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.
Photos
Movies (125)
Doctor Who: Wish World & The Reality War
2025 · Dr. Who (archive footage) (uncredited)
Doctor Who: The Savages
2025 · The Doctor (voice)
Doctor Who at the Proms
2024 · The Doctor (1) (archive footage)
Doctor Who: The Celestial Toymaker
2024 · The Doctor (voice)
Doctor Who: The Daleks in Colour
2023 · The Doctor (archive footage)
Talking Doctor Who
2023 · Self / The Doctor (1) (archive footage)
Doctor Who: Galaxy 4
2021 · The Doctor (voice)
Doctor Who: Twice Upon a Time
2017 · The Doctor (1) (archive footage)
Doctor Who: The Husbands of River Song
2015 · The Doctor (1) (picture) (uncredited)
Doctor Who: El día del Doctor
2013 · The Doctor (1) (archive footage)
An Adventure in Space and Time
2013 · The Doctor (1) (archive footage)
Doctor Who at the Proms
2013 · The Doctor (1) (archive footage) (uncredited)
Don't Lose Your Head: The Making of 'The Reign of Terror'
2012 · The Doctor (archive footage)
Vision On
2012 · The Doctor (archive footage)
The Sets of Marinus
2009 · The Doctor (archive footage)
Mounting the Rescue
2009 · The Doctor (1) (archive footage)
Doctor Who: The Next Doctor
2008 · The Doctor (1) (archive footage)
The Ties That Bind Us
2008 · The First Doctor (archive footage)
Creation of the Daleks
2006 · The Doctor (archive footage)
Masters of Sound
2006 · The Doctor (archive footage)
Inside the Spaceship: The Story of the TARDIS
2006 · The Doctor (archive footage)
Doctor Who: Origins
2006 · The Doctor (archive footage)
Future Memories: Making 'The Dalek Invasion of Earth'
2003 · The Doctor (1) (archive footage)
Remembering 'The Aztecs'
2002 · The Doctor (archive footage)
What's a Carry On?
1998 · Sergeant Grimshawe (archive footage) (uncredited)
Doctor Who: Resurrection of the Daleks
1984 · The Doctor (1) (archive footage) (uncredited)
Doctor Who: The Five Doctors
1983 · The First Doctor (archive footage)
Doctor Who: Mawdryn Undead
1983 · The Doctor (1) (archive footage)
Doctor Who: Earthshock
1982 · The Doctor (1) (archive footage)
That's Carry On!
1977 · Sergeant Grimshawe (archive footage)
Doctor Who: The Brain of Morbius
1976 · The Doctor (1) (picture) (uncredited)
Doctor Who: The Three Doctors
1973 · The Doctor
Doctor Who: Day of the Daleks
1972 · The Doctor (1) (picture) (uncredited)
Doctor Who: The Power of the Daleks
1966 · The Doctor in the mirror (uncredited)
Doctor Who: The Tenth Planet
1966 · The Doctor (1)
Doctor Who: The Smugglers
1966 · The Doctor
Doctor Who: The War Machines
1966 · The Doctor
Doctor Who: The Savages
1966 · The Doctor
Doctor Who: The Gunfighters
1966 · The Doctor
Doctor Who: The Celestial Toymaker
1966 · The Doctor
Doctor Who: The Ark
1966 · The Doctor
Doctor Who: The Massacre of St Bartholomew's Eve
1966 · The Doctor / Abbot of Amboise
Doctor Who: The Daleks' Master Plan
1965 · The Doctor
Doctor Who: The Myth Makers
1965 · The Doctor
Doctor Who: Galaxy 4
1965 · The Doctor
Doctor Who: The Time Meddler
1965 · The Doctor
Doctor Who: The Chase
1965 · The Doctor
Doctor Who: The Space Museum
1965 · The Doctor
Doctor Who: The Crusade
1965 · The Doctor
Doctor Who: The Web Planet
1965 · The Doctor
Doctor Who: The Romans
1965 · The Doctor
Doctor Who: The Rescue
1965 · The Doctor
Doctor Who: The Dalek Invasion of Earth
1964 · The Doctor
Doctor Who: Planet of Giants
1964 · The Doctor
Doctor Who: The Reign of Terror
1964 · The Doctor
Doctor Who: The Sensorites
1964 · The Doctor
Doctor Who: The Aztecs
1964 · The Doctor
Doctor Who: The Keys of Marinus
1964 · The Doctor
Doctor Who: Marco Polo
1964 · The Doctor
Doctor Who: The Edge of Destruction
1964 · The Doctor
Doctor Who: The Daleks
1964 · The Doctor
Doctor Who: An Unearthly Child
1963 · The Doctor
The World Ten Times Over
1963 · Dad
To Have and to Hold
1963 · Insp. Roberts
Tomorrow at Ten
1963 · Freddie Maddox
Heavens Above!
1963 · Major Fowler
This Sporting Life
1963 · 'Dad' Johnson
Piccadilly Third Stop
1960 · Colonel
And the Same to You
1960 · Walter 'Wally' Burton
Jackpot
1960 · Supt. Frawley
The Desperate Man
1959 · Smith
The Night We Dropped a Clanger
1959 · Sgt. Bright
The Mouse That Roared
1959 · Will Buckley
Shake Hands with the Devil
1959 · Sergeant Jenkins
Strictly Confidential
1959 · Grimshaw
Carry On Sergeant
1958 · Sergeant Grimshawe
On the Run
1958 · Tom Casey
Date with Disaster
1958 · Tracey
The Hypnotist
1957 · Inspector Ross
Hell Drivers
1957 · Cartley, Hawlett Manager
Yangtse Incident: The Story of H.M.S. Amethyst
1957 · Leading Seaman Leslie Frank
Tons of Trouble
1956 · Bert
Private's Progress
1956 · Sgt. Sutton
Doublecross
1956 · Herbert Whiteway
Josephine and Men
1955 · Detective Sgt. Parsons
Footsteps in the Fog
1955 · Herbert Moresby
Will Any Gentleman...?
1953 · Detective Inspector Martin
The Holly and the Ivy
1952 · Company Sergeant Major
The Ringer
1952 · Sam Hackett
The Pickwick Papers
1952 · Irate Cabman
The Magic Box
1952 · Recruiting Sergeant
The Dark Man
1951 · Superintendent of Police
Double Confession
1950 · Charlie Durham
The Lost People
1949 · Barnes
Now Barabbas
1949 · Warder Jackson
Escape
1948 · Inspector Harris
Brighton Rock
1948 · Dallow
Temptation Harbour
1947 · Jim Brown
Odd Man Out
1947 · Fencie - the barman
Appointment with Crime
1946 · Leo Martin
A Defeated People
1946 · Commentator (voice)
Murder in Reverse
1945 · Tom Masterick
The Agitator
1945 · Peter Pettinger (as Billy Hartnell)
Strawberry Roan
1944 · Chris Lowe
The Way Ahead
1944 · Sgt. Ned Fletcher
Headline
1943 · Dell
The Dark Tower
1943 · Jim Powers (as Bill Hartnell)
The Bells Go Down
1943 · Brookes
The Peterville Diamond
1943 · Joseph (as Bill Hartnell)
Sabotage at Sea
1942 · Jacob Digby
The Goose Steps Out
1942 · German Officer at Station
They Flew Alone
1942 · Scotty
Suspected Person
1942 · Detective Saunders
Freedom Radio
1941 · Radio Location Aerial Operator (uncredited)
They Came by Night
1940 · Undetermined Role
Murder Will Out
1939 · Dick
They Drive by Night
1938 · Bus Conductor
Farewell Again
1937 · Minor Role
Midnight at Madame Tussaud's
1936 · Stubbs
The Crimson Circle
1936
Parisian Life
1936
The Guv'nor
1935 · Car Salesman
The Perfect Flaw
1934 · Vickers
The Lure
1933 · Billy
Follow the Lady
1933 · Mike Martindale
