We're just seen the latest Doctor Who regeneration scene very soon — the 15th Doctor is now in place ahead of his first solo adventure in the Doctor Who Christmas special 2023 — but how did he arrive?
Our latest transformation came in the third of the Doctor Who 60th anniversary specials, "The Giggle", and took the form of a "bi-generation", a process that has well and truly shaken up the Whoniverse!
We don't think we'll be seeing another regeneration for a while yet; Ncuti is in place for Doctor Who season 14 and at least one more series beyond. However, here's every single one of the Doctor Who regeneration scenes that we've seen so far, ranked and rated. And if you're planning to revisit these scenes, check out our article explaining how to watch Doctor Who online so you know where to head.
Every Doctor Who regeneration sequence, ranked
16. Colin Baker > Sylvester McCoy: "Time and the Rani"
This regeneration itself was OK, as far as it went — basically, Sylvester McCoy loses a wig — but the stuff surrounding was below par, frankly. This included the worst TARDIS landing ever, with a poorly realized color trail that looked more like My Little Pony than Doctor Who. A less than stellar end for the Sixth Doctor's fraught run in the TARDIS.
15. Patrick Troughton > Jon Pertwee: The War Games
Despite the suitably spooky sound, courtesy of the Radiophonic Workshop, visually this was simply too complex and the merry-go-round visual effects were distracting and — dare we say — a little bit silly, especially when combined with Troughton's unorthodox facial expressions as the Time Lords force him to take a new form.
14. David Tennant > David Tennant: The Stolen Earth
This was a fake-out Doctor Who regeneration, as the Doctor stopped it mid-transformation whilst healing himself after being shot by a Dalek.
The lack of a new face may have you thinking it doesn’t count but, as the Doctor later found out, every single one counts. Luckily, they wound up getting a new set of regenerations, otherwise, this could have been a big mistake!
13. Peter Davison > Colin Baker: The Caves of Androzani
Once again, the effects department seemed to be all in a spin as faces of friends and foes alike came out of the Doctor’s mouth and circled him as he changed. Despite this, Anthony Ainley as the Master gave the transformation an impressive sense of menace, and there was a nice visual callback to the original credits for fans.
12. David Tennant > Ncuti Gatwa: "The Giggle"
In a bizarre scene from the 60th anniversary special, "The Giggle", the 14th Doctor "bi-generated" (a process which the Doctor believed to be a myth) after being gravely shot with a galvanic beam. With the help of Mel Bush and Donna Noble pulling on his arms, the 15th Doctor split out of his body, with both incarnations retaining all their memories, but splitting their outfit between the two of them.
It was a joyous (but divisive!) moment, and quickly demonstrated Ncuti's swagger and charm as the new Doctor, before the pair teamed up to take on the Toymaker in a game to defeat him.
11. Jon Pertwee > Tom Baker: Planet of the Spiders
As might have seemed fitting for a Doctor who had spent his time exiled on Earth, this looked like a proper death. It was an incredibly human moment for an alien – right up until the no-fuss fade as Tom Baker’s face appears. The effects department get a C-... definitely could do better.
10. Sylvester McCoy > Paul McGann: Doctor Who
Despite the film being rubbish (well, it was), McCoy’s facial contortions made for a comparatively seamless transition between incarnations. McGann’s performance was pretty much the film’s only saving grace. If he’d had a chance to portray the Doctor in the series proper, he could have been great (see The Night of the Doctor for proof). As it stands, we feel like contestants on Bullseye, with Jim Bowen showing us what we could have won.
9. John Hurt > Christopher Eccleston: The Day of the Doctor
This transformation finally completed the timeline so far and showed the rebirth of the Doctor. After teaming up with two of his future selves, John Hurt’s War Doctor returns to his TARDIS and the toll of his past life catches up with him, allowing him to finally transform into the Ninth Doctor.
8. Peter Capaldi > Jodie Whittaker: Twice Upon a Time
Peter Capaldi's Doctor delivered some great monologues, and though this scene isn't quite as iconic as his "kindness" speech to Missy and the Master in "The Doctor Falls", "love hard, run fast, be kind" is a pretty good set of instructions for every future Time Lord. Bonus points here for the interesting POV shots and the excitement that spreads across Jodie's face before she's thrown sideways out of the TARDIS and starts falling down to Earth.
7. Jodie Whittaker > David Tennant: The Power of the Doctor
Having said her goodbyes, the Doctor steps out to take in one last sunrise on her own before excitedly welcoming the new Doc with open arms. The actual regeneration scene here is shorter than others in modern Who, though the effects are impressive. This scene also gets bumped up for the big twist which saw her changing into one of the Doctor's past selves!
6. Matt Smith > Peter Capaldi: The Time of the Doctor
The Eleventh Doctor is gifted with a new round of regenerations in this Christmas Special, preventing him from dying of old age. His first new regeneration came after a genuinely touching last few moments for Smith’s Doctor. As he pronounced with great confidence, ‘I will always remember when the Doctor was me,’ we all thought, ‘you know what? We will too.’ Extra points for the reappearance of Amy Pond to say a final farewell to her ‘raggedy man’ too.
5. Paul McGann > John Hurt: The Night of the Doctor
Presented as a treat within a mini-episode, this was just great. Tasked with stopping the Time War by the Sisterhood of Karn, McGann’s Time Lord is given the chance to choose what his next regeneration will be. As he utters the line, ‘Physician, heal thyself,’ we say goodbye to the Doctor and welcome a warrior as the reflection of a young John Hurt peers back at us. The War Doctor is born!
4. Christopher Eccleston > David Tennant: The Parting of the Ways
After helping to put Doctor Who firmly back on the map in its modern form, Christopher Eccleston departed – for many fans too soon – with the first on-screen instance of regeneration in the modern Whoniverse, and it was certainly an explosive introduction for David Tennant to take to the stage.
3. David Tennant > Matt Smith: The End of Time
A genuinely emotional farewell from an actor who had really made the part his own. When David Tennant says, "I don’t wanna go" we really get a sense that he means it, even though he knows it's time to go.
The preamble to the change was long and drawn out, allowing the Doctor to revisit many of his past companions one last time. This stands in stark contrast to the dynamic arrival of the frantic Matt Smith who is forced into action to get control back of his crashing TARDIS. It's still the best of modern Who.
2. William Hartnell > Patrick Troughton: The Tenth Planet
It’s almost impossible to imagine the impact of this when it was first screened. The idea of changing the lead actor in this way was revolutionary and the way that it played out on screen was simple yet very effective: the actors’ faces blended seamlessly (helped by a white dissolve) in a way that later transformations would have done well to emulate.
1. Tom Baker > Peter Davison: Logopolis
Why is this the best? Well, apart from saying goodbye to Baker’s longest-ever tenure as a trio of fantastic companions gathered around, the end of Logopolis also boasted one of the best music scores ever to grace an episode.
“The moment has been prepared for,” intoned Baker as The Watcher morphed with his body, and out of a chrysalis emerged the younger model.
Doctor Who continues this November with the 60th anniversary specials.
