The Doctor (Doctor Who)
The Doctor is the title character in the long-running BBC science fiction television programme "Doctor Who". Since the show's inception in 1963, the character has been portrayed by thirteen lead actors. In the programme, "the Doctor" is the alias assumed by a centuries-old alien—a Time Lord from the planet Gallifrey—who travels through space and time in the TARDIS, frequently with companions. The transition to each succeeding actor is explained within the show's narrative through the plot device of "regeneration", a biological function of the Time Lord race that allows a change of cellular structure and appearance with recovery following a potentially fatal injury.
List of awards and nominations received by Doctor Who
It has been nominated for a variety of different awards including 29 BAFTA TV Awards (eight wins for the series), 28 Hugo Awards (6 wins), 18 Saturn Awards (3 wins), 24 National Television Awards (16 wins), 5 Writer's Guild of Great Britain Awards (two wins), and a total of 23 awards from BBC itself (14 wins). Amongst the wins for the series are a BAFTA TV Award for Best Drama Series, the most prestigious award for British television series; it was the very first (and to date only) science fiction work to win. Matt Smith became the first "Doctor Who" actor to earn a BAFTA TV nomination in 2011, receiving a Best Actor nomination for his role as the Eleventh Doctor, while Michelle Gomez became the first BAFTA TV-nominated "Doctor Who" actress in 2016 for her supporting role as Missy.