The series has seen 14 iterations of the good doctor, and there’s always a reason why every Doctor Who quit. Among some of the longstanding Doctors on the series, there have been a few one-offs, such as John Hurt’s War Doctor or Jo Martin’s Fugitive Doctor, but longstanding ones like David Tennant or Tom Baker are the most beloved. Each Doctor brought their own distinct personality to the franchise, but the premise of the series always remained the same: a man (or woman) from the planet Gallifrey with a time machine takes human companions on adventures across time and space.
Why every Doctor Who quit (especially after three seasons) comes down to a variety of reasons for each respective actor. Everything from on-set drama to health issues have contributed to different Doctors leaving the series. However, it wasn’t always the intention to have different actors take on the role, nor was it predicted that the series would go on as long as it has. Over its 26 seasons, Doctor Who has become a cultural staple and television phenomenon. The series has won an astounding 163 awards and garnered 411 nominations over the years, proving that it’s more than worth a watch — but every doctor is different.
William Hartnell
Out of every reason why every Doctor Who quit, Hartnell’s makes the most sense. When the show began, the idea that anyone other than Hartnell could be the Doctor wasn’t a serious concern. BBC had no idea they’d launched a multigenerational science fiction institution; they were simply managing a popular family program. The irascible, sometimes menacing First Doctor brought a decidedly different energy to the show, often letting his younger companions take on most of the action.
Why William Hartnell quit Doctor Who is because his health began declining by the show’s second season, and by season 3 it was obvious he could no longer endure the hours required to star in a weekly TV series. Rather than cancel the show, the producers came up with the idea of the Doctor “renewing” himself, a concept that would later be established as regeneration. After taking on the Cybermen one last time, Hartnell’s Doctor collapsed, bathed in blinding light, and morphed into Patrick Troughton, the Second Doctor.
Patrick Troughton
Patrick Troughton is much more identifiable as the Doctor than Hartnell, however, his reason out of every reason why every Doctor Who quit is the most unfair. Troughton sported a silly outfit and goofy charm that disguised a massive intellect and an even bigger heart(s). Troughton would go on to establish many of the traits we most associate with the Doctor; Matt Smith famously based many aspects of his Doctor on Troughton’s.
But by Troughton’s third year in the role, the show’s popularity was on the decline, and the BBC decided a radical reinvention was required to keep Doctor Who afloat, including a new leading man. Why Patrick Troughton quit Doctor Who is because he didn’t actually quit at all. To his credit, Troughton took the move in stride; having tired of the grueling weekly schedule, he was ready to move on.
Jon Pertwee
Doctor Who would dramatically change in 1970. Now in color, the show’s setting was changed to a stationary location on Earth, UNIT headquarters, where the Doctor served as the scientific advisor for the international military organization. The biggest change of all was the man playing the Doctor, as Jon Pertwee made the Doctor something of an action hero. Gone were easy charms of Troughton’s intergalactic hobo, replaced by dandy fashion and karate chops, facing off against classic adversaries like the Autons and, most famously, the Master, played with villainous gusto by Roger Delgado.
However, out of every reason why every Doctor Who quit, Pertwee’s was certainly the saddest. Pertwee’s tenure rejuvenated the show, making it one of Britain’s most popular family series once again. But Roger Delgado’s tragic death in a car accident, as well as the departure of companion Jo Grant (Katy Manning) and producer Barry Letts led to Pertwee’s decision to leave the role behind and restart his stage career.
Tom Baker
Often considered the best Doctor on Doctor Who, Tom Baker instantly made the role his own. His wide-eyed weirdness, sharp-tongued humor, and penchant for jelly babies made him easy to like, and the show’s writing was never better than in his early seasons under producer Philip Hinchcliffe. Baker relished playing the Doctor, even routinely showing up at schools in full Doctor Who regalia. Out of every reason why every Doctor Who quit, Baker’s was layered.
Baker played the Doctor for seven seasons, still the longest tenure of any actor. But Baker’s final season on the show was an unhappy one; he clashed with new producer John Nathan-Turner, endured health problems, and was engaging in a tumultuous offscreen relationship with Lalla Ward, who played companion Romana. After his final season, both Baker and the producers were happy to part ways.
Peter Davison
After the odd, alien-like Baker, the next Doctor had to be something completely different. That turned out to be Peter Davison, who was already a star in the U.K. thanks to the series All Creatures Great And Small. At 29, he was at that point the youngest actor to play the Doctor, and he was far less self-assured and infallible than some of his predecessors. However, out of every reason why every Doctor Who quit, Davidson’s was interesting in that it was influenced by someone else.
Davison didn’t have the contentious relationship with John Nathan-Turner that plagued Tom Baker, but Davison was disappointed by the quality of most of his stories. And while he thought the show got better in his final year, Davison decided to take the advice given to him by Patrick Troughton to bow out after three years to avoid burnout and typecasting.
Colin Baker
To say Colin Baker’s tenure as the Doctor is polarizing would be an understatement. By the mid-1980s the show’s writing and production values had devolved to the point of self-parody, and Baker was simply unequipped to deal with the shambles of a production that surrounded him. His Doctor came off as pompous, arrogant, and occasionally cruel; he also sported what is easily the most hideous costume in the show’s history. At one point during Barker’s run, the show was to have been canceled, but it ultimately returned after a longer than usual offseason.
However, when the show returned, it was with a new Doctor, as the BBC thought Baker was one of the show’s biggest problems. Colin Baker holds the dubious distinction of being the only actor to be fired from the role. Baker’s story is definitely one of the more disappointing reasons why every Doctor Who quit, but it turned out to be better for the overall series in the end.
Sylvester McCoy
The last actor to portray the Doctor during the show’s original run, the deck was immediately stacked against Sylvester McCoy. Waning public interest, tiny budgets, and BBC leadership that despised the show meant that McCoy was essentially always on borrowed time, and McCoy’s first season changed Doctor Who in a big way. He’d get to play the Doctor for the classic run’s final three seasons, with each season getting a little better than the last. Like others, out of every reason every Doctor Who quit, McCoy’s was through no fault of his own.
His final year, with companion Ace (Sophie Aldred) is a beloved one by Doctor Who fanatics, and managed to let the show go out with some creative dignity. When a backdoor pilot was produced in 1996, McCoy graciously agreed to return to regenerate into the new Doctor, Paul McGann.
Paul McGann
Paul McGann is one of the great “What If?” stories in Doctor Who history. After laying dormant for seven years, a big budget TV movie was commissioned as a co-production with the American network Fox. McGann’s movie was a relative hit in the U.K. but bombed hard in the United States, dooming the franchise to another decade of purgatory. Out of all the reasons why every Doctor Who quit, why Paul McGann quit Doctor Who was mainly due to timing.
When the show returned in 2005, the Doctor had already regenerated into his next iteration, Christopher Eccleston (give or take John Hurt’s War Doctor). But during the show’s 50th anniversary, McGann would get one more bow as the Doctor in the special mini-episode “The Night of the Doctor,” where he regenerated into Hurt’s unnumbered War Doctor.
Christopher Eccleston
It’s easy to forget now, but the 21st-century iteration of Doctor Who was far from a surefire hit. There were still plenty at the BBC who remembered the rough moments from the show’s nadir in the ’80s. But hiring bonafide talents like producer Russell T. Davies and leading man Christopher Eccleston gave the show a gravitas it might not have otherwise enjoyed. It was to be a short-lived victory, however, as Eccleston left the show after only one season.
Out of every reason why every Doctor Who quit, Eccleston’s is the most mysterious. He’s never explained in detail why he left, only citing unexpected difficulties during the first season’s production. Eccleston has always declined to return for anniversary specials and didn’t hit the convention circuit until very recently, but his Doctor is still the reason the show got off the ground again.
David Tennant
Davies made his second brilliant choice of Doctor with David Tennant, and David Tennant was a very different 14th Doctor. Lacking Eccleston’s name recognition, Tennant still immediately made the role his own with his easy charm, quick wit, and, for the first time, his penchant for romance. His star-crossed relationship with companion Rose Tyler (Billie Piper) is one of the more polarizing aspects of his run, but it brought in a massive new audience of Doctor Who fans.
Tennant stayed in the role for three seasons and an additional year of specials, but decided to depart the role when Davies stepped down as the show’s producer. He was tempted to stay on one more year with new producer Steven Moffat, but ultimately decided it was time to move on. So, out of every reason why every Doctor Who quit, Tennant’s had more to do with creative differences.
Matt Smith
Matt Smith had some giant Converse sneakers to fill. After Tennant’s dizzyingly successful run, there was some trepidation over how the show would thrive without the Tenth Doctor and Russel T. Davies. Those worries were almost immediately alleviated when it became apparent Smith – the youngest actor to play the Doctor at 26 – was born for the role. His first season is still among the show’s very best, and his tenure saw the show’s popularity explode in America.
Why Matt Smith quit Doctor Who was essentially burnout. After three years in the role, and finding himself tired from the show’s intense shooting schedule, Smith decided to bow out, copying the “three years and out” rule established by Troughton and Davison. Smith has admitted he may have left the role sooner than he should have and seems like a sure thing to be back in the TARDIS for anniversary specials in the future. Either way, out of every reason why every Doctor Who quit, Smith’s was the smartest for the actor personally.
Peter Capaldi
After the young, manic Matt Smith, producer Steven Moffat wanted an older, slightly less friendly face behind the TARDIS controls. He found his man in Peter Capaldi, the actor best known for his cantankerous role as Malcolm Tucker from in The Thick Of It. A lifelong Doctor Who fan, Capaldi was the oldest actor since William Hartnell to play the role, and brought an alien, slightly abrasive energy to the show that worked wonders.
Like so many before him, Capaldi decided to leave the TARDIS behind after his third year in the role, citing the show’s grueling schedule and a desire to work on other projects. Most importantly, he wanted to leave the role while he still loved it, refusing to let his relationship with Doctor Who degenerate as it did for Tom Baker and others. Like everyone else, Peter Capaldi wants to always love Doctor Who, which is tough to argue against.
Jodie Whittaker
Out of every reason every Doctor Who quit, Jodie Whittaker’s stands the most firmly in line: “Three series and out.” Whittaker marks the very first female to take over as the Doctor, and she nailed the role. Embodying all of the silliness, mania, and over-confidence of the iterations before her, Whittaker stands out as she brings something definitively feminine to the character. Whittaker demonstrates a level of empathy and humanity that other regenerations haven’t, showing genuine care for her companions and everyone else she has to deal with.
Why Jodie Whittaker quit Doctor Who has to do with a deal she made with showrunner Chris Chibnall. Both decided to join the series and leave it at the exact same time, so, three series. Whittaker was understandably sad to go, but is looking forward to passing the buck to Ncuti Gatwa (Sex Education). Gatwa is the next regeneration of Doctor Who, and it’s unclear how long the actor will stay on. In a series of firsts for the show, Gatwa will be the first Black actor to play Doctor Who, and will assuredly bring his own brand to the series, like all the other Doctor Who actors before him.
