Guinness says 'Doctor Who' most successful sci-fi series

The Guinness Book of World Records recognized Doctor Who as the most successful sci-fi series of all time in an announcement made yesterday.

Craig Glenday, the editor-in-chief for the annually-published list, made the announcement at San Diego’s Comic-Con. Glenday made an unannounced appearance just as Russell T Davies, executive producer of the show, and its star David Tennant were speaking at a screening for the Doctor Who special Planet of the Dead. Glenday presented them with the the award, which Davies collected on behalf of Doctor Who’s founding producer Verity Lambert. The show's DVD sales, iTunes traffic, including illegal downloads, and broadcast ratings were all factors in the decision. Doctor Who has a prior record, in 2005, it was recognized as the longest-running science fiction TV series. Dr Who premiered on the BBC on November 23 1963. To date, the Doctor has been played by 10 different actors and the current Doctor, David Tennant, will be replaced by Matt Smith in 2010.