War Doctor

The Doctor

The War Doctor
Doctor Who character
First appearance	"The Name of the Doctor"
Portrayed by	John Hurt
Preceded by	Eighth Doctor (Paul McGann)
Succeeded by	Ninth Doctor (Christopher Eccleston)
Information
Tenure	26 March 2013 – 18 June
No of series	1
Appearances	2 stories (3 episodes)
Companions	Rose Tyler

The War Doctor is the ninth incarnation of the protagonist of the long-running BBC television science fiction series Doctor Who. He was portrayed by John Hurt. The character is unusual in that although he technically precedes Christopher Eccleston's Ninth Doctor, his first onscreen appearance came eight years later, having been retroactively created by showrunner Stephen Moffat.

Within the series' narrative, the Doctor is a centuries-old alien, a Time Lord from the planet Gallifrey, who travels in time and space in his TARDIS, frequently with companions. When the Doctor is critically injured, he can regenerate his body but in doing so gains a new physical appearance and with it, a distinct new personality. Due to the events of the Time War, the Eighth Doctor (Paul McGann) is forced to engineer his regeneration deliberately in order to become a 'warrior' (shown in mini-episode The Night of the Doctor), hence the title of 'War Doctor'.

Costume

Hurt's character appears old and bedraggled, wearing a distressed leather overcoat and a waistcoat. Costume designer Howard Burden said that Hurt's character is a "dark Doctor" existing between the Doctor's Eighth and Ninth incarnations.

Appearances

The War Doctor first appears at the conclusion of the series seven finale "The Name of the Doctor" - the Eleventh Doctor and companion Clara Oswald are trapped in the Doctor's timeline, where several previous incarnations can be seen, and spot a figure in the shadows which Clara does not recognise from the Doctor's past. The Doctor tells her that it is yet another version of himself, but not as "The Doctor"; he explains that his chosen name is a promise he made to himself, and that the stranger is his secret: "the one who broke the promise". Hurt's character then addresses the Doctor saying, "What I did, I did without choice... in the name of peace and sanity," to which the Doctor replies, "But not in the name of 'The Doctor'". As the Doctor carries Clara away, the stranger turns around and an onscreen caption appears: "Introducing John Hurt as The Doctor".

Hurt's incarnation next appears briefly in the mini-episode "The Night of the Doctor", where it is revealed that the Eighth Doctor deliberately controlled his own regeneration into the War Doctor in order to become a 'warrior' and have an influence on the ongoing Time War.

The War Doctor is set to return in the show's 50th anniversary special on 23 November 2013, The Day of the Doctor, where he will bring "an ancient battle" to "its devastating conclusion".