From Tom Baker's scarf to Matt Smith's fez, from David Tennant's striped suit to Ncuti Gatwa's array of colourful outfits, there is no shortage of Doctor Who costumes to cosplay.
If you go to any fan convention on the face of the Earth, you'll surely see a whole host of Doctor Who fans cosplaying their favourite Doctor, companion, villain, or monster.
But the world of cosplay can be daunting, whether you're deciding where to start, trying to avoid spending your life's savings on a perfect prop replica, or just trying to finesse your cosplay to stand out a little.
Thankfully, we've got an expert on hand! RadioTimes.com caught up with seasoned pro, Dominic G Martin, for his top tips on cosplaying.
1. Don't break the bank - and keep it simple at first
Cosplay can get expensive - but, as Martin explains, you can still put together a great cosplay without spending a fortune.
"You can get items a lot easier now than you used to be able to - with sites like Vinted, you'll be able to find good bargains on pieces, whether they're exact or whether they're lookalikes, whichever works," he points out.
"Don't break the bank, especially if you're just starting out - because this hobby can get expensive. We're in a cost of living crisis! Be careful. So always search for bargains, like on sites like Vinted and eBay."
Plus, you can always start simple, with costumes that require very generic pieces.
"Typically, a lot of people would like to start with, say, the Eleventh Doctor," Martin explains. "It's a simple outfit."
He adds: "Or even the Tenth, the Ninth, or the Twelfth Doctor - because you can do those outfits on a very simple basis. The Tenth Doctor, you can boil it down to being a suit and trainers. With the Twelfth Doctor, you just need an overcoat and a white shirt buttoned up, sorted. It's quite simple.
"It's when you start adding the detail, that's when things get a bit more complex. But it's always good to start off just on the bare essentials."
Even showrunner Russell T Davies has opened up about wanting to make Doctor Who cosplay as accessible as possible, telling Polygon: “I do love opening the door for cosplayers. In one episode in the first season he set out of the TARDIS in a pair of jeans and a duffle coat. And at the [finale], he was in a pair of Levis and a black leather jacket. And that means almost anyone can cosplay.”
He added: "And if it’s your hobby, then that’s money well spent. But there’s also going to be that casual cosplayer, that kid who fancies being Doctor Who today. And that means now they can put on a pair of jeans and a duffle coat, run out the door or in the middle of the rain, and say, ‘I’m the Doctor.’ And I like that.
“It democratises it, it means no one has ownership. It means you can put on any costume and say, ‘I’m the Doctor today,’ because that’s what he’d do."
2. Find your community
When it comes to finding an exact jumper that Ruby Sunday wore, or the perfect pair of shoes for an Eleventh Doctor look, it's tricky to know where to look. Thankfully, there are communities of people who have become wizards at spotting pieces on TV and knowing where to find them.
Martin says of his community: "We continuously send links to each other... for example, when a new poster comes out, or a new trailer comes out, loads of people will be like, 'Oh my God, we've gotta find it!'
"And they do find it very quickly. I remember it wasn't terribly long for the last series that [Ncuti's] shoes got identified and his top and everything. It takes quite a lot of attention to detail, and obsessive scrolling, to find everything!"
Having a community can also help with the confidence side of cosplaying.
"It can take time [to build up that confidence], but it helps with friends," Martin explains.
"That's why friendships can be important in this, because they can help, and friends can lift each other up... I would say that it does take a little bit of time, but it becomes easier. Like, at this point in time, I'm effectively just a bit shameless. I'll just wear anything!"
3. Don't be afraid to take artistic licence
Why not think outside the box? Of course, lots of fans love cosplaying the Doctors and companions, but some also take a lot of artistic licence when it comes to their cosplays.
Martin recalls: "I have seen some wonderful artistic licence - it shows so much creativity.
"Gallifrey One in Los Angeles, the biggest Doctor Who convention on the planet, is home to some of the most authentic, crazy things that I would never have even thought of... and people do such creative things at the Gallifrey Cabaret as well.
"I remember, people were cosplaying things like Ursula [Shirley Henderson] as a paving stone [from the episode Love & Monsters], which was incredible. It was so unique."
He adds: "I usually stick to more accurate looks, but sometimes I have been prone to lose the plot a bit. I remember years ago, I did a Spider-Man outfit with the Eleventh Doctor's outfit on top of it, as well as a sort of Spider-Doctor thing for no reason other than just the hell of it.
"I saw a really creative one on TikTok just yesterday - it was a wheelchair user who modified the wheelchair and themself to look like K-9. And I thought that was incredible."
4. Pick your convention wisely
There are countless conventions to choose from - and each one has a different vibe and a different culture. Sometimes, it'll just depend on which is most local to you, but if you have the luxury of choosing from all the available cons across the globe, there are a couple that stand out.
"The best one, I would say for Doctor Who specifically, would be Gallifrey One, easily. No question. That would be the best event," Martin says.
"It is just an incredible time, an incredible event with so many lovely, lovely people. I've been once and it is one of the best conventions I've ever been to in my life. And I don't say that lightly."
As for the most accessible for someone attending their first con? "I would say it's probably MCM London, or MCM Birmingham.
"MCM London is the UK's biggest event for cosplay and biggest Comic Con, so you see all the various cosplayers there doing all sorts of things, but you'll also find characters from really obscure anime or things that you didn't really hear about.
"Or, of course, you'll see high level cosplayers, like, crafting their own goods to be the latest Marvel characters and whatnot. It's insane. It attracts so many different skill sets."
5. Make sure you're having fun!
It sounds obvious but the whole point of cosplay is to have fun and make friends.
"Don't do it for any other reasons," Martin urges. "This is supposed to be a fun hobby and escapism. It's something that should be embraced. I'd say to go all in and have fun with it and make friends from it.
"One of the best bits about this hobby is I've met several friends that I would consider lifelong friends from it over the years, and I wouldn't change that - and it can be a very similar journey for you as well. But also be prepared for it to consume your life!"
Doctor Who is available on BBC iPlayer and on Disney+ outside of the UK.
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