Born: 18th April 1971 (as David John McDonald)
Episodes Broadcast: 2005-2010, 2013, 2022-2023

David McDonald was born in Bathgate, Scotland. He was a fan of television -- and of Doctor Who in particular -- from a very young age, and was soon determined to become an actor. McDonald participated in school plays and enrolled in weekend classes at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama. When he was sixteen, he successfully auditioned to gain full admission to the Academy; the same year, he appeared in an anti-smoking film. In 1988, McDonald made his television debut in an episode of Dramarama. To avoid confusion with another actor of the same name, he would be professionally credited as “David Tennant”, inspired by singer Neil Tennant of the Pet Shop Boys.

After graduating in 1991, Tennant focussed on the stage, including several productions with the Royal Shakespeare Company. At the same time, he had recurring television roles in Takin' Over The Asylum and Duck Patrol, alongside single episodes of shows like Rab C Nesbitt and Love In The 21st Century. Occasional films included Jude, starring Kate Winslet and the future Ninth Doctor, Christopher Eccleston. In the early part of the twenty-first century, Tennant could be seen in programmes such as Terri McIntyre, He Knew He Was Right and Blackpool, plus the Stephen Fry movie Bright Young Things. He also began working on the range of Doctor Who audio dramas from Big Finish Productions, beginning with the 2001 Seventh Doctor adventure Colditz.

Russell T Davies was so impressed with Tennant's perform in Casanova that he was the obvious choice for the Tenth Doctor

In 2003, Tennant made a cameo appearance in the Doctor Who webcast Scream Of The Shalka, the first of a planned series starring Richard E Grant as the Ninth Doctor. Grant's tenure as the Doctor proved short-lived, however, as it was announced shortly thereafter that Russell T Davies would be bringing Doctor Who back to television. At the same time, Davies was developing the comedy-drama Casanova, in which Tennant won the title role. Davies was so impressed with his performance that, when Eccleston decided to leave Doctor Who after one season, Tennant was the obvious choice to become the Tenth Doctor. He debuted in the closing moments of 2005's The Parting Of The Ways, was introduced to the audience in the brief Children In Need Special (2005), and then enjoyed his first full adventure in The Christmas Invasion.

The Tenth Doctor proved enormously successful, with his cheeky intensity and geek chic attire attracting a plethora of new fans. Doctor Who soared to unprecedented heights of popularity with the 2008 season finale, Journey's End, which became the first episode in the programme's history to reach the top of the weekly television ratings table. By this time, however, Tennant had already announced that he would be departing Doctor Who alongside Davies and executive producer Julie Gardner. He briefly reconsidered after new showrunner Steven Moffat revealed his plans for the series, but Tennant ultimately stuck by his decision. The Tenth Doctor regenerated on New Year's Day 2010, in the concluding installment of The End Of Time. Tennant would subsequently record an appearance in The Wedding Of Sarah Jane Smith, a 2009 serial for spin-off The Sarah Jane Adventures.

Tennant was busy on other projects during his Doctor Who tenure, appearing in shows like Secret Smile, Learners and Einstein And Eddington, plus movies such as Harry Potter and The Goblet Of Fire, St Trinian's 2: The Legend Of Fritton's Gold and Glorious 39. He also rejoined the Royal Shakespeare Company for a celebrated run in Hamlet. Meanwhile, Tennant began a relationship with Georgia Moffett, the daughter of Fifth Doctor Peter Davison, who had played the title role in the 2008 episode The Doctor's Daughter. They were married in 2011, and Tennant subsequently adopted her son, Ty. The couple would have four further children: another son, Wilfred, and daughters Olive, Doris and Birdie.

Tennant returned to Doctor Who for the 50th-anniversary special The Day Of The Doctor

Tennant was in demand throughout the 2010s, starring in shows like Broadchurch (and its American remake Gracepoint), Jessica Jones, There She Goes and Good Omens. Amongst his movie roles were the horror remake Fright Night, Bad Samaritan and Mary Queen Of Scots. Tennant also became highly sought after for voice work, including children's fare Tree Fu Tom and DuckTales, adult-oriented comedy W1A, and silver screen animation How To Train Your Dragon. In 2013, Tennant returned to Doctor Who for the fiftieth-anniversary special The Day Of The Doctor, where he was teamed with his successor, Matt Smith, and a previously-unrevealed incarnation of the Doctor played by John Hurt. Tennant also made a cameo appearance as himself in Davison's loving spoof, The Five(ish) Doctors Reboot. He rejoined Big Finish for occasional Doctor Who audio plays, beginning with The Tenth Doctor Adventures Volume One in 2016. In 2018, Tennant reprised the Tenth Doctor on stage in The Muppets Take The O2.

Tennant's career showed no signs of slowing as the Twenties began, with projects including Deadwater Fell, Staged, and Moffat's Inside Man. He then returned to Doctor Who, now playing the Fourteenth Doctor, in 2022's The Power Of The Doctor. Tennant remained the series star for three specials which celebrated Doctor Who's sixtieth anniversary in 2023 before handing over to Ncuti Gatwa's Fifteenth Doctor during the events of The Giggle.