William Russell William Russell ( born William Russell Enoch on 19 November 1924 in , England ) played Ian Chesterton in " Doctor Who " from " The Pilot Episode " to " The Chase " . As one of Susan Foreman ' s teachers , he was one of the first of the Doctor ' s companion s to appear in the series . Russell appeared in British films from 1950 onwards , appearing in well - known productions such as ( 1956 ) and ( 1963 ) . He later had a minor role in " Superman " ( 1978 ) as a member of the ian Council . After starring in several short - lived TV series , including playing the lead in a 1955 series entitled " St . Ives " , his big break was the title role in on ITV in 1956 , the sale of which to the network in the USA made it possible for it to be the first British television series to be shot in colour . Following this , he won a role in " Doctor Who " as one of the Doctor ' s companions , science teacher Ian Chesterton , appearing in the bulk of the first two seasons of the programme . He has subsequently played a number of roles in theatre and on television , perhaps the highest - profile being " Disraeli " , and the part of Ted Sullivan , the short - lived second husband of Rita Sullivan in " Coronation Street " . ( Ted already had a terminal illness when he married Rita in 1992 , and died peacefully while watching a cricket match . ) He also had a small part in an episode of the first series of ( 1983 ) as a late replacement for , who had become impatient with delays to his scene and left the set before shooting it . In the 1980s , the actor began using his birth name , Russell Enoch , professionally ( although he continues to be credited as William Russell in " Doctor Who " - related projects ) , but reverted to William Russell during the 1990s when he took the role of Ted in " Coronation Street " . He is sometimes also credited as Enoch Russell . Russell had originally been intended to reprise his character of Ian for the 1983 story " Mawdryn Undead " , but scheduling conflicts required the story to be rewritten to instead bring back Nicholas Courtney as another , later regular character , the Brigadier . In 1999 he returned to the role of Ian Chesterton for the video release of the " Doctor Who " serial " The Crusade " , from which two episodes are currently missing . Russell provided linking narration to cover the gaps , in character as an aged Ian reminiscing about the events of the story . Since 2002 he has also provided audio commentaries for various " Doctor Who " DVD releases , read audio book versions of three early " Doctor Who " novelisations featuring Ian and provided linking narration for CD releases of the fan - recorded soundtracks of serials with missing episodes in which he appeared . From 2009 , Russell has reprised the role of Ian for Big Finish Productions ' Companion Chronicles and The Lost Stories . In 2013 he voiced the First Doctor for the anniversary story " The Light at the End " . 88 years old at the time of recording , he became the oldest actor to play the Doctor in any medium . He has since reprised the role in subsequent First Doctor releases . In 2013 , Jamie Glover played Russell in " An Adventure in Space and Time " . Russell himself appeared in the production as well , playing a security guard named Harry . William Russell ' s son is , who played in the " Harry Potter " films .