<span class="SFPTagline"> From SCIFIPEDIA </span>

Peter Davison is the stage name of British actor Peter Moffett (April 13, 1951- ). In science fiction, Davison is known for primarily for playing the fifth incarnation of the Doctor in the long-running British series Doctor Who (1981-1984). Davison has also held the lead role in other memorable British television roles.

The BBC was delighted to retain such a high profile actor for Doctor Who. Davison signed on for a three-year contract but did not renew it for fear of typecasting. Patrick Troughton, the renowned British actor who had played the Second Doctor in the series, recommended Davison for the role but was also the person who advised him to limit the stint to three years.

John Nathan Turner decided to make Davison's departure from Doctor Who a mid-season event for Season 21, presenting an opportunity to promote the show with a regeneration (change over to a new actor for the lead role. See the Doctor article for an overview). In the episode The Caves of Androzani, Davison's Doctor regenerates into his sixth incarnation after a fatal poisoning, sacrificing his life to save his companion. The Sixth Doctor would be played by Colin Baker.

Though Davison had begun to experience second thoughts about surrendering the role, by the beginning of Season 21, the promotion for Baker as the Sixth Doctor was already underway. Davison has reprised his role as the Doctor in several original audio plays from Big Finish Productions.

Other Science Fiction Roles

• Elmer in an episode of the British children's science fiction series The Tomorrow People ("A Man for Emily" in April 1978).

• Jeremy Tyler, a timid provincial solicitor in "Wink Three Times", an episode in the Anglia Television/ITV horror/suspense series Tales of the Unexpected which featured the stories of Roald Dahl (April 15, 1988)

Peter Davison also played an uncredited and very memorable bit role in the BBC miniseries The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (1981). At the time that Davison first found out he was to be the Fifth Doctor, his wife Sandra Dickinson, was cast as Trillian in the miniseries. Davison was a great fan of the radio series and the books and wanted a chance to play something, anything, in the show. However he and others were very concerned about what the BBC's reaction might be to finding out their principal, newly chosen actor in the high-profile and somewhat wholesome lead role of the Doctor was appearing in what was at the time a somewhat controversial project.

The producers of the series finally settled on a solution that amused them greatly: Davison played the Dish of the Day, a sentient animal selectively bred to desire its own demise as a meal (thus eliminating the guilt factor for the diner). Davison appeared under considerable prosthetics for the role and was not (at the time) credited. The producers and Douglas Adams found it very amusing that an actor heretofore famous as a veterinarian would be playing a cow in HHGG.

Other Well-Known Television Roles

Davison is also quite well known (at least in the UK) from several non-science fiction TV roles:

• Tristan Farnon in the BBC's adaptations of James Herriot's All Creatures Great and Small series (1978-1990

• Albert Campion in the BBC/Mystery! adaptation of Margery Allingham's novels (1989-1990)

• Inspector Christmas in The Mrs. Bradley Mysteries (1999)

• Detective Constable "Dangerous" Davies in The Last Detective (2003-2005)

Davison has also had guest roles on The Sharon Osbourne Show, Magnum P.I. and Hope and Glory.

Notable Life Events

Peter Davison and Sandra Dickinson divorced in 1994 (one child, daughter actress Georgia Moffett). Davison is currently partnered with actress Elizabeth Morton (Lifeforce (1985), The Tripods (1985), Faeries (1999)).

Morton and Davison had a child, Joel, born August 7, 2001. The birth of the child was tied to another event that day that thrust Davison into the headlines. A 15 year-old thief had taken a video camera from Davison's car, which was parked near hism home in Belsize Park. The tape in the camera was of Joel's birth from earlier that day. Davison pursued the thief on foot and by car and finally caught him, making a citizen's arrest.

External Links

External Links

• Peter Davison at IMDB.com
• Upcoming TV Schedule by IMDB.com

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