William Hartnell
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
Doctor Who: The Celestial Toymaker
2024
as The Doctor (voice)
Doctor Who: The Daleks in Colour
2023
as The Doctor (archive footage)
Talking Doctor Who
2023
as Self / The Doctor (1) (archive footage)
Tales of the Tardis
2023
as The Doctor
Doctor Who: Galaxy 4
2021
as The Doctor (voice)
Doctor Who: Twice Upon a Time
2017
as The Doctor (1) (archive footage)
Doctor Who: The Day of the Doctor
2013
as The Doctor (1) (archive footage)
An Adventure in Space and Time
2013
as The Doctor (1) (archive footage)
Doctor Who: The Doctors Revisited
2013
as Self
Don't Lose Your Head
2012
as The Doctor (archive footage)
Vision On
2012
as The Doctor (archive footage)
The Sets of Marinus
2009
as The Doctor (archive footage)
Creation of the Daleks
2006
as The Doctor (archive footage)
Masters of Sound
2006
as The Doctor (archive footage)
Inside the Spaceship: The Story of the TARDIS
2006
as The Doctor (archive footage)
Doctor Who
2005
as The Doctor (archive footage)
Remembering 'The Aztecs'
2002
as The Doctor (archive footage)
Doctor Who: The Five Doctors
1983
as The Doctor (1) (archive footage)
Doctor Who: Earthshock
1982
as The Doctor (1) (archive footage)
That's Carry On!
1977
as Sergeant Grimshawe
Doctor Who: The Three Doctors
1973
as The Doctor
Doctor Who: The Tenth Planet
1966
as The Doctor (1)
Doctor Who: The Smugglers
1966
as The Doctor
Doctor Who: The War Machines
1966
as The Doctor
Doctor Who: The Savages
1966
as The Doctor
Doctor Who: The Gunfighters
1966
as The Doctor
Doctor Who: The Celestial Toymaker
1966
as The Doctor
Doctor Who: The Ark
1966
as The Doctor
Doctor Who: The Massacre of St Bartholomew's Eve
1966
as The Doctor/Abbot of Amboise
Doctor Who: The Daleks' Master Plan
1966
as The Doctor
Doctor Who: The Myth Makers
1965
as The Doctor
Doctor Who: Galaxy 4
1965
as The Doctor
Doctor Who: The Time Meddler
1965
as The Doctor
Doctor Who: The Chase
1965
as The Doctor
Doctor Who: The Space Museum
1965
as The Doctor
Doctor Who: The Crusade
1965
as The Doctor
Doctor Who: Lost in Time
1965
as The Doctor
Doctor Who: The Web Planet
1965
as The Doctor
Doctor Who: The Romans
1965
as The Doctor
Doctor Who: The Rescue
1965
as The Doctor
Doctor Who: The Dalek Invasion of Earth
1964
as The Doctor
Doctor Who: Planet of Giants
1964
as The Doctor
Doctor Who: The Reign of Terror
1964
as The Doctor
Doctor Who: The Sensorites
1964
as The Doctor
Doctor Who: The Aztecs
1964
as The Doctor
Doctor Who: The Keys of Marinus
1964
as The Doctor
Doctor Who: Marco Polo
1964
as The Doctor
Doctor Who: The Edge of Destruction
1964
as Dr. Who
Doctor Who: The Daleks
1964
as Dr. Who
Doctor Who: An Unearthly Child
1963
as Dr. Who
Doctor Who
1963
as The Doctor
The World Ten Times Over
1963
as Dad
To Have and to Hold
1963
as Insp. Roberts
Heavens Above!
1963
as Major Fowler
This Sporting Life
1963
as 'Dad' Johnson
Tomorrow at Ten
1962
as Freddie Maddox
Ghost Squad
1961
Piccadilly Third Stop
1960
as Colonel
And the Same to You
1960
as Walter 'Wally' Burton
Jackpot
1960
as Supt. Frawley
The Desperate Man
1959
as Smith
The Night We Dropped a Clanger
1959
as Sgt. Bright
No Hiding Place
1959
The Mouse That Roared
1959
as Will Buckley
Shake Hands with the Devil
1959
as Sergeant Jenkins
Strictly Confidential
1959
Carry On Sergeant
1958
as Sergeant Grimshawe
Date with Disaster
1958
as Tracey
The Hypnotist
1957
as Inspector Ross
Hell Drivers
1957
as Cartley, Hawlett Manager
The Army Game
1957
Yangtse Incident: The Story of H.M.S. Amethyst
1957
as Leading Seaman Leslie Frank
Tons of Trouble
1956
as Bert
Private's Progress
1956
as Sgt. Sutton
Doublecross
1956
as Herbert Whiteway
Josephine and Men
1955
as Detective Sgt. Parsons
Footsteps in the Fog
1955
as Herbert Moresby
Will Any Gentleman...?
1953
as Detective Inspector Martin
The Holly and the Ivy
1952
as Company Sergeant Major
The Ringer
1952
as Sam Hackett
The Pickwick Papers
1952
as Irate Cabman
The Magic Box
1952
as Recruiting Sergeant
The Dark Man
1951
as Superintendent of Police
Double Confession
1950
as Charlie Durham
The Lost People
1949
as Barnes
Now Barabbas
1949
as Warder Jackson
Escape
1948
as Inspector Harris
Brighton Rock
1948
as Dallow
Temptation Harbour
1947
as Jim Brown
Odd Man Out
1947
as Fencie - the barman
Appointment with Crime
1946
as Leo Martin
Murder in Reverse?
1945
as Tom Masterick
The Agitator
1945
as Peter Pettinger (as Billy Hartnell)
Strawberry Roan
1944
as Chris Lowe
The Way Ahead
1944
as Sgt. Ned Fletcher
Headline
1943
as Dell
The Dark Tower
1943
as Jim Towers (as Bill Hartnell)
The Bells Go Down
1943
as Brookes
The Peterville Diamond
1943
as Joseph (as Bill Hartnell)
Sabotage at Sea
1942
as Jacob Digby
The Goose Steps Out
1942
as German Officer at Station
They Flew Alone
1942
as Scotty
Suspected Person
1942
as Saunders
Freedom Radio
1941
as Radio Location Aerial Operator (uncredited)
They Came by Night
1940
as Undetermined Role
Murder Will Out
1939
as Dick
They Drive by Night
1938
as Bus Conductor
Farewell Again
1937
as Minor Role
Midnight at Madame Tussaud's
1936
as Stubbs
The Crimson Circle
1936
Parisian Life
1936
The Guv'nor
1935
as Car Salesman
The Perfect Flaw
1934
as Vickers
The Lure
1933
as Billy
Follow the Lady
1933
as Mike Martindale