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First Doctor: The First Doctor has been characterised as a crotchety old man but he was so much more, displaying childish delight, great charm, enormous warmth and a wonderful sense of mischief during his many adventures through time and space.

We first met the Doctor in an old junkyard in Totter's Lane, London. He emerged from the shadows but for a while he seemed to remain a part of their darkness - a mysterious, unsympathetic character who had little time for humans and showed no hesitation in placing others in dangers if it meant satisfying his own curiosity. He was possibly over-protective of his granddaughter, Susan, but his caring qualities were encased in a hard shell of petulance and contempt.

Yet despite his aged appearance, this was the Doctor at his youngest and as he became embroiled in more adventures and discovered more about the universe, something striking happened. He softened. He grew fond of Ian and Barbara – the humans who had initially meant so little to him, and the heroic Time Lord that we know today began to develop… When asked whether the mighty Daleks dared tamper with the forces of creation, for instance, his reply was instant and unequivocal: 'Yes, they dare. And we have got to dare to stop them!' The figure of justice was starting to become more recognisable… And what courage! His oldest enemies once told him, 'The Daleks are the masters of Earth!' Without missing a beat he calmly replied, 'Not for long!'

The First Doctor was blessed with an an impish sense of humour. On Xeros, when hooked up - against his will - to a machine that read and visualised his thoughts, he was asked how he had arrived on the planet. To his interrogator's astonishment he was able to mentally cloak the reality of the TARDIS and instead project an image of an old-fashioned bicycle… In the same adventure he hid in the casing of a Dalek and in both instances, he was unable to suppress laughter at his own cleverness.

The First Doctor once observed, 'As we learn about each other so we learn about ourselves.' Perhaps the Doctor was himself surprised by how far he come, in more than ways than one. 'It all started out as a mild curiosity in a junkyard,' he remarked of his own travels to his early companions, adding, 'And now it's turned out to be quite a, quite a great spirit of adventure, don't you think?'

The First Doctor continued to journey across the universe even after Susan had remained on Earth and Ian and Barbara had returned to London. A pattern had been set. This mysterious traveller could arrive at any point in time and space in his battered blue box and two things were certain. He was bound to find injustice and he was sure to fight it! But following his first battle against the Cybermen, the ageing process finally caught up with him and he reflected, '…this old body of mine is wearing a bit thin.' The Doctor was about to regenerate for the very first time. The change signalled the end of the First Doctor, but as he himself noted, 'It's far from being all over...'

Second Doctor: The First Doctor may have had hearts of gold but he often came across as a stubborn and stern old man. The Second Doctor could not have been further from this picture… Overtly playful and eccentric he sometimes appeared to be a likeable but hapless buffoon. And yet his enemies often found out to their cost that this foolish facade concealed the keen mind of a genius!

The First Doctor once described the Second Doctor as 'a clown' and it’s easy to see why. He wore clothes that were too large and like the Eleventh Doctor, showed a penchant for striking and at times comic headwear. Had River Song known the Second Doctor, a stovepipe, a Balmoral bonnet and a tricorn would have been just three of the hats she'd have doubtless snatched from his head, hurled into the air and blasted to smithereens.

But his strange apparel and occasional bumbling disguised an unstoppable force powered by a knowledge of evil and a desire to defeat it. 'There are some corners of the universe which have bred the most terrible things... Things which act against everything we believe in,' he once opined, adding, 'They must be fought!' He was happy to take a rebel's view of what might be perceived as the correct way of doing things, once commenting, for example, that, 'Logic, my dear Zoe, merely enables one to be wrong with authority.' But when the occasion demanded it, the Second Doctor took swift and calculated action and it's not without reason that he modestly told a Martian, 'I'm a genius…'

The Second Doctor continued to roam the universe, encountering more monsters than ever before. He fought the Cybermen on at least four occasions, the Daleks twice and in this incarnation he first crossed swords with the Macra and the chilling Ice Warriors. He was pitted against the evil and powerful Ramón Salamander – a mad tyrant who was his exact double, not to mention mad Time Lords and even the Sontarans!

But there were allies, too. Whilst fighting robots in the London Underground he met Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart for the first time and shortly after, the United Nations Intelligence Taskforce was formed. The Second Doctor was the first to collaborate with the organisation - UNIT for short - when they teamed up to defeat an invasion of Earth launched by the Cybermen.

Eventually the Doctor was forced to contact his own people for help and we at last discovered he was a renegade Time Lord who had transgressed the laws of his society by stealing a TARDIS and interfering in the affairs of other worlds. As a punishment – but also to assist humanity – he was sentenced to exile on Earth and it was decreed that as part of his punishment, he must regenerate. His then companions, Jamie and Zoe, were taken from his side and had most of their memories of him wiped away. As the Time Lord's sentence was about to be passed the Second Doctor remained defiant to the end, shouting loud and indignant complaints… But it was too late. A colourful new era was about to begin…

Third Doctor: The Third Doctor cut a dashing figure. A man of action with a passion for gadgets and thrilling forms of transport, he was exiled to Earth for much of his era, deprived of a functioning TARDIS and the knowledge of time travel by the Time Lords. But he had his work cut out defending our planet from Daleks, Daemons and his cunning, charismatic nemesis - the Master!

The Third Doctor began his era by being unceremoniously dumped on Earth by the Time Lords and whilst still recovering from his regeneration, he was found by UNIT and his old friend, the Brigadier. He soon discovered his people had sabotaged the TARDIS and erased his knowledge of how to repair it… He was trapped! But the Third Doctor would not have time to grow bored, stuck on one planet during a single period in history. Even before he settled into his new body he was plunged into a battle against Autons and the Nestene Consciousness, teaming up with UNIT and Liz Shaw to defeat an invasion.

The collaboration worked well and the Doctor became UNIT's scientific advisor. It was sometimes a rocky relationship with the Brigadier often favouring dynamite over diplomacy, but eventually he learnt from the Doctor and they developed an enduring mutual trust.

He may have been the Third Doctor but his era contained a number of memorable firsts, including his first encounter with the Silurians, Autons, the Master, the Sea Devils and more happily, Jo Grant and Sarah Jane Smith. There was also time for old enemies and he faced the Ice Warriors, Cybermen and fought Daleks right across the cosmos – from England to planet Exxilon.

When the Doctor teamed up with the first two Doctors and defeated the crazed Time Lord, Omega, his people pardoned his 'crimes' and he was once more free to roam throughout time and space. But the Third Doctor had a special bond with the people of Earth and he often returned, helping UNIT repel wave after wave of alien threats. More often than not, the charming miscreant known as the Master was at the centre of the schemes… The Doctor was always able to better his peer, but the Master usually slipped through his adversaries' fingers and remained at large to hatch more diabolical plans…

Whilst foiling the evil spiders of Metebelis 3, the Doctor's body became riddled with deadly radiation. Weak and 'dying', the Third Doctor's final voyage was similar to his first – a trip to Earth followed by collapse… As the Brigadier and Sarah Jane watched over him, he tried to speak words of reassurance and hope, but for the Third Doctor, it was over. He began to regenerate, leaving the Brigadier to exclaim, 'Well, here we go again!'

Fourth Doctor: The Fourth Doctor has been characterised as a clownish adventurer, eager to dish out jokes and jelly babies. It's a notion that neglects so much about this fascinating incarnation – this Doctor's remote, alien nature, his apparent coldness and the fact that his tomfoolery often served to wrong foot his enemies…

The Fourth Doctor once told Sarah Jane Smith, 'I'm not a human being. I walk in eternity,' and his alien nature sometimes made him appear distant and unknowable.

He could take in tragedy without skipping a beat and deliver devastating information as though commenting on the weather. When a well-meaning botanist unwittingly aided an extra-terrestrial menace, he was horrified when the Doctor nonchalantly noted, 'What you have done could result in the total destruction of all life on this planet…'

And when his long-time companion, Leela, announced she had to part company with him, he barely registered a scrap of emotion - even when she said she would miss him, he simply smiled and hurried into the TARDIS. He only replied when the doors of his ship were closed, 'I'll miss you, too...' His farewell to Sarah was another hurried, almost brusque affair and when Harry Sullivan called time on his travels in the TARDIS he didn't make the least effort to dissuade him!

But there was another side to this bohemian Doctor's personality. A beaming playfulness. 'What's the point of being grown up if you can't be childish sometimes?' he asked, not too long after his regeneration – a typical riposte to anyone who tried to curtail his exuberance. He would swagger into any situation with an almost palpable confidence, a whirling Dervish of a man when others were still but a quiet, calculating figure when those around him were flapping. Trapped on a dangerous island besieged by an alien threat, a puzzled human asked, 'Are you in charge here?' and his response was a cheerful, 'No, but I'm full of ideas!'

And that was the Fourth Doctor. Always full of ideas and surprises. Forever striding into the next dangerous situation. This zest for life and adventures made him an engaging character. He enjoyed Paris, playing chess and eating jelly babies. He seemed to relish meeting new people - especially eccentrics - and it was absolutely fitting that he once exclaimed, 'I love a knees up!'

He regenerated after sacrificing himself to save the universe from the Master. In his final moments he lay peacefully on the planet he had saved so often, content to move on. 'It's the end,' he informed his anxious companions, 'but the moment has been prepared for…' The Fifth Doctor was about to make his debut!

Fifth Doctor: The Fifth Doctor was the Time Lord's most youthful incarnation up to that point in his life. As the Tenth Doctor commented when meeting him in the TARDIS, 'Back when I first started at the very beginning, I was always trying to be old and grumpy and important, like you do when you're young. And then I was you. And it was all dashing about and playing cricket and my voice going all squeaky when I shouted…' But there was more to this Doctor than youthful impetuosity…

This was a Doctor who wore his hearts on his sleeve, unafraid to display his every emotion. Absolute delight as he played cricket in the 1920s or complete despair after failing to prevent a bloodbath between humans and Silurians. He initially came across as a young, vibrant adventurer, haring into risky escapades without pausing for breath. He once asked 'Why do I always let my curiosity get the better of me?' but he wasn't about to give up his knack of sniffing out trouble and tearing off towards it.

The Fifth Doctor's openness went hand-in-hand with a sense of vulnerability. Whereas the Fourth Doctor had bid farewell to companions with little more than a throw-away 'cheerio', for example, the Fifth admitted he was depressed when Tegan opted to remain on Earth. 'We were together a long time,' he reflected mournfully. He was even choked when a Terileptil blasted his sonic screwdriver! 'I feel as though you've just killed an old friend,' he remarked, his voice heavy with emotion as he looked down on his frazzled sonic.

But there were flashes of his old arrogance. When it came to being crack shot he claimed, 'I never miss!' and even the Cybermen spotted this quality. When one of his old foes wanted to know which of several figures was the Doctor, the Cyber Leader replied, 'The tall one with fair hair. Even under the threat of death he has the arrogance of a Time Lord.'

The death of his companion, Adric, had a huge impact on the Doctor and when Tegan left him he conceded, 'It seems I must mend my ways.' Perhaps the loss of these two friends caused him to harden. By the time he met Perpugilliam Brown, his final companion, his initial naivety was starting to fade. He was snappier with Peri and had become decidedly less diplomatic. He'd once been keen not to antagonise potential enemies but no longer bothered. When questioned by the odious Trau Morgus about his agenda he snapped, 'I'm not acting for anyone. I was just passing through. I happened to get mixed up in this pathetic little local war!'

But he remained a hero to the end and when he and Peri fell victim to Spectrox toxaemia, he managed to obtain a small amount of the antidote – but not enough to save them both. With only enough for one person, he sacrificed himself by ensuring his companion drank the life-saving fluid. Time was up for this youthful, breezy Doctor and realising this, he prepared himself for what was to come. 'Is this death?' he murmured, before a dramatic regeneration and the explosive Sixth Doctor burst into being!

Sixth Doctor: The Sixth Doctor was a firework of a Time Lord. Loud. Explosive. Impossible to ignore. He had a wildly unstable start and many might claim he never really settled down…

The Doctor's fourth regeneration had been difficult enough but his fifth bordered on catastrophic. This 'new' Doctor was freakishly unpredictable, immediately demonstrating a gigantic ego and a bruising disregard for the feelings of his companion, Peri. Such manifestations of a bumpy regeneration were one thing, but his new persona span completely out of control when he accused her of being evil and even attacked her!

When the Sixth Doctor's mental make-up began to stabilise it became clear that some of those early traits were part of who he was, and not simply a brief by-product of the regeneration. He did, however, reject violence, declaring, 'I have an inbuilt resistance to any form of violence, except in self-defence.' Peri slowly began to trust her old friend again and soon the familiar routine of careering around the cosmos, saving planets and rescuing the oppressed – with the occasional bit of fishing thrown in – was re-established.

But the Sixth Doctor remained pompous and often rude, frequently impatient and about as subtle as his flamboyant clothing. Yet he retained a degree of 'Doctorish' charm. He possessed a keen sense of humour and when he thought Peri had died his utter despair was obvious. Perhaps the Sixth Doctor's over-the-top egocentricity was part of an act to mask his feelings…

He was brave and always fought for justice, even when the odds against him seemed overwhelming. He battled a brutal regime on the planet Varos, the powerful but evil Borad on Karfel – not to mention Daleks, Davros, Cybermen and Sontarans!

The Sixth Doctor's tenure began and finished on board the TARDIS. The Rani – one of his own people whom he had tangled with in 19th century England – used advanced technology to bring down his time machine, forcing it to land on the alien world of Lakertya. When she entered the TARDIS she found the Time Lord was unconscious and therefore instructed her lackey to carry him to her laboratory. But before he could be moved, the Doctor began to regenerate. And then, as the Brigadier once put it, it was a case of, 'Here we go again…'

Seventh Doctor: The Seventh Doctor was an inquisitive explorer, revelling in adventure and investigations into the unknown. He might trick you into thinking he was a buffoon, playing the fool or muddling his words – but these traits belied a sharp intelligence and a shrewd judge of character…

The Seventh Doctor was a complete contrast to the bombastic Sixth Doctor. He could be quiet and sweet and loved introducing people to new experiences, helping them find wonder in the slightest detail. 'Nothing's just rubbish,' he once told his companion, Mel, 'if you have an inquiring mind!' Before landing the TARDIS he once crossed his fingers and declared, 'I intend to explore!' like a schoolboy enthusing about a trip he couldn't wait to embark on… Such exuberance was typical of the Seventh Doctor's spirit of adventure. He would arrive in the middle of an apparently dangerous situation, declare, 'I don't like the look of this!' before promptly continuing into the unknown, simply to find out what was going on.

There was a melancholy side to this Doctor as well. When Mel declared she was leaving, he was reluctant to accept the fact at first, before coming round to her departure and finally saying, 'Think about me when you're living your life one day after another, all in a neat pattern. Think about the homeless traveller and his old police box, with his days like crazy paving…'

His next companion was the teenage tearaway, Ace. The two became good friends and developed a great understanding of each other. The Time Lord knew when she was trying to get one over on him – 'Ace, give me some of that Nitro-9 that you're not carrying!' – and she was aware she could gently tease him about his eccentricities. 'You're just an ageing hippy, Professor,' she once joked.

But a darker side to the Seventh Doctor emerged during his travels with Ace. He lured both the Daleks and the Cybermen into deadly traps, and plans he had set in motion centuries before came to a head in his dealings with the ancient evil of Fenric. And it wasn't just his enemies who wound up as pawns in his games. He would often keep important details from his companion and some of his attempts to help her face and accept her past, although well-intentioned, put poor old Ace through the wringer. On one occasion he took her back to a house that held bad memories for her, but the 'confront-your-fears' exercise took a dangerous turn when it turned out the place was now housing a mad man, a Neanderthal, murderous husks and an alien bent on destroying humanity. Luckily, the Doctor was able to scupper its plans!

The Seventh Doctor finished up traveling alone and his end was swift and brutal, shot down as he stepped out of the TARDIS in San Francisco in 1999. The ensuing regeneration brought to a close the days of a Doctor who played games with the universe, but never tired of its wonder: 'There are worlds out there where the sky is burning, where the sea's asleep, and the rivers dream,' he memorably mused. 'People made of smoke, and cities made of song. Somewhere there's danger, somewhere there's injustice, and somewhere else the tea's getting cold. Come on, Ace, we've got work to do!'

Eighth Doctor: The Eighth Doctor was an effortlessly charming, romantic figure. He was unguarded about his background and equally candid about what the future held for people he came into contact with. It seems ironic that so much about this open Doctor remains a closed book.

When the Seventh Doctor was shot on the streets of San Francisco he didn't immediately regenerate. He was whisked away to a city hospital where – despite his pleas – he was operated on by Doctor Grace Holloway. After a dramatic op, in which his alien physiology confused and complicated the procedure, she thought her attempts to save his life had failed. But later that night in a cold, creepy morgue the Doctor began to change…

It would prove another tricky regeneration. 'I was dead too long, this time,' he told Grace. 'The anaesthetic almost destroyed the regenerative process.' Perhaps because of this complication, the new Doctor initially suffered from amnesia. He could remember things about Leonardo di Vinci and reminisced about Puccini, but he couldn't recall who he was. Most strikingly, he somehow knew extraordinary facts about people around him. As he was happy to share this knowledge it led to several poignant moments. '…it was a childish dream that made you a doctor. You dreamt you could hold back death,' he reminded Grace, before adding, 'Don't be sad... You'll do great things.'

The Eighth Doctor soon regained his memory and unlike previous Doctors seemed at ease when discussing his childhood, bewitching his companion with stories of a youth spent on Gallifrey with his father. Indeed, he came across as being incredibly open about who he was and his entire background, chatting about everything from his two hearts to home planet. He was also a more romantic figure than previous Doctors and kissed Grace as fireworks exploded on New Year's Eve.

Yet just like the Third Doctor he could be a man of action – zipping across the highways of California on a motorbike and using a fire hose to drop down the outside of a building! He also demonstrated a gift for sleight of hand, dexterously stealing a policeman's gun at one point and later removing the ID pass from a man he was chatting to, without him noticing!

Most of the Eighth Doctor's adventures remain a mystery to us. We saw him battle the Master and save the world in 1999 before bidding farewell to Grace. She questioned how she could find him again and he replied 'I'm easy to find! I'm the guy with two hearts, remember?' Moments later, he was gone…

War Doctor: The 'War Doctor' was a choice made by the Eighth Doctor. After crash-landing on Karn he was helped by that planet's mysterious Sisterhood and Ohila allowed him to influence his next regeneration. Who or what did he wish to become? The Doctor made his decision quickly… 'Warrior!'

Following the Eighth Doctor's regeneration on Karn, the Time Lord gazed at his own reflection and declared, 'Doctor, no more!' He then fought in the Time War, seeing death and devastation and finally proclaiming: No more! He took the Moment – a terrifyingly powerful sentient weapon - with the intention of ending the conflict, despite the carnage it would cause…

After he believed he had taken this drastic course of action, he defended his tactics to the Eleventh Doctor. 'What I did, I did without choice,' he explained. '…in the name of peace and sanity.'

Despite his experiences, he could be an appealing and gentle figure. He charmed Clara and despite a bumpy start he ended up getting on rather well with the Tenth and Eleventh Doctors. He seemed surprised by their informality ("Timey wimey?") but he possessed a youthfulness that Clara immediately recognised. After her intervention, the Doctors launched a plan which meant they would not have to use the Moment. Despite this redemption, the War Doctor thought he would not remember taking this new course of action, yet when he bid farewell to his future selves he knew in his hearts he had done the right thing…

Inside his TARDIS the familiar regeneration glow began to appear... Quoting the First Doctor, he murmured that his body was wearing thin… A change was coming…

Ninth Doctor: A northern accent. Big smile. Bouts of melancholy and mixed with manic excitement and an offbeat sense of humour… The Ninth Doctor was the bruised but brilliant 'last of the Time Lords'.

The Time War apparently destroyed almost every Time Lord and nearly wiped out the Daleks. The Ninth Doctor was left with the belief that he was partially responsible for that terrible death toll, so it's no wonder he was a harsh and at times melancholy soul.

Rose Tyler helped him recover from the Time War and showed him the best of humanity. During his travels with her he could be surprisingly severe, showing no regret when Cassandra apparently died and intent on destroying a Dalek that Rose wanted to save. In the end, however, the shop assistant from the Powell Estate brought out the best of 'the last of the Time Lords'. During his final adventure with her, he was given a stark choice – was he a killer or a coward? Rejecting the cold, murderous option he felt he had once been forced to take, he now replied 'Coward. Any day.' Fantastic!

The Ninth Doctor damaged his own body when he drew out the time vortex from Rose Tyler. This sacrifice proved to be his final act and after a brief farewell, he regenerated…

Tenth Doctor: The Tenth Doctor was a fascinating combination of bonhomie and loneliness. He felt the loss of Rose Tyler very keenly but approached all his adventures with a life-affirming gusto!

The Tenth Doctor was a charismatic mixture of apparent opposites… He could show extraordinary kindness and sensitivity, but he himself admitted he was a man who gave no second chances. As Donna Noble pointed out to him, 'I think sometimes you need somebody to stop you.'

But by and large the Tenth Doctor was a happy traveller who found wonder in everything from quirky little words to a rampaging werewolf. He roamed time and space with Rose Tyler, Mickey Smith, Martha Jones and Donna Noble and all of them showed him tremendous loyalty. No wonder Sarah Jane declared, 'You've got the biggest family on Earth!'

When he knew his regeneration was imminent he visited many of the individuals who had shared his adventures. His penultimate trip was to the Powell Estate where he briefly chatted to Rose Tyler, shortly before they were due to meet 'properly' for the first time, prior to their journeys together. With the help of the Ood, he then made it back to the TARDIS, began his final voyage and uttered the words, 'I don't want to go!' Some would claim he always says that…

Eleventh Doctor: The Doctor, in his eleventh incarnation, is an excited explorer of the universe, with a keen intelligence that means he often notices what everyone else has missed.

He can turn in a moment from being interested in the largest of things to being fascinated by the tiniest of things. But his excitement sometimes results in him tripping over himself and walking into things. He enjoys anything that's different and interesting, and as always he has a powerful sense of right and wrong and a determination to do what's right. He gets on well with children. He prefers to call Amy 'Pond'. His dress sense might be a bit... odd. But he knows that bowties are cool.

Twelfth Doctor: The Eleventh Doctor had grown old on Trenzalore and as the Dalek armies gathered to see him finally defeated, Clara persuaded the Time Lords to grant him a new regeneration cycle. After destroying his old enemies he reached the TARDIS, phoned the future and completed his regeneration. The era of the fierce, fiery Twelfth Doctor was beginning…

Clara could scarcely believe that the Twelfth Doctor was the same Time Lord who had introduced her to so many adventures throughout time and space. The genial nature was gone and in its place she found a sharp, impatient and at times insensitive soul who was quick to criticize. 'Look at you!' he once shouted at his friends as they struggled to follow his lightning-fast thought process, 'Why can't I meet a decent species?' he added, calling Earth, 'Planet of the pudding brains…' He’s equally rude to his opponents, facing a hoard of deadly droids and greeting them with a nonchalant, 'Hello, hello, rubbish robots from the dawn of time…'

The Twelfth Doctor may not be big on hugs but he’s still brave, heroic and drawn to danger… But there is a dark side. When Clara light-heartedly called herself his carer he agreed with his companion, adding 'She cares so I don't have to…'

Yet so much of the 'old Doctors' remains intact… He's still funny and able to make jokes in the direst situations. Wandering around Victorian London in a post-regeneration state of befuddlement he couldn't believe his new face. 'I mean it's alright up to the eyebrows,' he told a random stranger. 'Then it just goes haywire! Look at the eyebrows! These are attack eyebrows. You could take bottle caps off with these!' And talking of his face, what secret does it hold? 'Why did I choose this face?' he once mused. 'It's like I'm trying to tell myself something…'

The Doctor returns later this year in a series of epic, exciting adventures. With Clara by his side, the world's favourite time-traveling hero will be facing Zygons, Missy and monsters new to us. It promises to be quite a rollercoaster!