The Tenth Doctor appears in at least one episode of Doctor Who.
The tenth series of the British science fiction television programme Doctor Who premiered on 15 April 2017 and is set to consist of twelve episodes , after it was released in July 2015 that BBC Worldwide had invested in a tenth series of the programme in its annual review . Preceded by a Christmas special in December 2016 , `` The Return of Doctor Mysterio '' , the series is the third and final series starring Peter Capaldi as the Twelfth Doctor , an incarnation of the Doctor , an alien Time Lord who travels through time and space in his TARDIS , which appears to be a British police box on the outside ; Capaldi announced in January 2017 that he would be stepping down from the role after the tenth series . Doctor Who (series 9) . This is the second series starring Peter Capaldi as the Twelfth Doctor , an alien Time Lord who travels through time and space in his TARDIS , which is disguised as a British police box . The Tenth Doctor is an incarnation of the Doctor , the protagonist of the BBC science fiction television programme Doctor Who , who is played by David Tennant in three series as well as nine specials . As with previous incarnations of the Doctor , the character has also appeared in other Doctor Who spin-offs .