Doctor Who: Six of the most stylish Doctors through the decades
From the famous stripy scarf to the frilly shirts – each Doctor's unique style in the British sci-fi series has embodied a moment. Sixty years on from the series' beginning, here are some of the most iconic, writes Beverley D'Silva.
It was born in the 1960s, as humans were just imagining walking on the moon, and Star Wars was a twinkle in cinema's future. Yet today, Doctor Who remains one of the biggest TV shows in the world. First broadcast in 1963, the hit BBC series has always centred around The Doctor, a Time Lord and eccentric scientist, who travels through time and space in the Tardis (a hi-tech HQ disguised as a 1960s British police box), alongside a human companion, fighting enemies who would seek to destroy them and take over the world.
Doctor Who is going as strong as ever, acquiring legions of new fans – "Whovians" – with each decade. So, what's the secret of its incredible longevity? Memorable characters (including non-human ones, like the Daleks); brilliant acting; debate-worthy conventions, like the "regeneration" of the new Doctor to replace the old one; and sparkling writing – it was Russell T Davies who was responsible for bringing the series back in 2005, and who has been the most influential writer and showrunner ever since.
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Doctor Who has also always captured the zeitgeist – and the Time Lord's physical appearance has been central to that. Ray Holman, who created costumes for the Doctors played by Jodie Whittaker and Matt Smith, says the show is "not afraid to tap into fashion or gender – to be really current or totally surprising". A case in point is the new villain, played by Jinkx Monsoon – US drag queen and twice winner of RuPaul's Drag Race – who promises to storm the show in a glittering long black gown with piano keys motif.
Three special episodes mark the 60th anniversary, starring David Tennant, the 10th Doctor, returning as the 14th, in his much-loved great coat, and a new tartan-check waistcoat shrink-wrapped to his chest. The upcoming incarnation is Scottish-Rwandan actor Ncuti Gatwa. Glimpses of Gatwa's Doctor reveal a day-glo orange jumper with brown checked suit and tan brogues; and a mid-blue double-breasted suit with a wide pinstripe and even wider lapels reminiscent of 1970s blaxploitation movie Super Fly, a nod to the show's long history.
As the series prepares to blow out 60 candles on its celestial birthday cake, we look at six of the best Doctors (at least in the costumes department).
1. William Hartnell (1963-1966)
As the first Doctor, William Hartnell set the bar high for dramatic costumes from episode one. Broadcast on 23 November 1963, it was shot in black and white, and Hartnell’s Time Lord debuted in a long, dark frock coat, dark trousers, a white wing-collared shirt and a fur hat. His Time Lord channelled late-Victorian London, with a whiff of the decadent outfits worn by Rod Taylor in the 1960 movie Time Machine, based on HG Wells's 19th-Century sci-fi novel. This Doctor sometimes used a monocle to examine things up close – an Einsteinian eccentricity, enhanced by his straggly white wig and a walking cane with a curiously squiggly handle. He also wore a ribbon tie or Ascot tie, an opera cape, and an Astrakhan fur or Panama hat: the entire wardrobe came from Nathan’s costume house in London. Hartnell's Doctor was seen as a Jekyll-and-Hyde personality who could switch between unnervingly stern, and lovable and funny. The actor was said to be equally emotionally complex. As the first Doctor Who in the "Classic" era (1963-1989), he'd won his spurs in television history.
2. Jon Pertwee (1970-1974)
Showy yet cool, sophisticated and polite, Jon Pertwee's Doctor had no problem flitting between styles as well as time periods. The third Doctor's look was said to have emerged from a magazine photoshoot (for Radio Times) in 1969. The actor wore his grandfather's frilly shirt and a velvet smoking jacket – a look that chimed with the retro frippery popular at the time in Carnaby Street. Part Victorian dandy, his black cape with its scarlet silk lining had shades of Dracula; yet his sage green velvet jacket with wide lapels had hints of the TV series Jason King, a flamboyant playboy novelist with a side hustle as a spy. If there were also shades of a more famous spy, James Bond, in his dinner-jacketed Doctor, there was a plausible link: in an interview Pertwee gave two years before his death (in 1996), he revealed he had worked as a secret agent in naval intelligence in World War Two, when one of his colleagues was Bond novelist Ian Fleming. In that clandestine role, the actor said he taught commandoes how to use ingenious gadgets. "That suited me perfectly because I’ve always loved gadgets," he said. Pass the Sonic Screwdriver, someone…
3. Tom Baker (1974-1981)
The fourth Doctor won worldwide fame for his fashion trademarks: a long, multicoloured scarf and fedora hat. Inspired by Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec's portrait of 19th-Century French cabaret artist Aristide Bruant, Tom Baker’s boho ensemble was designed by future triple-Oscar winner James Acheson, with input from Barbara Kidd. The fedora (a Herbert Johnson model) had been an iconic accessory in 1970s fashion; the scarf became a legend in its own lifetime, and ranged from 12ft to an awesome 20ft. Baker was arguably the most eccentric of all Doctors: according to Jane Hudson (his costume designer from 1979), in his "corduroy shooting jacket, sagging tweed trousers… scuffed Oxfords… Tom looked very much like the eternal student, which is what his Doctor in many ways represented". His "anarchic humour" and "scarecrow quality" had shades of Harpo Marx, which children in particular loved. Later, they swapped his Marx brother look for a more Romantic, Bryronic image, including a calf-length, double-breasted plum overcoat with a velvet collar, based on a World War One Russian cavalry coat. The look was" manly, swashbuckling, heroic," said Hudson. "To wear such a commanding outfit, you've got to be a commanding person," she says, adding that Baker had presence (and fun) in spades.
4. David Tennant (2005-2010, and also set to appear in 60th anniversary specials)
"Geek chic" is how Scottish actor David Tennant described his Doctor's look – the second in the "Revived" series (from 2005). With his manic energy and wild-eyed stare, Tennant channelled indie-rock star style of the era – think Franz Ferdinand-meets-Kaiser Chiefs, topped off with Jarvis Cocker specs. A defining accessory is his footwear: a pair of scuffed Converse trainers, easily spotted even with the logo removed, which boosted the footwear's sales no end. Louise Page, costume designer for Tennant's Doctor, tells BBC Culture: "The Converse trainers were David's idea; he'd seen chef Jamie Oliver wearing a pair with a suit." His brown-and-blue pinstripe suit was made from Gap trousers, in a fabric David loved: thin cotton, in which it was easy to move. Page was worried the slimline striped suit could make him look like a "long pencil", but she recalls that Russell T Davies responded: "Marvellous!". Tennant requested a long coat, to make him appear more "Doctorish" – probably over-egging it, as this was a role he was virtually born to play: "I grew up loving Doctor Who and it has been a lifelong dream to get my very own Tardis," he told Rolling Stone. There's another link: his actress producer wife, Georgia, is daughter of Peter Davison, the fifth incarnation (1981-1984). No surprise, then, that Tennant has been one of the most popular Doctors, if not the longest serving (that gong goes to Tom Baker).
5. Peter Capaldi (2014-2017)
Often touted as the most stylish of all The Doctors, Scottish actor Peter Capaldi was the 12th Time Lord. He wore a starched white shirt topped with a slick navy Crombie coat that was lined with red silk, a motif carried forward from previous Doctors – notably Jon Pertwee, one of Capaldi's childhood heroes, and to whom his incarnation was said to be a tribute. But if Pertwee channelled peacock pomp, Capaldi's outfit – care of costume designer Howard Burden – was bang up to date with the addition of a hoodie, sonic shades and electric guitar. With a buttoned-up shirt and no tie, it's a sleek, pared-down style. "Simple, stark and back to basics," said the actor. "No frills, no scarf, no messing, just 100% Rebel Time Lord." He added that, in his day. The Doctors dressed in dark colours (conceding that might have been because he watched in black and white). It's a look that's quite severe, and was chosen, according to Burden, to reflect the more serious personality of Capaldi's Doctor – a contrast to the actor's strong history in comedy acting.
6. Jodie Whittaker (2018-2022)
The camera follows a figure in a masculine great coat, hooded top, and heavy boots, walking through a wood. The mystery character turns, and lifts the hood – to reveal not a man but a woman. Jodie Whittaker's debut as the 13th Doctor, and the first woman to play the role, was probably the show's most sensational "reveal", or intro to the incoming Time Lord. Its play on androgynous attire was deliberate, costume designer Ray Holman tells BBC Culture – Whittaker "was never going to be the first woman doctor who would suddenly start wearing a dress". She and Holman devised an image distinct from all previous Docs: a hooded coat of fine fabric in pale grey, and a pink T-shirt with rainbow stripes, the rainbow said to reference a Coldplay album cover (possibly 2015's A Headful of Dreams): "Jodie wanted her costumes to reflect all the colours of the sky," says Holman.
If her pale floaty coat seemed in opposition to Capaldi's dark Crombie, she also had a dark blue coat, to signify her going into an alternative universe. And she wore braces, sturdy boots and cropped, wide trousers in petrol blue that were properly boyish – a look "men and women, and kids were recreating", says Holman. Her Doctor also dressed in dinner jackets and bow ties – a nod to predecessor, Matt Smith (whose costumes Holman also designed), and his intellectual Doctor vibe.
At the start of her tenure, Whittaker said she found the prospect of the role "overwhelming, as a feminist". But going into the second series, in 2019, she reflected: "Being a woman is who I am… And with this part, being a woman has less relevance than any other part I've played, except for that monumental historical moment of being the first woman Doctor."
Three hour-long Doctor Who 60th anniversary specials will air in November, streaming on Disney+ internationally and on BBC iPlayer in the UK. The specials will be followed by a new season which airs in 2024. Earlier seasons of the rebooted Doctor Who are available on Max in the US and on BBC iPlayer in the UK.
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