A Doctor Who superfan who cosplays his favourite Doctors in homemade outfits and created his very own reincarnation of the Time Lord on YouTube has landed his dream job creating audio books for the classic series. Hooked on Doctor Who from the age of 10, Dominic G. Martin, 27, first started dressing up as the Doctor when his mum Beverley Greenwood-Martin knitted him his very own Tom Baker inspired multi-coloured scarf when he was 11.
In the years since, he has collected all the shirts, coats and scarves he needs to imitate his favourite TV Time Lords – as well as putting his own twist on the character, which he calls The Purple Doctor and comes complete with a sonic screwdriver, which he created for a fan-fiction mini-series on YouTube. But it was when Dominic started his own Doctor Who anthology podcast that he was offered the chance to become a trainee audio producer with Big Finish Productions, working on the classic BBC audio drama series.
Dominic, who still lives in his family home in Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, said: “Doctor Who changed my life and unbelievably, is now part of my every day. There is something so magical about the show that has been shared through the generations. I may never get to be the real Doctor Who, but becoming my own version of the Doctor has, and is, one of the greatest experiences of my life.”
Doctor Who fandom is in Dominic’s genes. Still living with his dad John Martin, 67, Dominic says his mum, Beverley – who died this week, aged 68, after a long illness – became a fan of the show from the very start, aged 10, when it launched in 1963 with William Hartnell playing the Doctor. Dominic’s own obsession, which began at the same age, was sparked when the Time Lord returned in 2005 after a nine-year break from TV screens, with Christopher Eccleston playing the Ninth Doctor – and he has not missed a single show since.
Remembering all the different aliens in the first episode he watched, The End of The World, he said: “It was unlike anything else I had ever seen. I was immediately hooked – it was so fun and became a form of escapism. It very quickly took over.”
Every day after school Dominic would head to the library to find whatever books he could about the show – before discovering the videos and DVDs of the classic Doctor Who series. Immersing himself in the early and current versions of the show, Dominic binge watched episodes from both ends of the scale.
And he was so excited by the multiple universes portrayed in Doctor Who that he was taken to his first convention by his parents when he turned 11. It was there that he discovered cosplay – where people dress up as their favourite TV, film or anime characters.
He said: “I knew from then that I wanted to join in, so my mum knitted me a Tom Baker scarf, which was my first piece of costume. I borrowed one of her red blazers and paired it with a shirt and my scarf and would run around the back garden pretending to be the fourth doctor.”
While struggling with bullying at school, the world of Doctor Who became a source of comfort to him in his teens, as he dived into the online fandom and made friends on various forums. He said: “It became this escape when things became hard, as I could find people to chat to about something I loved.”
Then, when Dominic reached 16, donning his mum’s red blazer and knitted scarf, he visited his first cosplay convention. He said: “It was amazing.
"There were people dressing up as the different doctors and companions and even the occasional Dalek. I was actually meeting people in real life who were also into it and it all fell into place.”
From then Dominic began to save up what money he had as a student studying journalism at University of Bedfordshire and later, when he was working in retail in his 20s, so he could buy clothes to create his favourite Doctor outfits.
“Tom Baker was the first classic Doctor I loved, with his wide eyes, that felt so alien and this magical character,” he said. “Then David Tennant became the hero of my teenage years, as this striking, alert, dynamic and funny doctor that you couldn’t help but love. And I loved Peter Capaldi’s Doctor, who had this straightforward bluntness, but real humour and softness underneath.”
Dominic’s cosplay has paid homage to his heroes and their iconic looks. He said: “I’ve always been a fashionista at heart and I just like looking cool. To others, it may look outlandish and silly, but I don’t care, I’m doing this for myself and it means I get to be that cool guy for a day.”
In total, as well as a selection of sonic screwdrivers and posters, Dominic has 10 Doctor Who cosplaying outfits – made and bought from various locations.
He said: “I put aside a few hundred pounds usually for each outfit, getting bits and bobs here and there for it. The most I have ever spent is £500 on the Peter Capaldi red velvet suit, which was a replica of the original.
“But I’ve also found bargains, like my Colin Baker one. I found a coat that looked like his on eBay for £60! My mum also taught me how to knit, so I made my own 18 foot-long Tom Baker scarf, which took me God knows how many months!”
Bursting with knowledge and ideas around Doctor Who, in 2015 Dominic started putting together cosplaying tutorials on YouTube. He was then invited by a friend to join their YouTube fan fiction series in 2017.
He said: “My friend, Luke Newman, had been creating the show since 2013 and he asked if I would become the next Doctor. He has his very own Tardis in the shed in the garden, so I was overjoyed.
“Some people may see it as a gimmick, but I do take it seriously, because it means something. From the outset, I always knew I wanted to be authentic and would try not to copy any other Doctor.”
The first episode with Dominic as The Purple Doctor was released on YouTube in 2019 and had 75,000 views. Describing his personality, he said: “I’d say he is a softer character but can be fierce when he needs to be. He is an exceptional friend – but a very terrible enemy.”
And when it came to styling himself, Dominic was largely inspired by Capaldi’s Doctor – but with his own special touches. He said: “I also took inspiration from one of David Tennant’s other roles, as the villain Kilgrave in Jessica Jones, as well as getting a collar pin like David Bowie’s to complete the look.”
As well as making lifelong friends, Dominic’s cosplay has helped him romantically, as he met a former girlfriend, who he was with for two-and-a-half years, at a convention where they bonded over their love of Doctor Who. Recently single, Dominic is busy working in productions for Doctor Who audio dramas – a job he landed because of his work as a dedicated fan.
He said: “It was in 2020, during lockdown, that I started my own fan audio anthology series, sharing tales of my own version of the Doctor Who universe. It caught the eye of one of the senior producers with the Big Finish production company who suggested I submit some writing. Eventually, he asked me if I would be interested in being a trainee producer and I obviously said yes.”
Now, by day, Dominic works on the audio production of the company’s full cast audio drama series of classic Doctor Who, while his evenings are still filled with his creative fandom escapes – producing a Doctor Who quiz twice a week on TikTok as well as regular YouTube videos. While he accepts he is unlikely to become the next official Doctor himself, he is incredibly excited for the hotly anticipated 60th anniversary in 2023 when David Tennant, the 10th doctor, will be returning.
“Oh my God, I am so excited,” he said. “I cannot wait to see David Tennant’s Doctor and his assistant Donna come back and what they do with the episode.”
Dominic is equally enthusiastic about the new Time Lord – Ncuti Gatwa, who will play the 14th Doctor and arrive on our screens in 2023.
He said: “Ncuti Gatwa is going to do an amazing job of the next Doctor – I am so excited. I am really excited to see what his outfit looks like – he has snappy fashion sense and I will definitely give it and go.”
You can follow Dominic – who is dedicating this article to the memory of his mother, Beverley Greenwood-Martin, who passed away on Monday – on his Twitter here @DOMINICJGN
