26 September 2003 As Doctor Who approaches its 30th anniversary, the Daily Telegraph breaks the news that a new series of Doctor Who is being developed by acclaimed writer Russell T Davies. The paper’s report quotes BBC One Controller Lorraine Heggessey confirming the news.
13 November 2003 The first episode of The Scream of the Shalka, an animated BBC webcast starring Richard E. Grant as the Doctor, goes live.
23 November 2003Doctor Who’s 40th anniversary.
20 March 2004 After much tabloid speculation, Christopher Eccleston is announced as the new Doctor.
24 May 2004 Actress and former pop singer Billie Piper is announced as companion Rose Tyler.
18 July 2004 Television-based Doctor Who goes into production for the first time in the 21st century.
20 July 2004 As the Doctor Who cast and crew prepare to film night scenes in Cardiff, regional news programme BBC Wales Today carries interviews with Christopher Eccleston, Billie Piper and Russell T Davies – and the Ninth Doctor’s look is revealed for the first time.
1 January 2005 The first teaser trailer for the new series of Doctor Who is broadcast on BBC One. It is almost time – but not yet…
26 March 2005 With audiences promised ‘the trip of a lifetime’, the first new episode of Doctor Who for nine years, Rose, is broadcast at 7pm. It attracts an average audience of 10.8 million viewers. As well as Christopher Eccleston and Billie Piper, Rose also features first appearances from Noel Clarke as Mickey Smith and Camille Coduri as Jackie Tyler. The Autons, last seen in 1971’s Terror of the Autons, are the first monsters encountered by the new Doctor, and a new orchestral arrangement of the theme tune is provided by composer Murray Gold.
30 March 2005 After the success of Rose, the BBC announces that Doctor Who has been commissioned for a second series. While Billie Piper will return as Rose, the news that Christopher Eccleston will not be continuing as the Doctor is also revealed.
16 April 2005 A BBC press release confirms that lifelong Doctor Who fan David Tennant has been cast as the Tenth Doctor.
30 April 2005 The first appearance of the Daleks (or, at least, a Dalek) in the new series.
21 May 2005 John Barrowman makes his debut as Captain Jack Harkness. Steven Moffat contributes his first script to the new series with The Empty Child.
11 June 2005Bad Wolf features the first on-screen reference to Torch-wood in Doctor Who.
15 June 2005 At a special BAFTA screening of The Parting of the Ways, executive producer Russell T Davies reveals to an ecstatic audience that Doctor Who has been re-commissioned for a third series and a second Christmas special.
18 June 2005 Christopher Eccleston makes his final appearance as the Ninth Doctor, and David Tennant appears, briefly, as the Tenth.
17 October 2005 Press announcement that BBC Three will air a post-watershed Doctor Who spin-off, Torchwood. The series will star John Barrowman as Captain Jack.
18 November 2005 David Tennant’s second appearance as the Tenth Doctor is watched by 10.8 million viewers as part of the BBC Children in Need telethon, in a special episode later titled Born Again by writer Russell T Davies.
25 December 2005 The broadcast of The Christmas Invasion sees David Tennant make his full debut as the Doctor.
29 April 2006School Reunion sees the Doctor reunited with Elisabeth Sladen’s Sarah-Jane Smith for the first time since The Five Doctors. K-9 Mark III is destroyed to be replaced by Mark IV and Mickey Smith becomes the first non-white companion to join the Doctor.
13 May 2006 The first appearance of the Cybermen in the new series.
1 July 2006 Catherine Tate makes her first, surprise appearance as (the unnamed) Donna Noble in the closing moments of Doomsday.
14 September 2006 Press announcement that Elisabeth Sladen will star in a new Doctor Who spin-off, The Sarah Jane Adventures, created for the children’s channel CBBC by Russell T Davies.
13 October 2006 Director James Strong shoots establishing shots in New York for the upcoming Daleks in Manhattan – the first time the series has ever been shot in the United States of America.
22 October 2006Torchwood debuts on BBC Three.
1 January 2007 Elisabeth Sladen stars in the debut episode of The Sarah Jane Adventures, ahead of the hugely successful series that will run for five years.
31 March 2007 The first appearance of the Judoon, a rhino-faced alien police force, in Smith and Jones.
9 June 2007 The first appearance of the Weeping Angels, in Blink.
16 June 2007 The first appearance of the Master in Doctor Who since the 1996 TV movie. Sir Derek Jacobi briefly plays the latest incarnation, before John Simm assumes the role at the climax of Utopia.
16 November 2007 Classic and modern Doctor Who come together in Time Crash. The Tenth Doctor meets the Fifth Doctor, both with brainy specs, in a timey-wimey special episode written especially for Children in Need night by Steven Moffat.
25 December 2007 13.3 million viewers tune in to watch pop star Kylie Minogue guest star as Astrid alongside David Tennant in the annual Christmas special, Voyage of the Damned. It is the second highest-rated television programme of 2007.
5 April 2008 Catherine Tate returns to Doctor Who as Donna Noble – this time joining the Doctor as his new companion for an entire series. Billie Piper makes a surprise reappearance as Rose Tyler in Partners in Crime.
26 April 2008 The first appearance of the Sontarans in the new series.
31 May 2008 The first appearance by Alex Kingston as River Song. But who is she?
28 June 2008 Davros appears for the first time in 20 years, now played by Julian Bleach.
5 July 2008 For the first time in its history, Doctor Who is the most-watched television programme of the week: 10.6 million viewers tune in to Journey’s End to see if the Tenth Doctor will regenerate following the cliffhanger ending to the previous week’s The Stolen Earth. He doesn’t.
29 October 2008 David Tennant wins the award for Outstanding Drama Performance at the National Television Awards. He accepts the award live from Stratford-Upon-Avon where he is appearing in Hamlet for the Royal Shakespeare Company. During his acceptance speech, he announces that he will be leaving Doctor Who.
3 January 2009 Matt Smith’s casting as the Eleventh Doctor is announced in a special edition of Doctor Who Confidential.
11 April 2009 Broadcast of Planet of the Dead, the first episode of Doctor Who to be shot in the High Definition format.
1 January 2010 David Tennant makes his final appearance as the Doctor and Matt Smith takes over. Geronimo!
3 April 2010 9.6 million viewers watch The Eleventh Hour, Matt Smith’s first full adventure as the Doctor. He is joined on his travels by Karen Gillan as Amy Pond. Future companion Rory Williams makes his first appearance, played by Arthur Darvill.