alongside Tennant. The stories consisted ofInfamy of the Zaross (with Camille Coduri as Jackie Tyler),Sword of the Chevalier, andCold Vengeance, which were released in November 2017.[33] A third volume was released in May 2019, once again with Catherine Tate as Donna Noble, in the storiesNo Place (with asJacqueline King asSylvia Noble andBernard Cribbins asWilfred Mott),One Mile Down andThe Creeping Death.[34]
Outside ofThe Tenth Doctor Adventures, David Tennant has appeared as the Doctor for several special Big Finish releases. He made brief cameos at the end of theJenny – The Doctor's Daughter series and the final story of Big Finish's multi-Doctor anniversary specialThe Legacy of Time. The Tenth Doctor made a significant appearance in the final story of theDonna Noble: Kidnapped! spin-off series starringCatherine Tate asDonna Noble. In 2020, Tennant appeared alongsideTom Baker as theFourth Doctor in the first story of theOut of Time trilogy and co-starred in three audio plays oppositeAlex Kingston asRiver Song inThe Tenth Doctor and River Song. Tennant also made an uncredited cameo in series eight ofThe Diary of River Song as the Doctor.
In 2021, as well as starring in the nine-partDalek Universe saga (which sees the Tenth Doctor trapped in the pre-Time War universe and separated from the TARDIS), Tennant reprised the Tenth Doctor for the second part of theOut of Time trilogy, fightingCybermen with theFifth Doctor (Peter Davison) inThe Gates of Hell. As part of the multi-platformTime Lord Victorious storyline, Tennant co-starred inEchoes of Extinction alongsidePaul McGann as theEighth Doctor. He was set to be the first Doctor to appear in the spin-off seriesTorchwood, reuniting Tennant withJohn Barrowman asCaptain Jack Harkness andGareth David-Lloyd asIanto Jones, forAbsent Friends.[35] However, while this story was recorded, its release was cancelled in May 2021.[36]
TheOut of Time trilogy concluded in June 2022 withWink, featuring the Tenth Doctor and theSixth Doctor battlingWeeping Angels. In the same month, Tennant appeared as the Doctor in the seventh series ofThe War Master oppositeDerek Jacobi asThe Master. In September 2022, Big Finish released theTenth Doctor, Classic Companions special, which reunites the Doctor withK9,Ace,Leela andNyssa; he retrieves K9 from a temporal anomaly, helps an alternate version of Leela save a village, rescues Nyssa from a criminal using Time Lord technology as part of a scam, and subsequently leaves K9 with Ace after they stop Axos ("The Claws of Axos") from escaping its time loop prison.
Marking Doctor Who's 60th anniversary, Big Finish released theOnce and Future series, in which an unspecified incarnation of the Doctor (later revealed to be theWar Doctor) is attacked with a weapon that causes them to switch randomly between past and future incarnations. Tennant appears as the Tenth Doctor forThe Martian Invasion of Planetoid 50 alongsideMichelle Gomez asMissy. This production was recorded in October 2020, long before Tennant was cast as theFourteenth Doctor for the television60th anniversary specials.[37]
The Tenth Doctor has made other Big Finish appearances that did not involve Tennant, using other actors to voice the Doctor. In April 2018,The Tenth Doctor Chronicles featured four new stories and starred voice actorJacob Dudman as the Doctor and narrator;Jacqueline King andMichelle Ryan reprised their roles asSylvia Noble andLady Christina de Souza respectively.[38]The Churchill Years featured stories of the show's portrayal ofWinston Churchill – played byIan McNeice narrating in-character – meeting various incarnations of the Doctor, including the Tenth Doctor in the episodesHounded andChurchill Victorious. Likewise, the Tenth Doctor appears in three episodes ofTales from New Earth voiced byKieran Hodgson.
In theShort Trips range, the Tenth Doctor appeared in the two-part storyThe Jago and Litefoot Revival alongside theEleventh Doctor, narrated byChristopher Benjamin andTrevor Baxter.Camille Coduri reprised her role asJackie Tyler to narrate a pair of stories featuring the Tenth Doctor'smeta-crisis clone inThe Siege of Big Ben andFlight into Hull set on the parallel Earth.
The Tenth Doctor appears alongside his fellow incarnations as a playable character in the 2015toys-to-life crossover gameLEGO Dimensions. He is shown wearing his duster coat and brown pinstripe suit. The character uses voice lines taken from the BBC archives. HisTARDIS interior is a location that players can explore.[39]
He, as well as theThirteenth Doctor, appears as a playable character that users could purchase for free from the Avatar Shop withinRoblox for a limited time, which also featured the Pting as a shoulder accessory, and theTARDIS in the form of a backpack. These items were added as part of a sponsorship between theRoblox Corporation and theBBC to promote the series finale ofSeries 12.[40] Additionally there has been a new "google game" made that you can find on almost any web browser when searching for "Doctor Who". This game includes many of theDoctors including the 10th Doctor. The aim of the game is too collect all of the letters of "GOOGLE" in the lowest amount of time possible.
Tennant's tenure as the Tenth Doctor is highly regarded amongfans of the show and his character received critical acclaim for his complexity and humanity. He is generally considered one of the greatest incarnations of the Doctor, often ranked alongsideTom Baker'sFourth Doctor.[41][42][43] The BBC went as far as to consider ending the show in 2010, thinking it would fail without Tennant.[44] In 2006, readers ofDoctor Who Magazine voted Tennant's Doctor "Best Doctor" over perennial favourite Tom Baker.[45] He also won theNational Television Awards award for Most Popular Actor in 2006 and 2007, and the award for Outstanding Drama Performance in 2008 and 2010. In a poll conducted byRadio Times in March 2007, Tennant's Doctor was named the "coolest character on television".[46][47]IGN ranked the Tenth Doctor the best Doctor in 2011.[48] In 2013, IGN again ranked Tennant as the best Doctor,[49] along with theDaily Mirror[50] andRadio Times, with Billie Piper also being voted as best companion.[51] Users ofPlusnet also voted David Tennant as the best Doctor in 2013.[52] Users of DoctorWhoTV also voted Tennant as 'Ultimate Doctor' in 2013.[53] Voters onDigital Spy also rated Tennant as the greatest Doctor in 2013 with 50.05% of the votes,[42] and again in 2015.[54] Readers ofThe Telegraph voted Tennant as the greatest actor to play the Doctor in 2014.[55]
Jenna Coleman, who playedClara Oswald and appeared with Tennant in "The Day of the Doctor", said that he was her favourite Doctor, along withTom Baker.[56] WriterTerry Pratchett considered Tennant's portrayal to be the greatest Doctor.[57]
In 2016,Digital Spy readers voted the Tenth Doctor the best TV character of the 21st century.[58]
I'm many things, Sugar MacAuley, but neurotypical has never been one of them.
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