It shouldn't be surprising that a television show about time travel makes guesses about what to expect in the future.

The long-running BBC science fiction series Doctor Who has done so on a weekly basis since it began in 1963 (we're still looking forward to meeting the Daleks one day).

Of course, the show has now been around so long that a number of its predictions about the future have come true (although sadly, time travel is almost definitely not possible, as the late Stephen Hawking tried to prove).

Here are some of those times when Doctor Who has seen the future and got it right.

1. BBC Three – 'The Daemons' (1971)

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It wasn't till 2003 that we witnessed the launch of the BBC's "youth channel" (which was home to Whovian favourite Doctor Who Confidential for many years), but slip back over three decades and Doctor Who was prophesying its existence.

The Third Doctor classic included BBC Three covering an archaeological dig at Devil's Hump. Nice work if you can get it.

2. A female UK prime minister – 'Terror of the Zygons' (1975)

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Like her or loathe her, Margaret Thatcher once existed.

She came into power in 1979, but four years before that, the Doctor's UNIT buddy, the Brigadier, finished a call with the PM with, "Oh, absolutely understood, madam."

Madam!

At that point in political history, in case you weren't aware, the UK had never had a female prime minister.

3. Reality TV– 'Vengeance on Varos' (1985)

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The late '90s gave birth to what we know now as reality TV, with shows such as Big Brother and Survivor being the early exponents of the genre encouraging audience interactivity.

But over a decade earlier, Doctor Who was leading the way with a spooky piece of prognostication. In this mid-'80s Sixth Doctor tale, inhabitants of the titular planet Varos were glued to their televisions so that they could vote on who would be killed (!) on an interactive television show.

Although broadcast television hasn't quite got round to that sort of barbarity (at the time of publication), YouTube isn't far off.

4. Fake news – 'The Face of Evil' (1977)

This content is imported from Twitter. You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site. One of the Doctor’s finest moments - from an episode shown 40 years ago today. Fancy that. pic.twitter.com/neU9Et3d0B — Nicholas Pegg (@NicholasPegg) January 22, 2017

This slightly unremarkable Tom Baker story introduced the brilliant Louise Jameson as companion Leela, but it also gave us this prescient slice of commentary from the Fourth Doctor:

"You know, the very powerful and the very stupid have one thing in common. They don't alter their views to fit the facts. They alter the facts to fit the views.

"Which can be uncomfortable if you happen to be one of the facts that needs altering."

Jump forward to 2017/18 and you'll find the Trump administration attacking what it labels "fake news", as well as proposing "alternative facts". The 2017 finale featured a stab at The Donald which left fans most amused, and there was another reference in this season's 'Arachnids in the UK'.

5. The Doctor carries an Olympic Torch – 'Fear Her' (2006)

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Though seen as a slightly inferior episode (do you remember the fearsome 'Scribble Monster'?), this David Tennant outing set in 2012 concluded with the Tenth Doctor carrying the Olympic Torch and saving the day.

This heartwarming moment was so popular that fans petitioned for Tennant to actually perform the task at the opening of the 2012 London Olympic Games.

Sadly, for all concerned, this didn't happen – but Eleventh Doctor actor Matt Smith did carry the torch for one mile in Cardiff in the lead-up to the momentous day. The Crown star described it as an "honour".

But who did it better: Smith or Tennant?

6. Five pound coin – 'Battlefield' (1989)

This opening story from Doctor Who's final series in the classic run was set in the mid-'90s and featured Sylvester McCoy's Seventh Doctor paying for a glass of water and a glass of lemonade with a five-pound piece. A "very valuable piece of coinage", according to the Gallifreyan.

Less than a year later, a commemorative £5 coin was introduced for the very first time in the UK. Many have since been produced over the years.

Perhaps the Royal Mint should produce a Doctor Who five-pound piece next year to commemorate 30 years since the show's financial foresightedness?

7. A Female Doctor – 'The Curse of Fatal Death' (1999)

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Take a bow, Steven Moffat.

The former Who showrunner penned this Comic Relief sketch which saw the Doctor, initially played by Mr Bean actor Rowan Atkinson, regenerate a few times (including cameos from Hugh Grant, Richard E Grant and Jim Broadbent) and settle on the form of Joanna Lumley.

Almost 20 years later and Doctor Who unveiled the first woman to play the Time Lord (in canonical terms, at least): Broadchurch's Jodie Whittaker.

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