Barack Obama

Barack Obama was the President of the United States of America in the late 2000s. He was making a publicized speech on the recession when he was, like everyone else on Earth, turned into a copy of the Master - who made the remark that the world economic crisis was "deleted" - before being returned to normal with the rest of the human race. (DW: The End of Time)

Behind the Scenes

 * Barack Obama presumably took over from President-Elect Arthur Coleman Winters. It has long been established that the US presidency in the "Whoniverse" does not coincide with that of the real world. Under US law, the death of Winters in DW: The Sound of Drums would not have been followed by a new election as might have occurred for a UK or Canadian prime minister; instead, the vice-president (or vice-president-elect) becomes president; this suggests that, in the Doctor Who universe, Obama was likely elected as Winters' vice-president.
 * Barack Obama was played by a stand-in whose face was not seen, but can be seen wearing glasses during his transformation scene. A soundclip of the real Obama can be heard as he begins his speech. In the Doctor Who Confidential episode, the actor's face is briefly seen during a break.
 * Barack Obama is the first living real-life American president to be depicted on a televised Doctor Who serial.
 * It is likely that the recession mentioned in DW: The End of Time was at least partially triggered by events set in motion by the assassinations of both Arthur Coleman Winters and the man known to the world as Harold Saxon on a live global TV hook-up following what the world would perceive as a hoax about First Contact. Although the circumstances might have differed, this is a relatively rare case of Doctor Who addressing a topical issue, as the episode was written and produced during the height of the real-world recession.