This article contains spoilers for Doctor Who season 13, episode 9, "The Power of the Doctor."
Doctor Who season 13, episode 9, "The Power of the Doctor," welcomes back plenty of veteran cast to help celebrate the BBC's Centenary. The feature-length special tells the final tale of Thirteenth Doctor Jodie Whittaker. Observing a long-running Doctor Who tradition, the emotional final scene shows the Thirteenth Doctor regenerate into the Fourteenth Doctor, who has a surprisingly familiar face.
The final Doctor Who episode of 2022, "The Power of the Doctor," sprinkles nostalgic appearances by returning actors throughout the story. The show premiered in 1963, and it's been an institution for generations of fans. The parade of legacy characters appearing in the special fit perfectly with the BBC's agenda to celebrate its 100th anniversary. Whittaker is ed by several prior incarnations of the Doctor, as well as companions and allies from throughout the show's 59-year history. Here's every returning actor who appears in Doctor Who's Centenary Special.
David Tennant as the Tenth (and Fourteenth!) Doctor
The BBC teased Tennant's return well in advance of "The Power of the Doctor" airing, but viewers were nonetheless shocked that Tennant returned not as the iconic Tenth Doctor but as the incoming Fourteenth Doctor. Many had expected to see Whittaker regenerate into Ncuti Gatwa, who the show announced months ago as the next actor to take up the lead role, but Gatwa's introduction as the Fifteenth Doctor will have to wait for Doctor Who's 60th-anniversary specials in 2023. Tennant's welcome return in the final scene closed the episode on its most nostalgic note.
Peter Davison as the Fifth Doctor 
Peter Davison's Fifth Doctor helmed the TARDIS from 1982-1984. Davison took over the role following Tom Baker's memorable 1974-1981 run as the Fourth Doctor, but despite having to fill such big shoes, Davison did a solid job, and many Doctor Who fans him fondly. "The Caves of Androzani," Davison's final story, is still widely considered a series high point.
Colin Baker as the Sixth Doctor
Colin Baker played the role from 1984-1986. Thanks largely to some controversial character and story decisions by the show's producer John Nathan-Taylor, the Sixth Doctor's era was a stormy one. The character was conceived as a darker, edgier version of the Time Lord, and his first story saw the Sixth Doctor try to strangle his companion Peri. Following a sharply divided response to Baker's first full season, the BBC delayed his second and final season and recut the episodes into the season-long arc "The Trial of a Time Lord." Viewers were unimpressed, though, and the BBC fired Colin Baker. The actor's later, more traditional performances in audio dramas for Big Finish Productions went a long way toward rehabilitating the Sixth Doctor's character for many listeners.
Sylvester McCoy as the Seventh Doctor
Sylvester McCoy led the show from 1987 to 1989 for the final, truncated seasons of Doctor Who's classic era. The BBC only grudgingly ed the show during this era and canceled it following its 26th season. McCoy was generally well-liked by viewers, but the Seventh Doctor failed to bring in the ratings demanded by the BBC to keep the show going.
Paul McGann as the Eighth Doctor
Paul McGann's era was a short one. His sole broadcast appearance as the Eighth Doctor was in a 1996 made-for-TV movie. The BBC and Fox tly produced the project and intended to reboot the series for American television. US audiences were less familiar with Doctor Who back then, and many found the show's premise and the Eighth Doctor's backstory difficult to parse. McGann's Doctor has fared better in Big Finish audio dramas, and he regenerated into John Hurt's War Doctor in a popular streaming short during the 2013 run-up to the 50th anniversary special "The Day of the Doctor."
David Bradley as the First Doctor
David Bradley returns as the First Doctor. William Hartnell originally played the part and starred from the 1963 premiere until 1966 when he retired for health reasons. Hartnell's retirement prompted the creation of the show's regeneration mythos to explain the change in actors. William Hartnell died in 1975, and David Bradley has played the role in a handful of more recent episodes, as well as in the 2013 film An Adventure in Space and Time which illustrated the creation and early years of Doctor Who.
Jo Martin as The Fugitive Doctor
Season 12, episode 5 of the modern era, "Fugitive of the Judoon," introduced Jo Martin as Ruth Clayton, and then revealed her to be a much older, pre-Hartnell incarnation of the Doctor. The Fugitive Doctor was a pivotal figure in season 12's infamous "Timeless Child" arc, which upended the Doctor's origin story, and she's made subsequent, recurring appearances in season 13.
William Russell as Ian Chesterton
Ian Chesterton was one of the First Doctor's original companions. William Russel's first appearance actually preceded the Doctor's onscreen introduction in the first episode, "An Unearthly Child." Ian was a companion for the first 74 episodes of the classic series.
Katy Manning as Jo Grant/Jones
Katy Manning played the lively Jo Grant in 77 episodes from 1971-1973. She debuted alongside the Third Doctor in season 8, episode 1, "Terror of the Autons: Episode 1," and continued for most of the Third Doctor, Jon Pertwee's era. The character left the TARDIS to get married and took Jones as her surname.
Janet Fielding as Tegan Jovanka
Flight attendant Tegan Jovanka met Tom Baker's Fourth Doctor late in his final season. She then remained a popular companion for most of Peter Davison's run as the Fifth Doctor. She played a substantial part in the Centenary Special.
