# William Russell (English actor)

William Russell Enoch (19 November 1924 – 3 June 2024) was an English actor who performed as both Russell Enoch and William Russell. His career on stage and screen spanned over seven decades and he first achieved prominence in the title role of the television series The Adventures of Sir Lancelot (1956–1957). In 1963, he was in the original lead cast of BBC1's Doctor Who, playing the role of schoolteacher Ian Chesterton from the show's first episode until 1965.
Russell's film roles include parts in The Man Who Never Was (1956), The Great Escape (1963) and Superman (1978). On television, he appeared as Ted Sullivan in Coronation Street in 1992. In his later years, he continued his association with Doctor Who and returned as Ian for a 2022 cameo in "The Power of the Doctor", 57 years after the character left, which won him a Guinness World Record for the longest gap between TV appearances.

## Early life

William Russell Enoch was born on 19 November 1924 in Sunderland, County Durham, to Eva Compston (née Pile) and Alfred James Enoch. He was educated at Wolverhampton Grammar School and Oxford University and became interested in acting at an early age. He was involved in organising entertainment during his national service in the Royal Air Force and then, after university, went into repertory theatre.

## Doctor Who

In 1963, Russell was cast in Doctor Who as science teacher Ian Chesterton, the Doctor's first male companion, appearing in all episodes of the first two seasons of the programme except the last four.
Russell was one of the four original cast members of Doctor Who, starring opposite William Hartnell as the First Doctor, Jacqueline Hill as Barbara Wright, Carole Ann Ford as Susan Foreman and later Maureen O'Brien as Vicki. His first involvement in the series took form in the pilot episode (not transmitted until 1991), which was later reshot and broadcast as the first episode of An Unearthly Child, the programme's first serial. He eventually departed, alongside Hill, in "The Planet of Decision", the final episode of The Chase, which served as the penultimate story of the second season.
It was intended that Russell would reprise the role of Ian in the 1983 story Mawdryn Undead alongside Peter Davison as the Fifth Doctor for the twentieth season. Scheduling conflicts left him unavailable.
After leaving Coronation Street in 1992, Russell had maintained his association with Doctor Who, having lent his voice as a narrator to several of the audiobook releases of the lost 1960s episodes. He appeared in The Game, one of the continuing Doctor Who audio stories produced by Big Finish Productions. He also recorded readings for some of the CD audio adaptations of Doctor Who story novelisations originally published by Target Books.
In 1999, Russell returned to the role of Ian for the VHS release of The Crusade, of which "The Knight of Jaffa" and "The Warlords", the second and fourth episodes, respectively, are lost. He recorded several in-character scenes to camera, which helped to bridge the gaps between the existing episodes.
Russell also contributed to the Doctor Who DVD range, having participated in several audio commentaries and on-screen interviews since 2002.
In 2013, the BBC produced An Adventure in Space and Time, a docudrama depicting the creation and early days of Doctor Who, as part of the programme's fiftieth anniversary celebrations. Russell was a character in the drama and was portrayed by actor Jamie Glover. Russell himself had a cameo role, playing a BBC Commissionaire named Harry.
The same year, Russell portrayed both Ian and the First Doctor in the Big Finish audio play The Light at the End, produced to celebrate the fiftieth anniversary; aged 88, he became the oldest person to portray the Doctor, a record he held until March 2023, when Tom Baker portrayed the Fourth Doctor in the Big Finish audio series The Fourth Doctor Adventures at the age of 89.
Russell made a cameo appearance as Ian in the 2022 special "The Power of the Doctor". With this, his final role, he won a Guinness World Record for the longest gap between TV appearances.

## Personal life and death

In 1953, Russell married Balbina Gutierrez. They had three children, Robert, Laetitia and Vanessa, and later divorced.
In 1984, he married his second wife, Etheline Margareth Lewis, a Barbadian Brazilian doctor. Their son, Alfred was born in 1988. Alfred is now an actor too, best known for playing Dean Thomas in the Harry Potter film series and Wes Gibbins in the television series How to Get Away with Murder. They performed together in the 2020 movie Executive Order.
Russell died at his home from pneumonia on 3 June 2024, at the age of 99.

## Filmography
### Film

Russell appeared in British films from 1950 onward, appearing in well-known productions such as They Who Dare (1954), One Good Turn (1955), The Man Who Never Was (1956) and The Great Escape (1963). He later played minor roles in Terror (1978), Superman (1978) and Death Watch (1979).
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1952 | Gift Horse a.k.a. Glory at Sea | Crewman | As Russell Enoch |
| 1953 | Appointment in London a.k.a. Raiders in the Sky | RAF Officer | Uncredited |
| 1953 | Intimate Relations a.k.a. Disobedient | Michael | As Russell Enoch |
| 1953 | Malta Story | Officer in Prison | Uncredited |
| 1953 | Always a Bride | Dutton's Chauffeur | Uncredited |
| 1953 | The Saint's Return a.k.a. The Saint's Girl Friday | Keith Merton | As Russell Enoch |
| 1954 | They Who Dare | Lieut. Tom Poole | As Russell Enoch |
| 1954 | The Gay Dog | Leslie Gowland | As Russell Enoch |
| 1955 | One Good Turn | Alec Bigley | |
| 1955 | Above Us the Waves | Ramsey | |
| 1956 | The Man Who Never Was | Joe | |
| 1957 | The Big Chance | Bill Anderson | |
| 1958 | The Adventures of Hal 5 | The Vicar | |
| 1963 | The Great Escape | Sorren | |
| 1978 | Terror | Lord Garrick | |
| 1978 | Superman | 8th Elder | |
| 1980 | Death Watch | Dr Mason | As William Russel |
| 1981 | Mark Gertler: Fragments of a Biography | Roger Fry | |
| 1990 | Deadly Manor | Alfred | |
| 2020 | Executive Order | | Cameo appearance |

### Television

Russell's big break was the title role in The Adventures of Sir Lancelot on ITV in 1956, which for sale to the American NBC network became the first UK television series to be shot in colour. He acted in many plays and TV series including Disraeli, Testament of Youth and Coronation Street (as Ted Sullivan, the short-lived second husband of Rita Sullivan). He had a small part in an episode of The Black Adder, as a late replacement for Wilfrid Brambell, who became impatient with delays to his scene and left the set before shooting it. He was the Duke of Gloucester in the Robin of Sherwood episode, "The Pretender", and Lanscombe in a 2005 Agatha Christie's Poirot episode, "After the Funeral".
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1954 | Lonesome Like | Rev. Frank Alleyne | Short Film, As Russell Enoch |
| 1955 | St. Ives | St. Ives | Main character, all 6 episodes |
| 1955 | The Sleeping Beauty | The Prince | TV movie |
| 1956 | Theatre Royal | Boy | Episode: "The Assassin" |
| 1956 | Assignment Foreign Legion | Gerry Brooke | Episode: "The Ghost" |
| 1956 | The Adventures of Aggie a.k.a. Aggie | Ted Jordan | Episode: "Hypertension" |
| 1956–1957 | The Adventures of Sir Lancelot | Sir Lancelot du lac / Sir Bliant | Main character, all 30 episodes |
| 1957 | Hour of Mystery | Kevin Ormond | Episode: "Crime of Margaret Foley" |
| 1957 | Nicholas Nickleby | Nicholas Nickleby | Main character, all 10 episodes |
| 1957 | Sword of Freedom | Count Rene D'Albert | Episode: "The Strange Intruder" |
| 1958 | Television World Theatre | Prince Pao | Episode: "The Circle of Chalk" |
| 1958 | Who Fought Alone: Epitaph on a Scottish Soldier | | TV movie |
| 1958 | Saturday Playhouse | Voulain | Episode: "The Duke in Darkness" |
| 1958 | Television Playwright | Anthony Broderick | Episode: "In a Backward Country" |
| 1959 | ITV Play of the Week | Nevil Rigden | Episode: "The Face of Treason" |
| 1959 | Armchair Theatre | Smoky | Episode: "The Girl on the Beach" |
| 1959 | Never Die | Inspector Sauvé | TV movie |
| 1959 | Tales From Dickens | David Copperfield | 3 episodes: "Uriah Heep" (1959), "David and Dora" (1959), "David and Dora Get Married" (1961) |
| 1960 | St. Ives | St. Ives | Main character, all 6 episodes; remake of 1955 serial |
| 1960 | BBC Sunday-Night Play | Lord Bleane / John Freeman / Oliver Farrant / Charles Hemington / Col. Friedrich Eilers, Leader of a Fighter Squadron / Gerald Croft / Frank | 7 episodes "Twentieth Century Theatre: Our Betters" (1960) "Twentieth Century Theatre: The Fanatics" (1960) "Twentieth Century Theatre: I Have Been Here Before" (1960) "Twentieth Century Theatre: The Elder Statesman" (1960) "Summer Theatre: The Devil's General" (1960) "An Inspector Calls" (1961) "Pig in the Middle" (1963) |
| 1961 | Adventure Story | Hephaestion | TV movie |
| 1961 | Triton | Captain Belwether | Main character, all 6 episodes |
| 1961 | A Song of Sixpence | Alberto Monzelli | Short Film |
| 1961 | Hamlet | Hamlet | 5 episodes |
| 1962–1963 | The Edgar Wallace Mystery Theatre | Mike Stafford / Mike Cochrane | 2 episodes, "The Share Out" (1962) and "Return to Sender" (1963) |
| 1963 | Drama 61-67 | Mick Lambert | Episode: "Drama 63: Somebody's Dying" |
| 1963 | Jane Eyre | St. John Rivers | 2 episodes, Episodes 5 and 6 |
| 1963 | Moonstrike | Philippe | Episode: "The Biggest Bandit" |
| 1963 | Suspense | John Richards | Episode: "The Patch Card" |
| 1963–1965 | Doctor Who | Ian Chesterton | 77 episodes |
| 1966 | Breaking Point | Martin Kennedy | Main character, all 5 episodes |
| 1966–1967 | This Man Craig | Peter Rogers / Peter Woodburn / Avis | 3 episodes: "Mates" (1966), "Old Flame" (1966), "You Can Choose Your Friends" (1967) |
| 1967 | Dr. Finlay's Casebook | Neville | Episode: "Who Made You?" |
| 1969 | Who-Dun-It | Marcel Dupre | Episode: "Don't Shoot the Cook" (1969) |
| 1969 | Detective | Bill Cartwright | Episode: "And So to Murder" |
| 1969 | Parkin's Patch | Wilkins | Episode: "No Friendship For Coppers" |
| 1972–1973 | Harriet's Back in Town | Tom Preston | 90 episodes |
| 1972–1981 | ITV Playhouse | Daddy / Dr. Crane / Frank | 3 episodes |
| 1974 | Justice | Dr. Victor Ashworth | Episode: "Point of Death" |
| 1974 | Father Brown | Reverend Wilfred Bohun | Episode: "The Hammer of God" |
| 1974 | Whodunnit? | Captain Alexander Anderson | Episode: "A Piece of Cake: Christmas Special" |
| 1975 | The Hanged Man | Peter Kroger | Episode: "Knave of Coins" |
| 1975 | The Main Chance | Arnold Galbraith | Episode: "We're the Bosses Now" |
| 1975 | Against The Crowd | Arthur Penwarren | Episode: "Bread and Circuses" |
| 1975 | The Doll | Julian Osborne | Episode: "#1.2" |
| 1975 | Three Men in a Boat | Doctor | TV movie |
| 1975–1977 | Crown Court | Edward Birkland /Robert Aldrich | 2 episodes |
| 1977 | Van der Valk | Kees Rokin | Episode: "Accidental" |
| 1978 | BBC2 Play of the Week | Lord Folkestone Chapman Headmaster | Episode: "Fearless Frank" |
| 1978 | Disraeli | Wyndham Lewis | 2 episodes |
| 1978 | Parables | Peter Vernon | Episode: "A Gentle Rain" |
| 1978 | Strangers | Bamford Harker | Episode: "Accidental Death" |
| 1979 | Testament of Youth | Marriott | Episode: "Buxton 1913" |
| 1979 | Shoestring | David Carn | Episode: "Private Ear" |
| 1979 | Spearhead | Mr. Dickson B.F.S | Episode: "Repercussions" |
| 1980 | Mackenzie | Francis Hammond | 2 episodes |
| 1980 | Armchair Thriller | Senior Officer | Episode: "Dead Man's Kit: Part 1" |
| 1980 | Play for Today | Don | Episode: "Instant Enlightenment Including V.A.T." |
| 1980 | The Professionals | Charles Holly | Episode: "Involvement" |
| 1983 | The Black Adder | The Duke of Winchester | Episode: "The Archbishop" |
| 1986 | Robin of Sherwood | The Duke of Gloucester | Episode: "The Pretender" |
| 1988 | The Four Minute Mile | AAA Official | |
| 1990 | Boon | John Loseley | Episode: "Tales from the River Bank" |
| 1992 | Coronation Street | Ted Sullivan | 46 episodes |
| 1995 | The Affair | Dr. Hastings | TV film |
| 1995 | Casualty | Mo Meredrew | Episode: "Halfway House" |
| 1997 | Great Performances | | Henry V (at Shakespeare's Globe) |
| 2000 | Heartbeat | Gabriel Firth | Episode: "Gabriel's Last Stand" |
| 2005 | Agatha Christie: Poirot | Lanscombe | Episode: "After the Funeral" |
| 2013 | An Adventure in Space and Time | Harry – Security Guard | |
| 2022 | Doctor Who | Ian Chesterton | Cameo; episode: "The Power of the Doctor" |

### Audio

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 2005 | Doctor Who: The Monthly Range | Darzil Carlisle | Big Finish Productions; Story: "The Game" |
| 2009–2014 | Doctor Who: The Companion Chronicles | Ian Chesterton | Big Finish Productions; 8 releases |
| 2010–2013 | Doctor Who: The Lost Stories | Ian Chesterton | Big Finish Productions; 4 releases |
| 2011 | The Five Companions | Ian Chesterton | Big Finish Productions; Special release |
| 2013 | The Light at the End | Ian Chesterton, First Doctor | Big Finish Productions; Special release |
| 2014–2015 | Doctor Who: The Early Adventures | Ian Chesterton, First Doctor | Big Finish Productions; 4 releases |
| 2016–2017 | Big Finish Short Trips | Narrator | 4 releases |
| 2020 | Susan's War | Ian Chesterton | Big Finish Productions; Story: "Sphere of Influence" |