10 Most British Doctor Who Moments

Fittingly for a show that is, itself, an integral part of British history, Doctor Who has delved into Britain’s past countless times, fulfilling its original remit to educate as well as entertain.

These adventures have taken place across multiple eras (especially the 18th and 19th centuries) and involved encounters with a number of “celebrity” historical figures.

Many of these have been writers, including early modern playwright William Shakespeare, Romantic poets Percy Shelley and Lord Byron, Gothic icon Mary Shelley, Victorian authors H. G. Wells and Charles Dickens, and the Queen of Crime herself, Agatha Christie.

More often than not, alien encounters have turned out to be the basis for renowned works of fiction (the Gelth informing Dickens’ later ghost stories, the Carrionites inspiring the witches in Macbeth, the Vespiform appearing on a Christie book cover, and the Lone Cyberman influencing Frankenstein).

Another popular category is inventors, with railway engineer George Stephenson saving the Sixth Doctor during an encounter with the Rani, computer pioneer Ada Lovelace helping the Thirteenth Doctor defeat the Master, and Isaac Newton discovery gravity (sorry, mavity) after the TARDIS crashes into an apple tree.

Additionally, the show has featured wartime prime minister Winston Churchill, medieval outlaw Robin Hood, legendary pirate Captain Avery, Liverpool philanthropist Joseph Williamson and even the Beatles.

The Doctor’s also met loads of British monarchs… but more on them later.