Doctor Recasting: 7 Classic Doctors Who Could Return in 2026
A Different Kind of Return
Multi-Doctor stories have long been part of Doctor Who, with time travel often bringing the Doctor face to face with other incarnations. These stories became less common after the 2005 relaunch and the destruction of Gallifrey, but they remain popular special events.
The show has generally avoided recasting past Doctors, allowing returning actors to reprise their roles decades later. William Hartnell’s death in 1975 led to Richard Hurndall playing the First Doctor in The Five Doctors; David Bradley later took on the role, including in An Adventure in Space and Time and Twice Upon A Time.
The First Doctor’s Successor
Bradley resembles Hartnell and captures the First Doctor’s voice and manner, while showing the character’s compassion beneath his irascible exterior. His performance has been praised, although some viewers criticized the writing of Twice Upon A Time as too sexist.
The article proposes Reece Shearsmith for the Second Doctor, originally played by Patrick Troughton, who died in 1987. Shearsmith portrayed Troughton briefly in An Adventure in Space and Time, and his work in Inside No. 9 and The League of Gentlemen showed shifts between comedy and menace.
A New Third Doctor
Sean Pertwee, Jon Pertwee’s son, has repeatedly declined to play his father’s role. The suggested alternative is Luke Thompson, known for Bridgerton, whose charm, eccentricity and confidence are presented as a fit for the Third Doctor.
Thompson’s stage experience could also suit the character’s theatrical presence. The Third Doctor was known for striding into rooms with confidence and dominating conversations, qualities the article says Thompson could bring to the part.
The Fourth Doctor Challenge
Tom Baker’s Fourth Doctor is described as especially difficult to recast. As Baker’s time on the show continued, the article says, his performance and the character became closely linked, marked by eccentricity and unpredictability.
The writer prefers the less overstated portrayals from Baker’s early years. The text ends mid-sentence as it begins to consider who might be suited to the role, so it does not provide a proposed actor for the Fourth Doctor.
Key points
- Doctor Who has usually brought back past Doctors without recasting them.
- David Bradley has played the First Doctor, following Richard Hurndall’s portrayal in The Five Doctors.
- Reece Shearsmith and Luke Thompson are suggested for the Second and Third Doctors.
- The discussion of a possible Fourth Doctor recast ends before naming an actor.