Problematic because my favourite show has a fairly high cast turnover, secondary characters rarely lasting more than a couple of years and the actor playing the main character lasting not much more than another couple after that.
So, in case you hadn’t guessed, here’s all the actors to play the main character since the show began …
… my favourite of course being the guy in the hat and the scarf.
I think I know exactly why I liked Doctor Who. My first Doctor was Jon Pertwee, who played him as a gentleman, always courteous and friendly, tolerating no fools but valiant to a fault in opposing evil. I also had no difficulty in equating the crack UNIT – who actually were pretty rubbish, if you look at the old shows closely – with the SAS with which I was more closely acquainted in the real world.
The show finally became must-see for me when without any kind of warning Jon Pertwee turned into Tom Baker; I mean, if the main character could just turn into someone else, who knew what else might happen? It was also helped by Tom Baker’s early performance easily being Doctor Who at its best – I hold this opinion even now, having rewatched much of it on video or DVD – and Sarah Jane Smith weaving a spell on my pre-adolescence that I didn’t really understand but knew I liked.