Tenth Doctor

I'm the Doctor. I'm a Time Lord. I'm from the planet Gallifrey in the constellation of Kasterborous. I'm 903 years old, and I'm the man who's gonna save your lives and all six billion people on the planet below. You got a problem with that?

Tenth Doctor
Main aliases:	See list
Place of origin:	Gallifrey
Appearances:	Full List of Appearances
Main actor:	[[actor::David Tennant|David Tennant]]

Biography

Regeneration

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The Doctor not long after his Regeneration.

When the Doctor absorbed TARDIS Time Vortex from his companion, Rose Tyler, the forces contained in himself began to destroy every cell in his body. He regenerated for a ninth time to save his life. The Doctor immediately dematerialized the TARDIS from its location on Satellite 5, intending to fulfill his promise to take Rose to the planet Barcelona in the year 5006. With Rose suffering an emotional crisis over the Doctor's sudden change, the Doctor instead takes pity and heads back to the Powell Estate in London on Christmas Eve 2006 after convincing her of his identity by reminding her of the very first thing he ever said to her. Before he could successfully complete the landing, he began to suffer adverse effects from the violence of his physical change and experienced manic hyperactivity, sending the TARDIS to such dangerous extremes of speed that it crash-landed. Shortly after this, his memory takes a turn for the worst and he drearily wishes Jackie and Mickey a Merry Christmas before promptly lapsing into a comatose state. He later snapped out of it briefly and then fell into it for a longer time in order to beat back an invasion of planet Earth by the Sycorax on Christmas morning. During this adventure he had his hand cut off while in a sword fight with the Sycorax leader but, still retaining enough cellular energy from his regeneration, grew it back. (DW: The Christmas Invasion)

Tenth Doctor's Hand

Adventures with Rose

The Doctor and Rose embarked on adventures together through time and space.

They came to New Earth and were summoned to the New New York Hospital by the Face of Boe. While there, he stopped the Sisters of Plenitude, who were creating Humans and infecting them with every disease. During this time, Rose was possessed by Cassandra, who was trying to extend her life, but the Doctor eventually convinced Cassandra to "end it." (DW: New Earth)

Next they took a trip to 1879 Scotland. There the Doctor and Rose stopped a werewolf from biting Queen Victoria and starting The Empire of the Wolf. As a reward, the Doctor was knighted Sir Doctor of TARDIS and Rose was knighted Dame Rose of the Powell Estate. They were then banished from the British Empire, since their blasé attitude to danger unnerved the Queen. The Doctor also inadvertently inspired Queen Victoria to found the Torchwood Institute, dedicated to defending Britain from the alien threat. (DW: Tooth and Claw)

Back on 21st century Earth, the Doctor went undercover as John Smith, a physics teacher at a school which the Krillitane had infiltrated. The Doctor had a chance reunion with his past companions Sarah Jane Smith and K-9. The Doctor also allowed Mickey Smith to accompany him and Rose on their travels at Sarah Jane's suggestion. (DW: School Reunion)

The Doctor, Rose and Mickey next found themselves in a 51st century ship, which was connected to 18th century France. There he met a pre-teen Jeanne-Antoinette Poisson. The Doctor saved her as a child from the Clockwork Droids from the ship and several more times in her life. After the droids were stopped, he offered to allow her to travel with him, but he made a mistake and returned to her after she died. (DW: The Girl in the Fireplace)

On a parallel Earth, the Doctor, Rose and Mickey witnessed the birth of that universe's Cybermen. The adventure ended with Mickey deciding to stay in the parallel universe, leaving Rose and the Doctor to continue their travels together. (DW: Rise of the Cybermen/The Age of Steel)

The Doctor and Rose planned to see an Elvis concert, donning the outfits of the fifties and riding a scooter, however, they accidentally end up in England, June 2, 1953. The Wire was planning to steal the essences and faces of everyone watching the coronation on television. Rose falls victim to the Wire, but during the coronation the Doctor defeated the Wire, restoring the faces of its victims. (DW: The Idiot's Lantern)

The Doctor and Rose then travelled to the planet of Krop Tor, an impossible planet that orbited a black hole and inhabited by Sanctuary Base 6. The Humans of Sanctuary Base 6 had journeyed to Krop Tor to discover the source of power emanating from the planet's core, which was allowing the planet to orbit a black hole without falling in. The Doctor and a researcher from the crew of Sanctuary Base 6 named Ida Scott descended into the core of the planet to explore. There they discovered a pit, into which the Doctor went, alone. It is at this point that we first see his love for Rose, when he says to Ida before he drops into the pit, 'tell Rose I... oh she knows.' Once he'd reached the bottom, he found himself face-to-face with the Beast. The Beast had been terrorizing the explorers on the surface and possessing their servants, the Ood. The Doctor trapped the Beast by imprisoning it in the black hole and was joyfully reunited with Rose and the TARDIS. (DW: The Impossible Planet/The Satan Pit)

Some time later, he and Rose were in a fight with a Hoix, an event seen by Elton Pope. When Elton later offended Rose's mother, the Doctor and Rose confronted him, as well as helped him defeat the Abzorbaloff. (DW: Love and Monsters)

He and Rose then travelled to 2012 to see the London Olympics. He met a girl named Chloe Webber who had been possessed by a lone Isolus. Chloe was trapping other children from her street in drawings to stop the Isolus from feeling lonely. After briefly being trapped in a drawing himself, along with the TARDIS, the Doctor ran with the Olympic torch to the stadium, lit the Olympic flame and then reunited with Rose. (DW: Fear Her)

When the Doctor and Rose returned to present-day London, they found that the entire planet was being visited by beings believed to be ghosts. The Doctor tracked the signal to Torchwood Tower and was subsequently held prisoner by the Torchwood Institute. He strongly opposed their use of "ghost shifts" for a power source, since it was ripping a hole between parallel worlds which increased in size with every "ghost shift". The original tear was caused by "The Sphere", an object the Doctor identified as a Void Ship. Later, three computer technicians (who were secretly under the control of Cybermen) restarted the ghost shift. This lead to the realization that the ghosts were actually Cybermen, coming through from the parallel world where the Doctor and Rose had left Mickey. As the Cyberman invasion of Earth began, the Void Ship opened, revealing the Cult of Skaro, a group of Daleks with a Genesis Ark. The Genesis Ark was Time Lord technology which contained millions of Daleks that had been imprisoned by the Time Lords.

In order to save both dimensions from annihilation and defeat the Daleks and Cybermen, the Doctor had to open the Void. This opening would suck anything covered in "Void stuff" into it. Realising that himself, Rose and the others were also covered in Void stuff, the Doctor sent Rose, against her will, to the parallel world, along with Mickey, Pete Tyler and her mother, where they all would be safe from the Void. However, Rose returned, refusing to leave the Doctor and knowing that in making her choice she would never see her family again. Together, the Doctor and Rose opened the Void and the Daleks and Cybermen were sucked in. The plan initially went smoothly, until Rose's lever malfunctioned, threatening to halt the process. Rose managed to secure the lever but couldn't hold on and was almost sucked into the Void, much to the Doctor's terror and despair. Rose was saved at the last second by her parallel father and taken back across to the parallel universe, separating her from the Doctor. The Doctor and Rose were able to meet one last time on Dålig Ulv Stranden in Norway; the Doctor orbiting a supernova for enough power to project an image through the last gap between the universes to say goodbye. (DW: Army of Ghosts/Doomsday)

A Noble meeting

Whilst he was grieving over Rose, a bride named Donna Noble, to the Doctor's shock, appeared inside the TARDIS during her wedding ceremony. The Doctor discovered the involvement of the ancient Racnoss and defeated them. After the Doctor's destruction of the Racnoss, and largely because of the Doctor's merciless treatment of them, Donna decided not to travel with him and left after telling the Doctor to "find someone." (DW: The Runaway Bride)

Martha Jones

The Doctor met Martha Jones, a London medical student, and, after defeating a Plasmavore on the Moon (DW: Smith and Jones), invited her to travel with him in the TARDIS. They arrived in Shakespearean London and foiled the Carrionites and discovered the mystery of Love's Labours Won (DW: The Shakespeare Code). He then broadened Martha's trip to one to the past and one to the future after being chased out of the time. He next landed on New Earth, which he had previously visited with Rose, where he heard the final words of the Face of Boe: You are not alone. (DW: Gridlock) In 1930s New York City, the Doctor once again met and defeated the Cult of Skaro. (DW: Daleks in Manhattan)

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The Doctor in a tuxedo. (DW: The Lazarus Experiment)

Together they put an end to the work of mad Professor Lazarus (DW: The Lazarus Experiment) and following that helped save a spaceship from plummeting into a sun. Later, the Doctor hid from the Family of Blood, a family of aliens who wanted his Time Lord brain, by using a Chameleon Arch to transform himself mentally and physically into a Human school teacher named John Smith, hiding completely his Time Lord self so that his alter ego had no recollection of the Doctor. John Smith subsequently fell in love, much to the disappointment of Martha, with the matron of the school, Joan Redfern and would have spent the rest of his life with her. However, the Doctor was forced to retake his Time Lord body to save the Earth from destruction, and sought suitable punishment for the Family of Blood. (DW: Human Nature/The Family of Blood)

The Doctor and Martha traveled to 2007 to investigate strange disappearances at an old abandoned house. They were transported back in time to 1969 by aliens in the form of stone angels who fed off their potential energy. Using information given to him by Sally Sparrow prior to the incident, he left messages for Sally in the future to bring the TARDIS back to 1969. (DW: Blink)

In Cardiff, where the Doctor had gone to "refuel" the TARDIS using the Cardiff rift, Captain Jack Harkness jumped onto and physically clung to the exterior of the TARDIS, hitching a ride to the planet Malcassairo in the very far distant future. On Malcassairo, the Doctor found Professor Yana, actually his most fearsome nemesis: The Master. The Master had been made human by another Chameleon Arch, but when Martha questioned his old fob watch, he opened it and became the Master again. After being shot by Professor Yana's assistant Chantho and facing imminent regeneration, the Master locked himself inside the Doctor's TARDIS and despite the pleas of his enemy, hijacked the ship and escaped, leaving the Doctor, Jack and Martha to die at the hands of the Futurekind. (DW: Utopia) They were able to escape to the present when the Doctor used his sonic screwdriver on Jack's broken Vortex Manipulator. (DW: The Sound of Drums)

Using the human name of Harold Saxon, the Master made himself Prime Minister of Great Britain and invited an army of Toclafane to invade the world. (DW: The Sound of Drums) The Master imprisoned the Doctor for a year, during which time he used his laser screwdriver to artificially age the Doctor 900 years, turning him into a small creature. The Master was later defeated by manipulation of his Archangel Network to the Doctor's own advantage. The Doctor displayed great powers during this period, using the psychic energy of the Earth to restore himself and manipulating it to grant him almost god-like powers. After disarming the Master, he then approached the Master and spoke the words the Master was terrified to hear: "I forgive you." The Master was shot soon afterward by his human wife, Lucy Saxon, who sought revenge for his treatment of her. Subsequently, the Doctor decided to attempt to rehabilitate the Master, planning to keep him a prisoner aboard the TARDIS. At the thought of becoming the Doctor's captive, the Master refused to regenerate and died for, supposedly, the final time in the arms of the Doctor, thus leaving the Doctor truly the last Time Lord in existence.

Following the events of the Year That Never Was, Martha leaves the Doctor, believing that she needed to live her own life and be with her family. Her family had been tortured at the hands of the Master and Martha felt partly responsible for their suffering. Not only that but, almost from their first encounter, Martha had fallen in love with the Doctor; however, she knew that her love was unrequited and that he only saw Rose when he looked at her. Martha explained this to the Doctor and they parted amicably. (DW: Last of the Time Lords)

Shortly after Martha left, the Doctor accidentally crashed his TARDIS with that of one of his earlier regenerations. He was able to use his memory of the event (from his Fifth regeneration's perspective) to separate the TARDISes, though he forgot to turn the shields back on and the spaceship Titanic crashed in through the walls. (DW: Time Crash) Shortly afterward, he made a new friend, Astrid Peth, on-board the Titanic. When the Titanic was purposefully crashed, the Doctor attempted to save the passengers, but could only save Astrid by transforming her into a being of light. (DW: Voyage of the Damned)

A Noble Reunion

While investigating Adipose Industries, the Doctor was reunited with Donna Noble, who finally accepted his invitation to travel with him. The Doctor was quick to rule out the possibility of a romantic involvement, giving their companionship a different dynamic to that of the ones the Doctor had previously experienced with Rose and Martha. (DW: Partners in Crime)

During their travels, the Doctor realized he was responsible for the eruption of Mount Vesuvius and the destruction of Pompeii, in order to avert world domination by the Pyroviles. (DW: The Fires of Pompeii) He also helped set free the enslaved Ood of the Second Great and Bountiful Human Empire, (DW: Planet of the Ood) and disrupted a Sontaran invasion on Earth, during which time he was reunited with Martha Jones. (DW: The Sontaran Stratagem)

Directly following this, the TARDIS transported the Doctor, Donna and Martha to Messaline, where his DNA was stolen and replicated to produce Jenny, his biological daughter. Initially critical of the girl due to her strong predilection for violence, the Doctor came to love his daughter, and mourned her death at the hands of General Cobb. He overcame his desire for revenge, however, in order to help found a new society on the planet. (DW: The Doctor's Daughter)

Another important woman in the Doctor's life was introduced to him in The Library: Professor River Song, who claimed to know the Doctor from a distant point in his future. (DW: Silence in the Library) She displayed knowledge of the Doctor's real name, as she revealed prior to sacrificing herself to save the Data Ghosts trapped in the Library's core. The Doctor, inspired by her faith in him, was able to save River Song by preserving her ghost in the core's virtual reality. (DW: Forest of the Dead)

Shortly afterwards he and Donna visited the leisure planet Midnight. Donna stayed at the leisure palace whilst the Doctor took a four-hour shuttle bus ride to the Sapphire Waterfall. The bus was subsequently attacked by an unknown creature which possessed one of the passengers, Sky Silvestry and eventually the Doctor, with Sky controlling it. Shortly afterwards, Sky Silvestry was dragged out into the X-Tonic sun by the bus' hostess, who believed that Sky was stealing the Doctor's voice, and the creature died with her. (DW: Midnight)

Next, the Doctor and Donna visited the Chinese-influenced planet of Shan Shen. When Donna went to get her fortune told, a member of the Trickster's Brigade created an alternate universe around her. In this alternate universe she met Rose, who told her two words to tell the Doctor. After Donna corrects the universe, she is able to tell the Doctor the two words: Bad Wolf. Donna asks what it means and the Doctor replies with "The end of the Universe". (DW: Turn Left)

He rushed back to Earth to check that everything was fine, but as soon as they went back to the TARDIS, the whole planet was stolen. Finding no clue as to where the Earth was, he went to the Shadow Proclamation and learned that 27 planets including Earth had been stolen. With a bit of help from Harriet Jones, Jack Harkness, Sarah Jane Smith, Luke Smith, Martha Jones, Mr Smith and Rose Tyler as well as Donna's mother and grandfather he was able to be contacted and managed to lock on to the location of the Earth. After a quick chat with his friends and Davros (who had been saved by Dalek Caan from the Last Great Time War) he landed on Earth. While talking to Donna, Donna pointed out that Rose was behind him. He turned around and the two began to run towards each other. Then a Dalek emerged from the shadows and fired at him. It was only a glancing blow but was enough to mortally wound him. He had to be taken back into the TARDIS where he began to regenerate. (DW: The Stolen Earth)

Using his nearby severed hand, he used the regeneration to heal himself, but not to regenerate into a new form. As a result of this, a new Doctor was born from his severed hand and Donna who was accidentally made part-Time Lord, becoming the DoctorDonna. DoctorDonna stopped Davros from destroying the Universe and the three Doctor's sent the planets back to their original time and space. However, he was horrified by the actions of the new Doctor, who wiped out the last remaining members of the Dalek race. He left the new Doctor in Pete's World, hoping that Rose Tyler and the new Doctor would be able to help each other. He was also forced to remove Donna's Time Lord abilities, as they would eventually kill her. He returned Donna to her mother and grandfather, and told them that they would have to make sure she never remembered the Doctor. (DW: Journey's End)

Es'Cartress of the Tactire, an inhabitant of Callufrax Minor, had been stuck on the Crucible and was unable to return home before the Doctors returned the planets. As such, he had to escape to the TARDIS. He then attempted to take over the Doctor's mind, but his link with the TARDIS forced them both into the Matrix. The Doctor was shown to have the stronger mind and was able to take control, killing Es'Cartress. (IDW: The Forgotten)

Later Adventures

An unknown length of time after leaving Donna, the Doctor travelled to London, Christmas Day 1851. The Doctor met a man calling himself 'the Doctor' and at first assumed him to be his future incarnation. In reality, he was a Human man, Jackson Lake, who had the contents of an Infostamp about the Doctor imprinted on his brain. Jackson and Rosita Farisi aided the Doctor in stopping the plot of the Cybermen and their ally, Mercy Hartigan. London was saved, Lake was reunited with his son, and invited the Doctor to share Christmas dinner with his new family (an offer which was at first denied, then accepted by the Doctor). (DW: The Next Doctor)

Sometime later, the Doctor travelled to London in the year 2010 at Easter, investigating strange readings on a bus. While he investigated, the bus was hurtled through a portal and reappeared on San Helios. On the bus he met yet another one-off companion Christina de Souza and embarked on a mission with her (and UNIT on the end of a phone) to return the bus and its occupants to Earth and stop the Alien Stingrays from invading. At the end of this adventure, just before leaving in the TARDIS, the Doctor rejected Christina's offer of companionship, stating that he has lost anyone who travels with him and he'd swore never again. When Christina (who was a jewel thief) was arrested, the Doctor used the sonic screwdriver to aid her escape in the bus. Finally, when the Doctor was about to be arrested for helping Christina, he entered the "police box" to "arrest [himself]" and left. (DW: Planet of the Dead)

Undated events

• At one point the Doctor travelled with a green-skinned young alien named Majenta Pryce (from DWM: Thinktwice on) and also reunited with on-again, off-again companion Maxwell Edison who had previously shared adventures with the Doctor's Fifth and Eighth incarnations. (DWM: The Stockbridge Child)

There are several spaces where the Doctor has no known companions: between Donna Noble's initial invitation to join the TARDIS and his first meeting with Martha (DW: The Runaway Bride, Smith and Jones); after dropping Bayldon Copper off on Earth and his reunion with Donna (DW: Voyage of the Damned and Partners in Crime) and between the departure of Donna and his other companions and his encounter with the Cybermen (DW: Journey's End/ The Next Doctor).

• The Doctor tried to save Elton Pope's mother from a Elemental Shade from the Howling Halls, but is unsuccessful. (DW: Love & Monsters)

This occurred some point before the main events of Love and Monsters.

• After Sally Sparrow's encounter with the Doctor, but before he meets her, she sees him running down the street her shop is on, and calls out to him. The Doctor is with Martha Jones, they both have receptacles carrying arrows on their backs and are running off to solve a problem involving "four things and a lizard". Sally gives the Doctor the means to save her in her past, but in his future. (DW: Blink)

This occurred some point before the main events of Blink. The Time Traveller's Almanac places this between the main events of the episode Doomsday and the final scene on the beach.

• Rose Tyler, when contemplating her life with the Doctor, shows a flashback where they are standing on a rocky, barren planet watching giant creatures that are similar to manta rays in appearance fly past. He asks her how long she plans to stay with him; she replies "forever". (DW: Army of Ghosts)

This occurred some point before Army of Ghosts.

• After defeating the Carrionites, while with Martha and Shakespeare in the Globe Theatre, Queen Elizabeth I enters and, suddenly recognising the Doctor, cries out "Doctor! My enemy!". The Doctor had no idea he had done. (DW: The Shakespeare Code)

This occurred some point after The Shakespeare Code

• The Doctor had several encounters with River Song. (DW: Silence in the Library/Forest of the Dead)

These all occurred some point after Silence in the Library/Forest of the Dead, and may have been in later regenerations.

Companions

As with previous incarnations, the Tenth Doctor has travelled with a number of companions, most notably Rose Tyler, whose loss had a profound impact on him. Others have included (in order) Mickey Smith, Martha Jones (who rejoined the Doctor on at least two occasions after leaving the TARDIS), Jack Harkness (former companion to the Ninth Doctor who rejoined the Tenth on at least two occasions), Donna Noble and Majenta Pryce. He also had opportunity to share at least two adventures with Sarah Jane Smith, companion to the Third and Fourth Doctors, and he also once briefly took on Rose's mother, Jackie Tyler as an unwilling TARDIS passenger-come-companion. He is known to have invited at least two individuals, Astrid Peth and Jenny, to be companions, but both died before they could join him. Others who have aided him in his adventures (even though they never travelled in the TARDIS) have included Harriet Jones, Jake Simmonds, Mrs. Moore, William Shakespeare, Tish Jones, Sally Sparrow, Agatha Christie, Jackson Lake and Rosita. He also reportedly travelled briefly with a female from the planet Gratt named Grayla, although he chose not to invite her to become a companion, a decision he later regretted.

Following the loss of Donna Noble, the Doctor made a conscious decision to no longer travel with companions. Although this attitude is hinted at in his encounter with Jackson Lake, it is later confirmed when he refuses to take Christina de Souza on as a companion, despite their compatibility, telling her "never again" will he travel with anyone. (DW: Planet of the Dead)

However, the BBC has confirmed a companion for the Eleventh Doctor.

Personality

Like his predecessor, this Doctor was capable of boundless enthusiasm, though in his case often at inappropriate times. While many Doctors have intentionally flouted social conventions, the Tenth seems to be genuinely surprised when he is rude or uncouth. Charismatic and manic and with boundless energy, he retained and even exceeded his last incarnation's capacity for righteous anger, especially when Rose was threatened or at risk, as when the Wire stole her face. (DW: The Idiot's Lantern) When driven by anger or righteousness, he would act without hesitation to strike down those who opposed him; for example, he toppled the regime of Harriet Jones with just six well-chosen words after she committed what the Doctor considered mass murder (DW: The Christmas Invasion)

The Doctor also showed his anger when he gave each member of the Family of Blood an eternal punishment, fulfilling their wish for immortality in a twisted way. (DW: The Family of Blood) While he had resolved much of the survivor's guilt felt previously, he is beginning to feel his age and, behind the outward playfulness, he feels a deep loneliness. His keen sense of loss leads him to empathize with those who have also suffered.

There was an undeniable shadow cast over the jollity of the Doctor. He had a ruthlessness, bordering on arrogance that was almost eerie to behold. Beneath his youthful veneer, the Doctor is a very old man who has seen many terrible things; and in some matters, his patience and capability for mercy and compassion has worn out or diminished. His exuberant demeanour somewhat disappeared after the loss of Rose, and he became angrier and more sober. He was also never as open or caring towards Martha, being less inclined to hug her, however his jovial manner did return marginally towards Donna, but even then his actions still suggest that he never completely overcame his loss of Rose.

The Doctor has a very hard time accepting defeat or failure, for example when he was unable to save Astrid he kicked a teleport, screaming "I can do anything!". (DW: Voyage of the Damned) Arguably this may be because he has seen so much destruction he feels driven to try to prevent it where possible. River Song thought that if he lost this trait the universe would become a darker place. (DW: Forest of the Dead)

He frequently gets into trouble because of his vast and loose sense of superiority (DW:Midnight) and provides his name (his chosen name, not his birth name) as a threat, which only rarely works, despite his apparent expectations (perhaps because so few species know of his existence).

The Doctor frequently ignores reproach; when companions point out he's committing horrible acts, he ignores them or changes the subject. The Doctor is willing to go to extreme lengths to keep the historic timeline from being disrupted and/or protect innocent civilizations, even to the point of having to cause deaths (DW: The Fires of Pompeii, etc.). However, as time went on, he became more hesitant to kill, choosing often to give his enemies a chance to surrender without suffering any harm. This is a change he attributes to Rose Tyler, telling her she helped him overcome a time in his life that was "full of blood and anger", eventually making him a "better man". (DW Journey's End)

Habits and Quirks

The Doctor made frequent reference to twentieth century pop culture, including the Ghostbusters theme (DW: Army of Ghosts), the song "Circle of Life" from The Lion King (DW: The Christmas Invasion), and one of Kylie Minogue's songs, "Never Too Late". (DW: The Idiot's Lantern) He had also read the Harry Potter books, saying that he cried after reading the seventh book (DW: The Shakespeare Code) Even though he knows so much of pop culture he has been shown to not understand certain remarks, such as being called a "science geek". (DW:The Lazarus Experiment) He's fond of rock and roll, trying to take Rose to see concerts by both Elvis Presley (DW: The Idiot's Lantern) and Ian Dury (DW: Tooth and Claw), and dresses in the manner of an indie Brit-pop musician. He wore trainers and faux reading glasses — both deliberate homages to his fifth incarnation. (DW: Time Crash) He often remarks that exotic technology or life is "beautiful" and is genuinely enthralled by such discoveries, sometimes to the extent that he places himself or his companions in danger. When this Doctor is faced with an occurrence that dumbfounds him he says, "What?" repeatedly increasing the confused expression on his face each time (He has said this a total of 10 times) . While attempting to explain something he'll often interrupt himself with a "Well..." and further elaborate what it was he was talking about (see DW: Blink for an example).

Until they left his life, he continued his previous incarnation's habit of mildly abusing both Mickey and Jackie, though generally in a more obviously playful fashion.

The Doctor is also fond of the phrase "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry". He has said the phrase a total of 20 times. Another favoured phrase is "Allons-y!". He also often responds "I'm always all right" even when all evidence points to the contrary (a response which the Seventh Doctor also used to deflect the same question). He has also been known to often refer to things as "brilliant", a variation on his previous incarnation's favourite exclamation, "Fantastic!". Soon after his regeneration, the Doctor discovered that his physical changes - specifically the new teeth - made it difficult for him to utter the catchphrase, though he eventually managed to do so. (DW: The Christmas Invasion - deleted scene, although his successful utterance is in the broadcast version)

The Doctor has a stated fondness for "little shops", the gift stores usually found in hospitals and other public places. (DW: New Earth, Smith and Jones, Silence in the Library)

This incarnation of the Doctor relies heavily upon his sonic screwdriver, pushing it to limits not seen in previous incarnations and even chiding his fifth incarnation for going "hands free". (DW: Time Crash) Other tools he uses frequently include psychic paper (also used by his predecessor) and, incongruously since he is not a medical doctor, a stethoscope (although the Doctor's stethoscope appears to have additional abilities; for example he used it to assist his phone in receiving a signal from the relocated Earth. (DW: The Stolen Earth) Like previous incarnations, he appears to have the ability to carry a large and diverse number of objects in his pockets, stating once that they're bigger on the inside. (DW: The Runaway Bride) At one point he produces a wind-up mouse from a pocket. (DW: The Doctor's Daughter)

He had taken to carrying a GSM mobile phone with him; the number can be used to contact him anywhere in space and time. (DW: The Sontaran Strategem, The Stolen Earth) Like his previous incarnation did with Rose Tyler's "superphone", this incarnation has also taken to "upgrading" the mobile phones of his later companions in order to facilitate communication with their families and with the Doctor: both Martha Jones and Donna Noble's phones were so modified and, like Rose's mother, their close relatives were aware that they could communicate through time and space as a result. (DW: The Stolen Earth) The phone he carries is Martha Jones' superphone, given to him by her so she could contact him if need be, apparently he can be called using any standard phone. (DW: The Sontaran Strategem The Stolen Earth)

He also follows the trend of his immediate successors in displaying increasing skill for using the TARDIS, on several occasions even using it in the form of a standard spaceship rather than simply dematerializing it every time. (DW: The Runaway Bride, Partners in Crime) He is told by a future companion that he will one day be able to command the TARDIS by a click of his fingers and initially believes this to be nonsense, but later finds out that he does possess such abilities. (DW: Forest of the Dead)

The Doctor also had the small quirk of intending to go to one destination, but walking in the opposite direction, leading to more than a few corrections from others (example: DW: Army of Ghosts). This was similar to his Sixth incarnation's habit of declaring to go one way but then going a different way; this was more of a personal quirk than a bad sense of direction, though.

Appearance

Body

This incarnation had brown eyes. He had a mole between his shoulder blades that he noticed post-regeneration that he was initially bothered by but quickly warmed to. (DW: Children in Need Special) On several occasions, Donna Noble remarked about his slender build. (DW: Partners in Crime, et al)

Grooming and hair

He was happy that he had hair unlike his previous incarnation, whose hair was very close-cut. The Doctor seemed disappointed that his tenth incarnation was not "ginger" (red-headed), but has worn his own dark brown hair in various ways throughout the series: unstyled (DW: The Christmas Invasion), a fifties-style quiff (DW: The Idiot's Lantern), and flattened forwards (DW: The Runaway Bride). It seems to also be the first time that the blue-eyed Doctor had been regenerated with dark brown eyes.

Clothes

This Doctor had several variations of dress.

He had been seen wearing a dark brown (with blue pinstripes) suit (DW: The Christmas Invasion through Doomsday), a blue (with red pinstripes) suit (DW: Smith and Jones through Journey's End) and on rare occasions, a tuxedo. (DW: Rise of the Cybermen, The Age of Steel, The Lazarus Experiment, Voyage of the Damned)

To go with his suits he usually wore a shirt and a tie (otherwise, open-shirted with a light grey t-shirt/vest) (DW: Tooth and Claw), (DW: Planet of the Ood), a red-hued t-shirt. (DW: 42) or a black t-shirt ((DW: Midnight). Both brown and blue suits are often accompanied by a light brown overcoat (which he claims was given to him by Janis Joplin). (DW: Gridlock)

The blue suit was obtained by the Meta-Crisis Tenth Doctor upon his generation and was last seen being worn by this clone Doctor in Pete's World. (DW: Journey's End) However, there is an unconfirmed report that suggests the Doctor may own more than one of these suits. (DW: Music of the Spheres) This is backed up by the trailer for the episode 'The Waters Of Mars' which shows him wearing the suit.

His choice of footwear was trainers (more specifically Converse All Stars), in colours ranging from cream (to go with his brown suit), black (for wearing with a tuxedo and on one occasion with his brown suit) or burgundy to go with the blue suit). Another part of the Doctor's attire was a pair of dark tortoise-shell rectangular frame glasses which he called "brainy specs". Although he has been seen to put them on numerous occasions, he once confessed that he didn't need them, they just made him look smarter. (DW: Time Crash)

Alternate timeline

• In the parallel timeline known as Donna's World, this incarnation of the Doctor was the last, as he was killed as a result of his defeating the Empress of the Racnoss without the aid of Donna Noble (who in this timeline never met the Doctor). His former companion, Rose Tyler, along with the alternate timeline version of Donna, eventually restored the original timeline. (DW: Turn Left)

Key Life Events

• The Doctor regenerates. (DW: The Parting of the Ways)
• Less than a day after his regeneration, the Doctor defeats the Sycorax. (DW: The Christmas Invasion)
• Reunion with Sarah Jane Smith and K-9. He welcomes Mickey Smith aboard the TARDIS. (DW: School Reunion)
• On a alternative Earth, meets that Earth's Cybermen. Sees off Mickey on the other Erath.(DW: Rise of the Cybermen/The Age of Steel)
• Defeated the Daleks and Cybus Cybermen by sending both into the Void and was unwillingly separated from Rose, who also remains trapped on a parallel Earth. (DW: Army of Ghosts / Doomsday)
• Met Donna Noble for the first time and invites her to travel with him. She rejects his offer. (DW: The Runaway Bride)
• Meets Martha Jones, who joins him on his travels. (DW: Smith and Jones)
• Re-unites with Captain Jack and the Master, transformed into the Human Professor Yana. (DW: Utopia)
• Spends a year on Earth, prematurely aged, following the Toclafane invasion led by the Master, who had taken over as British Prime Minister. The Master (voluntarily) dies. (DW: Last of the Time Lords)
• Reunited with Donna, who this time joins him on his travels. (DW : Partners in Crime)
• Caused the creation of his daughter, Jenny on Messaline, but erroneously believed her to be dead when she was shot while saving his life. (DW : The Doctor's Daughter)
• Met River Song, a woman from his future who knows his true name and may have married him. Discovered that his abilities are evolving beyond what Time Lords are usually capable of. (DW: Silence in the Library / Forest of the Dead)
• Moments after finally being reunited with Rose, he was shot by a Dalek and began a regeneration cycle, but managed to halt it by projecting the energy into his severed hand contained within a jar which was found and kept for years by Captain Jack in the Torchwood Hub. This caused another Doctor, the Meta-Crisis Tenth Doctor, to be born from the energy in the hand when it was in danger of being destroyed with Donna and the TARDIS. Defeats Davros who may or may not have emergency temporal shifted himself out of the explosion (DW : The Stolen Earth / Journey's End)
• Returned Rose to her alternate earth, in the company of the Meta-Crisis Doctor and is again unable to tell her his feelings toward her. Removed Donna Noble's memories of their time together to prevent her death and left her behind on Earth. (DW: Journey's End)

Behind the Scenes

Casting

David Walliams was the second choice for the role of the Tenth Doctor but he had to turn it down because he was stuck in the tight schedule of the third season of his show Little Britain. The original choice for the role of the Tenth Doctor was an unknown and (unnamed by the BBC) actor who spoke in a cockney accent, but he didn't get the role because he moved down to Australia with his wife and daughter, his name has never been revealed publicly to protect his privacy, however Tennant has stated in interviews he's been told who the original choice for the role was, knows who he is and greatly admires him, even calling that near casting decision a more perfect casting than him being cast. Matt Smith has been cast as the eleventh Doctor.

Costuming

David Tennant described his costume "geek chic". According to an interview on Parkinson, David Tennant and Russell T. Davies got the idea for the Tenth Doctor's costume from an outfit Jamie Oliver had worn on Parkinson just after David had taken the role of the doctor.