John Barrowman Thinks David Tennant Was The Best Doctor Ever

An eternal debate among Doctor Who fans is the question of which of the 13 actors to play the Doctor is the greatest. One of the fan favorite icons of the modern Doctor Who run, John Barrowman, has offered his opinion, though the man who played Captain Jack Harkness for four series may be a bit biased. In an interview with The Big Issue, Barrowman gives David Tennant, the Tenth Doctor, the nod as the best ever. The subject came up while Barrowman was imagining the things he might tell his 16-year-old self if he could actually time travel.

It would blow my 16-year-old’s brain even more if I told him: you’re going to be one of the most iconic characters in Doctor Who for the next two or three generations. I think I was part of the greatest season of Doctor Who ever. And Billie Piper and I were 20 or 15 votes apart, voted number one and number two, in the poll for the best companion in the history of Doctor Who. I think David Tennant was the best ever Doctor, no one can hold a candle to him. I used to watch Doctor Who with John Pertwee, then Tom Baker, every Sunday night on the local Chicago TV station. I failed every Monday morning spelling test because of that show.

Tennant played the Tenth Doctor for three full series of Doctor Who, running from 2006 through 2008. Barrowman’s Jack Harkness was a recurring character on Doctor Who through much of that run, before leaving to star in the Torchwood spinoff. He returned for one last goodbye to the show in the Series 4 finale, “The Stolen Earth/Journey’s End.”

Tennant’s run as the Doctor concluded after starring in five specials that aired between 2008 and 2010. Tennant reprised his role in 2013 for the Doctor Who 50th Anniversary Special, “The Day of the Doctor,” in which he teamed up with the Eleventh Doctor (Matt Smith) and the War Doctor (John Hurt).