The Fifth Doctor

After Tom Baker had announced that he was leaving the lead role in Doctor Who after such a long run, the producers sought out a replacement would could show a great contrast in the character.

Peter Davison's Doctor was less the adventurer and much more a team player. Is that perhaps why he wore cricket 'whites'? A much more sensitive person, his Doctor reacted to situations rather than initiating them; he abhorred violence. He was, at that time, the youngest ever actor to play the role.

However, underneath the character's nervous energy was a Time Lord of great age and experience; even courage. Steven Moffat once said of Davidson's portrayal that "this Doctor takes the emphasis off the eccentricities and turns it into a pained heroism of a man who is so much better than the universe he is trying to save but cannot bear to let it stand."

Davison had originally agreed to play the Doctor for three years (1981-1984), and did not renew his contract following advice from Patrick Troughton (the Second Doctor) to avoid the risk of typecasting. He handed the role over to Colin Baker...