Time travel to the Tardis: 10 facts you need to know about Doctor Who before watching

6. What do you mean “reincarnation”? Does The Doctor not die?

The Doctor is a Time Lord – and instead of death, Time Lords regenerate into a new body every time they are mortally wounded, hence the many actors who have played Doctor Who over the last 60 years. There were seven versions of The Doctor in the original series, beginning with Hartnell and ending with Sylvester McCoy, followed by an eighth (Paul McGann) in a one-off film in 1996. In the rebooted series, there have been five further versions of the Doctor, battling the Daleks as well as many other nemeses. The most recent Doctor, played by Jodie Whittaker, was the first female reincarnation.

7. Hold on, what is a Dalek?

Daleks are one of the original villains in Doctor Who, a species of xenophobic alien bent on the mass-extermination of any species they deem “inferior” to their own (which is to say – all of them). Daleks are the mutated remains of the Kaled people, housed within tank-like metal cases on wheels, equipped with lasers. As well as Daleks, in more recent Doctor Who episodes, we have also been introduced to villains like the Weeping Angels (murderous, gothic statues that only move when you’re not looking – watch the Bafta-winning 2007 episode Blink for an introduction), the warmongering Sontarans, and the return of the only other Gallifreyan to survive The Time Wars – The Master.