Doctor Who: six classic episodes to watch before Ncuti Gatwa's doctor arrives

Each new regeneration signals a brand new era for Doctor Who, and ahead of its now imminent fourteenth season, anticipation is high. The new iteration of the sci-fi classic will see 31-year-old Rwandan-Scottish actor Ncuti Gatwa becoming the new Time Lord, and Russell T Davies returning as showrunner.

The new series will air this Saturday (May 11) and there's a tonne to be excited about: Gatwa and his new companion Ruby Sunday (Millie Gibson) will be joined on screen by stars including Indira Varma, drag queen Jinkx Monsoon, and Broadway favourite Jonathan Groff. And, the duo will travel through space and time – from London in the Sixties, back to the era of the dinosaurs.

Since Doctor Who first began on November 23 1963, with William Hartnell at the helm, there have been plenty of talked-about moments as the sci-fi hit has gone from strength to strength.

To celebrate the new season, which will air on May 11 on BBC, here are six iconic moments from the show.

Let’s go right back to the beginning, with episode one, which was shot in black and white.

As the episode began, Susan Foreman – played by Carole Ann Ford – realised she recalled the French Revolution differently to how it was depicted in her school textbook.

It soon emerged Susan’s grandfather was the Doctor himself, played by William Hartnell, and the premise of the show was set: the Doctor was a centuries-old time-traveling alien, and the special blue police box known lovingly as the Tardis was his spaceship.

The Fourth Doctor, Tom Baker, added a new dimension to the character of the Time Lord, grappling with morals and ethics. Often, this left him feeling conflicted.

In Genesis of the Daleks, the powerful time-traveller had the ability to eliminate his merciless enemies in their entirety just by crossing two wires, something his companion Sarah Jane Smith urged him to do. But Baker spoke to the entire audience with one powerfully posed question:

“Listen, if someone who knew the future pointed out a child to you and told you that that child would grow up totally evil, to be a ruthless dictator who would destroy millions of lives, could you then kill that child?”

After the original series was axed in 1989, fans had to wait until 2005 for the beloved show to come back to the small screen.

When it returned, it did so with a bang, with Christopher Eccleston playing the Doctor and Billie Piper assuming the role of his companion.

When the Doctor – and the audience – first met Rose it was high-drama from the off, as she ran away from a group of plastic monsters called Autons. Eccleston and Piper’s chemistry was immediately evident and it set the tone for the rest of the stellar series.

As Russell T Davies signed off from Doctor Who, he fashioned his exit into two episodes that also bid farewell to Tenth Doctor David Tennant.

The end of the first part saw Rose Tyler returning, but disaster struck as Tennant went to meet her and was shot by a Dalek. While it seemed the Doctor had regenerated, part two explained that he’d simply splintered off into a clone of himself. Tense and very moving.

Doctors from the past and present gathered together to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the show in a special award-winning episode.

John Hurt – the War Doctor – returned alongside tenth Doctor David Tennant and eleventh Doctor Matt Smith, who was flanked by his companion Clara Oswald (Jenna Louise Coleman). Billie Piper also reprised her well-loved role one last time.

As a birthday celebration, the episode contained references from the past 50 years and championed the very best of the television seen over the years, using archive footage of previous Doctors who didn’t return to set.

Going into the episode, fans knew that this was the end for Peter Capaldi, the Twelfth Doctor, who was about to hang up his sonic screwdriver for good. While the Christmas Day episode may not have ticked any boxes for being “iconic” itself, writing and plot wise, it gains the last spot on our list because it changed everything.

Multi-doctor episodes are always special to fans but this one more so, because it symbolised a change in a male-dominated show as Jodie Whittaker made her first appearance.

Doctor Who season 14 will premiere on BBC iPlayer and Disney+ at midnight on May 11