Regeneration was not necessarily expected to occur in Doctor Who. When William Hartnell was given the role as the Doctor, the thought was the he would be around throughout the entirety of the show. Of course, the producers and the BBC had no idea that Doctor Who would become immensely popular, or that Hartnell would become too ill to work after a few years. Knowing that they would need to move on from Hartnell, the concept of regeneration was born, allowing the Doctor to remain, but take on a different body and personality.
But what if Hartnell had not gotten sick and was able to continue in the role, lasting the 700 episodes that had been proposed? Or, what if the creators of Doctor Who had decided to begin with a younger, relatively unknown actor as the Doctor instead of Hartnell, allowing him to grow and age as the Doctor? Would the idea of regeneration have come in to play had either situation occurred?
It is certainly interesting to imagine a Doctor Who without regeneration. After all, the constant turnover at the Doctor has helped keep the program from becoming stale. A new face, a new personality and a new outlook on the universe has kept the program fresh and allowed different generations of fans to have “their” Doctor.
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Without that regeneration, what would the Doctor be like? The Doctor, since regenerations were introduced, has seemingly had a bit of a cavalier attitude towards death. He is willing to put himself out there in the face of danger, unflinchingly facing his foes while expecting his travelling companions, or others that he has met in his journeys, to do so as well.
Perhaps, if Hartnell had not fallen ill, the Doctor would have had a different feel. While he was certainly a paragon of intellect, the First Doctor was not exactly a physical presence and would generally attempt to bluster his way out of a confrontation. Unlike some of the Doctors that followed, the First Doctor truly needed his wits to carry him through.
There are a great many ‘What if’ scenarios in Doctor Who, such as if the support of the BBC had not waned in the later 1980’s or if Christopher Eccleston had a longer tenure. However, the idea of what would have happened had Hartnell not become ill, or if a younger actor was originally cast as the Doctor, is certainly intriguing.