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.
125 movies · 8 shows
Doctor Who: Wish World & The Reality War
2025·5.0
Doctor Who: The Savages
2025·0.0
Doctor Who at the Proms
2024·7.2
Doctor Who: The Celestial Toymaker
2024·8.0
Doctor Who: The Daleks in Colour
2023·6.1
Talking Doctor Who
2023·5.0
Doctor Who: Galaxy 4
2021·6.0
Mission to the Unknown
2019·0.0
Doctor Who: Twice Upon a Time
2017·8.0
Doctor Who: The Husbands of River Song
2015·8.0
Doctor Who: The Day of the Doctor
2013·8.2
An Adventure in Space and Time
2013·7.7
Don't Lose Your Head: The Making of 'The Reign of Terror'
2012·0.0
Vision On
2012·0.0
The Sets of Marinus
2009·0.0
Mounting the Rescue
2009·0.0
Doctor Who: The Next Doctor
2008·7.4
The Ties That Bind Us
2008·0.0
Creation of the Daleks
2006·8.0
Masters of Sound
2006·8.0
Inside the Spaceship: The Story of the TARDIS
2006·8.0
Doctor Who: Origins
2006·8.5
Future Memories: Making 'The Dalek Invasion of Earth'
2003·9.0
Remembering 'The Aztecs'
2002·7.5
What's a Carry On?
1998·7.7
Doctor Who: Resurrection of the Daleks
1984·7.9
Doctor Who: The Five Doctors
1983·7.8
Doctor Who: Mawdryn Undead
1983·7.0
Doctor Who: Earthshock
1982·8.1
That's Carry On!
1977·5.8
Doctor Who: The Brain of Morbius
1976·8.1
Doctor Who: The Three Doctors
1973·7.4
Doctor Who: Day of the Daleks
1972·7.9
Doctor Who: The Power of the Daleks
1966·8.1
Doctor Who: The Tenth Planet
1966·7.9
Doctor Who: The Smugglers
1966·5.8
Doctor Who: The War Machines
1966·7.4
Doctor Who: The Savages
1966·7.2
Doctor Who: The Gunfighters
1966·6.3
Doctor Who: The Celestial Toymaker
1966·5.7
Doctor Who: The Ark
1966·6.8
Doctor Who: The Massacre of St Bartholomew's Eve
1966·7.2
Doctor Who: The Daleks' Master Plan
1965·7.9
Doctor Who: The Myth Makers
1965·7.2
Doctor Who: Galaxy 4
1965·5.5
Doctor Who: The Time Meddler
1965·7.4
Doctor Who: The Chase
1965·6.5
Doctor Who: The Space Museum
1965·6.5
Doctor Who: The Crusade
1965·6.1
Doctor Who: The Web Planet
1965·5.6
Doctor Who: The Romans
1965·7.8
Doctor Who: The Rescue
1965·6.4
Doctor Who: The Dalek Invasion of Earth
1964·7.3
Doctor Who: Planet of Giants
1964·7.1
Doctor Who: The Reign of Terror
1964·6.3
Doctor Who: The Sensorites
1964·5.1
Doctor Who: The Aztecs
1964·7.5
Doctor Who: The Keys of Marinus
1964·5.9
Doctor Who: Marco Polo
1964·7.2
Doctor Who: The Edge of Destruction
1964·5.8
Doctor Who: The Daleks
1964·7.3
Doctor Who: An Unearthly Child
1963·7.3
The World Ten Times Over
1963·7.4
To Have and to Hold
1963·5.3
Tomorrow at Ten
1963·6.0
Heavens Above!
1963·6.6
This Sporting Life
1963·7.0
Piccadilly Third Stop
1960·6.7
And the Same to You
1960·5.9
Jackpot
1960·6.0
The Desperate Man
1959·5.0
The Night We Dropped a Clanger
1959·5.8
The Mouse That Roared
1959·6.3
Shake Hands with the Devil
1959·6.5
Strictly Confidential
1959·5.3
Carry On Sergeant
1958·6.4
On the Run
1958·7.0
Date with Disaster
1958·5.9
The Hypnotist
1957·5.3
Hell Drivers
1957·6.7
Yangtse Incident: The Story of H.M.S. Amethyst
1957·7.3
Tons of Trouble
1956·5.5
Private's Progress
1956·6.6
Doublecross
1956·7.7
Josephine and Men
1955·6.4
Footsteps in the Fog
1955·7.0
Will Any Gentleman...?
1953·6.3
The Holly and the Ivy
1952·6.5
The Ringer
1952·6.0
The Pickwick Papers
1952·7.0
The Magic Box
1952·6.5
The Dark Man
1951·6.9
Double Confession
1950·6.2
The Lost People
1949·6.0
Now Barabbas
1949·6.5
Escape
1948·5.7
Brighton Rock
1948·6.8
Temptation Harbour
1947·5.4
Odd Man Out
1947·7.3
Appointment with Crime
1946·6.2
A Defeated People
1946·6.3
Murder in Reverse?
1945·6.7
The Agitator
1945·6.3
Strawberry Roan
1944·6.5
The Way Ahead
1944·6.6
Headline
1943·7.0
The Dark Tower
1943·6.2
The Bells Go Down
1943·7.2
The Peterville Diamond
1943·5.8
Sabotage at Sea
1942·6.5
The Goose Steps Out
1942·6.7
They Flew Alone
1942·6.8
Suspected Person
1942·6.7
Freedom Radio
1941·7.0
They Came by Night
1940·6.3
Murder Will Out
1939·0.0
They Drive by Night
1938·6.0
Farewell Again
1937·6.5
Midnight at Madame Tussaud's
1936·6.0
The Crimson Circle
1936·5.6
Parisian Life
1936·8.0
The Guv'nor
1935·7.8
The Perfect Flaw
1934·7.0
The Lure
1933·10.0
Follow the Lady
1933·7.0