The first episode of Doctor Who came out in 1963.
Doctor Who is a British science-fiction television programme produced by the BBC since 1963 . The programme originally ran from 1963 to 1989 . The transition from one actor to another is written into the plot of the show with the concept of regeneration into a new incarnation -- an idea introduced in 1966 to allow the show to continue after the departure of original lead William Hartnell who was becoming very ill at the time . William Hartnell . Hartnell played the first incarnation of the Doctor in Doctor Who , from 1963 to 1966 .