Why Every Lead Actor Left Doctor Who

12. Patrick Troughton

William Hartnell David Tennant Doctor Who
BBC Studios

Patrick Troughton reportedly thought that regeneration was a naff concept. "I didn’t think it was a particularly good idea of the BBC to replace Billy", he said. "I thought it was pretty silly, really."

However, he was eventually persuaded to take the leap – the consistent pay cheque no doubt played a role in that decision.

Like Hartnell, Troughton found Doctor Who's production schedule highly demanding. With dozens of episodes being produced per year, it's easy to see why! This is largely what influenced his decision to exit the role in 1969, with three seasons under his belt.

After he left, Troughton advised Fifth Doctor Peter Davison to also follow the three-year model, in an effort to avoid being typecast. Over the years, this has become something of an unwritten rule that many Doctors abide by, intentionally or not.

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Danny has been with WhatCulture for almost nine years, and is currently Doctor Who Editor and WhoCulture Channel Manager, overseeing all of WhatCulture's Whoniverse coverage. He has been writing and video editing for 10+ years, and first got a taste for content creation after making his own Doctor Who trailers and uploading them to YouTube (they're admittedly a bit rusty by today's standards). If you need someone to recite every Doctor Who episode in order or to tell you about the making of 1988's Remembrance of the Daleks, Danny is the person to ask.