Doctor Who - The Star Beast (Image: BBC Studios/Bad Wolf/Disney)
The Doctor is dead, long live The Doctor! It’s impossible to reflect on the 60th Anniversary of Doctor Who without celebrating the one aspect that has given the show the ability to run for this long. Regeneration is the power that allows The Doctor to survive a fatal injury by renewing the cells in their body. Conveniently, it also changes the Doctor’s appearance and replaces the lead actor, allowing the series to continue.
To give it the acknowledgement it deserves, we spoke to five Doctor Who experts and insiders, who have offered their perspectives on the past, present, and future of regeneration.
In the beginning, William Hartnell was the one and only Dr Who. There was no indication that this would (or could) ever change. But after three years, it became clear to the BBC that Hartnell couldn’t continue. His health had been deteriorating and his ability to learn lines was becoming increasingly limited. The possibility of filming 40 episodes a year with him as the protagonist was out of the question. It would have been perfectly reasonable to end the show at that point. How do you keep Doctor Who going without the titular character? It had run for a considerable number of episodes and could easily have concluded at that point. But the producers were determined to find a way to keep the show, and The Doctor, alive. And they found it.
In the final part of 1966’s The Tenth Planet, The Doctor returns to the TARDIS and his companions find him collapsed on the floor. He had previously told them that his old body was “wearing a bit thin”, and this appeared to be the result. Without any further explanation, a bright light emits from his face. When the light dies down, a new man lies in his place and the credits roll.
“It was an incredibly bold thing to do,” says Tony Jordan of the Doctor Who Appreciation Society. “He’s been a hero to millions of kids, including myself, and you’ve suddenly got this new face turn up.” The writers clearly knew that the public needed to be convinced. Rather than launching straight into a new adventure with Patrick Troughton as The Doctor, some time in his first episode is spent addressing his new face, in a way that Jordan felt took the viewers’ “inevitable doubt” into consideration. “How they wrote it in the story was very much in line with our reaction as fans. They had Ben going ‘that’s not the Doctor!’ and Polly going ‘well we saw it happen!’” Using the companions to reflect the audience’s reactions to the transition was a superb idea, and is something that remained a core part of future changes.
The interesting thing about this recast was how different the Second Doctor’s characterisation was. Previous producers had planned on simply replacing the actor and keeping the character the same, bringing in another white-haired old grandfather figure. But producer Innes Lloyd and story editor Gerry Davis made the decision to change both The Doctor’s appearance and his personality. There was no attempt to recreate Hartnell’s performance.
Troughton was far sillier, more clownish. The decision to have the two incarnations be so distinct awarded the series a great deal of freedom, but means it is more of a challenge to get people on board with the idea that new Doctors are the same character. Troughton’s Doctor maintained the sense of justice and kindness of Hartnell, alongside his memories. All three were on display in his first appearance when The Doctor was reunited with his most iconic foe. “It was very shrewd to have the Daleks in his first story,” says Jordan, “when he sees them at the end of the episode and tells his companions what they are, we know he is The Doctor.”
As much as things had changed, it was still the same show. “Having those familiar elements is so logical and important,” says Jordan, “we started off with this inevitable doubt but the reassurance for us grew in each episode. Every week, we could see more and more that he was the same man.”
The perfect execution of that initial change was crucial for keeping Doctor Who on the air, and set the template for all future transitions, which became a staple of the series. With each new change in Doctor, more was learned about the process of keeping The Doctor alive. While the recasts were always national news, regeneration (as it became known) turned into more of an event in the show itself. The stories leant into the emotion that came from killing off a particular incarnation in a heroic way, and the excitement that came from meeting a new one. While the classic series used a different visual effect for each change, the orange light from Christopher Eccleston’s 2005 regeneration has endured as a core part of the modern series’ iconography.
“The scenes of the actual transition between Doctors are vital,” says Jordan. “It’s like regnal numbers for Kings and Queens. You can look at Jodie Whittaker and see she’s the 13th Doctor, that 12 have come before her. You can trace it all back, and can see the sixty years of regenerations leading up to her.” The ability to watch each of the Doctors regenerate into their successor is incredibly important to fans, and each of the regenerations has amassed millions of views as YouTube uploads.
There’s no one who has more experience with these vital scenes than Rachel Talalay. Directing eight of the biggest and best episodes from the last ten years, she has been at the helm of more regenerations than anyone else: from Peter Capaldi’s groundbreaking transformation into Jodie Whittaker to the shocking re-emergence of David Tennant in last year’s finale special. She even revisited the series’ very first regeneration when she directed The First Doctor in 2017’s Twice Upon a Time. “As a kid, I used to hate when actors were replaced on other shows,” says Talalay, “so creating a reason and a methodology around it is brilliant. As a lifelong Whovian, I simply love the conceit that is now central to the show’s lifeblood. It keeps the series fresher- especially the excitement around who will play the new role and what they will do with it.”
Each new regeneration immediately joins the ranks of Doctor Who’s most important and iconic moments, so there is a lot of pressure to get them right. “The knowledge that the regenerations will be watched as a part of television history- way more than an individual episode, is important, especially to the actors.” Now that the series has had over a dozen regeneration scenes, it is more of a challenge for them to stand out and feel unique. “I wanted mine to have a lot of emotional power,” says Talalay, “I tried to design them to represent each specific Doctor, the whole shooting style and lighting of Capaldi’s regeneration is completely different from what I did to introduce Jodie’s Doctor.”
The tone of a regeneration is a fascinating balance, as the sadness of losing one Doctor is met with the excitement of meeting another. “The scenes are both death and rebirth,” says Talalay, “showing the Doctor leaving something significant, saying goodbye. And then the new Doctor is a journey of discovery- who they are and who they will be.”
Every new Doctor inevitably ushers in a new era for the show, and their early episodes must walk a line between reassuring viewers that the character they love hasn’t gone anywhere, and showing what this new incarnation can offer. “I think it’s particularly important that the Doctor keeps memories but is also nascent when they regenerate,” says Talalay, “I do not like rating the Doctors, each actor brings so much, but I am appreciative that people have their favourites, both from their discovery of Who and their longevity with the show.”
Fans favouring different incarnations is inevitable, but it leads to an interesting discussion of whether the multiple Doctors should be seen as multiple different characters. The central premise of regeneration is that they remain the same person but, with the key differences in attitudes and personality, it can seem like that’s not the case. It’s something that even Doctor Who’s writers can’t come to a consensus on.
Script editor Terrance Dicks, a crucial figure in the early writing of the classic series, believed that The Doctor was the same regardless of the incarnation. Writing for one face was no different to writing for the rest. “I kind of disagree with that,” says Chris Chapman, a writer of Big Finish Doctor Who audio dramas, who has written for Tom Baker, Peter Davison and Colin Baker. “Terrence is right and there is a core character that you are writing. That every Doctor is capable of Doctorly things and should have an ethos that is fundamentally themselves. When that changes, you’re in trouble.”
“But when you come down to the dialogue and the relationships,” Chapman continues, “you have to do that research and listen to how a Doctor’s actor talks. How they relate, how much or little they say, their relationships with their companions, their way of communicating with strangers and people they know very well. That’s when it varies. That stuff is different. You couldn’t have Jon Pertwee reading The Ark in Space without it feeling deeply weird. There’s no way that it’s transferable when everything on the surface has changed.” Chapman finds that this way of writing the character is the best way of reflecting the narrative. “It's the truth within the fiction, that The Doctor has regenerated but it’s just changed their face and the way they communicate, rather than their soul.”
When it comes to regeneration as a whole, Chapman can’t overstate its importance. “It’s kind of the best thing the show has ever done. Every soap opera in the world has changed a character’s face at some point, it’s quite standard telly. But to look at that problem and say ‘actually, I think we can deal with this within the fiction of the show’ is amazing. Without that single decision, everything else collapses, nothing works.”
Regeneration can act as a powerful bridge between the past and future of the series. The fact the story contains a justification for the change in lead means the series can stay connected to its history while also being totally reinvigorated. Existing fans are kept happy, and new viewers are given a jumping-on point for starting Doctor Who. With a new Doctor, the show gains a new face, a new personality, and new iconography to be ingrained into the show’s cultural identity, such as The Doctor’s outfits.
From Tom Baker’s iconic long scarf to Matt Smith’s “cool” bow ties, the costumes of The Doctor often become synonymous with both the character and the series, and one of the most exciting things about the character regenerating is seeing what clothes they choose. “The costume is easily one of the most important factors of a Doctor,” says Dominic Martin, one of the best-known cosplayers in the Doctor Who fandom, and an expert in The Doctor’s costumes. “When somebody first looks at them, that costume is gonna be their first impression. It’s going to be the immediately striking image that creates The Doctor.”
But there’s more to these outfits than memorable visuals. “Costume design can imply things about the character,” Martin says, “it can be used to really help characterise the Doctor, it can be their identity. Not only does it make them stand out in a crowd, but it tells you what they’re all about in that particular phase of their life.” Over the years, what constitutes as a Doctor’s iconic look has varied drastically, alongside the personalities of the incarnations. “You look at Colin Baker’s outfit,” says Martin, “it’s multi-coloured, exuberant, bombastic. Compare it to Christopher Eccleston’s, with the leather jacket, it’s much more refined and restrained, just as the character was. These days especially, the definition of what constitutes as a Doctor Who costume is growing wider and wider.”
The Doctor having a variety of costumes means there are more opportunities for fans (children and adults alike) to dress up as the character. When the Twelfth Doctor’s outfit was being designed, Peter Capaldi asked that it be something easily replicated by children on the playground, because that’s something he felt was a core part of being a fan. “They are an inspiring figure,” says Martin, “when we’re young, they’re that hero that we aspire to be. Then when you grow older you realise that there’s much more nuance to the character that makes them more interesting. It’s why I’m very happy with the recent casting decisions that have broadened who The Doctor can be.”
This brings us to the present, and what is probably the most important aspect of regeneration: the fact it allows the series to evolve. It’s not just about keeping The Doctor alive and preserving the status quo of the series, it’s about moving forward, far beyond the show’s original 1963 setup. “I think Doctor Who really does have to move with the times,” says Beth Axford, a writer, Doctor Who fan, and author of The Doctor Who Quiz Book. “Our generation really cares about feeling seen and being represented. Because there’s no excuse for it anymore.”
There were rumblings about the possibility of The Doctor regenerating into a woman in the 80s, including the show’s creator Sydney Newman pitching it as a way to revitalise the series. But despite this, The Doctor remained a white man for over fifty years of the show’s existence. “I recently did a Doctor Who rewatch,” says Axford, “and when I got to the end of Peter Capaldi’s final series, I thought that if I was watching now, I would’ve given up on the show by then. I wouldn’t have felt included or like the show was still for me.”
In 2017, it was announced that we would finally have a female Doctor. Jodie Whittaker’s era was launched with the pun tagline “it’s about time”, making it clear that historical precedent for The Doctor’s gender was not going to stop the show from progressing. “I can’t even begin to describe what Jodie being the Doctor meant to me. It felt like it really needed to happen,” says Axford. “It might have been the first time that I felt like Doctor Who was really letting me in.”
Beth Axford considers regeneration to be at the centre of the show’s growth. “It’s a built-in way for Doctor Who to survive,” she says, “but it’s not just survival. It means it can do literally anything at any point. You can have a Ncuti Gatwa series, David Tennant can come back, Jo Martin could get a spinoff. That’s something that’s so special about Doctor Who.”
In one of the show’s most shocking moments, Jo Martin’s Doctor was introduced as a supporting character during Jodie Whittaker’s time as the lead. Her incarnation was named “The Fugitive Doctor” and she was the first black actor to play the role. “It really was a fantastic moment when she came on screen,” says Dominic Martin. “It’s incredibly important to feel seen and reflected by the people in Doctor Who. It was this remarkable surprise, seeing Jo there as this powerful figure in her costume saying, ‘I am the Doctor’. You just believed her instantly.”
“Not only did she break down the barrier in showing who could be The Doctor,” says Dominic Martin, “she also immediately proved that this was always meant to be. There was no question of it. There’s something about Jo’s Doctor that makes her feel unique, new and exciting. Her costume had these cultural elements to it that I really enjoyed, with the kente cloth shirt. It brings a whole new vibe.”
Each of Jo Martin’s appearances cemented her status as a true incarnation of The Doctor, even though she never led the show, and fans are keen to see her return to the screen. Big Finish audio dramas, and they recently announced a series focussing on The Fugitive Doctor. “She gets to explore the character a lot more,” says Dominic Martin, who is also a producer at Big Finish, “and hearing her perform she’s superb. She easily would’ve been a fantastic full-time Doctor, and should have been given that role.”
Continuing the trend of groundbreaking casting, Ncuti Gatwa will be the next person to step into the role of The Doctor. He is the first black actor to play the role in a full-time capacity, and fans are incredibly excited to see what this rising star will bring to the character. “There’s no definitive model for The Doctor anymore,” says Dominic Martin, “it’s not just going to be a man or a woman every time, it could be any combination of people. It removes any limitation that one could perceive from the original 12 incarnations.”
“I’m so glad that barrier has been broken down, because it can only lead to great things,” says Dominic Martin. And great things appear to be imminent. Doctor Who is entering a brand-new era as a global franchise thanks to its presence on Disney+, and Gatwa is the face of this period of regeneration. “They’re gonna own it and say that this is always how it could’ve been,” says Dominic Martin. “This was always a possibility. Ncuti is irrefutably the Doctor and I’m sure he’s going to be taking the show to new heights.” The Doctor Who fandom is eagerly awaiting his appearance at the end of a regeneration this year.
The true impact of regeneration is almost impossible to put into words. Not only do so many of the series’ most memorable and emotional moments centre around regeneration, but the majority of all scenes have regeneration to thank for their entire existence. Doctor Who could have easily become a sci-fi relic of the 1960s if Innes Lloyd and Gerry Davis hadn’t built the indefinite continuation of the series into its own mythology.
Without regeneration, we’d lose hundreds of beloved episodes, villains, performances, costumes, and generations of fans. The only reason Doctor Who has stood the test of time is its unique ability to adapt and evolve. And the reason The Doctor can now reflect and represent a much greater portion of the audience is thanks to the decisions made in 1966. So, as we celebrate 60 years of Doctor Who, it’s worth acknowledging the decision that let us get this far, and the remarkable embracing of change that has taken place ever since.
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