Peter Davison explains why he decided to quit Doctor Who and “burn the bridges” after 3 years

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Peter Davison, the fifth actor to play the Doctor, left the show in 1984 after three popular seasons. He recently explained his reasons for leaving and why he’s always been open to returning to the role.

Peter Davison recently shared at a BFI Southbank event, while promoting the upcoming Blu-ray release of Doctor Who: The Collection: Season 21 (available March 16th), that he worried about being stuck playing only one type of role. He feels fortunate to have found work afterward that let him demonstrate his versatility as an actor.

He said he’d initially planned to finish after three years and wanted to make a clean break, but then he was asked to continue for a fourth year.

I figured I could manage doing the show for a few years – about three, to be exact. After that, people would still remember me for other roles. I felt like anything longer than that would typecast me, and everyone would just see me as ‘the Doctor,’ so I decided to be bold, do three years, and then move on to new things.

Shortly after that, I landed another job that took the focus off of Doctor Who. Because of that, I never felt the need to leave the show behind, and I was always glad to be involved in any Doctor Who projects that came up later on.

Peter Davison has returned to play the Fifth Doctor in several appearances, including the Children in Need special ‘Dimensions in Time’ (1993), the mini-episode ‘Time Crash’ (2007), Jodie Whittaker’s final Doctor Who episode, ‘The Power of the Doctor’ (2022), and the BBC iPlayer series ‘Tales of the TARDIS’ (2023).

He recently wore the cricket uniform once more for a short Doctor Who scene called ‘Destination: Daleks’. This scene was made to advertise the Blu-ray release of Doctor Who: Season 21 Collection.

This new collection features several classic Doctor Who stories with enhanced special effects. These include ‘The Awakening,’ ‘Frontios,’ ‘Resurrection of the Daleks,’ and ‘The Caves of Androzani.’ ‘Warriors of the Deep’ has been completely remastered with a new four-part edit, updated visuals, and 5.1 surround sound. ‘The Awakening’ and ‘The Caves of Androzani’ also receive updated surround sound mixes.

This release also includes bonus content like making-of documentaries for “Resurrection of the Daleks” and “The Twin Dilemma,” a brand new commentary track for “The Awakening,” and a special discussion featuring Janet Fielding, Mark Strickson, and Matthew Waterhouse, led by Matthew Sweet.

Popular features are back this year, like Behind the Sofa and a brand new Doctor Who Escape Room. You can also enjoy special episodes with Peter Davison and Janet Fielding – including Look Who’s Boating and 48 Hours with Fielding. There’s a refreshed version of the classic Earthshock story called Tales of the TARDIS, an updated version of The Five(ish) Doctors Reboot with new commentary, and plenty of extra content like HD picture galleries, detailed information, PDF archives, and select bonus features from older DVDs.

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The Doctor Who: The Collection: Season 21 box set will be released on March 16, 2026, and you can pre-order it today.

Okay, let me tell you, if you’re even remotely a fan of sci-fi, you need to be using the TopMob: What to Watch app. Seriously, download it now! It’s where I get my daily TV fix, and right now, it’s reminding me that Doctor Who is a must-watch. The app has recommendations, features, and everything you need to stay on top of what’s good on TV – and it’s telling me Doctor Who is definitely one of those things!

Authors

Morgan JefferyDigital Editor

Morgan Jeffery leads the editorial content for TopMob across all its digital platforms as Digital Editor. Before joining TopMob, he worked as TV Editor at Digital Spy and has appeared as a television commentator on BBC Breakfast, BBC Radio 5 Live, and Sky Atlantic.

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2026-03-10 14:07