Fifteenth Doctor

Benefitting from the rehab his preceding incarnation had undertaken, the Fifteenth Doctor was freed from the emotional baggage and deteriorating mental state of his predecessors, and journeyed the universe with invigorated optimism following a fabled bi-generation that saw him help the Fourteenth Doctor defeat the Toymaker, though not without the threat of the Toymaker's legions "coming". Charismatic, suave and adventurous, this incarnation of the Doctor would eagerly anticipate this new chapter in his life, even while knowing of the threats ahead.

Soon after bi-generation, the Doctor became acquainted with Ruby Sunday, and together they defeated the Goblins that were abducting and eating children, before she joined him on his further adventures. These adventures saw them facing many dangers, ranging from the Bogeyman to "powers beyond the universe" such as Maestro, a member of the Pantheon and the child of the Toymaker, and Sutekh, the king of this Pantheon. Throughout their travels, a mystery involving Ruby's origins before she was abandoned at the church on Ruby Road began to unfold. This manifested as visions of the night of Ruby's abandonment, as well as a snowstorm that followed Ruby throughout space and time.

Biography

A day to come

When the Thirteenth Doctor encountered Time, Time restored the Doctor from being scattered across three bodies at once, declaring that she would be "reunified", but then questioned "how long" the Doctor would remain "unified." (TV: The Vanquishers ^[+]Loading...["The Vanquishers (TV story)"])

After they teamed up in a game against the Toymaker, the Fourteenth Doctor was told by his fifteenth incarnation that he would only find peace after settling down to heal from his traumas, quipping that they were "doing rehab out of order" by having the Fourteenth Doctor see how well adjusted his next incarnation was. The Fifteenth Doctor was also recognised by Donna Noble as being older than the fourteenth incarnation due to being from the future. (TV: The Giggle ^[+]Loading...["The Giggle (TV story)"])

Post-bi-generation

Main article: Fourteenth Doctor's bi-generation

Atop the helipad attached to UNIT HQ in the City of London in late 2023, the Toymaker shot the Fourteenth Doctor with UNIT's Galvanic beam, due to his desire to play their next game with "the next Doctor", initiating a regeneration. However, as Donna Noble and Melanie Bush rushed to his side, the Doctor felt that he wasn't regenerating as he typically would and asked them to pull on his arms, causing the Fifteenth Doctor to split out of the Fourteenth Doctor in a bi-generation, a process previously believed to be a myth. Despite coming into being while the Fourteenth Doctor still existed, the Fifteenth Doctor was still older than his preceding incarnation, with Donna commenting it was "because [he] came after him", and the Fifteenth Doctor also had knowledge of events yet to come for the Fourteenth Doctor.

After the Fifteenth Doctor cracked his new neck, and flirted with Mel, the Toymaker interrupted him, wanting to continue forcing the Doctors to bi-generate, but the two Doctors instead challenged him to a game of catch, and the Toymaker relented to accept the challenge. The game was then played, with the Fifteenth Doctor ultimately playing the winning throw after the Toymaker failed to catch the ball. As his prize, the Fourteenth Doctor chose to banish the Toymaker from existence, but he warned the Doctors that his legions were still "coming". The Fifteenth Doctor and Donna consoled the Fourteenth Doctor over the deaths caused by the Toymaker, with the Fifteenth Doctor giving his predecessor a reassuring hug, before walking back into the UNIT HQ. (TV: The Giggle ^[+]Loading...["The Giggle (TV story)"])

A fresh start

As he was given a tour of their TARDIS, the Fifteenth Doctor told the Fourteenth Doctor that he needed a break, with Donna agreeing that he was "running on fumes." As he convinced his fourteenth incarnation to settle down by listing their traumas, the Fourteenth Doctor confided that he couldn't leave the TARDIS behind while living on Earth, so the Fifteenth Doctor, realising he hadn't claimed his prize for winning the game, used the lingering powers of the Toymaker's domain to bring back a future TARDIS with a mallet. The Fifteenth Doctor entered the future TARDIS, with the Fourteenth Doctor and Donna following him in to say goodbye after he tried sneaking off. Giving them a fond farewell, the Fifteenth Doctor then left to travel the universe. (TV: The Giggle ^[+]Loading...["The Giggle (TV story)"])

Deciding that the attire of his previous incarnation "wo[uld]n't do" anymore, the Doctor^{[nb 1]} chose his new clothing in the TARDIS, selecting sturdy boots and a new hat. (POEM: Contents ^[+]Loading...{"page":"16","1":"Contents (poem)"}) The Doctor then thought on how a new chapter in his life was beginning, as he had friends to make and adventures to go on, with new threats and enemies to face with "no idea what [they'd] let themselves in for." (PROSE: "Heroes of Time" ^[+]Part of Whotopia: The Ultimate Guide to the Whoniverse, Loading...{"namedpart":"Heroes of Time","1":"Whotopia: The Ultimate Guide to the Whoniverse (reference book)"})

Meeting Ruby

On 22 December 2023, the Doctor found himself watching a band perform a gig at a pub in London, but their performance was stopped when the keyboardist, Ruby Sunday, had her keyboard unplugged by a Goblin. The next day, the Doctor was enjoying himself at a nightclub when he bumped into Ruby again, and realised she was being victimised by the Goblins after saving her drink from being spilled, and later interfered in the Goblins' attempt to drop an inflatable snowman on her taxi ride, after which he told the responding policeman that his girlfriend was bound to accept his marriage proposal.

On Christmas Eve, the Doctor caught up to Ruby while she was trying to save Lulubelle from being taken to the Goblin ship, and joined her in rescuing Lulubelle from being fed to the Goblin King whilst participating in the Goblins' song and escaped back to the Sundays' home using his intelligent gloves, where he met Ruby's adopted grandmother, Cherry, and then her adopted mother, Carla. While listening to Carla gush over Ruby to cheer her up after being told that Davina McCall was unable the find her biological family, the Doctor opened up to them about being a foundling himself, (TV: The Church on Ruby Road ^[+]Loading...["The Church on Ruby Road (TV story)"]) having felt emboldened by the Sundays' openness to be open himself, (PROSE: The Church on Ruby Road ^[+]Loading...{"page":"110","chaptnum":"Fifteen","1":"The Church on Ruby Road (novelisation)"}) accidently invoking a set of a coincidences and allowing the Goblins to crack the timeline by stealing Ruby as a baby. The Doctor then went back in time to the day she was abandoned at the church on Ruby Road in 2004 to stop the Goblins from stealing her by using his intelligent gloves to force the Goblin ship into the church spire, killing the Goblin King and causing the ship to disappear, (TV: The Church on Ruby Road ^[+]Loading...["The Church on Ruby Road (TV story)"]) as though the Goblins had been erased from existence or pulled back into another world. (PROSE: The Church on Ruby Road ^[+]Loading...{"page":"137","chaptnum":"Eighteen","1":"The Church on Ruby Road (novelisation)"}) The Doctor then returned to 2023 to make sure Ruby had been restored and, after a brief side-track to save Davina from a falling Christmas tree, waited for Ruby to joined him in the TARDIS. (TV: The Church on Ruby Road ^[+]Loading...["The Church on Ruby Road (TV story)"]) He then updated his diary to include his first two adventures. (PROSE: First Day of the Doctor ^[+]Loading...{"page":"31","1":"First Day of the Doctor (short story)"})

Travelling with Ruby

The Doctor took Ruby back 150 million years back on the planet Earth, to prove that the TARDIS was a time machine as well as a space machine, as they had landed it what would become Wyoming. Ruby was worried about the Butterfly effect, which did affect her temporalily changing her species into a humanoid lizard. This reminded him to activate the Butterfly compensation switch.

Asking her for a set of numbers they landed on Baby Station Beta in 21506, where they encountered a space station that was slightly debilitated. They encountered its crew of babies that were stunted in their growth, but had the intelligence of a 6 year old. He also found himself scared of the Bogeyman, which he found odd. Learning from Jocelyn Sancerre that the ship had been abandoned due to budget cuts, he vowed to find a way to get them to a neighbouring planet which accepted refugees, and to stop the Bogeyman. From analysing the shed skin of the creature, he discovered that it was made of bogeys, and theorised that the parthengensis machine made it to create something to make the babies afraid as part of their upbringing. He closed the airlock that Jocelyn had opened to remove it from the station, realising it was two a baby that needed protecting. He had realised that the pressure build up was methane that came from the babies decomposing nappies, and used that as a fuel to move the ship to a neighbouring planet. He subsequently took Ruby home to talk to her family, (TV: Space Babies ^[+]Loading...["Space Babies (TV story)"]) and promised Carla he would keep Ruby safe on their travels. (TV: Rogue ^[+]Loading...["Rogue (TV story)"])

Arriving atop the Jason Orange Plaza in Mancopolis 2424, the Doctor and Ruby dodged being run over by a tram, only to be arrested by the Care Force for being "tram raiders". A weather orb, noticing they weren't smiling, began raining on them. After stopping the orb, the mayor of the city, Mary Mulberry, communicated to them via the windows of a tower which also functioned as screens, believing them to be auditors sent by the Galactic Central Exchange; she ordered Zhi, one of the Care Force, to bring them to her, and, on the journey to the Mancopolis City Hall, she explained to them how Mayor Mulberry saved the city and its population after the 2399 Event.

Entering the Mayor's office, the Mayor vocalised her belief that they had been a deliberate distraction to enable the Exchange to sneak an assault ship into the city, which she promptly had destroyed. She offered a negotiation, but, after realising they weren't non-humans since they weren't going shift into another form, she threatened to dismember one of them. As they tried to escape through a lift, she had the duo teleported to a dark space filled with "massive people-eating silkworms".

Escaping from them, the duo found themselves in the real Manchester underneath before they're pursued by moths and Ruby is teleported away. With Zhi, he found his way to Ruby and frees her. He then uploaded footage of Mulberry being a Moth-person causing a revolution to overthrow her. She retaliated by using weather control to smite them, but he summoned the auditors down. Panicking, the Doctor was able to grab her weather controller and have the weather orbs zap it causing them to collapse. She teleported away to be eaten by her young while the Doctor dealt with the auditors who want to take over Mancopolis. He was able to disperse them using Ruby's bank interests. (COMIC: Mancopolis ^[+]Loading...["Mancopolis (comic story)"])

The Doctor and Ruby travelled to Wonder Central, where they introduced themselves to an individual outside a shop and the portal to the Deep Space Zone. If the individual travelled to the zone, the Doctor and Ruby would be waiting, ready to help the individual search for stickers.

At this time, there were advertisements for Doctor Who in the Deep Space Zone, as well as in a castle, depicting the Doctor. (GAME: Wonder Chase ^[+]Loading...["Wonder Chase (video game)"])

The Doctor and Ruby landed on a wrecked luxury liner on the Asterion Field and came across Navitrix Ortega. They encountered a Kua'Mara but were able to freeze it and escape. (GAME: Fragmented Cosmos ^[+]Loading...["Fragmented Cosmos (episode)"])

Hearing a sound as the TARDIS flew through the Time Vortex, the Doctor followed it to a variety of planets he’d had bad experiences on and finally leading to Yorkshire in 1739. There he found Dick Turpin had been gifted Cyber-technology and stopped him escaping his execution using it. Studying the weapon, the Doctor found it programmed with coordinates which Ruby suggested was meant as a trap. (COMIC: "Free Comic Book Day 2024" ^[+]Loading...["Untitled (FCBD2024 comic story)","\"Free Comic Book Day 2024\""])

Following an alien distress signal to Lake Peipus in 1242, the Doctor and Ruby met Ranavere Rentara who was attempting to escape her family of mercenaries. Whilst trying to make peace between her and her sisters who had arrived to force her to fight as ordered, they discovered the Genetrix, a parasitic enemy of the Rentara, was also on Earth and was spreading its parasites among Novgordian soldiers. After a failed mental contact, the Doctor finally located the Genetrix as latched onto his TARDIS on the frozen lake and managed to separate it, forcing it back into hibernation beneath the ice. With peace now established between the sisters, he left them to guard the lake against any return of the Genetrix when the ice thawed, choosing not to tell them he actually intended to use the TARDIS to take it off-world as he wanted them to use the time to bond. (PROSE: Ruby Red ^[+]Loading...["Ruby Red (novel)"])

Ruby asked to see The Beatles record their first album at Abbey Road studios. Upon arriving in 1963 they discovered that something was wrong with music as they realised that the Beatles where making bad using, as well as Cilla Black and other musicians. He realised that this also went wider as part of history had changed, like a Soviet Union offence against Finland. Investigating this, he had Ruby play one of her band's songs on a rooftop which attracted Maestro to them. He used a trick to stop all sound from appearing to help them escape. He was worried about their power, realise that they were a child of The Toymaker. To prove this to Ruby, he took her to her own time of 2024 showing a devastated world after a nuclear war, caused by the lack a music. He theorised that there was a way to banish them using the lost chord. During a music battle, the Doctor managed to find most of the notes of the chord, but landed on a bum note for the final part. The combined efforts of Paul McCartney and John Lennon, found the last note rescuing the Doctor from being trapped in a Timpani drum. With music returning to the word, the Doctor and Ruby sang and danced with those at the studios, before leaving. (TV: The Devil's Chord ^[+]Loading...["The Devil's Chord (TV story)"])

Landing on Kastarion 3, the Doctor heard a scream and ran out of the TARDIS to investigate. In his haste, he stepped on a landmine but didn't fully set of the trigger due to it needing to confirm that the Doctor was alive. He managed to balance his weight enough to stop the countdown for a while. When Ruby arrived he asked her to find something heavy to help him balance and trick the algorithm in the mine. She arrived with what she thought in an urn, but he realised it was a smelted down body. They discover that it was of John Francis Vater when AI hologram of him appears. They learn that he was killed by the Ambulance algorithm as a mercy killing as his temporary blindness reduced his operational efficiency. When Vater's daugher, Splice Alison Vater came hearing her father's voice he tried to stop her from coming closer to him, spiking his adrenaline causing the countdown to move. An ambulance sensing conflict came over to assess the situation, sensed the Doctor but couldn't work out how to treat due to alien biology. Ruby tried to distract the machine, but was shot by Canterbury James Olliphant. The Doctor became distraught at the situation, as the countdown was entering a fail safe. Knowing that the conflict was being perpetuated by the Villengard motive for profit and keeping the casualties at a constant rate to allow more equipment to be bought, as the human's enemy didn't exist, he asked the Vater AI to enter the ambulance computers to get the systems to surrender stopping the war. This deactivated the landmine. (TV: Boom ^[+]Loading...["Boom (TV story)"])

The Doctor landed the TARDIS on the South Wales coast, and was delighted that he was in Wales. He started to tell Ruby that he loved the Welsh but started to warn her about Roger ap Gwilliam, before realising it was a spoiler for her immediate future. Not paying attention he nearly walked into a fairy circle but Ruby stopped him. He then told her to not interfere with it as to be respectful. (TV: 73 Yards ^[+]Loading...["73 Yards (TV story)"])

Landing in Finetime, the Doctor and Ruby investigated why people were going missing. Managing to eventually make contact with Lindy Pepper-Bean, he managed to persuade her to escape the city by proving to her that people were going missing, by showing that one of her colleagues was being eaten by a Man-Trap. Directing her to a nearby conduit to the river that ran under the city, he gave her and Ricky September the code to unlock the door. He then offered the survivors a trip in the TARDIS to find a safe planet, which they declined. This was due to the racial segregation in the city and racism due to his skin colour. He tried to plead for them to understand, but this upset him. He watched them depart. (TV: Dot and Bubble ^[+]Loading...["Dot and Bubble (TV story)"])

The Doctor and Ruby attended a party organised by the Duchess of Pemberton. He was delighted at the spectacle. After Ruby experienced interference in her psychic earrings, he traced it to Rogue. He learnt that he was there to find a Chuldur and showed the Doctor his ship. Rogue accused him of being the Chuldur he was searching for, but after teasing him for a bit, the Doctor changed the settings on Rogue's ships scanner to show multiple previous incarnations and that he was from Gallifrey. They teamed up to find the Chuldur by creating a scandal in regency society. They discovered that there was a Chuldur family at work. He expanded Rogue's trap to work for up to six occupants. He managed to corner the family during the wedding between Lord Barton and Ruby trapping them all, thinking that Ruby had been killed by the Chuldur. Rogue captured the last Chuldur placing her in the trap. Rogue and the Doctor kissed, allowing him to gain the trigger. He watched as Rogue replaced Ruby in the trap and set it off. He set Rogue's ship off to wait for its pilot. Ruby asked if he would go searching for Rogue. (TV: Rogue ^[+]Loading...["Rogue (TV story)"])

The Doctor returned to UNIT HQ to ask for their help investigating a woman who kept appearing in different forms across recent travels, citing Gina Scalzi and Penny Pepper-Bean amongst his examples. Kate Lethbridge-Stewart and Morris Gibbons were quick to point out that they already knew as it was Susan Triad. He noticed he noticed her name was an anagram of TARDIS, and Ruby wondered if she was his granddaughter, due to having the same first name. Of learning of Susan's age, he wondered it she might be Ruby Sunday's mother and ask to use UNIT's time window to help learn more about that night. After a glitch stopped them from seeing her face, he got Colonel Winston Chidozie to look closer at what she was pointing at. After encountering a large particulate cloud which killed Chidozie, he went with Mel Bush to confront Susan before the launch of her product. He asked her if her dreams matched the people she did, which she confirmed. When Kate informed him that there was something living around the TARDIS, and realised that UNIT archivist Harriet Arbinger was a harbinger. He deduced that he was right that there was something in her name, but it wasn't an anagram but a different abbreviation SUsan Triad TECHnology, referring to Sutekh, the Osiran who was a God of Death. (TV: The Legend of Ruby Sunday ^[+]Loading...["The Legend of Ruby Sunday (TV story)"])

The Doctor and Mel escaped Sutekh's sands of death returning to the Time Window in UNIT HQ. There he encountered the Remembered TARDIS, and asked Ruby to remember the TARDIS to make it stronger. After taking one of the CRT screen from the TV that was playing the VHS, Sutekh came to taunt him explaining how he survived their first encounter, and how he created Susan Triad and her other forms using the TARDIS perception filter. The Time Window briefly showed the Doctor a memory from his fourth incarnation before showing him of several landings in the TARDIS, on Ribos, Gallifrey, Thoros-Beta, Paradise Towers and multiple landings on Earth. The Doctor, Mel and Ruby escaped in the Remembered TARDIS, stabilising it from falling apart. Talking to Ruby about what to do, the Time Window showed them Roger ap Gwilliam prompting him to realise that his DNA programme would help them stop Sutekh, by finding the identity of Ruby's mother. However, this was interupted after Mel became one of Sutekh's angels of Death, returning them to UNIT HQ. He used a rope and the Intelligent glove he found in the remembered TARDIS, to leash Sutekh to the TARDIS console, and puled him though the Vortex restoring life to the Universe before casting him in the Vortex being torn up by the Time Winds. He took Ruby back to Earth, where they learnt the true identity of Ruby's mother Louise Miller. The Doctor realised he has to leave Ruby behind to so that she could be with both sets of parents to come to terms with things. (TV: Empire of Death ^[+]Loading...["Empire of Death (TV story)"])

Undated events

• At some point before 5 March 2005, the Fifteenth Doctor was photographed on Earth, with the photo eventually ending up in the possession of Clive Finch. (PROSE: Rose ^[+]Loading...{"ed":"2023 Illustrated Edition","1":"Rose (novelisation)"})

Solo adventures

The Fifteenth Doctor arrived outside the Time Bubble containing Nora Wicker's home on 16 December 2033. The Eleventh Doctor had secured his help after deciding to free Nora following the forty-six years she spent inadvertently trapped inside, each day looping over and over, as the Eleventh Doctor miscalculated the size of the bubble when he erected it to contain the seed of the World Tree that had landed in her garden on 19 August 1987.

After exiting his TARDIS, the Fifteenth Doctor waved to Nora and the Eleventh Doctor, then readied himself to use his sonic screwdriver at the same time as the Eleventh Doctor to produce a precise frequency to create a crack in the bubble. However, at the last possible moment, Nora confided to the Eleventh Doctor that she wanted to remain in the bubble to look after the tree, distracting the Eleventh Doctor and causing the sync to fail. The Fifteenth Doctor lowered his screwdriver and returned to the TARDIS, planning to return the next day, but ultimately did not to respect Nora's wishes. (AUDIO: The World Tree ^[+]Loading...["The World Tree (audio story)"])

The Doctor appeared on Match of the Day with a cyborg Gary Lineker and a holographic Ian Wright, seemingly commenting on a football match. He remarked that a goalkeeper's cybernetically extendable arms created a difficult atmosphere, which Wright agreed with. (TV: Match of the Who ^[+]Loading...["Match of the Who (TV story)"]) He later provided continuity announcements for BBC One, introducing shows such as EastEnders and Pointless. (TV: Untitled ^[+]Loading...{"noital":"1","1":"Untitled 1 (May 2024 TV story)","2":"Untitled"})

Other realities

The Daft Dimension

Main article: Fifteenth Doctor (The Daft Dimension)

In the Daft Dimension, the "new Doctor", as mentioned by one fan, was among the exciting new developments of Doctor Who. (COMIC: The Daft Dimension 579 ^[+]Loading...["The Daft Dimension (DWM 579 comic story)","''The Daft Dimension'' 579"]) This Doctor and his companion were on the front cover of an issue of Doctor Who Magazine. (COMIC: The Daft Dimension 600 ^[+]Loading...["The Daft Dimension (DWM 600 comic story)","''The Daft Dimension'' 600"])

Erased from Time

The Doctor landed the TARDIS on the South Wales coast, and was delighted that he was in Wales. He started to tell Ruby that he loved the Welsh but started to warn her about Roger ap Gwilliam, before realising it was a spoiler for her immediate future. Not paying attention he walked into a fairy circle disrupting it. After she started reading the offerings, he vanished. The alternate timeline was averted after that version of Ruby decades later returned to that moment in time through a mysterious woman and was able to nudge her past self into warning the Doctor not to step on the circle. (TV: 73 Yards ^[+]Loading...["73 Yards (TV story)"])

Psychological profile

Personality

Enjoying the feel of being himself, the Fifteenth Doctor was charismatic and flirtatious, (TV: The Giggle ^[+]Loading...["The Giggle (TV story)"]) wearing his emotions openly and unafraid to react with visceral distraught in the face of tragedy. (TV: The Church on Ruby Road ^[+]Loading...["The Church on Ruby Road (TV story)"]) He sought to comfort those he knew were in distress, even offering himself as a shoulder to cry on for his fourteenth incarnation. (TV: The Giggle ^[+]Loading...["The Giggle (TV story)"]) However, in a moment of self-reflection, he hesitated to invite Ruby Sunday aboard the TARDIS, thinking he was "the bad luck". (TV: The Church on Ruby Road ^[+]Loading...["The Church on Ruby Road (TV story)"])

He displayed an optimistic and adventurous outlook towards the future, (PROSE: "Heroes of Time" ^[+]Part of Whotopia: The Ultimate Guide to the Whoniverse, Loading...{"namedpart":"Heroes of Time","1":"Whotopia: The Ultimate Guide to the Whoniverse (reference book)"}) having been freed from the emotional baggage of his past, following the Fourteenth Doctor's rehab on Earth, allowing him to be accepting of his losses, while fondly remembering his past loved ones. He was overjoyed meeting his predecessor and had an excellent relationship with him. He was sympathetic about the Fourteenth Doctor's struggles and urged him to retire. Before the Doctors departed, they hugged each other and saluted at one another with affection.

The Fifteenth Doctor did not seem to suffer from embarrassment, striding confidently around without trousers after bi-generating, (TV: The Giggle ^[+]Loading...["The Giggle (TV story)"]) and ecstatically dancing to his own rhythm in a nightclub.

He liked to learn new things.

He had a macabre sense of humour when infiltrating the Goblin ship despite the open risk of the Goblins eating him. He was likewise so enthralled by the sight of the Goblin band he overlooked that Lulubelle was about to be eaten by the Goblin King.

The Fifteenth Doctor took pride in his status as a time traveller, taking offence when Ruby called the Goblin's time travellers. He corrected her that their time-surfing capabilities were a mere "bimble" in comparison to "cool" time travellers like himself. (TV: The Church on Ruby Road ^[+]Loading...["The Church on Ruby Road (TV story)"]) He also knew that time travel could be incredibly dangerous. While he was fascinated by the mystery of Ruby Sunday's birth and its status as an important fixed point in time, he refused to travel back to it a second time to help Ruby Sunday discover the identity of her birth mother, as it would be too dangerous (TV: Space Babies, The Legend of Ruby Sunday). The Fifteenth Doctor also took pride in his TARDIS, and laughed at the rudimentary nature of UNIT's Time Window in comparison to his own ship. (TV: The Legend of Ruby Sunday)

While his immediate predecessors would dwell on lives lost in a crisis, the Fifteenth Doctor knew he "[couldn't] save everyone" and instead chose to move on. (TV: The Giggle ^[+]Loading...["The Giggle (TV story)"]) He also chose not to dwell on his tragedies, lightly telling Ruby Sunday he has no family left, and then quickly resuming the task at hand. However, he reflected sombrely on the abandonment and adoption of the Timeless Child when seeing Carla Sunday shower Ruby with affection. (TV: The Church on Ruby Road ^[+]Loading...["The Church on Ruby Road (TV story)"])

He could get caught up in his excitement to the point that he risked sabotaging his own efforts, (TV: The Giggle ^[+]Loading...["The Giggle (TV story)"]) and also fail to notice when he was in danger until it was in front of him. (COMIC: Mancopolis ^[+]Loading...["Mancopolis (comic story)"])

While he moved to protect bystanders from harm, he was not above criticising their choices or begrudging the circumstances he found himself in.

Even though he was dismissive of the policeman that questioned him regarding an accident with an inflatable snowman, the Doctor stopped during his exit to reassure the man that his girlfriend would accept his marriage proposal, because his decision to buy an engagement ring before the sales was proof of character, and happily wished him a "Merry Christmas" before he left. (TV: The Church on Ruby Road ^[+]Loading...["The Church on Ruby Road (TV story)"])

The Doctor embraced his newfound status as a foundling, and proclaimed that it ultimately did not matter where he came from, because he was "absolutely lovely". (TV: Space Babies ^[+]Loading...["Space Babies (TV story)"])

He agreed with his predecessor that being separated from his TARDIS would "hurt", and also apologised to his ship after he struck it with a mallet to divide it. (TV: The Giggle ^[+]Loading...["The Giggle (TV story)"])

Like his immediate predecessor, the Doctor was shown to be attracted to other men. He was enamoured with Finetime singer, Ricky September, who he believed to be "hot", and was encapsulated by his appearance as they conversed. (TV: Dot and Bubble ^[+]Loading...["Dot and Bubble (TV story)"]) He had a romantic encounter with the bounty hunter known only as "Rogue", with whom he danced and shared a passionate kiss. (TV: Rogue ^[+]Loading...["Rogue (TV story)"])

He thought that children were "the most precious gift[s] of all", and made it his mission to protect them, breaking down in tears if he realised that a child had come to harm. (TV: The Church on Ruby Road ^[+]Loading...["The Church on Ruby Road (TV story)"])

Habits and quirks

The Fifteenth Doctor spoke with a unique Scottish-Rwandan accent, which meant that, unlike his predecessors, his accent did not originate solely from the British Isles. (TV: The Giggle ^[+]Loading...["The Giggle (TV story)"])

The Fifteenth Doctor used "Hell" as an intensive and noteworthy expletive. (TV: The Giggle ^[+]Loading...["The Giggle (TV story)"], The Church on Ruby Road ^[+]Loading...["The Church on Ruby Road (TV story)"]) He also littered his vocabulary with flamboyant expressions, such as referring to people as "love", "honey" (TV: The Giggle ^[+]Loading...["The Giggle (TV story)"]) and "babes." (TV: The Church on Ruby Road ^[+]Loading...["The Church on Ruby Road (TV story)"])

He had a tendency to vocalise his actions, such as saying, "jump", when he leapt into a hug with his fourteenth incarnation (TV: The Giggle ^[+]Loading...["The Giggle (TV story)"]) and when he leapt onto the rope ladder of the Goblin ship. He also whispered, "curtsey", to himself as he bowed to the Goblin King. (TV: The Church on Ruby Road ^[+]Loading...["The Church on Ruby Road (TV story)"])

He would occasionally address people he had taken a liking to with shortened versions of their names out of endearment, such as calling Ruby, "Rubes", (TV: The Church on Ruby Road ^[+]Loading...["The Church on Ruby Road (TV story)"]) or Poppy, "Pops". (TV: Space Babies ^[+]Loading...["Space Babies (TV story)"])

He would quip, "If you don't mind", when he wanted to be left alone to continue his activities. (TV: The Giggle ^[+]Loading...["The Giggle (TV story)"], The Church on Ruby Road ^[+]Loading...["The Church on Ruby Road (TV story)"])

Skills

The Fifteenth Doctor had the athleticism to leap over chimneys while running over rooftops at the same pace as the Goblin ship while conversing with Ruby, (TV: The Church on Ruby Road ^[+]Loading...["The Church on Ruby Road (TV story)"]) and also had the reflexes to help the Fourteenth Doctor best the Toymaker in a game of catch, even making the winning throw. (TV: The Giggle ^[+]Loading...["The Giggle (TV story)"]) He was quick enough to go from a dance floor to standing next to Ruby without her noticing, and catch a falling drink as he did so.

He also possessed the technical knowledge to create the Intelligent gloves.

He was a convincing performer, able to sing and dance to distract the goblins, (TV: The Church on Ruby Road ^[+]Loading...["The Church on Ruby Road (TV story)"]) and even being capable of bursting into song and dance effortlessly, such as when he celebrated the defeat of Maestro by singing "Twist at the End", an act which somehow prompted others to spontaneously burst into a full-on song and dance around him. (TV: The Devil's Chord ^[+]Loading...["The Devil's Chord (TV story)"])

The Doctor could also learn "the language of rope" to deduce how to manoeuvre through the goblin's ship. (TV: The Church on Ruby Road ^[+]Loading...["The Church on Ruby Road (TV story)"])

The Fifteenth Doctor displayed sharp deductive and reasoning skills, being able to interpret a reading from his sonic screwdriver which detected a 2 carat diamond ring in the pocket of a policeman and deduce that he intended to propose to his girlfriend. (TV: The Church on Ruby Road ^[+]Loading...["The Church on Ruby Road (TV story)"])

Appearance

The Fifteenth Doctor had dark skin, (TV: The Giggle ^[+]Loading...["The Giggle (TV story)"]) with a "nice" new face which fitted well into place, his hair being short and his nose being "just right". His legs were firm and his eyes were bright (POEM: Contents ^[+]Loading...{"page":"16","1":"Contents (poem)"}) and brown in colour. A thin black moustache rested on top his upper lip, and he had a faint scar around his right eye. (TV: The Giggle ^[+]Loading...["The Giggle (TV story)"])

Melanie Bush described the Fifteenth Doctor as looking "beautiful", (TV: The Giggle ^[+]Loading...["The Giggle (TV story)"]) and Cherry Sunday likewise found him attractive. (TV: The Church on Ruby Road ^[+]Loading...["The Church on Ruby Road (TV story)"]) Susan Triad described the Fifteenth Doctor as "handsome," and said she would have remembered meeting a man of his looks. (TV: The Legend of Ruby Sunday)

Clothing

Main attires

The Fifteenth Doctor primarily wore a burnt orange double-breasted leather trenchcoat, complete with pockets and belted cuffs, but he also owned a black leather jacket. However, he would sometimes dispense with leather and instead don a plaid print coat with pleated checked jacquard trousers and an orange sweater. (TV: Dot and Bubble)

Under his trenchcoat, the Doctor wore a series of zip-up polo-cardigans, with styles including one striped with shades of blue and orange vertically, a green one with horizontal stipes, (TV: The Church on Ruby Road ^[+]Loading...["The Church on Ruby Road (TV story)"]) and a yellow one with a simple orange stripe going down the middle. (COMIC: Mancopolis ^[+]Loading...["Mancopolis (comic story)"])

He also wore blue trousers, with long black socks under a pair of colourful trainers on his feet. He was often found wearing boots.

He consistently wore five rings, with two on his left hand's thumb and index finger and three on his right hand's thumb and index and middle fingers, as well as two silver necklaces. He frequented had nail tattoos on his fingers. (TV: The Church on Ruby Road ^[+]Loading...["The Church on Ruby Road (TV story)"])

Other outfits

Upon emerging from the bi-generation, the Fifteenth Doctor retained the Fourteenth Doctor's dress shirt, tie, pants, socks and shoes. (TV: The Giggle ^[+]Loading...["The Giggle (TV story)"]) However, believing them to be "off-the-peg", he soon chose an outfit of his own after pondered on wearing a frilly shirt and a scarf. He settled on wearing sturdy boots, that he believed would be handy on the Moon, and a "nice" new hat (POEM: Contents ^[+]Loading...{"page":"16","1":"Contents (poem)"}) in the form of a bolero. (PROSE: The Church on Ruby Road ^[+]Loading...{"page":"15","chaptnum":"Three","1":"The Church on Ruby Road (novelisation)"})

While out at a nightclub, the Doctor wore his black leather jacket over an orange tank top and also wore a blue tartan kilt, knee-high green socks and Grenson Fred boots. (TV: The Church on Ruby Road ^[+]Loading...["The Church on Ruby Road (TV story)"])

Whilst in 1963, he wore a blue pinstriped double breasted suit, with a gray tie and white shirt, and wore a pair of black Cuban heeled boots. On this occasion he sported a wig in the style of a mini-afro with side burns. (TV: The Devil's Chord ^[+]Loading...["The Devil's Chord (TV story)"])

On Kastarion 3 in 5087, he wore a buttoned black jacket over a white shirt, tan trousers, and brown boots. (TV: Boom)

When visiting Wales, the Doctor wore an orange coat over a striped shirt, along with jeans, wool socks, and boots. (TV: 73 Yards)

On Finetime, he wore one of his signature outfits, but ditched his plaid coat while appearing in Lindy's bubble, primarily donning his orange sweater. (TV: Dot and Bubble)

In 1813, he wore a maroon jacket over a white vest with white pants, blending in with party-goers. (TV: Rogue)

When visiting UNIT in 2024, he wore a black leather jacket over a white shirt, with jeans. (TV: The Legend of Ruby Sunday)

Behind the scenes

The Fourteenth Doctor?

The BBC announcement revealing Ncuti Gatwa's casting as the Doctor was worded ambiguously, with Gatwa's Doctor only described as "the new Doctor", without explicitly stating him to be the Fourteenth Doctor, or even the successor to Jodie Whittaker's Thirteenth Doctor.^[1][2] Nevertheless, numerous news outlets presumed that Gatwa's incarnation would be the Fourteenth Doctor and incorrectly reported as such.^[3][4][5][6]

However, Whittaker's final episode, The Power of the Doctor ^[+]Loading...["The Power of the Doctor (TV story)"], depicted the Thirteenth Doctor regenerating into a new incarnation once again portrayed by Tenth Doctor actor David Tennant. After Power of the Doctor's broadcast, Russell T Davies confirmed that Tennant's new incarnation was the Fourteenth Doctor, and that Gatwa's would follow as the Fifteenth.^[7]

Strangely, Gatwa was again incorrectly identified as the Fourteenth Doctor by the Channel 5 documentary Doctor Who: 60 Years of Secrets and Scandals which aired on 25 November 2023, shortly following the premiere of The Star Beast ^[+]Loading...["The Star Beast (TV story)"], the first full episode of Tennant's run as the Fourteenth Doctor.

The first black Doctor?

With the casting of Rwandan-Scottish actor Ncuti Gatwa, the Fifteenth Doctor became the first "main" ordinal incarnation of the Doctor in the programme's history to be played by a black man.^[3][8] However, other black Doctors have previously appeared in the Doctor Who universe;

• Comedian Lenny Henry was the very first non-white actor to portray the Doctor, having portrayed a parodical Seventh Doctor in an untitled skit ^[+]Loading...{"noital":"1","1":"Untitled (The Lenny Henry Show)","2":"an untitled skit"} from an episode of The Lenny Henry Show broadcast on 3 October 1985. Upon Gatwa's casting in 2022, Henry praised the development, stating; "A lot of black fans have been looking at our watches for a while! More power to Russell T Davies."^[8]
• Russell T Davies's novelisation ^[+]Loading...{"noital":"1","1":"Rose (novelisation)","2":"novelisation"} of Rose ^[+]Loading...["Rose (TV story)"], released on 5 April 2018, featured a photograph in conspiracy theorist Clive Finch's possession that showed a tall, bald, black female Doctor who wielded a flaming sword.
• The 2020 episode Fugitive of the Judoon ^[+]Loading...["Fugitive of the Judoon (TV story)"] introduced the "Fugitive Doctor", a mysterious, previously unknown incarnation of the Doctor, portrayed by BAME actor Jo Martin. This previously unseen incarnation was a predecessor to the First Doctor, much like the eight other "pre-Hartnell" Doctors introduced in the 1976 serial The Brain of Morbius ^[+]Loading...["The Brain of Morbius (TV story)"].
• Within the same series as Fugitive, several of the Timeless Children — seven youthful incarnations of the Doctor — were played by BAME child actors, including most notably the first.
• At the time of production for Silence in the Library ^[+]Loading...["Silence in the Library (TV story)"] and Forest of the Dead ^[+]Loading...["Forest of the Dead (TV story)"], Steven Moffat secretly intended Doctor Moon to be a future Doctor, meaning that Colin Salmon might have been the first BAME actor to portray a main ordinal Doctor, although it is unclear if this future incarnation would've been given an ordinal.
  • In Showrunner Showdown in 2020, Moffat commented that he thought a version of this idea could still work and Russell T Davies revealed that he had always thought of the character as the Doctor as well while watching the episodes.
  • As of 2024, this backstory has never been incorporated for the character in any later work of fiction.
• In addition, various "body swaps" have been depicted wherein the Doctor temporarily possesses the body of a BAME individual, such as Daniel Anthony's Clyde Langer being possessed by the Eleventh Doctor in Death of the Doctor ^[+]Loading...["Death of the Doctor (TV story)"], and Damian Lynch's Benjamin Chikoto, who the Third Doctor uses as a means to communicate in Ghost in the Machine.

First queer incarnation?

Gatwa has the distinction of being the first openly queer actor to portray a mainline ordinal incarnation of the Doctor,^[9] though queer actor Mark Gatiss previously portrayed a non-ordinal Doctor in the parody skit The Web of Caves, while queer actor Geoffrey Bayldon portrayed an alternate universe Doctor in the Doctor Who Unbound audio series.

Co-star Neil Patrick Harris had described Gatwa as "the first gay Doctor".^[10] While an exact label has yet to be applied in-universe, the Fifteenth Doctor would go on to show attraction to, at least at the time of writing, exclusively male characters. This inclination would first be hinted at in Dot and Bubble ^[+]Loading...["Dot and Bubble (TV story)"], with the Doctor showing an interest in Ricky September, before being made explicit in the very next episode, Rogue ^[+]Loading...["Rogue (TV story)"], in which he embarks on a romance with the titular character, during which the two share a kiss.

The question of which incarnation constitutes the "first gay Doctor" is a matter of debate; the friendship between the Thirteenth Doctor and Yasmin Khan became romantically tinged towards the end of the Chris Chibnall era, though the pair never acted on their attraction to one another, while the Eighth Doctor was implied to be non-heterosexual in the Eighth Doctor Adventures series of novels, as was the Fourteenth Doctor just one episode prior to Gatwa's debut, who was surprised to discover that he found Isaac Newton "hot". Furthermore, many stories released in the 1990s and beyond reiterate that the Time Lords' concept of gender differs to that of humanity, and a number of stories hinted that there had been a romantic dimension to the Doctor's youthful relationship with the Master before they drifted apart. The Ninth Doctor was confirmed to be queer in Swipe Right ^[+]Loading...["Swipe Right (audio story)"] as River Song helps him realise that he is both aromantic and asexual, as he said the he could never see himself marrying her.

Appearances prior to his first full television story

Continuing the trend set by the Thirteenth and Fourteenth Doctors, the Fifteenth Doctor appeared multiple times in expanded media before his television debut.

• Interestingly, the Fifteenth Doctor's first appearance can be interpreted to have occurred technically before the Thirteenth Doctor's television debut in The Woman Who Fell to Earth ^[+]Loading...["The Woman Who Fell to Earth (TV story)"]; in the 2017 poem Contents ^[+]Loading...["Contents (poem)"], an ambiguous future Doctor with short hair appeared, who rummaged through a chest looking for a new costume, settling on a hat and boots. As revealed on the Official Doctor Who Twitter account, the Fifteenth Doctor does indeed have very short hair, wears a bolero,^[11] and boots.^[12]
• Also of note, whilst not strictly a story in itself, was the Fifteenth Doctor's brief appearance, partially dressed in the Fourteenth Doctor's attire and asking "someone [to] tell [him] what the hell [was] going on here", in the televised preview for the 2023 specials immediately following the broadcast of The Power of the Doctor ^[+]Loading...["The Power of the Doctor (TV story)"], which had ended with the Thirteenth Doctor's surprise regeneration into the Fourteenth Doctor. (The broadcast of The Giggle over a year later would reveal the context of this appearance as following the Fourteenth Doctor's bi-generation which took place at UNIT HQ, City of London, the appearance of which had been removed for the initial preview.)
• A definitely intentioned implicit appearance of the Fifteenth Doctor occurred in the audio drama The World Tree ^[+]Loading...["The World Tree (audio story)"]. Whilst the text of the story was ambiguous as to which future Doctor appeared in it, Nick Slawicz, the story's author, confirmed that the intention was indeed that it was the Fifteenth Doctor who was the Doctor present in the conclusion of that story. Slawicz further explained that he didn't intend to make the future Doctor ambiguous, but needed to be vague on details as no costumes had been revealed for the Fifteenth Doctor at the time of the final draft of the story.^[13]
• The pink-painted TARDIS that appeared as part of a cross-promotion exhibit ^[+]Loading...{"noital":"1","1":"Come on TARDIS, let's go party (exhibit)","2":"a cross-promotion exhibit"} with the 2023 film Barbie could be argued to be that of the Fifteenth Doctor, owing to the fact that Ncuti Gatwa also played a Ken in the film; Russell T Davies claimed the exhibit depicted genuine in-universe events.^[14]
• The first explicit appearance of the Fifteenth Doctor was in the short story First Day of the Doctor ^[+]Loading...["First Day of the Doctor (short story)"], which depicted an obscured diary entry written by the Doctor shortly after his first adventure with Ruby Sunday.
• The Fifteenth Doctor's entry in the encyclopaedia Whotopia: The Ultimate Guide to the Whoniverse ^[+]Loading...["Whotopia: The Ultimate Guide to the Whoniverse (reference book)"] was styled as an inner monologue of the Doctor, wherein he reflected on the new friends and foes in his life.
• Although not an appearance of the Fifteenth Doctor per se, Ncuti Gatwa appeared in-costume as the Doctor in a version of An Adventure in Space and Time ^[+]Loading...["An Adventure in Space and Time (TV story)"] broadcast on BBC Four on 23 November 2023 as part of William Hartnell's (David Bradley) premonition of the future of Doctor Who, replacing Matt Smith's role from the original version broadcast in 2013.
• In the illustrated edition of the novelisation ^[+]Loading...{"noital":"1","ed":"2023 Illustrated Edition","1":"Rose (novelisation)","2":"the novelisation"} of Rose ^[+]Loading...["Rose (TV story)"] released on 23 November 2023, photographs of the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Doctors were added to Clive Finch's collection of photographs of the Doctor.

Costume

• Ncuti Gatwa had a role in the costume chosen for the Fifteenth Doctor.^[15]
• The Fifteenth Doctor's main outfit in The Church on Ruby Road ^[+]Loading...["The Church on Ruby Road (TV story)"] has an overall retro appearance: his cardigan is Madcap England's "Capitol 60s Mod Stripe Zip Polo"^[16] and his trainers are Grenson's "Sneaker 51".^[17]
• Another element of a different outfit worn by the Doctor is an "Armor-Lux Molene Stripe Sailor Knit" jumper.^[18]

Merchandise

• Titan Merchandise, for MCM Comic Con, released an exclusive t-shirt, sweatshirt, cup and coaster using a promotional picture of the Fifteenth Doctor. These were later sold by Forbidden Planet.
• A poster of the Fifteenth Doctor was included with Doctor Who Magazine #598.
• The Fifteenth Doctor received a card in the Secret Lair x Doctor Who: Regeneration set of Magic the Gathering's Universes Beyond: Doctor Who expansion.

Other matters

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• A clip of the Fifteenth Doctor was used in the Whoniverse ident released on 31 October 2023.
• A version of Lee Sullivan's The Usual Suspects? art piece including the Fifteenth Doctor was released on 21 October 2023 for the Adventures in Time and Space – 60 Years of Doctor Who Art Exhibition exhibition held at Weston Museum,^[19] although there is no indication that this version of the artwork is licensed, although versions released earlier were.
• Various pieces of fan art of the Fifteenth Doctor and Ruby were shared by the Official Doctor Who Twitter account under the #FanArtFriday and #DWFanArt hashtags.
• The Fifteenth Doctor's first full series was rebranded as "Season 1", the first numbering reset since the show's televised relaunch in 2005.

Footnotes

Notes

References

v • e Companions of the Fifteenth Doctor Original to television Multi-story Ruby Sunday Narratively ambiguous Rubathon Blue If a medium is not mentioned, then this incarnation did not have companions who were original to that medium; it does not mean that this Doctor failed to appear in that medium.