Some choose a leather jacket and some prefer a bow-tie, but every Doctor can pull off an impassioned speech like no one else.
Doctor Who season 8 premieres on August 23. The episode will be the first outing by Peter Capaldi as the new Doctor, and he certainly has some big shoes to fill. Christopher Eccleston, David Tennant and Matt Smith have all brought something new and different to their portrayal of the Doctor, and those differences have won each of them legions of fans.
Can Peter Capaldi meet those expectations? We will soon find out. In the meantime, as part of our Who Week celebrations we look back at some of the brilliant moments brought to us by Eccleston, Tennant and Smith in our ten favourite speeches by the Doctor from the first seven seasons of Doctor Who. Of course, sometimes the Doctor’s companions have their chance to make a memorable speech, but with all eyes on Capaldi come August 23, it seemed appropriate to limit our list to only those speeches made by the Doctor himself – in his many incarnations.
Eleventh Doctor, ‘The Pandorica Opens’
Tenth Doctor, ‘Journey’s End’
Eleventh Doctor, ‘The Eleventh Hour’
Ninth Doctor, ‘Rose’
Tenth Doctor, ‘The Satan Pit’
Eleventh Doctor, ‘The Rings of Akhaten’
Eleventh Doctor, ‘The Day of the Doctor’
Ninth Doctor, ‘The Parting of the Ways’
Tenth Doctor, ‘The Waters of Mars’
Eleventh Doctor, ‘The Big Bang’
Graphics by Angelica Yap
For many it will depend as much on the Doctor as the words being spoken, but which of these ten speeches is the most memorable to you? Alternately, if you have a favourite Doctor Who speech that wasn’t featured here, make sure to tell us in the comments why it stands out to you.