As Doctor Who season 15 follows Ncuti Gatwa’s Fifteenth Doctor and Varada Sethu’s Belinda Chandra on their troublesome journey home back to present-day Earth, it has revealed a new function to the TARDIS that no other incarnation has used. In Doctor Who season 15, episode 5, “The Story & the Engine”, the Time Lord makes a quick stop in Lagos in 2019 to visit an old friend. However, the Doctor soon becomes embroiled in a long-brewing revenge plot against the gods by the mysterious Barber (Ariyon Bakare).
As part of his scheme, The Barber assumes management of Omo’s (Suli Rime) barbershop, trapping the owner and several of his regular customers within the establishment and tying it to his mechanical spider vessel. Using the stories told by Omo, his customers, and now the Time Lord, the Barber seeks to reach the center of the Nexus, an extradimensional web that catalogs shared stories, in order to erase the gods his original tales helped establish after they discarded him. However, the Doctor is able to convince the Barber to end his scheme and release his prisoners, giving him a second chance.
Doctor Who Season 15, Episode 5 Reveals The TARDIS Does The Doctor’s Hair
The TARDIS Has Offered Many Different Facilities Over The Years
Upon hearing that the Doctor visits a barber, Belinda pointed out that the Time Lord shouldn’t require a haircut, as the TARDIS helps take care of his hair. However, the Time Lord explains that the Barber Shop is a source of community for the Time Lord that allows him to escape from new hardships brought upon by bigotry towards his physical appearance. As such, the moment acts as a touching scene where the pair connect and understand one another.
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However, Doctor Who season 15, episode 5 marks the first time that the Doctor has mentioned that the TARDIS handles his hairstyles. Though it feels like an obvious inclusion, it is simply one such detail that has never been addressed, as few stories have drawn attention to the Doctor’s hair, save for certain compliments and surprising developments. However, within the Doctor’s honest admission of his feelings to Belinda, he has shone a light on a new function of his vessel.
Other TARDIS rooms include customizable living rooms, bedrooms, an observatory, storage rooms, and a gallery.
Across the years, the TARDIS had been well-established to be able to cater to the Doctor’s needs, from providing an extensive wardrobe, back-up control rooms, a library, and even a swimming pool. Much like the control room, these configurations are completely customisable for each incarnation and can be jettisoned at will by either the Time Lord or the vessel’s discretion. And as of “The Story & the Engine”, a personal salon can be added to the vessel’s available rooms.
Fifteen Is The First Regeneration To Really Make Use Of The TARDIS’ Barber Skills
Gatwa’s Era Has Allowed The Vessel To Play A More Pivotal Role
Much like how Gatwa’s Doctor and his current companions have gleefully taken advantage of what the TARDIS’ wardrobe has to offer, the inclusion of a function that allows the Doctor to style his hair adds new dimensions to the vessel. Save for the Eleventh Doctor (Matt Smith) growing an extensive beard during his imprisonment during the Silence crisis of 1963, and shaving his head in the prelude to the battle of Trenzalore, the Time Lord has typically retained a consistent hairstyle in his travels. As such, the opportunity to establish a new function has continued a positive trend seen across Gatwa’s era so far.

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With an expanded TARDIS set for Russell T Davies’ second Doctor Who era, the series has placed a renewed interest on the vessel itself, as its wardrobe plays a greater role in helping the current crew fit in to historical time periods, and the jukebox adds a personal touch for Gatwa’s era. Furthermore, attention has been drawn to how the TARDIS reflects the Doctor’s state of mind, as its “lack of chairs” was used to emphasize his loneliness in the 2024 Christmas special “Joy to the World”. As such, the TARDIS’ newly acquired barber capabilities are another welcome expansion.

Doctor Who
- Release Date
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December 25, 2023
- Directors
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Douglas Camfield, David Maloney, Christopher Barry, Michael E. Briant, Barry Letts, Michael Ferguson, Richard Martin, Peter Moffatt, Pennant Roberts, Lennie Mayne, Chris Clough, Ron Jones, Paddy Russell, Paul Bernard, Michael Hayes, Timothy Combe, Morris Barry, Gerald Blake, Graeme Harper, Waris Hussein, Rodney Bennett, Mervyn Pinfield, Hugh David, John Gorrie