6 pieces of evidence that suggest the Doctor regenerates into faces he's seen before
Is it just us or does the Time Lord love to swap faces with his friends and foes?
After taking a look at his face in the mirror in the series 19 opener, 5th Doctor Peter Davison famously said that trouble with regeneration was that "you never know what you're going to get."
But countless episodes of Doctor Who later, fans aren't exactly convinced that he was speaking the truth. In fact, they think the 5th Doctor might have failed to realise that he's subconsciously regenerating into people he's crossed paths with or seen before.
And they've assembled quite a bit of evidence to back up their claims...
1. The 12th Doctor was rescued from The Fires of Pompeii by the 10th Doctor
We've all been waiting for the moment when Peter Capaldi's 12th Doctor will acknowledge the fact that his face looks familiar but in the mean time, fans have come up with their own theory. He quite simply picked it up from Pompeii's own Caecilius.
2. The 1st Doctor met the 2nd, 3rd and 5th Doctors in The Five Doctors
To celebrate the show's 20th anniversary, a Children In Need special brought the Time Lords together. And so on Gallifrey they and their companions met, planting the image of the 2nd, 3rd and 5th Doctors straight into the mind of the 1st Doctor, played by Richard Hurndall after William Hartnell's death.
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3. The 5th Doctor was shot by the 6th Doctor
Remember Gallifreyan Chancellory Guard Maxil? He stunned the 5th Doctor with a staser blast. And then the 5th Doctor basically regenerated into him.
Go figure.
4. And met the 10th Doctor in Time Crash
More Children In Need inspiration for some Time Lord regeneration?
5. The 10th also met the 11th in Day of The Doctor
Screwdrivers are cool. Just sayin'.
6. And Romana II had a good shuffle before settling on a familiar face...
When Mary Tamm's Romana I regenerated into Romana II she decided good old Key to Time Princess Astra of Atrios – who she met in The Armageddon Factor – would do.
Does this mean The Doctor regenerates into familiar faces then? Or do you think there's a flaw in the fan theory? And who on earth is that ginger person the Doctor keeps waiting to regenerate into?
Doctor Who series 9 continues on BBC One on Saturday nights
