The Doctor's ninth incarnation

In one account, the Eighth Doctor regenerated into the War Doctor on Karn. (TV: The Night of the Doctor ^[+]Steven Moffat, Doctor Who 50th Anniversary Specials minisode (BBC Red Button, 2013).)

By most accounts, the Doctor's ninth incarnation was the one who followed the Eighth Doctor's regeneration.

When examining the Doctor's timeline, Marnal exclaimed to Rachel Rowley that the Doctor had "three ninth incarnations", (PROSE: The Gallifrey Chronicles ^[+]Lance Parkin, BBC Eighth Doctor Adventures (BBC Books, 2005).) and the Eighth Doctor's visions of his next incarnation included as many as ten potential bodies. (PROSE: The Tomorrow Windows ^[+]Jonathan Morris, BBC Eighth Doctor Adventures (BBC Books, 2004).) Accounts differed as to whom he eventually regenerated into. (TV: The Name of the Doctor ^[+]Steven Moffat, Doctor Who series 7 (BBC One, 2013).; PROSE: Doctor Who and the Time War ^[+]Russell T Davies, Doctor Who: Lockdown! (2020).)

In addition, some accounts of the Doctor's early life suggested that the so-called First Doctor, from whom the numbering allotted to the conventional Eighth Doctor started, (PROSE: The Eight Doctors ^[+]Terrance Dicks, BBC Eighth Doctor Adventures (BBC Books, 1997).) was not actually the Doctor's first incarnation; (PROSE: The Power of the Daleks ^[+]John Peel, adapted from The Power of the Daleks (David Whitaker), Target novelisations (Target Books, 1993)., Doctor Who and the Brain of Morbius ^[+]Terrance Dicks, adapted from The Brain of Morbius, Publication order (Target Books, 1977).; TV: The Timeless Children ^[+]Chris Chibnall, Doctor Who series 12 (BBC One, 2020).) indeed, some suggested that the First Doctor was in fact the ninth, following eight prior incarnations. (TV: The Brain of Morbius ^[+]Robin Bland, Doctor Who season 13 (BBC1, 1976).)

The warrior

Main article: War Doctor

The Doctor who Clara Oswald called "the Warrior". (TV: The Day of the Doctor ^[+]Steven Moffat, 50th Anniversary Specials (BBC One, 2013).)

By many accounts, the Eighth Doctor regenerated into a ninth incarnation who renounced the title "Doctor" while fighting in the Last Great Time War. (TV: The Night of the Doctor ^[+]Steven Moffat, Doctor Who 50th Anniversary Specials minisode (BBC Red Button, 2013).) Later incarnations disavowed this version of themselves for breaking the promise of their shared name, not even including him in their numbering, (TV: The Name of the Doctor ^[+]Steven Moffat, Doctor Who series 7 (BBC One, 2013).) with the Eleventh Doctor calling himself the "eleventh face", despite knowing it to be untrue. (PROSE: The Day of the Doctor ^[+]Steven Moffat, adapted from The Day of the Doctor (Steven Moffat), Target novelisations (Target Books, 2018).) However, after it was learnt that his final act was to actually save Gallifrey with many of his other incarnations, he was embraced as a true incarnation, (TV: The Day of the Doctor ^[+]Steven Moffat, 50th Anniversary Specials (BBC One, 2013).) though his decision to disavow the "Doctor" title meant he was still not counted in the numbering, meaning the Eleventh Doctor still considered himself the eleventh incarnation. (TV: The Time of the Doctor ^[+]Steven Moffat, Doctor Who Christmas Special 2013 (BBC One, 2013).)

The man with the ears

Main article: Ninth Doctor

The Doctor who traveled with Rose Tyler. (TV: The End of the World ^[+]Russell T Davies, Doctor Who series 1 (BBC One, 2005).)

After the Eighth Doctor saw several visions of his future in the Tomorrow Window, a single figure solidified out of the blur: one with a gaunt, hawklike face that gave him a broad, welcoming grin. (PROSE: The Tomorrow Windows ^[+]Jonathan Morris, BBC Eighth Doctor Adventures (BBC Books, 2004).)

According to some accounts, the Eighth Doctor regenerated into this incarnation after using the Moment to end the Last Great Time War, (COMIC: "Revelation" ^[+]Part of The Forgotten, Tony Lee, IDW mini-series and one-shots (IDW Publishing, 2008-2009)., PROSE: Doctor Who and the Time War ^[+]Russell T Davies, Doctor Who: Lockdown! (2020)., Have You Seen This Man? ^[+]various authors, Who is Doctor Who? (BBC, 2005).) but many later accounts held that he was the successor to the War Doctor; as such, the "man with big ears" was the Doctor's tenth incarnation, but the ninth to use the name "Doctor". (TV: The Day of the Doctor ^[+]Steven Moffat, 50th Anniversary Specials (BBC One, 2013)., The Time of the Doctor ^[+]Steven Moffat, Doctor Who Christmas Special 2013 (BBC One, 2013)., etc.)

He travelled with companions such as Jack Harkness and Rose Tyler. (PROSE: Dr. Ninth ^[+]Adam Hargreaves, Dr. Men (Puffin Books, 2017)., etc.)

The balding man

Main article: The Doctor (Party Animals)

Shayde poses as "the Doctor". (COMIC: Wormwood ^[+]Scott Gray, DWM Comics (Marvel Comics UK, 1998).)

During his travels with Izzy Sinclair and Fey Truscott-Sade, the Eighth Doctor seemed to regenerate into a balding incarnation who liked to wear bowties and dark jackets, (COMIC: The Final Chapter ^[+]Alan Barnes, DWM Comics (Marvel Comics UK, 1998).) who had previously been encountered by the Seventh Doctor at Maruthea. (COMIC: Party Animals ^[+]Gary Russell, DWM Comics (Marvel Comics, 1991).) However, this was actually Shayde posing as the Doctor as part of a scheme agreed upon between them to bring down the Threshold. (COMIC: Wormwood ^[+]Scott Gray, DWM Comics (Marvel Comics UK, 1998).) In reality, the balding man eventually severed himself from his past as part of a deal with the man in black to restore his homeworld. As a result, he lost his memories and continued to wander the universe, taking the name of "Fred"; a different version of himself took over the place he had occupied in his original timeline. (PROSE: Cyber-Hunt ^[+]Callum Phillpott, Novelisations in Time & Space (BBV Productions, 2021).)

The listless-looking man

Main article: Ninth Doctor (The Curse of Fatal Death)

The Doctor who went to Tersurus. (TV: The Curse of Fatal Death ^[+]Steven Moffat, Doctor Who television episodes (BBC One, 1999).)

One of the faces the Eighth Doctor saw in the Tomorrow Window was "a listless-looking man", (PROSE: The Tomorrow Windows ^[+]Jonathan Morris, BBC Eighth Doctor Adventures (BBC Books, 2004).) who had a companion named Emma, (PROSE: Who's After Your Cash ^[+]Rowan Atkinson, The Mirror Official Comic Relief Nosepaper (Daily Mirror, 1999).) with whom he fell in love and decided to stop adventuring and settle down. The Doctor and Emma met the Master on Tersurus to inform him, but the Master brought the Daleks.

This Doctor was explicitly identified by the Master as the ninth incarnation and ultimately regenerated into his tenth, eleventh, twelfth, and thirteenth incarnations in quick succession after being shot by various energy beams. (TV: The Curse of Fatal Death ^[+]Steven Moffat, Doctor Who television episodes (BBC One, 1999).)

The pale aristocrat

Main article: Ninth Doctor (Scream of the Shalka)

The Doctor who fought the Shalka. (WC: Scream of the Shalka ^[+]Paul Cornell, BBCi animations (2003).)

Another possible future the Eighth Doctor glimpsed in the Tomorrow Window included a pale aristocrat (PROSE: The Tomorrow Windows ^[+]Jonathan Morris, BBC Eighth Doctor Adventures (BBC Books, 2004).) who fought the Shalka. This incarnation of the Doctor had formed an "alliance of sorts" with the Master, who was confined to the TARDIS in an android body (WC: Scream of the Shalka ^[+]Paul Cornell, BBCi animations (2003).) after losing his original body assisting the Doctor in defeating an alien race which had invaded Gallifrey and killed nearly all other Time Lords, including the Lord President's daughter, with whom the Doctor had fallen in love.

After the Time Lords retreated into the Matrix, (PROSE: Doctor Who - The Ninth Doctor ^[+]Paul Cornell, DWM short stories (Panini Magazines, 2013).) they sent the Doctor and the Master on dangerous missions as punishment for the death (PROSE: Scream of the Shalka ^[+]Paul Cornell, adapted from Scream of the Shalka (Paul Cornell), BBC Books (2004).) of the Lord President's daughter. (PROSE: Doctor Who - The Ninth Doctor ^[+]Paul Cornell, DWM short stories (Panini Magazines, 2013).) Following the Shalka invasion of Earth, they were joined in the TARDIS by Alison Cheney. (WC: Scream of the Shalka ^[+]Paul Cornell, BBCi animations (2003).; PROSE: The Feast of the Stone ^[+]Cavan Scott and Mark Wright, "Shalka" Doctor stories (2004).)

Daughter of Mine was visited several times by the "tall white aristocrat" incarnation of the Doctor. (AUDIO: Shadow of a Doubt ^[+]Paul Cornell, Doctor Who: Lockdown! (2020).)

Others

Other possible future selves the Eighth Doctor glimpsed in the Tomorrow Window included a figure in a velvet suit and eyeliner; a man with curly hair and a lopsided smile; a ginger incarnation (PROSE: The Tomorrow Windows ^[+]Jonathan Morris, BBC Eighth Doctor Adventures (BBC Books, 2004).) whose adventures intersected the Seventh Doctor's several times; (PROSE: Battlefield ^[+]Marc Platt, adapted from Battlefield (Ben Aaronovitch), Target novelisations (Target Books, 1991)., Transit ^[+]Ben Aaronovitch, Virgin New Adventures (Virgin Books, 1992)., Birthright ^[+]Nigel Robinson, Virgin New Adventures (Virgin Books, 1993)., Happy Endings ^[+]Paul Cornell, Virgin New Adventures (Virgin Books, 1996).) and the Valeyard, (PROSE: The Tomorrow Windows ^[+]Jonathan Morris, BBC Eighth Doctor Adventures (BBC Books, 2004).) who repeatedly menaced the Sixth Doctor (TV: The Mysterious Planet ^[+]Robert Holmes, Doctor Who season 23 (BBC1, 1986)., AUDIO: The Brink of Death ^[+]Nicholas Briggs, The Sixth Doctor: The Last Adventure (Big Finish Productions, 2015)., et al.) and was described as an amalgamation of the Doctor's darker sides from between his twelfth and final incarnations. (TV: The Ultimate Foe ^[+]Robert Holmes and Pip & Jane Baker, Doctor Who season 23 (BBC1, 1986).)

One possibility was that the Eighth Doctor's successor was the man with a bent nose, (PROSE: The Tomorrow Windows ^[+]Jonathan Morris, BBC Eighth Doctor Adventures (BBC Books, 2004).) who was not a proper incarnation of the Doctor but the Minister of Chance, another of the four surviving elementals. (PROSE: The Gallifrey Chronicles ^[+]Lance Parkin, BBC Eighth Doctor Adventures (BBC Books, 2005).)

Another possibility was that the Eighth Doctor's future included many men in pseudo-Edwardian dress, as well as the First Doctor. (PROSE: The Tomorrow Windows ^[+]Jonathan Morris, BBC Eighth Doctor Adventures (BBC Books, 2004).) The Infinity Doctor resembled the Eighth Doctor with short hair but lived on Gallifrey and had forgotten many of his adventures. (PROSE: The Infinity Doctors ^[+]Lance Parkin, BBC Books (1998).) By one account, the old man and young girl who landed their spaceship in the junkyard at 76 Totter's Lane were Soul and Zezanne in the shape-shifting Jonah; in their amnesiac states, Zezanne believed that Soul was her grandfather. (PROSE: Sometime Never... ^[+]Justin Richards, BBC Eighth Doctor Adventures (BBC Books, 2004).)

Behind the scenes

The Doctor seen in Battle for the Universe.

• In the 1989 board game Battle for the Universe, a distinct incarnation of the Doctor is depicted as having access to four remaining regenerations.
• The reference to the Doctor having "three ninth incarnations" in The Gallifrey Chronicles ^[+]Lance Parkin, BBC Eighth Doctor Adventures (BBC Books, 2005). is a reference to Rowan Atkinson's Ninth Doctor in The Curse of Fatal Death ^[+]Steven Moffat, Doctor Who television episodes (BBC One, 1999)., Richard E Grant's Ninth Doctor in Scream of the Shalka ^[+]Paul Cornell, BBCi animations (2003)., and Christopher Eccleston's Ninth Doctor in Series 1. Each of these incarnations and many more had been previously depicted in The Tomorrow Windows ^[+]Jonathan Morris, BBC Eighth Doctor Adventures (BBC Books, 2004)..
• According to Jonathan Morris, the appearance of a Doctor wearing eyeliner and a Doctor with curly hair in The Tomorrow Windows were based respectively on actors Eddie Izzard and Alan Davies, both of whom were rumoured as the Ninth Doctor in 2003 before the reveal of Christopher Eccleston. Mark Gatiss mentioned people "glibly talk[ing]" about casting Izzard or Davies in 1999. ("We're gonna be bigger than Star Wars!", DWM 279)
  • The Izzard rumour was prolific enough that Fourth Doctor actor Tom Baker openly spoke in favour of their hypothetical casting.
• In a Radio Times readers' poll, the top five favourites to play the incoming Ninth Doctor were Ian Richardson, Alan Davies, Stephen Fry, and Alan Rickman, with Anthony Head in 1st place.
• ITV's animated comedy sketch series 2DTV, which preceded the introduction of Eccleston's Ninth Doctor, featured a pair of grey Daleks announcing their return, vowing to exterminate "the new Doctor", "whoever he is" before one of the Daleks is intercepted by Trinny Woodall and Susannah Constantine. Incidentally, the introduction of the Time War and resulting developments in Doctor Who lore furthered the idea that the Daleks held a particular conviction towards exterminating the Eighth Doctor's successor.
• Russell T Davies introduced Doctor Who and the Time War ^[+]Russell T Davies, Doctor Who: Lockdown! (2020).'s position in relation to The Night of the Doctor ^[+]Steven Moffat, Doctor Who 50th Anniversary Specials minisode (BBC Red Button, 2013). as a "glimpse of parallel events" given that "all Doctors exist [and] all stories are true". Although the specific mention of "ears" as the new Doctor feels his face references Christopher Eccleston's Ninth Doctor, the story does not positively identify the Doctor into whom the Eighth Doctor regenerates. In the comments of the Instagram release of Doctor Who and the Time War, Russell T Davies liked a suggestion by a fan that

…the Ninth Doctor here could also be interpreted as the Shalka Doctor or the Rowan Atkinson Doctor for the hat trick of alternative Ninth Doctors.(source)

Illustration of the Ninth Doctor made for The Flood graphic novel

• COMIC: The Flood ^[+]Scott Gray, DWM Comics (Panini Comics, 2004-2005). was originally going to end with the regeneration of the Eighth Doctor, with the BBC approving the plan. However, a condition imposed by the BBC and Russell T Davies (namely, that the Ninth Doctor could not be seen to travel with any companion other than Rose) rendered this unworkable, and the idea was abandoned. Thought was given to a storyline that would have seen Destrii travel with a Doctor who was 'trapped' mid-regeneration, with a flaming head and hidden features that the writers and artists compared to Dormammu of Marvel Comics, but this idea was considered too much effort for too little reward, considering the main purpose of a regeneration storyline was to see how the companions reacted to the new Doctor.
  • For the graphic novel release of The Flood, Martin Geraghty illustrated the Ninth Doctor after his regeneration as it was originally scripted by Scott Gray.
• In AHistory, Lance Parkin revealed that a deleted line from his 2009 novel The Eyeless would have revealed that the Eighth Doctor was betrayed by his companions during the Last Great Time War, leading to him ending his life alone.