Doctor Who in Glasgow: Glaswegian actors that have played the doctor and famous scenes set in the city

As the Doctor Who World of Wonder exhibition launches at the National Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh today (December 9), we thought it only right to look at the contributions Glasgow has made in making the Doctor who he is today.

From British icon to beloved worldwide series, the show has embodied all aspects of the UK, and has taken more influence from Glasgow and it’s people than you might expect. Several episodes of the show were set and filmed in Glasgow - most famously in the debut of the twelth doctor, Peter Capaldi - in which the time lord takes companion Clara to a phone box to call his previous generation the Eleventh Doctor, Matt Smith.

In the 2015 episode ‘Hell Bent’ Peter Capaldi’s companion Clara jokes that the Doctor’s home town is Glasgow - to which he quickly corrects her ‘Space Glasgow’. It’s even revealed that Doctor Who holds a doctorate from the University of Glasgow in Matt Smith’s run of the role. Everyone’s favourite recurring round-headed alien, Strax, often enjoys frequenting Glasgow to fight with the locals - it was during one such encounter that the alien was found by ‘The Whispermen.’

Without further adieu, here’s our list of Glaswegians that have starred in Doctor Who:

Peter Capaldi

Capaldi was born and raised in Glasgow and attended the Glasgow School of Art for his education. The Glaswegian actor has been a life-long fan of the series, so he jumped at the chance to play the titular Doctor - taking up the role as the twelth Doctor in 2013, he played the character for four years before stepping down from the lead role in 2017.

Capaldi had previously starred in the show as different characters, including Lobus Caecilius in the 2008 episode “The Fires of Pompeii“ in which he plays a roman noble in the last few days of Pompeii before the volcanic eruption. He also played a civil servant, John Frobisher (vis a vis his role as Malcolm Tucker in the Thick of It), in the 2009 spin-off Torchwood.

Peter Capaldi is still involved in the Whovian fandom - even recently recording a clip for the Glasgow Doctor Who Society, which can be seen below.

David Tennant

Born in Bathgate and raised in Glasgow, David Tennant has also been a life-long fan of the series. At the age of three, Tennant told his parents that he wanted to become an actor because he was a fan of Doctor Who, but they encouraged him to aim for more conventional work. He later said that he was “absurdly single-minded” in pursuing an acting career. He watched almost every Doctor Who episode for years and once spoke to Fourth Doctor actor Tom Baker at a book-signing event in Glasgow.

David fulfilled his dream of playing Doctor Who in 2005 when he was brought in as the tenth doctor to replace Christopher Eccleston. Many Whovians even claim the Glasgow actor as their favourite iteration of The Doctor ever, even beating out beloved classic Doctor Tom Baker in some polls.

Now Tennant is set to return to the role of the Doctor after Jodie Whittaker’s shocking regenerated into her previous form as David Tennant, not as the tenth regeneration, but as the thirteenth. It’s not clear how things are going to play out when the series comes back next year, or how Ncuti Gatwa will play into things, with many of the Doctor Who fandom awaiting the new series with bated breath.

John Barrowman

Doctor Who fans adored John Barrowman’s character as space-rogue Captain Jack Harness, a swashbuckling pansexual time traveller from the 51st century. He was so well-received that he even got his own spin-off series, Torchwood.

Barrowman appeared extensively in the 2005 revival of Doctor Who - and has done so sporadically in newer seasons - most recently appearing in the 2021 New Year’s Day special, ‘Revolution of the Daleks’. It’s unlikely that we’ll see the actor reprise the role again, after on-set sexual misconduct came to light, in which it was made public that Barrowman had exposed himself to several cast members while filming on several different projects.

As a result of the allegations, a video featuring Barrowman was removed from the Doctor Who: Time Fracture theatre show. Big Finish removed the Torchwood release "Absent Friends" from pre-order and their release schedule, and Titan Comics shelved a graphic novel that was set to feature Captain Jack Harkness.

Michelle Gomez

Michelle Gomez played the role of ‘Missy’ in series eight through ten of Doctor Who. Gomez was born and raised in Glasgow, and studyed at the Royal Conservatoire. The actor has appeared in numerous Scottish productions, including Irvine Welsh’s Acid House.

Missy’s true identity was revealed in the Series eight two-part finale as a female incarnation of the Master, the Doctor’s longstanding nemesis. Gomez reprised the role in the opening two-part story of the ninth series and again in the show’s tenth series, which began broadcasting in April 2017. In May 2017, Gomez stated that it would be her last series in the role.

Gomez’s portrayal of Missy earned her a nomination for the Best Actress (Television) award at the 2015 British Academy Scotland Awards. Later, Gomez also received a nod as Best Supporting Actress at the British Academy Television Awards.

Steven Moffat

Steven Moffat has been writing for Doctor Who since the series was revived in 2005, beginning under showrunner Russel T Davies before taking over as the shows lead writer and executive producer for the shows fifth series in May 2008.

A lifelong fan of Doctor Who, the writer was born in Paisley and studied at the University of Glasgow. After gaining his Master of Arts degree from the uni, he worked as a teacher for three and a half years at Cowdenknowes High School in Greenock.

Prior to becoming lead writer on Doctor Who, he wrote several Doctor Who novels and anthologies. He contirbuted to Paul Cornell’s Doctor Who novel Human Nature in 1995. Next year in 1996 he wrote his first solo Doctor Who book ‘Decalog 3: Consequences’.

Ncuti Gatwa

Originally thought to be the fourteenth doctor - fans were shocked when Jodie Whittaker’s Doctor regenearated into David Tennant instead. Originally born in Rwanda, his family fled the Tutsi genocide and settled in Scotland in 1994.

Living mostly on the east cost in Edinburgh and Dunfermline, the actor moved to Glasgow in 2013 to begin his education at the Royal Conservatoire. Having previously garnered a lot of respect in the industry for his acting ability, Gatwa shot to stardom for his role in Netflix series Sex Education as supporting character Eric.

Gatwa is expected to be the fifteenth Doctor, and will be the first black actor to lead the series, as well as the fourth Scottish actor to do so.