How Much Money Doctor Who's Biggest Stars Got Paid

With no data available for the Second Doctor we move onto the Third. In one 1990s interview, Jon Pertwee claimed he earned about £350 per episode while making Doctor Who.

“If anybody thinks I was making a lot of money, they’re crazy,” he recalled. “That’s for a week’s work, and I couldn’t do anything else.”

Due to the sharp rise in inflation in the 1970s, the value of this fee changed markedly during Pertwee’s time as the Doctor. £350 in 1970 would be worth about £4,600 now, while £350 in 1974 would be just £3,200. Either way, it’s less than Hartnell got.

Furthermore, there were fewer episodes per season by this point – good news for the lead actor’s schedule, but less so for his bank account!

For his first season, Pertwee would've received approximately £8,750 (£115,000 in today’s money). By his final season his overall figure would, in real terms, be worth significantly less – he would've pulled in around £9,100, around £83,000 today. That's a drop of 32 grand from his first season.

Reportedly, Pertwee also received a 3% pay rise each year. Famously (and not entirely unreasonably, given inflation) he said he’d only continue as the Doctor if this was increased to 20% – an offer that was refused.