Doctor Who: Ranking All 13 Doctors From Worst To Best

The jump from Matt Smith to Peter Capaldi was one of the biggest the show had ever gone through, switching from an energetic young man to a sterner, colder figure at the end of 2013.

This huge change was likely the reason that the Twelfth Doctor's ratings dipped as low as they did. After three dashing young Doctors in a row, being presented with a character that was more in line with Hartnell's grouchiness was a change that general audiences struggled to adapt to, and that's a shame, because the Capaldi era had some of the best dialogue and acting in the show's history, with a consistently solid - if unspectacular - string of stories.

With gravitas in spades, a piercing stare and a haunting, skeletal look about him, Twelve had a rough edge that was offset perfectly by his light, bubbly companions like Clara and Bill. Watching the Doctor have a sulk or go on a rant before being put in check by his cheerier friends was one of the highlights of any episode, a perfect illustration of how the Doctor needs that little bit of humanity alongside him to keep him on the right path.

Now that we have his entire run to look back on, fondness for the Capaldi era is already growing stronger, and it will quite possibly keep doing so as the years tick by. Delivering his lines with class and elegance, he's the best actor to ever play the role, and as a result, he could handle absolutely anything that was thrown at him - no matter how silly or jargon-heavy it was - and make it utterly transfixing.