Doctor Who: here’s how and why each Doctor and companion left the show

The Ninth Doctor bid farewell after just one season after he saves Rose’s life. His companion absorbs all of the energy from the Time Vortex, and the Doctor takes it from her and dies instead. His iconic parting words? "You were fantastic, absolutely fantastic. And you know what? So was I." 

In real life, Christopher famously struggled on the set of Doctor Who, and clashed with Russell T. Davies as well as members of the production team. In 2010, he told the Evening Standard that he "didn't enjoy the environment and the culture that we, the cast and crew, had to work in". 

In 2018, he told Radio Times: "My relationship with my three immediate superiors – the showrunner, the producer and co-producer – broke down irreparably during the first block of filming and it never recovered. They lost trust in me, and I lost faith and trust and belief in them." Despite that, he said that he is "very proud" of the show. 

Despite one or two cameo appearances as Rose Tyler, Billie ultimately stepped away from the show following her second season, which time alongside David Tennant as the Doctor. Speaking on Desert Island Discs in 2021, Billie said she found the level of fame that came with starring on the show "uncomfortable", adding that she "didn't like the responsibility of being a sort of role model". 

In the show, Rose and the Doctor are attempting to rid a world now overrun with Daleks and Cybermen by throwing them into a void. Unfortunately, Rose is also pulled into the void, before she is caught and rescued by her alternate-universe father, Pete. 

Despite surviving, Rose is left trapped in an alternate universe, with no apparent way of getting back to the Doctor. She eventually finds a way to return, but ends up being happily settled with the human version of the Doctor - who is the same as him in every way, but will grow old at the same time as Rose.  

David left the show when Russell stepped down as the show’s producer, despite being tempted to stay on after Steven Moffatt took over. He appeared in the 50th anniversary special, as well as the three-part 60th anniversary special. Speaking on ITV, he explained: "It would be very easy to cling on to the TARDIS console forever and I fear that if I don't take a deep breath and make the decision to move on now, then I simply never will." 

In the show, the Tenth Doctor initially regenerates after absorbing radiation to save Donna’s grandfather, Wilfred. His face then returns following the Thirteenth Doctor’s regeneration and following a 'bi-generation,' he can rest and recuperate from the emotional devastation wrecked on him from 'the flux' with his friends and family, while Ncuti Gatwa’s Doctor took over in defending the universe. 

Martha was an excellent companion, but unfortunately the Doctor was still reeling from losing the love of his life, Rose, and Martha got caught in the friend zone, despite falling in love with the Doctor. As a result, she decides to bow out of travelling in the TARDIS, eventually marrying Rose’s ex-boyfriend, Mickey. 

In reality, not much is known about why Freema left the show, but it is understood that she had a contract for one season as the Doctor’s companion with the understanding that she would return in the future, which she did on several occasions, including Journey’s End, The Poison Sky and Torchwood season two.

Donna left the show in possibly the most heartbreaking exit ever after her memories of the Doctor needed to be wiped to save her life, leading her to return to her life from before she met the Time Lord. However, she returned for the 60th anniversary special, regained all of her memories of the Doctor and lived happily ever after with her family. 

Like Freema, Catherine is understood to only have a one season contract for the show, and left after serving as the Doctor’s companion for a full series - but of course, she returned on several more occasions! 

While Jack comes and goes in the Doctor Who universe, it’s perhaps fair to say that he travelled with the Ninth Doctor the most, particularly since the Doctor abandoned him in the season one finale - so why was his character written out of the show until returning in the season three episode Utopia. It is revealed that, after Rose brings Jack back to life with time vortex energy, the Doctor abandons him as Jack is now an "impossible thing" and cannot die, which the TARDIS has an adverse reaction to. 

Despite his exit, John has returned on several occasions, most recently in 2021 during Jodie Whittaker’s era. However, in light of several misconduct allegations, John’s appearance was removed from the Doctor Who: Time Fracture show, as well as a new Torchwood release. In a statement, he said: "My high-spirited behaviour which was only ever intended in good humour to entertain colleagues on set and backstage has been well-documented, including in my autobiographies and even in song. There were a couple of times during filming where I'd resort to tomfoolery, but none of this was ever intended nor interpreted as being sexual in nature." 

Matt left the show after three excellent years as the Doctor, including a seriously epic 50th anniversary special. His version of the Doctor ultimately died on old age during a Christmas special after spending hundreds of years protecting a town called Christmas. While the death was more of a whimper than a bang, Amy Pond’s return to say goodnight to him didn’t leave a dry eye in the house!

So why did he leave in real life? After playing the role for three years, Matt had had enough. Chatting to The Hollywood Reporter, he said: "It’s a very intense process to play the Doctor. The line learning is really hard, and you have to live away from home for nine or ten months a year. I love the show, and it wasn’t an easy choice to come to, but it’s the right time for both of us." 

Husband and wife Rory and Amy’s ending was somewhat devastating. After Rory is thrown into the past by a Weeping Angel, with a tombstone announcing his death and becoming a fixed point in time, Amy decides to join him there and dies in the present alongside him, leaving the Doctor and her daughter, River Song, behind. 

Speaking about leaving, Karen said: "I wanted to go on a high. Also, Steven Moffat comes up with endless, amazing ideas anyway, but I wanted to make sure that I went on a high when the character was at her prime. There's just something quite nice and appealing about that to me." 

Jenna played Clara Oswald, the impossible girl, and was both Matt Smith and Peter Capaldi’s pal through some of their time on the show. Her exit is certainly one of the more complicated ones, but the long and short of it is that although she technically dies, she manages to survive by being in a time stasis one second away from her death. Wiping the Doctor’s memories of her, she is able to go and enjoy some amazing adventures before confirming that she will eventually return to her timeline, where her body clock will resume, one second away from death.  

Speaking to EW about her exit, Jenna said: "You feel like you’re in a fairy tale and it’s really hard to walk away from that. It’s a lot more than just a job — the friendships I have with the crew and Peter, it’s very hard to say goodbye to it." 

Peter’s Doctor left the show after the Master teamed up with the Cyberman to cause his demise. He is shot several times by Cyberman before trying to stop himself from regenerating and reuniting with the first Doctor as they face their impending regenerations together. 

Speaking about his exit, Peter explained: "I want to always be giving it my best and I don't think if I stayed on I'd be able to do that. I can't think of another way to say, 'This could be the end of civilisation as we know it' […] I really never wanted to get to a place where I knew how to do this, because that's not what being creative is." 

Bill has a tragic time of times, as while the Doctor is unable to reach over for over a decade, she is turned into a Cyberman. Since she has travelled in the TARDIS, she is able to keep her humanity. She is eventually saved by her former girlfriend Heather, a water being who can travel across time and space. Heather turns Bill into a similar being, so they explore the universe together. 

With Chris Chibnell taking over to give Doctor Who a fresh start following Peter and Steven Moffatt’s exit from the show, Pearl’s exit as Bill was sadly inevitable. Speaking about Jodie taking over as the Doctor, there were clearly no hard feelings, as Pearl told Radio Times: "I think it's fantastic that they're having a woman as Doctor Who, and I think it's fantastic that it's Jodie, I think she's brilliant. Yeah, I think it's gonna be a great new energy and dynamic for the show.”

The Master again is responsible for the demise of the Doctor, as he manages to kill her with a laser attack, despite them foiling the Master’s plans to steal her body through forced regeneration. 

Jodie and the showrunner Chris Chibnall agreed that they’d do three seasons and leave, and stuck to their decision. Speaking about her decision to leave, she told Radio Times: "[Showrunner Chris Chibnall] and I always said we were going to do three series together, but then when you get to it, it’s a very different thing. 

"Sometimes it was like… ‘Are we sticking to this decision?’ There’s part of me that could absolutely say, ‘No, let’s keep going! Let’s go back on it! But to give the fans the level that they deserve, there has to be some sacrifice. You have to know when you’ve done it."

Yaz left the show after she was dropped off back home by a dying Doctor, who didn’t want her friend to see her regenerate and get used to being with a different version of the Doctor. 

Mandip left at the same time as Chris and Jodie for the show to have a fresh start. Speaking about her exit, she told Radio Times: "There wasn't an awful lot of acting going on. There were real tears. It was just beautiful, wasn't it? The TARDIS scene, that's not acting. That's actually just me crying. It was really emotional, it was beautiful, and it was written so well. I wouldn't have wanted it to end any other way. And then the scene on top of the TARDIS is just so beautiful. I'm just so grateful that we started together and we've ended together."