The Ninth Doctor Who

The Ninth Doctor (played by Christopher Eccleston) brought a welcome return to our TV screens in 2005 with a brand new series. This incarnation of the Doctor is now the sole survivor of the Time Lords with the Great Time War destoring his home planet Gallifrey. This has a clear effect on the Doctor, as he harbours a deep survivor guilt over the events.

After travelling to Earth, he meets Rose Tyler (played by Billy Piper) and rescues her from several Autons, confronting and defeating (with Rose's help) the Nestene Consciousness controlling them. Rose eventually becomes his companion.

This Doctor, while sharing many characteristics of his predecessors, is a sadder and angrier person and yet harbouring a new appreciation for the wonders of the universe with a burning desire to keep the universe safe from harm.

The Ninth Doctor's era saw the introduction of a redesigned sonic screwdriver which was more versatile than its earlier versions, with functions ranging from its usual door opening abilities to conducting medical scans, repairing barbed wire and acting as a remote control for the TARDIS.

The Ninth Doctors time ends when he faces his old enemy, the Daleks. The Dalek Emperor has survived the time war and rebuilt the Dalek race. Rose realises that the only way to stop them is to absorb the energy of the Time Vortex at the heart of the TARDIS. In order to save Rose being destroyed as well the Doctor absorbs the fatal energy himself, causing a regeneration into the tenth Doctor.