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Former Doctor Who actor Peter Davison has revealed that his all-time favourite Time Lord is Patrick Troughton - despite the fact that his son-in-law David Tennant famously played the role.

And he says that all the subsequent Doctors, like himself, have Troughton to thank for paving the way for them as he was the first actor to be regenerated after taking over from the original, William Hartnell.

“I watched both William Hartnell and Patrick Troughton but I think he had the hardest job,” Davison says of the latter.

“If Patrick hadn’t done his job as well as he did, we wouldn’t be where we are now. For with him they decided to invent the idea of regeneration. Before his first episode I remember thinking, ‘I’m going to hate this’ but he won me over.

“He brought so much that was new to it, a vulnerability. He had the hardest job but did it so well and, of course, we owe him an enormous debt,” admits Davison, who himself wouldn’t have become the fifth Doctor (from 1982 to 1984) if the whole regeneration idea hadn’t worked.

In pictures: Relive the first 50 years of Doctor Who

But after sharing his awe of Troughton, the actor is clearly keen to keep the peace at home by adding with a laugh: “I think I might also have to mention the 10th Doctor.”

The 10th Doctor was, of course, David Tennant – the man adored by latter day fans of the BBC Wales-produced sci-fi series, who went on to marry Davison’s daughter Georgia Moffett (Moffett is Davison’s real name).

Davison and Scottish star Tennant shared scenes together before they became in-laws in Time Crash, the Children In Need Doctor Who special which aired in November 2007.

“I was thrilled to do it,” says Davison. “It was a great script by Steven Moffat and I felt it very much connected the classic series with the modern series."

A few months later, Georgia was filming her own scenes opposite her future husband when she played the Doctor’s artificially-created daughter Jenny.

Now the famously publicity-shy couple – no posed red carpet shots of the pair exist and they avoid talking about their relationship during interviews – have a young daughter, Olive, and son, Wilfred, and Tennant has adopted her son, Ty, whom she gave birth to as a teenager.

But Davison speaks with warmth when he mentions his son-in-law and reveals that Tennant knows “everything” when it comes to Doctor Who.

“I’ve watched nearly every episode and would call myself a fan,” says Davison when quizzed about his own knowledge of all things Time Lord-related.

“But I couldn’t look at a photo and say, ‘That’s from such an episode and it’s taken 10 minutes into it.’”

Unlike current Doctor Peter Capaldi, no doubt, who is a self-confessed superfan.

Does Davison rate him in the role?

“I think he’s great. He has a different take on it. I interviewed him for BBC America last year and he was very interesting.”

Despite more than 30 years passing since Davison took control of the Tardis, he is still very much a part of the whole franchise and he's now he’s gearing himself up to host an arena tour of the Doctor Who Symphonic Spectacular, which will celebrate the long-running series through its thrilling music written by Murray Gold.

The tour, which will include two Cardiff Motorpoint Arena performances, features more than 100 performers including the BBC National Orchestra of Wales and members of the BBC National Chorus of Wales, conducted by Ben Foster.

The show, which has already toured Australia and New Zealand, features a host of the Doctor’s famous adversaries including the iconic Daleks and Cybermen and live monsters.

The live music will be accompanied by a big screen presentation of key moments from Doctor Who in specially edited video sequences.

“Doctor Who fans are an extraordinary, wonderful bunch, who are very passionate about the series,” adds Davison.

“The Symphonic Spectacular has already proved to be a monster hit down under with thousands of fans packing into arenas across the southern hemisphere and the UK’s first ever tour promises to be even bigger.”

Doctor Who Symphonic Spectacular is at Cardiff Motorpoint Arena on May 25 at 3pm and 7.30pm. For tickets, call 029 2022 4488 or visit www.livenation.co.uk/cardiff