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When you think of Doctor Who, it’s almost impossible not to picture David Tennant. His take on the Tenth Doctor didn’t just leave a mark, it completely shaped a generation of fans. But here’s the fun twist: despite being one of the most iconic faces of the modern era, Tennant’s favourite version of Doctor Who isn’t the one he starred in. Nope, it goes way further back, to the show’s black-and-white beginnings.
For Tennant, Doctor Who has always been more than just a job or a role. This was the show that fired up his imagination as a kid, the one that made him believe it was possible to travel anywhere, to the past, to the future, to distant galaxies, inside a blue police box. Getting to actually be the Doctor was a childhood dream turned reality. And that deep love for the series isn’t just about his own time on the show, it’s rooted in the adventures that came long before him.
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Doctor Who: the time-traveling show that refuses to stand still
If there’s one thing the show does better than anything else, it’s change. Since hitting TV screens back in 1963, it’s been rewriting itself again and again, but always with the same core idea: one alien, a mad blue box, and a whole lot of running.
Over the decades, the show’s history splits into two big chapters:
The Classic Era (1963–1989) — full of scrappy special effects, brilliant weirdness, and a whole lot of heart.
The Modern Era (2005–now) — bigger budgets, bigger emotions, but the same Doctor at the core, racing through time trying to fix the universe (or sometimes just not make it worse).
The Second Doctor and the Tenth Doctor: more connected than you’d think
When asked about his favourite era, Tennant didn’t even hesitate. His answer? The time of the Second Doctor, played by Patrick Troughton from 1966 to 1969.
Troughton was the guy who proved Doctor Who could survive change. After the First Doctor regenerated, it was Troughton who reinvented the role, turning the Doctor into a scruffy, mischievous, fast-talking genius who could disarm villains with a grin and outwit monsters without firing a shot.
"You can clearly see the influence — Tennant’s quick-witted, charming, and sometimes chaotic Doctor feels like a spiritual echo of Troughton’s playful energy." You can feel it in every raised eyebrow, every half-smile, and every time he slips between being completely ridiculous and heartbreaking.
The stories that defined them
Patrick Troughton (Second Doctor)
The Tomb of the Cybermen (1967) — Creepy, tense, and still one of the best Cybermen stories ever made.
The War Games (1969) — Ten episodes of absolute chaos that introduced the Time Lords and completely changed the show’s mythology.
The Mind Robber (1968) — Where else do you get the Doctor fighting fictional characters in a world made entirely of stories? Utterly bonkers, completely brilliant.
David Tennant (Tenth Doctor)
Blink (2007) — The episode that traumatised a generation and made everyone terrified of statues.
The Girl in the Fireplace (2006) — Beautiful, clever, heartbreaking — a love story told across time and space.
The Stolen Earth / Journey’s End (2008) — The Avengers-level crossover of the Doctor Who universe before that was even a thing. Absolute chaos, absolute perfection.
Wait... no 1960s adventures?
For a show that started in the 1960s, it’s kind of wild that Tennant’s Doctor never actually visited the 60s. Victorian England? Yep. The 1920s? Sure. The far future? All the time. But the decade that gave birth to Doctor Who? Not once.
Tennant pointed this out himself, saying it’s one of the few things he regrets not doing as the Doctor. And honestly, imagine the possibilities, the Beatles, the space race, Cold War paranoia, mods and rockers, miniskirts and moon landings. It’s a decade packed with the kind of drama, danger, and weirdness that Doctor Who thrives on.
What could the 60s have brought to the TARDIS?
The way Tennant sees it, a 1960s adventure wouldn’t just have been about groovy outfits or retro vibes (though, let’s be real, the Doctor in a paisley shirt would’ve been iconic). It would’ve been a chance to dive into a world on the edge of massive change, when humanity was looking up at the stars, terrified of nuclear war, breaking down old rules, and trying to figure out who it wanted to be.
It’s the perfect kind of chaos for the Doctor to walk into, a chance to ask big questions about progress, identity, and whether the future is something we should run towards or run away from.
Little facts about Tennant’s Doctor that fans love
“Allons-y!” — His signature catchphrase, because why wouldn’t a Scottish alien love random French?
He married Georgia Moffett, whose dad played the Fifth Doctor. Yes, the Doctor married the Doctor’s daughter, who also played his daughter. Look, it’s complicated — it’s Doctor Who.
He returned in 2023 for the 60th-anniversary specials as the Fourteenth Doctor, because, in Doctor Who, the rules of regeneration are more like... suggestions.
Still ranked, time and time again, as the most popular Doctor of the modern era.
Tennant’s era wasn’t just popular, it was massive
The numbers don’t lie. Tennant’s run regularly pulled in between 9 and 11 million viewers in the UK alone. Big finales like The Stolen Earth and Journey’s End didn’t just top the charts, they became national events.
Critics loved him. Fans adored him. And award shows couldn’t stop handing him trophies. Tennant won Best Actor at the National Television Awards year after year, and it’s not hard to see why. His Doctor was everything: funny, brilliant, broken, hopeful, furious, and kind, often all at once.
So... will the TARDIS ever make it to the 60s?
If there’s one thing Doctor Who teaches us, it’s that nothing is ever really off the table. The show bends time for breakfast. So maybe, somewhere down the line, with a new Doctor, or maybe even Tennant again, the TARDIS doors will swing open onto a London street buzzing with mods and miniskirts, Beatles records blaring in the background, and the Doctor finally getting the 60s adventure they (and we) deserved all along.
Because if there’s one rule in the Whoniverse... It’s that time that is never, ever done with you.
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