Doctor Who Doctor's nature, somewhere between the twelfth and final incarnation. On rare occasions, other actors have stood in for the lead. In "The Five Doctors", Richard Hurndall played the First Doctor due to William Hartnell's death in 1975; 34 years later David Bradley similarly replaced Hartnell in "Twice Upon a Time". In "Time and the Rani", Sylvester McCoy briefly played the Sixth Doctor during the regeneration sequence, carrying on as the Seventh. For more information, see the list of actors who have played the Doctor. In other media, the Doctor has been played by various other actors, including Peter Cushing in
Doctor Who in Australia episode ended on BBC One. Immediately afterwards, each episode became available on iView for one week, with an ABC2 encore broadcast at 8:30 the following (Monday) night. Later in the year, ABC1 took a live simulcast from the BBC to screen "Doctor Who Live: The Next Doctor", the half hour special in which the actor chosen to play the Twelfth Doctor was revealed before a live studio audience, on Monday 5 August at 4am. The special was replayed on ABC2 at 8:30pm on that same day. Purposefully timed as part of the ABC's recognition of "Doctor Who's" 50th Anniversary celebrations,