Doctor Who Original The Doctor costumes

[Columbo]

Many of you may know of this awesome get together of all the surviving classic era Doctors last week.

20th Century Docs ​

Well it started me thinking so can anyone help on something that is now bugging me: how many original Doctor costume pieces still exist?

Browsing around the web throws up occasional items but I haven't found a compiled list of all that is out there. Is there such a list? If not I might start compiling one.

Just to be clear, I'm talking about items from the costume of each Doctor, not the whole series. So that's costumes worn by William Hartnell, Patrick Troughton, Jon Pertwee, Tom Baker, Peter Davison, Colin Baker, Sylvester McCoy, Paul McGann, Christopher Eccleston, David Tennant, Matt Smith. [Listed them all so people searching the names will find this thread ] Maybe you actually own one or just know of one, whatever you know please post it here.

 

[Dave Ward]

That's a big question. Steve Ricks has an interesting interview with Louise Paige where she talks about piecing together the Davison costume (he "thought" he had some of it in his attic, turned out to be a jacket and hatband).

I know that the owner of the Doctor Who Props website has some pieces, especially from Colin Baker's costume. I seem to remember that those pieces went up for auction a lot in the 90s. I think that Colin owns an original coat himself. I think it was the copy made for the beach scene at the end of Trial of a Timelord.

I also saw the McCann velvet jacket on ebay a few years ago. I don't know where it ended up.

 

[Alric]

There were costumes on show at the Dr Who experiance in London and I would guess at the one in Cardiff as well. I don't know if they were all original or not though.

 

[Risu]

It's not as impressive as a screen used coat or anything, but I have the pair of Converse Tennant wore for all of his series 2 promo shoots and costume fittings. So those have survived.

 

[HaroldVonBraun]

doctorwhoprops has quite a few original costumes and props from the series. Doctor Who Props
Including the sixth doctor's costume.

 

[Dave Ward]

There were costumes on show at the Dr Who experiance in London and I would guess at the one in Cardiff as well. I don't know if they were all original or not though.

They were a mixture of original pieces and replicas, as far as I know. Steve Ricks and Bob (man of steel) would be good people to ask. I know Bob matched some threads from the McCoy sweater, so that certainly exists somewhere.

I'd be interested in knowing how many of the major costume pieces were made - how many brown suits did 10 have, for instance? How many 6th Doctor coats?

 

[HaroldVonBraun]

I'd suppose there's 4-5 brown suits made for David Tennant, that seems to be the normal amount. But the suits from series 2 are different from the ones from series 3 and 4. So i suppose there'd be 10 tennant suits alltogether. Just guessing though. I know for a FACT though, that there were 3 Sixth doctor coats made.

 

[Hogosha]

As far as scarves go, a nuMber of them survive. The Blackpool Museum has the Season 18 Scarf, and the Shada scarf is still around. It was purchased at auction in 2005, by a gentleman who live on Long Island, when I tried to see if I could get a look at it, he had gifted it to another collector in the UK.

 

[Dave Ward]

I know for a FACT though, that there were 3 Sixth doctor coats made.

That's what I'd guessed - two, so there was a spare on hand, and a third that got made for the quicksand sequence in Trial, right?

 

[madhellokitty]

I would like a Dr. Who Scarf.

 

[HaroldVonBraun]

This scarf (Original costume from season 17) belongs to Doctor Who Props i got my mother to make one for me. There's directions on how to make on here Doctor Who Scarf

 

[Hogosha]

I would like a Dr. Who Scarf.

Just check the junkyard or PM me. My wife and I have made many for members here.

 

[manofsteel25]

I'm not sure a definitive list can ever be made as a lot of what's survived comes not just being diligent at what shows up at exhibitions (and discerning repros from originals), being observant on all of the latest auctions but also collecting info from prior auctions and listening to rumor/heresay/faded memories of I heard this, I read this, I saw this on ebay etc. Also many private collectors like to keep the contents of thier collection very private.

doctorwhoprops.co.uk and classicdoctorwhoprops are both good sites to see some of what's out there.

That all said, to the best of my knowledge most of the Hartnell/Troughton 60's costumes and even the 3 Doctors appearance costumes did not survive - or at least were buried back away in the costume warehouse like at Angel's or something, and not properly cataloged so they would be very difficult to re-locate and prove they are the originals.

I know 2 of Hartnell's canes survived. Both are in Private hands in the UK.

I'm fairly certain the 5 doctors and 2 Doctors outfits would survive in BBC hands as JNT was very good about hanging on to costumes for exhibitions. I know the Two Doctors Troughton Bow Tie survives.

Pertwee is a mixed bag. As far as I know the blue smoking jacket and inverness cloak on display at the DW Experience were original. The Green velvet blazer (Time Warrior tc) was auctioned off at Bonhams and is in private hands now. The Purple double breasted jacket from Planet of the Daleks also survives and was auctioned off. A number of his convention-only appearance jackets/cloaks survive. I'm fairly certain his 5 Doctors outfit survives in BBC hands. I'm fairly certain I've seen both of his Rust red/dutch collar and maroon red smoking jacket son displays in the UK which points to their survival- though whether they are now in private hands or still held by the Beeb is up for conjecture.

4th Doctor- From what I understand - Several pieces were saved/kept of his earlier costumes but these have been given or sold away over the years and are mostly now in private hands. Though I've never seen any of his Season 12 or much from his Season 13-16 costumes publicly surface save for the shoes/boots and the final Shada Scarf. The 1st Velvet coat... the Garnet one from Season 13/14 was auctioned off into private hands in 2007. The unfinished fur felt hat in green was given away by Tom in the 70s and is I believe still owned by the owner of doctorwhoprops. The Season 17/Shada Scarf was auctioned off and then from that owner was re-gifted to a US fan who still has it in safe keeping. The whereabouts of the other scarves such as the wider Season 15 scarf remain a mystery. One of the Season 17/'tan' tweed frocks is held by the BBC - it was on display at the DW Experience. (A second S17 frock I think is still in private hands). The pirate/cuff boots were auctioned off into private hands. A pair of his brown wingtip shoes were also auctioned off. The complete Season 18 costume/scarf included : of the 2 used onscreen and the 2 copies made for Madame Tussauds... as I understand it 1 is missing, another is in private hands and the others are still held by the BBC for exhibition purposes.

Pretty much all (or at least one complete example of) of the 80's Doctors costumes survive in BBC or Private hands thanks again to JNT. Classicdoctorwhoprops owners have a complete 6th and 7th Doctor costume. The BBC should also have a complete 6th and 7th Doctor costume- most of which was on display at the DW Experience. They should have a complete 5th doctor as well albeit slightly hodge-podged between seasons. I know both the S19 and S21 frock coats survive but the S21 is in far better condition. As mentioned in the mini-confidential and on Steve Rick's Blog with Louise's interview- the Time Crash Outfit was quite a cobbled together affair - the hatband, trousers and frock coat were the main pieces that were original. The hat, shirt, sweater and shoes were repros. Peter also famously handed one of the spare S19 frocks to be auctioned off for charity in 1983. Where it is now is anyone's guess. Steve Ricks currently owns the 5th Doctor Planet of Fire vest. Steve used to own a 7th Doctor hat/hatband/hanky but this has been sold on to another fan.

The 7th Doctor TVM Costume survives in the hands of the BBC Collection. I saw this personally at Gallifrey 2012. It was only missing the shoes and hat. (The hat though is in the hands of classicdoctorwhoprops).

The McGann 8th Doctor hero costume survives in the hands of the BBC collection. I saw it personally at Gallifrey 2012. It had been held by the costume designer for all these years and she sold it on directly. It was only missing the shoes and the original cravat pin. The one that another poster says they saw on ebay might have been a stunt jacket or replica.

The BBC have full examples of Doctors 9-11 stored away for exhibitions etc. Although They did auction some of the 10th Doctors shirts and ties. Risu spoke for his shoes and I know the DW Experience has one of the 9th Doctor jackets and jumpers. I seem to recall one of Eccelston's jackets was auctioned off at some point as well. And there's the recent infamous charity auction last fall where Matt Smith's complete Doctor's Wife costume was auctioned off - though I've heard the high bidder backed out- so not certain if the sale went through to the next bidder-up or if it was quietly cancelled altogether.

As to the exact number of how many copies were made of which piece.... yeesh. Hard to say with the New Series. I'm sure Louise Page would be willing to share on the 10th Doctor. But I'm betting at least half a dozen suits as they wore out quickly. I heard only the one for the Harris/Time of Angels 11th Doctor jacket- hence why it was used so little. Others will know better than me.

On average assume at least 2-3 copies per item allowing for a hero, a back-up and a stunt. It's pretty well known there were 3 coats made for Colin Baker. Although Who was a fairly cheap show and sometimes I'm surprised to sometimes hear they only had 1 of certain items (the 10th Doctor swirly tie is the most famous example and supposedly also the classic Sonic which has been missing since the early 90s).

 

[greatwazoo42]

This is an awesome thread!

 

[Dave Ward]

The one that another poster says they saw on ebay might have been a stunt jacket or replica.

It was years ago, probably after 2005 when the show came back, but not much after. I wish I'd have saved the auction, if only for clear reference pics. It certainly claimed to be an original coat.

 

[Columbo]

So the BBC have at least some kind of complete costume for Doctors 3 to 11. I did wonder how much of the Doctor's costumes in the Doctor Who Experience would be original. It seems a major pathway for Doctor's costumes getting into private hands has been from the Doctors themselves. Jon Pertwee sold off several jackets and Colin Baker and Sylvester McCoy kept their whole costumes and have recently sold them. Outside of complete costumes for the Sixth and Seventh Doctors it does seem to be mostly scattered bits and pieces, some shoes here and a coat there and so on. Still good stuff, I do like the Tenth Doctor trainers. As manofsteel says it is hard tracking these things. There are Tennant trainers on the doctorwhoprops site. There are Tennant trainers on fantasticoriginaldoctorwhoprops site. There are Tennant trainers mentioned in this thread. Are these different pairs or all referring to the same pair? :confused

The one classic Doctor who has kept his costume is Peter Davison. Can't see that being sold because I doubt David Tennant would let him. :lol

Thanks for contributing all these facts, anything else comes to mind remember to post it here!

 

[greatwazoo42]

I also remember reading somewhere that half of Tom Baker's costumes came from his own wardrobe.

 

[Columbo]

I also remember reading somewhere that half of Tom Baker's costumes came from his own wardrobe.

Thanks, that continues the pattern of the old series Doctors keeping their costumes for a while then selling them. Except Peter Davison who is still hanging on to his. I don't much like the "question mark" era costumes the Davison coat is a fine one though.

Took a browse through Bonhams past auctions and found some of the costumes mentioned in this thread. Here's a picture of the Tom Baker Season 13 & 14 coat from Bonhams site

Must confess I would not have realised that was an original coat. Looks very different without a scarf all over it.

 

[Columbo]

About the Doctor Who Experience Third Doctor costume. The jacket is 100% NOT an original series costume. It is the one sold at Bonhams in late 2010. The Experience opened early 2011. It was previously owned by Jon Pertwee but never worn in the series.

This is Experience jacket on the left and auction jacket on the right. The braid, button and damage seen at bottom left all match up. So thats one less original costume in the world.

 

[manofsteel25]

I love that S13/14 frock coat. So wish I'd had been able to bid on it back then!

I never heard of Troughton or Hartnell keeping a costume- it's possible but if that had happened I feel like those would have surfaced by now.

I did ask Tom about his costumes directly once and he denied that any of his costumes (even from Season 12) came from his personal wardrobe. He said it was all sourced through the BBC at fittings with James Acheson and the later designers. Although I certainly think he might have still held on to favorite pieces which might have still been sold on later.

Good catch on the DW Experience pertwee costume. Scratch one item off the list.