Doctor Who: 24 Doctors Ranked From Worst To Best

11. The Ninth Doctor

When the series returned in 2005, it was important for the public to see that the show wasn't being treated as a joke. Casting well known and rather dour thesp Chris Eccleston gave the new show a level of prestige and critical acclaim. However, his reign was soured from the start when his departure from the show was announced before his second story had even aired. Whether from the rigours of the schedule, the complications of the early filming, production squabbles or a desire not to be typecast, the fact remains that from the start, Eccleston came across as a Doctor impatiently holding the door open for the next fella. Eccleston is brilliant at the dramatic stuff and gives us a steely Time Lord. His spittle flecking exchanges with the Daleks or his impassive face as Cassandra explodes are transfixing. However, Eccleston has no great talent for comedy and his Doctor appears more mad or manic than genuinely amused or amusing. Ironically, it's probably around the time he decided to leave that his Doctor settles down and become more compelling. Had he filmed a second or third year, he may have end higher up the list, but it was just not to be.