Doctor Who: EVERY Doctor Ranked Worst To Best

Arguably no Doctor has had such a difficult job as Patrick Troughton did.

He achieved the impossible: not just taking over from Hartnell but becoming a successful Doctor in his own right, proving that Doctor Who could continue, and that its title role could be played by other actors.

This was largely due to the fact that Troughton and the writers evolved the character rather than repeating what had gone before.

The Second Doctor was scruffier and sillier than his predecessor, displaying a more rebellious streak and an impish glee. However his bumbling, clownish persona was, to an extent, a facade to mask his true intelligence and cunning.

And whereas before, the Doctor had always been something of an aimless traveller, this was the incarnation who consciously chose to rid the universe of evil.

In his own era, this eventually resulted in his time-travelling rights being revoked by the Time Lords. But beyond this, it’s informed every subsequent interpretation of the character, becoming an integral part of the Doctor’s mission statement.

As with Hartnell, if we hadn’t had so many imaginative portrayals of the Doctor since, Troughton would definitely be higher. Indeed, many of the Doctors who came after him cite him as their favourite.