William Hartnell
Born
January 8, 1908
Died
April 23, 1975 (67 years old)
Known For
Acting
Place of Birth
Saint Pancras, London, England, UK
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.
Known For
Doctor Who: Wish World & The Reality War
Dr. Who (archive footage) (uncredited)
2025
Doctor Who: The Savages
The Doctor (voice)
2025
Doctor Who at the Proms
The Doctor (1) (archive footage)
2024
Doctor Who: The Celestial Toymaker
The Doctor (voice)
2024
Doctor Who: The Daleks in Colour
The Doctor (archive footage)
2023
Talking Doctor Who
Self / The Doctor (1) (archive footage)
2023
Tales of The TARDIS: The Three Doctors
The Doctor
2023
Tales of the Tardis
The Doctor · (2 episodes)
2023
Doctor Who: Galaxy 4
The Doctor (voice)
2021
Doctor Who: Twice Upon a Time
The Doctor (1) (archive footage)
2017
Doctor Who: The Husbands of River Song
The Doctor (1) (picture) (uncredited)
2015
Doctor Who: The Day of the Doctor
The Doctor (1) (archive footage)
2013
An Adventure in Space and Time
The Doctor (1) (archive footage)
2013
Doctor Who: The Doctors Revisited
Self · (11 episodes)
2013
Don't Lose Your Head
The Doctor (archive footage)
2012
Vision On
The Doctor (archive footage)
2012
The Sets of Marinus
The Doctor (archive footage)
2009
Doctor Who: The Next Doctor
The Doctor (1) (archive footage)
2008
The Ties That Bind Us
The First Doctor (archive footage)
2008
Creation of the Daleks
The Doctor (archive footage)
2006
Masters of Sound
The Doctor (archive footage)
2006
Inside the Spaceship: The Story of the TARDIS
The Doctor (archive footage)
2006
Doctor Who: Origins
The Doctor (archive footage)
2006
Remembering 'The Aztecs'
The Doctor (archive footage)
2002
Doctor Who: Resurrection of the Daleks
The Doctor (1) (archive footage) (uncredited)
1984
Doctor Who: The Five Doctors
The Doctor (1) (archive footage)
1983
Doctor Who: Mawdryn Undead
The Doctor (1) (archive footage)
1983
Doctor Who: Earthshock
The Doctor (1) (archive footage)
1982
That's Carry On!
Sergeant Grimshawe
1977
Doctor Who: The Brain of Morbius
The Doctor (1) (picture) (uncredited)
1976
Doctor Who: The Three Doctors
The Doctor
1973
Doctor Who: Day of the Daleks
The Doctor (1) (picture) (uncredited)
1972
Doctor Who: The Power of the Daleks
The Doctor in the mirror (uncredited)
1966
Doctor Who: The Tenth Planet
The Doctor (1)
1966
Doctor Who: The Smugglers
The Doctor
1966
Doctor Who: The War Machines
The Doctor
1966
Doctor Who: The Savages
The Doctor
1966
Doctor Who: The Gunfighters
The Doctor
1966
Doctor Who: The Celestial Toymaker
The Doctor
1966
Doctor Who: The Ark
The Doctor
1966
Doctor Who: The Massacre of St Bartholomew's Eve
The Doctor / Abbot of Amboise
1966
Doctor Who: The Daleks' Master Plan
The Doctor
1966
Doctor Who: The Myth Makers
The Doctor
1965
Doctor Who: Galaxy 4
The Doctor
1965
Doctor Who: The Time Meddler
The Doctor
1965
Doctor Who: The Chase
The Doctor
1965
Doctor Who: The Space Museum
The Doctor
1965
Doctor Who: The Crusade
The Doctor
1965
Doctor Who: Lost in Time
The Doctor · (3 episodes)
1965
Doctor Who: The Web Planet
The Doctor
1965
Doctor Who: The Romans
The Doctor
1965
Doctor Who: The Rescue
The Doctor
1965
Doctor Who: The Dalek Invasion of Earth
The Doctor
1964
Doctor Who: Planet of Giants
The Doctor
1964
Doctor Who: The Reign of Terror
The Doctor
1964
Doctor Who: The Sensorites
The Doctor
1964
Doctor Who: The Aztecs
The Doctor
1964
Doctor Who: The Keys of Marinus
The Doctor
1964
Doctor Who: Marco Polo
The Doctor
1964
Doctor Who: The Edge of Destruction
Dr. Who
1964
Doctor Who: The Daleks
Dr. Who
1964
Doctor Who: An Unearthly Child
Dr. Who
1963
Doctor Who
The Doctor · (138 episodes)
1963
The World Ten Times Over
Dad
1963
To Have and to Hold
Insp. Roberts
1963
Tomorrow at Ten
Freddie Maddox
1963
Heavens Above!
Major Fowler
1963
This Sporting Life
'Dad' Johnson
1963
Ghost Squad
(1 episode)
1961
Piccadilly Third Stop
Colonel
1960
And the Same to You
Walter 'Wally' Burton
1960
Jackpot
Supt. Frawley
1960
The Desperate Man
Smith
1959
The Night We Dropped a Clanger
Sgt. Bright
1959
No Hiding Place
(1 episode)
1959
The Mouse That Roared
Will Buckley
1959
Shake Hands with the Devil
Sergeant Jenkins
1959
Strictly Confidential
Grimshaw
1959
Carry On Sergeant
Sergeant Grimshawe
1958
Date with Disaster
Tracey
1958
The Hypnotist
Inspector Ross
1957
Hell Drivers
Cartley, Hawlett Manager
1957
The Army Game
Sergeant Major Percy Bullimore · (50 episodes)
1957
Yangtse Incident: The Story of H.M.S. Amethyst
Leading Seaman Leslie Frank
1957
Tons of Trouble
Bert
1956
Private's Progress
Sgt. Sutton
1956
Doublecross
Herbert Whiteway
1956
Josephine and Men
Detective Sgt. Parsons
1955
Footsteps in the Fog
Herbert Moresby
1955
Will Any Gentleman...?
Detective Inspector Martin
1953
The Holly and the Ivy
Company Sergeant Major
1952
The Ringer
Sam Hackett
1952
The Pickwick Papers
Irate Cabman
1952
The Magic Box
Recruiting Sergeant
1952
The Dark Man
Superintendent of Police
1951
Double Confession
Charlie Durham
1950
The Lost People
Barnes
1949
Now Barabbas
Warder Jackson
1949
Escape
Inspector Harris
1948
Brighton Rock
Dallow
1948
Temptation Harbour
Jim Brown
1947
Odd Man Out
Fencie - the barman
1947
Appointment with Crime
Leo Martin
1946
Murder in Reverse?
Tom Masterick
1945
The Agitator
Peter Pettinger (as Billy Hartnell)
1945
Strawberry Roan
Chris Lowe
1944
The Way Ahead
Sgt. Ned Fletcher
1944
Headline
Dell
1943
The Dark Tower
Jim Towers (as Bill Hartnell)
1943
The Bells Go Down
Brookes
1943
The Peterville Diamond
Joseph (as Bill Hartnell)
1943
Sabotage at Sea
Jacob Digby
1942
The Goose Steps Out
German Officer at Station
1942
They Flew Alone
Scotty
1942
Suspected Person
Detective Saunders
1942
Freedom Radio
Radio Location Aerial Operator (uncredited)
1941
They Came by Night
Undetermined Role
1940
Murder Will Out
Dick
1939
They Drive by Night
Bus Conductor
1938
Farewell Again
Minor Role
1937
Midnight at Madame Tussaud's
Stubbs
1936
The Crimson Circle
1936
Parisian Life
1936
The Guv'nor
Car Salesman
1935
The Perfect Flaw
Vickers
1934
The Lure
Billy
1933
Follow the Lady
Mike Martindale
1933