Doctor Who fans picked David Tennant as their favourite Doctor to date in 2020, and with good reason! After over 50,000 votes were cast, the Scottish actor who played the series’ central face-changing, time-traveling hero from 2005 to 2010 was declared the winner.

With him set to reprise the role (the capacity of which is still unknown) for Doctor Who’s 60th anniversary, let us take a look back at the best of the Casanova star as The Doctor.

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10. Episode – Voyage of the Damned

Fans frequently dismiss this one as light, and indeed, the plot is fairly thin. But keep in mind that this is Christmas Day Doctor Who, intended for non-Who fans stuffed with turkey and Cadbury’s Heroes. As the Doctor fights to prevent the Titanic spaceship from collapsing onto the ground, the episode fully exploits all disaster movie tropes. Kylie Minogue, who plays the wanderlust-filled waitress Astrid, adds some true star glitz to the show. Along with the spectacle, the script has some emotional sequences, with Astrid’s infatuation with cyborg Bannakaffalatta being surprisingly moving. A fantastic adventure, so sit back, relax, and enjoy the trip.

Best Tennant moment: There have been a few over the years, but this “I am the Doctor and I am going to save you” statement is one of the grandest, bordering on the ludicrous, like the rest of the show.

9. Episode – The Day Of The Doctor

Tennant’s Doctor teams up with current incumbent Matt Smith, as well as John Hurt as a missing incarnation of the Time Lord, in a huge, bold blockbuster for the show’s 50th anniversary. There’s a plot about shape-changing Zygons and Hurt’s “War Doctor” reversing the horrific act he had to execute during the much-discussed Time War, but the true delight is Tennant and Smith’s collaboration with Hurt. The pair are full of youthful energy and banter, while Hurt’s world-weary Doctor is bemused by their antics — like two overly enthusiastic children and a jaded dad. In addition, Tom Baker as The Doctor makes a cameo. Or he may not be The Doctor after all. That question has been left unanswered for us, which is really amusing.

Best Tennant moment: When he leaves the Matt Smith Doctor behind, he echoes the iconic last sentence from his own final episode. “I don’t want to go,” he said, sending the fandom into a frenzy of melancholic nostalgia.

8. Episode – School Reunion

Aside from the compulsory Daleks, “new” Doctor Who eschewed mining its history, so fans were treated to a fresh new show that wasn’t weighed down by knowing the Doctor vanquished the Zarbi on the planet Votris and other such trivia.

However, Sarah Jane Smith, the series’ most popular classic companion, made a return in this episode, bringing the past back into style. Her reappearance wasn’t merely for the sake of fan excitement (although we did all get those, obviously). Sarah became a mirror image of Rose and her connection with the Doctor. The ex and the current start squabbling, which is great fun, but as friendship grows, Rose is left to consider her future with the Time Lord.

Even the Doctor and K9 are reunited. What more could you ask for? There is a plot involving monsters, but that isn’t really the focus.

Best Tennant Moment: At the end of the episode, the Doctor declares, “My Sarah Jane.” In terms of acting, Elisabeth Sladen (Sarah) more than matches Tennant, and the pairing brings the programme to a new level of emotional depth.

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7. Episode – Army of Ghosts/ Doomsday

The breaking up of the tenth Doctor and Rose was certain to be painful, and the last minutes of this story definitely put us through the wringer. But first, we had the first confrontation of the Daleks and the Cybermen, as well as a degree of visual spectacle that set new standards for the show. But the divorce of the Doc and Rose, who are now practically a world apart, blasted all of that out of the water. Rose fell into a void, which was followed by tears and some excellent scripting by Russel T. Davies as Tennant and Billie Piper shared their final screen time (for the time being). With Tracy-Ann Oberman as Yvonne Hartman as a guest star and an appearance by EastEnders veteran Barbara Windsor, this one is a genuine treat.

Best Tennant moment: The final moment with Rose and the Doctor is iconic, but for something lighter, the Doctor going spook hunting with his Ghostbusters backpack is peak Tennant Doctor.

6. Episode – Midnight

One of the series’ creepiest stories is a claustrophobic episode set mostly within one little spaceship. As an unknown monster takes control of one of the passengers on a pleasure cruise, we watch Doctor lose control of the situation, plainly afraid, making things increasingly scarier. Most adults, much alone children, will be terrified by Lesley Sharp’s portrayal of the possessed Sky Sylvestry. This chamber piece is one of Russell T. Davies’ most extraordinary writings, proving that monsters and special effects aren’t the only things that Doctor Who is about.

Best Tennant Moment: As he urgently tries to persuade them that he is their only hope of getting out of this, the Doctor’s irritation turns to panic as the other passengers turn against him, threatening to throw him out of the airlock.

5. Episode – The Christmas Invasion

The first of the Christmas specials goes all out with murderous Christmas trees and robot Santas. Tennant makes his début as well, but the episode teases the audience by keeping him asleep for much of the first half. Rose and her mother Jackie, both of whom the audience is familiar with from the previous year, carry the action as a massive spaceship emerges above Earth and, as the title suggests, a Christmas invasion unfolds. Tennant’s big moment is when he emerges from the Tardis into the spaceship for a fight with the Sychorax invaders with a casual “Did you miss me?”

Best Tennant moment: As he exacts his retribution on Prime Minister Harriet Jones, we get our first look at this Doctor’s dark, cruel side. “Don’t you think she looks tired?” he casually asks her assistant before walking away, knowing that his words will start a whispering campaign that will lead to her demise.

4. Episode – The Unicorn and the Wasp

This isn’t hard sci-fi. The funniest episode of the Tennant years, packed with comedy and characters depicted in bold strokes. Tennant’s Doctor and Catherine Tate’s Donna are at home in the twenties. There’s also a fun drinking game to go along with the wickedly hilarious script, which has several Agatha Christie novel titles thrown into the dialogue. As you spot Sparkling Cyanide or They Do It With Mirrors, treat yourself to a slug of Bee’s Knees or Singapore Sling – it’ll make this hilarious episode even better.

Best Tennant moment: The routine in which the Doctor is poisoned, unable to speak, and must urgently mime the components for an antidote to Donna. This could be the funniest Doctor Who moment ever.

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3. Episode – Human Nature/The Family of Blood

The lovely two-parter, set in 1913, is filled with amazing moments and striking scenery. With the Doctor reduced to the identity of schoolteacher John Smith and no recollection of his Time Lord past, it’s up to Martha to carry out the instructions he left before erasing his memory. As captivated Martha watches her “Doctor” fall for school nurse Joan, Freema Ageyman has never been better. The Family of Blood are as spooky as baddies get, and we’re sure the roving scarecrows kept a lot of kids awake that night.

Best Tennant moment: “John” realises he must return to the Doctor, and we witness the life he will never have with Joan flash before his eyes.

2. Episode – Blink

It may seem strange to chose an episode that features Tennant’s Doctor, but Blink has practically taken on a life of its own since its initial broadcast. Tennant is mostly seen in urgent messages to the camera, but they propel the plot forward as Sally Sparrow attempts to battle the Weeping Angels. With a devilishly simple but terrifying premise, the Angels are this era’s breakout monsters. The episode won several major accolades and has since become even more renowned for starring future Oscar candidate Carey Mulligan.

Best Tennant moment: The Doctor’s “timey wimey, wibbly wobbly” speech, in which he explains that time is not a simple notion (and deftly dodges a few narrative problems in the process), has become one of his most memorable remarks.

1. Episode – The Stolen Earth/ Journey’s End

This feels like the end of the Russel T. Davies version of the show, with a large pantomime walkdown of old pals. Much more so than Tennant’s final mediocre story, The End Of Time, the following year. The first episode is packed with action as the Doctor’s friends band together to fight the Daleks, while the second half features a showdown with Davros, probably the show’s best-ever villain and gone from our screens since 1988. The fake regeneration cliffhanger at the end of the first episode so captivated the nation that the show topped the ratings the following week for the first time in its history.

Best Tennant Moment: The anguish of having to erase Donna’s memory in order to save her life. As he returns to the Tardis, the Doctor cuts a lonely figure in the pouring rain.