Doctor Who: EVERY Doctor Ranked Worst To Best
6. The Ninth Doctor (Christopher Eccleston)
Doctor Who’s return to TV in 2005 was something of a crossroads moment. The show could have floundered and failed, but it didn’t.
The decision to move away from the lofty, eccentric Doctors of the classic series and make the character a Northern man with a leather jacket and a buzzcut was a huge part of this.
Nine was nothing short of groundbreaking, bringing the Doctor right down to Earth for 21st century viewers. He was still alien, but in a way that was less obvious, less conspicuous, and less distracting. The perfect Doctor at the perfect time.
Another aspect that made this Doctor relatable was his backstory. The Doctor of the classic series was always someone who lived in the present. But the Ninth Doctor had a past, and a troubled one at that – albeit one that he was eventually able to overcome, with the help of Rose.
He’s another Doctor that left under something of a cloud. However, on this occasion the production team had enough notice to accommodate his exit properly.
The silver lining is that he didn’t outstay his welcome. His tenure was short but sweet (just thirteen weeks), and he has the distinction of being the only mainline incarnation to not have played the role across multiple years... yet.