Doctor Who's The Story and the Engine pays tribute to former Doctors in moving scene

The Story and the Engine – from writer Inua Ellams – saw the Doctor (Ncuti Gatwa) encounter a mysterious Barber (Ariyon Bakare) who uses the magic of stories to power the engine of his craft, which is concealed within a seemingly innocuous barber shop.

As the story reaches its climax, the Doctor and companion Belinda (Varada Sethu) make their way to the heart of the Barber's craft – his story engine – and the Time Lord establishes a cognitive link with the apparatus.

"The engine is connected to me, my stories," he explains – and sure enough, we see some of those stories play out on a nearby display screen, showcasing short clips from across Doctor Who's 60+ year history.

Each of the show's leading actors who have preceded Gatwa make a brief appearance, beginning with Patrick Troughton, Jon Pertwee, Christopher Eccleston and David Tennant.

The montage continues with glimpses and audio snippets of Peter Capaldi, Jodie Whittaker, Matt Smith, Tom Baker, Paul McGann, William Hartnell, Peter Davison and Colin Baker.

"My body is like a barber shop – all of them inside..." the Doctor says. "...telling their stories, bickering – I will not fail them."

Of course, this isn't the first time that Doctor Who has explored the concept of previous incarnations living on in some form inside the mind of the current Doctor – 2022 episode The Power of the Doctor saw past incarnations manifest within the Thirteenth Doctor's psyche as the Guardians of the Edge, dwelling on the Edge of Existence.

The Barber believes that the Doctor has been foolhardy in unleashing his "never-ending story" and so granting him "never-ending power" – but in fact our hero's long and storied history is too much for the engine, which implodes, though not before both the Doctor and the Barber are able to escape back to Lagos, via the barber shop's front door and the time/space compressor which links the otherworldly craft with Nigeria.

Besides the names listed above, another past Doctor – the Fugitive Doctor, played by Jo Martin – also made a surprise cameo in The Story and the Engine, though in a different manner.

Encountering the Barber's ally Abena (Michelle Asante), the Fifteenth Doctor realises that they have met before – a long time ago – when the then-Fugitive Doctor faced Anansi the Spider God, who attempted to wed the Time Lord to his daughter, Abena.

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Martin briefly reprises her role as the Fugitive incarnation – last seen, again, in The Power of the Doctor – in a sequence where the present-day Doctor joins the dots and apologies to Abena for leaving her behind.

Speaking to RadioTimes.com prior to the season launch, showrunner Russell T Davies confirmed that the new episodes would continue to feature "little moments" acknowledging Doctor Who's past.

"I love those references," he said. "It's like a living text, Doctor Who – you can't deny the fact that it's 62 years old now."

Doctor Who continues next Saturday (17th May), with new episodes available from 8am on Saturdays on BBC iPlayer in the UK and later the same day on BBC One. The series is available on Disney+ outside of the UK.

Dive into our Doctor Who story guide: reviews of every episode since 1963, plus cast & crew listings, production trivia, and exclusive material from the Radio Times archive.

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