View source for How many actors have played the role and for how long?

{{article
| publication = Knight Ridder
| file = 1984-02-12 Centre Daily Times.jpg
| px = 450
| height = 
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| date = 1984-02-12
| author = 
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| language = English 
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| moreTitles = How many actors have played the role and for how long?
| morePublications = Centre Daily Times
| moreDates = 1984-02-12
| text = 
Q. Tell me about "Dr. Who." How many actors have played the role and for how long?

A. The Doctor bowed Nov. 23, 1963, on the British Broadcasting Corp. with William Hartnell in the title role. Part of the premise of the sci-fi series is that the doctor has one life but can "regenerate" and turn up in an entirely different form. It's handy when the actor playing the doctor wants to leave the series. Since Hartnell, who left in 1966, the Doctor has been played by Patrick Troughton (1966-69), John Pertwee (1969-74), Tom Baker (1974-81), Peter Davison (1981-83). (Davison is Tristan Farnon in another British TV series, "All Creatures Great and Small.") A 20th anniversary special, "The Five Doctors," was seen in Britain and the United States last November. But there actually were only three doctors; Hartnell is dead and Baker wasn't interested. The producers cast another actor, Richard Hurdnall, as Doctor Number One, and used parts of an unseen episode with Baker. This season in Britain, Colin Baker, no relation to Tom, is the new Doctor Who. Meanwhile, in the United States, where the series bowed in the late 1970s, "Who" fans, who have only seen Tom Baker up to now, will see shows featuring Davison this season. 
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