The original Doctor Who first aired on the BBC in 1963. Its first episode, “An Unearthly Child,” was transmitted on 23 November 1963 on the BBC Television Service, beginning the programme’s original run.
The series was developed as a family programme that could combine education with entertainment. Its format used time travel to move between historical settings, futuristic adventures and stories about science and technology. Sydney Newman, Donald Wilson and C. E. Webber were central to the early development, while producer Verity Lambert helped bring the programme to the screen.
The launch came only one day after the assassination of US President John F. Kennedy, which affected the first episode’s audience and led the BBC to repeat it the following week. Doctor Who gained momentum soon afterward, particularly when the Daleks appeared in the second serial.
The original programme continued until 1989, completing 26 seasons. It returned in 2005 as a revived series, but that later production is distinct from the original 1963–1989 run.