William Hartnell

Actor · 1908–1975 · Saint Pancras, London, England, UK

Biography

William Henry Hartnell (8 January 1908 – 23 April 1975), also known as Billy Hartnell or Bill Hartnell, was an English actor. Hartnell played the first incarnation of the Doctor in Doctor Who, from 1963 to 1966. He was also known for his roles as Sergeant Grimshaw, the title character of the first Carry On film, Carry On Sergeant in 1958, and Company Sergeant Major Percy Bullimore in the sitcom The Army Game from 1957 until 1958, and again in 1960. Hartnell entered the theatre in 1925 working under Frank Benson as a general stagehand. He appeared in numerous Shakespearian plays, including The Merchant of Venice (1926), Julius Caesar (1926), As You Like It (1926), Hamlet (1926), The Tempest (1926) and Macbeth (1926). He also appeared in She Stoops to Conquer (1926), School for Scandal (1926) and Good Morning, Bill (1927), before performing in Miss Elizabeth's Prisoner (1928). This play was written by Robert Neilson Stephens and E. Lyall Swete. It featured the actress Heather McIntyre, whom he married during the following year. His first of more than sixty film appearances was in Say It With Music (1932). Hartnell continued to play comic characters until he was cast in the robust role of Sergeant Ned Fletcher in The Way Ahead (1944). From then on his career was defined by playing mainly policemen, soldiers, and thugs. Hartnell's performance in This Sporting Life was noted by Verity Lambert, the producer who was setting up a new science-fiction television series for the BBC entitled Doctor Who; and, mainly on the strength of that performance, Lambert offered him the title role.

Acted in 125

2020s

2025
Doctor Who: Wish World & The Reality War
Dr. Who (archive footage) (uncredited)
Doctor Who: The Savages
The Doctor (voice)
2024
Doctor Who at the Proms
The Doctor (1) (archive footage)
Doctor Who: The Celestial Toymaker
The Doctor (voice)
2023
Doctor Who: The Daleks in Colour
The Doctor (archive footage)
Tales of the Tardis
The Doctor · 2 episodes
2021
Doctor Who: Galaxy 4
The Doctor (voice)
Doctor Who: Galaxy 4
Doctor Who · 8 episodes

2010s

2017
Doctor Who: Twice Upon a Time
The Doctor (1) (archive footage)
2015
Doctor Who: The Husbands of River Song
The Doctor (1) (picture) (uncredited)
84
2013
Doctor Who: The Day of the Doctor
The Doctor (1) (archive footage)
90
An Adventure in Space and Time
The Doctor (1) (archive footage)
Doctor Who at the Proms
The Doctor (1) (archive footage) (uncredited)
2012
Don't Lose Your Head: The Making of 'The Reign of Terror'
The Doctor (archive footage)
Vision On
The Doctor (archive footage)

2000s

2009
The Sets of Marinus
The Doctor (archive footage)
Mounting the Rescue
The Doctor (1) (archive footage)
2008
Doctor Who: The Next Doctor
The Doctor (1) (archive footage)
The Ties That Bind Us
The First Doctor (archive footage)
2006
Creation of the Daleks
The Doctor (archive footage)
Masters of Sound
The Doctor (archive footage)
Inside the Spaceship: The Story of the TARDIS
The Doctor (archive footage)
Doctor Who: Origins
The Doctor (archive footage)
2003
Future Memories: Making 'The Dalek Invasion of Earth'
The Doctor (1) (archive footage)
2002
Remembering 'The Aztecs'
The Doctor (archive footage)

1990s

1998
What's a Carry On?
Sergeant Grimshawe (archive footage) (uncredited)

1980s

1984
Doctor Who: Resurrection of the Daleks
The Doctor (1) (archive footage) (uncredited)
1983
Doctor Who: The Five Doctors
The First Doctor (archive footage)
Doctor Who: Mawdryn Undead
The Doctor (1) (archive footage)
1982
Doctor Who: Earthshock
The Doctor (1) (archive footage)