Actor Ncuti Gatwa was announced in May 2022 as the actor who would take over from actress Jodie Whittaker in the role following a series of special episodes throughout 2022.^[1] At the end of the final special, "The Power of the Doctor", it was revealed following Whittaker's regeneration the Doctor had regenerated into an incarnation portrayed by David Tennant.^[4] Tennant had previously starred in the programme as the Tenth Doctor from 2005 to 2010, and is the first actor to portray two different incarnations of the character over multiple episodes. The return of a previous actor as a new incarnation of the Doctor was previously proposed by Doctor Who co-creator Sydney Newman in a 1986 exchange with then-BBC One controller Michael Grade after the dismissal of Sixth Doctor actor Colin Baker; Newman specifically envisioned Patrick Troughton, who portrayed the Second Doctor, returning for one series before regenerating into a female incarnation.^[5] Fourth Doctor actor Tom Baker had also returned in the 2013 special "The Day of the Doctor" as the Curator, suggested to be a possible incarnation of the Doctor.^[6]

Gatwa was confirmed to eventually be starring in the role as the Fifteenth Doctor, with executive producer Russell T Davies stating "The path to Ncuti's 15th Doctor is laden with mystery, horror, robots, puppets, danger and fun!"^[3]

Tennant and Catherine Tate appeared as the Fourteenth Doctor and Donna Noble in three special episodes to commemorate the programme's 60th anniversary in November 2023.^[7] Yasmin Finney also made her debut as Rose Noble.^[8]

The Fourteenth Doctor has a similar appearance to the Tenth, though slightly older, as well as a similar hairstyle and facial stubble. His clothes are also very similar, only with a single-breasted waistcoat and trousers of maroon and turquoise tartan replacing the pinstripe business suits on top of the white shirt, and a double-breasted overcoat of navy blue tweed rather than the looser cinnamon brown Alcantara overcoat the Tenth Doctor wore. His tie was made of charcoal and silver tweed, and his Converse trainers are papyrus-coloured.^[9] These clothes regenerated with his appearance from the Thirteenth Doctor's, rather than him choosing them like in most of his previous regenerations. Davies later explained that he wished for the Doctor's clothes to change as part of the first regeneration from a female to a male Doctor, fearing it would be interpreted as a mockery of feminine traits and drag culture by having Tennant appearing in clothing designed for Whittaker.^[10]

In an interview with BBC News following the announcement of his role reprisal, Tennant commented on his Doctor's appearance saying that "to a sort of casual viewer, I look like I'm sort of dressed in the same way as I used to be. But actually we've gone for something that's sort of the same, but different. That has echoes of the past, but it's also a bit something of the now as well."^[11]

The Fourteenth Doctor first appears at the conclusion of "The Power of the Doctor" immediately following the Thirteenth Doctor's regeneration. The Doctor notices that his appearance has reverted to the similar form to the Tenth Doctor, albeit slightly older, and that his clothes have also changed.

The following month, Doctor Who Magazine announced that their monthly comic strip would feature the Fourteenth Doctor in Liberation of the Daleks, a story that picks up straight after the ending of "The Power of the Doctor", depicting roughly the first hour of the Fourteenth Doctor's life.^[12] Liberation of the Daleks leads directly into the Fourteenth Doctor's next televised appearance – a minisode aired during the Children in Need telethon on the 17th November 2023, informally titled Destination: Skaro.^[13]

On 24 November 2023 Tennant appeared in-character as the Fourteenth Doctor for the CBeebies Bedtime Story.^[14]

As part of Doctor Who's 60th anniversary specials, the Fourteenth Doctor next appears in "The Star Beast". Arriving in Camden Town, the Doctor bumps into former companion Donna Noble (Catherine Tate) – who had her memory of the Doctor wiped following a Time Lord biological metacrisis by him in his similar-looking tenth incarnation – and her daughter Rose (Yasmin Finney). Teaming up with UNIT's incumbent scientific advisor Shirley Bingham (Ruth Madeley), the Doctor is forced to trigger the metacrisis, granting Donna access to the knowledge that will enable them to save London from destruction. Donna seems to perish, until it is revealed that Rose had inherited some of her mother's repressed Time Lord abilities, allowing the DoctorDonna's powers to be shared safely between the two.

Later on, Donna spills a cup of coffee on the TARDIS console, forcing it into an uncontrolled dematerialisation. After a brief encounter with Sir Isaac Newton (Nathaniel Curtis), the TARDIS crash lands aboard a spaceship which is adrift at the farthest edge of the universe. When they return to Camden, a few days after their departure, they discover Wilf (Bernard Cribbins) has been keeping watch for the TARDIS, who warns them that the world is coming to an end.

The Doctor and Donna team up with UNIT, where the Doctor is reunited with Shirley, Melanie Bush (Bonnie Langford) and Kate Lethbridge-Stewart (Jemma Redgrave), to combat a plot by the Toymaker (Neil Patrick Harris) to create global anarchy. In the ensuing battle, the Fourteenth Doctor is shot by the Toymaker, but instead of regenerating, the Doctor "bi-generates" – a supposedly mythical Time Lord process where the new incarnation splits off as a separate physical entity. The Fourteenth Doctor teams up with the new Fifteenth Doctor (Ncuti Gatwa) to defeat the Toymaker, and later use the power of his domain to duplicate the TARDIS. The Fifteenth Doctor warns his predecessor that he's worn himself out and needs to process the psychological impact of recent events. The Fourteenth Doctor settles down with Donna, her family, while the Fifteenth Doctor goes off in his version of the TARDIS for new adventures.