11 Actors Who Have Played The Doctor | Mental Floss 11 Actors Who Have Played The Doctor Image credit: Like us on Facebook There have been many actors who have portrayed the Doctor in various settings, but eleven have been the official Doctors. We'll look at all of them here. 1. William Hartnell Veteran character actor William Hartnell was born in 1908 to humble beginnings; his mother was unwed, he never knew his father, and his first career move was into petty crime. A boxing instructor got him started on horse racing, but he found his real passion when he got a job as a stagehand at the age of 18. He quickly got into acting, working constantly with only a break to serve in World War II in an armored regiment. He ended up typecast in comic tough-guy roles (you can see one of them in The Mouse That Roared), and when Verity Lambert offered him the part of a mysterious time traveler in an educational show aimed at children, he jumped at the part. He created a character who was highly intelligent but not always as wise as he thought himself, brilliant but forgetful, cantankerous but with a deep compassion under the surface.

He enjoyed the role tremendously, but by 1966, his health was deteriorating due to arteriosclerosis and he had to quit. The producers came up with the idea of having his character transform into a new actor, and Hartnell suggested Patrick Troughton, who was approached and accepted the part. Hartnell reprised his role once more for the tenth anniversary special, "The Three Doctors," but his health had deteriorated more than the production crew realized and his part had to be rewritten to accommodate his capabilities; it was his final work as an actor, and he passed away in 1974 at the age of 67. 2. Patrick Troughton Born in 1920, Patrick Troughton went directly into an acting career and was undergoing formal training in New York City when World War II broke out. He returned to England and joined the Navy, where he had a decorated career before returning to the theater, gaining a reputation as a reliable and versatile character actor.

In 1953, he became the first person to play Robin Hood on television and found a succession of television, film, and radio roles afterward before Innes Lloyd, the new producer of Doctor Who, approached him in 1966 about succeeding William Hartnell in the title role. He ended up playing the role as what series creator Sydney Newman called a "cosmic hobo," inspired partly by silent film star Charlie Chaplin — brilliant, a bit egotistical, and also a bit of a comedian. He'd sometimes play the recorder, a significant change from the First Doctor, who had no apparent musical talent, and it was during this era that the sonic screwdriver was first seen. After three years, he decided to move on, although he returned three more times to reprise the role, in "The Three Doctors," "The Five Doctors," and "The Two Doctors." He returned to his work as a character actor after his time on Doctor Who, working hard despite doctors' advice due to major heart problems. In 1987, he defied doctor's orders to stay in the country and recuperate and went on one more convention tour.

He died on March 27, 1987, in Columbus, Georgia. (I actually saw him once, and got his autograph, earlier in the same U.S. tour. He seemed in good health, but, well, he was a very good actor.) Acting was in his blood; several of his children and grandchildren have gone into acting. The youngest of these is Harry Melling, whom Harry Potter fans know as Dudley Dursley. 3. Jon Pertwee Born in 1919, and thus actually a year older than the man he would replace, Jon Pertwee was born into a family that already had a lot of actors in it. Like the first two Doctors, he joined the military in World War II; although his service wasn't as distinguished as Troughton's, he did acquire an interesting souvenir: he woke up one morning after a drunken shore leave to find a tattoo on his arm, which made a brief appearance in his debut episode of Doctor Who. After the war, he became known as a comic actor on stage, television, and film. When he heard that the part of the Doctor had become available, he inquired and discovered he was already on the shortlist, and ultimately was cast.

He played the character as an action hero with an almost James Bond flair, wearing opera capes and driving souped up cars (including the spaceship-like Whomobile, which actually belonged to Pertwee himself, built on commission by a custom car builder). After five seasons, he departed the role. His career didn't falter afterwards, and in 1979 he found his second children's TV role in Worzel Gummidge. He returned to the part of the Doctor for "The Five Doctors." Like Troughton before him, he kept up the convention circuit, meeting with his fans frequently, and he died of a heart attack in Connecticut on May 20, 1996. (One odd coincidence—Pertwee's godfather was the actor Henry Ainley, whose son Anthony later took on the part of the Master, originated by Roger Delgado during Pertwee's tenure.) 4. Tom Baker Born in 1934 to a Catholic working class family in Liverpool, Baker first tried a career as a monk, then joined the military, serving as an orderly in a military hospital, before settling on acting as his career.

In the '60s, he was a part of the National Theatre company under Lawrence Olivier, and in 1971 broke into film as Rasputin in Nicholas and Alexandra. In 1974, producer Barry Letts cast him as the Doctor. His interpretation was as arrogant and egotistical as all his predecessors, and just as determined to do good, but more eccentric, often described as "bohemian." The Fourth Doctor is particularly famous for his ridiculously long scarf, which resulted from a miscommunication between costume designer James Acheson and the knitter hired to produce it; Acheson never specified a length, and bought far too much yarn, so the knitter just kept going until it was all used up. Baker performed the part for a record-breaking seven seasons before retiring from it. After leaving, he had a brief marriage to costar Lalla Ward (the Second Romana), but it fell apart when both realized they'd really fallen in love with the other one's character, not the actor—an occupational hazard, unfortunately—and they parted amicably. He continued working on stage and screen, and is still active. 5.

Peter Davison Born Peter Moffett in 1951 (he chose the stage name "Davison" because there was already a Peter Moffatt on the English stage), Davison began work at Nottingham Playhouse and got into television in 1975 alongside the woman who would become his wife, Sandra Dickinson. (Sci-fi fans will remember her as Trillian in the BBC TV miniseries version of Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy; it was her idea to get Davison into a big rubber suit to play the Dish of the Day in the same series.) But his first really big break was the role of Tristan Farnon, a young country veterinarian, in All Creatures Great and Small. In 1981, he got his next big break when he was signed on to succeed Tom Baker as the Doctor. Only 29 at the time, he was the youngest to play the role until Matt Smith in 2010. His Doctor had his little quirks, but was much less eccentric than his predecessor, save for a stick of celery he wore on his lapel and a preference for cricket attire. He left after three seasons.

He returned for non-canon productions and the very short charity special "Time Crash," opposite David Tennant as the Tenth Doctor, the only "classic" Doctor to appear on the new series. After Doctor Who, he starred in A Very Peculiar Practice, Campion, and a revival of All Creatures Great and Small, as well as an assortment of other roles; he is still acting. His daughter from his first marriage, Georgia Moffett, later appeared on Doctor Who as well, the first child of a Doctor to appear on the show, in "The Doctor's Daughter" as, well, the Doctor's sort-of daughter. And that led, in a roundabout way, to Peter Davison becoming David Tennant's father-in-law, but more on that later... 6. Colin Baker Born in 1943 (and of no relation to Tom Baker), Colin Baker initially studied law with the intention of becoming a solicitor, but at 23, found a different calling and became an actor.

He had a smattering of television roles before appearing on Doctor Who in 1983 as Commander Maxil, commander of the chancellory guards on Gallifrey in "The Arc of Infinity." This got him onto producer John Nathan-Turner's radar, and he was cast as the Sixth Doctor after Peter Davison's departure. His tenure as the Doctor was a difficult one, marred by the battle of the production team with BBC leadership who hoped to see the series die. His costume was wildly garish, and he even attempted to kill his own companion in a fit of madness. But Baker put everything into the part and, although fans are mixed in their opinion of his Doctor, it cannot be denied that he threw himself into it, creating a Doctor who underwent a substantial amount of character development in two seasons. Unfortunately, the BBC1 Controller, Michael Grade, had never been a fan of the program and, after the troubled season 23, "Trial of a Time Lord," Colin Baker was fired despite having a full series left in his contract. He remains enthusiastic about the series despite that, however, and has lent his talents to numerous fan-made and non-canon productions.

Following his time on Doctor Who, he moved primarily into theater, but still does occasional film and television work as well. 7. Sylvester McCoy Born Percy James Patrick Kent-Smith in Dunoon, Scotland, in 1943, Sylvester McCoy would become the first non-English actor to play the part. (To date, there has been only one other: Scottish actor David Tennant.) He never knew his father, who died in World War II shortly before he was born, and he was raised in Dublin, Ireland. He tried a variety of careers before joining a comedy/vaudeville act called "The Ken Campbell Roadshow." One of the parts he played was a fictitious stuntman named Sylveste McCoy; confused reviewers thought it was his actual name, and he eventually adopted it as a stage name (adding an "r" to the first name to make it look better). In 1987, Doctor Who came out of a year-long hiatus following the firing of Colin Baker, and Sylvester McCoy was cast as the Seventh Doctor. His performance was evocative of the Second Doctor, and clearly informed by his comedy background, but in his second season became increasingly dark.

The series was indefinitely suspended in 1989, ending the bulk of his tenure, although he returned for the American-produced Doctor Who movie in 1996, to film a regeneration scene to transition to Paul McGann. Following his work on Doctor Who, he worked extensively in theater and radio; he was nearly Governor Swann in Pirates of the Caribbean and even more nearly Bilbo Baggins in The Lord of the Rings. He recently traveled to New Zealand to film the part of Radagast the Brown for The Hobbit. 8. Paul McGann Born in Liverpool in 1959, Paul McGann would ultimately have the shortest tenure as Doctor. He was born to a large family, and all four of the McGann boys went into acting. He played a series of roles on television before landing one of the two title roles in Withnail and I, playing Peter Marwood, the "I" of the title who is never named in the movie itself.

He performed in a number of films after that, including American films, and was cast as Richard Sharpe, but a football injury just after filming started meant the number two, Sean Bean, got the part instead, and McGann ultimately walked away with a two million pound insurance settlement to compensate for the lost work and career advancement. In 1996, he was cast in an attempted revival of Doctor Who, filmed largely in Vancouver, British Columbia, and set in San Francisco, which was intended as a "back door pilot." It received very good ratings in the UK, but failed to interest US studios. That was the end of that effort, but Paul McGann went on to pursue a respectable film and television career. Recently, he has recorded audio plays featuring the Eighth Doctor — the BBC does not consider these plays canon — including a "do-over" of "Shada," a story written and partially recorded for the Fourth Doctor's tenure, but that was left uncompleted due to industrial action. 9. Christopher Eccleston Born in 1964 to a working class family in Manchester, Eccleston pursued an acting career right out of school.

He broke into film and television in the early '90s, keeping very busy and receiving multiple awards for his work in television before producer Russell T. Davies cast him as the Ninth Doctor in a newly revived Doctor Who. He played the part in more ordinary dress than his predecessors and with his natural Northern accent. Eccleston was the first Doctor younger than the series itself (by a few months) and the first other than Hartnell to have never seen it prior to being cast. He studied "The Talons of Weng-Chiang" (a Fourth Doctor serial), which was then newly released on DVD, as preparation, and came up with a Doctor who was every bit as egotistical as his predecessors, mischievous and impulsive, but also shadowed with massive grief—sometime in the untransmitted interim, his race had gone to war with the Daleks, and he was now the only Time Lord left. He was also in some way responsible for the fact that the Time Lords were now extinct.

He was only contracted for one season, due to uncertainty whether the BBC would even be interested in commissioning a second season; miscommunications with the BBC marred his departure, as he was mistakenly reported to have quit due to issues with the crew when, in fact, it had been planned that way from the outset. He resumed his intense schedule after Doctor Who and, in 2011, earned the International Emmy Best Actor award for his role in Accursed. 10. David Tennant David McDonald was born in 1971 in West Lothian, Scotland, later taking the name David Tennant as his given name was already in use by another performer. He was a born Whovian, and at the age of three announced his intention to go into acting because of it. A precocious actor, he managed to enter the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama at 16. He performed a variety of roles, including many with the Royal Shakespeare Company, and began breaking into television in the 2000s.

In 2005, he appeared in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire as Barty Crouch, Jr., and appeased his inner Whovian by appearing in the Big Finish audio productions that sort of worked around the edges of Doctor Who continuity and in the abortive attempt at an online animated series, The Scream of the Shalka. He achieved his lifelong dream in 2005 when he was cast as the Tenth Doctor. He elected not to use his natural Scots accent for the part, affecting an Estuary accent, and played it a more confident and more vengeful Doctor than Eccleston. During his first season, he became the first Doctor to appear with someone from the classic series, when Elizabeth Sladen reprised her role as Sarah Jane Smith in "School Reunion." That prompted a spinoff series called The Sarah Jane Adventures, and he appeared in an episode of Season Three of that show. He also provided voice work for two animated series, The Infinite Quest and Dreamland (the latter of which was referenced twice on The Sarah Jane Adventures).

After three full seasons and a series of one-off specials in 2009, Tennant left the series, saying that he had to leave while he still could; any later and he wouldn't be able to bring himself to quit. After leaving the series, he became engaged to actress Georgia Moffett, Peter Davison's daughter. The two have since married and have a daughter together. 11. Matt Smith Born in 1982 in Northhampton, Matt Smith initially dreamed of becoming a professional football player. ("Soccer" to us Yanks, of course.) A back injury put a stop to that, and his drama instructor at school pushed him into acting. He began to study drama and creative writing. He appeared in a variety of stage and television roles, but it was a complete surprise to most when he was cast as the Eleventh Doctor, the youngest ever to take the part. Producer Steven Moffatt had been going for someone in his mid-40s, but was particularly taken by Smith's oddball demeanor and ability to look very old indeed. His Doctor was played as an absent-minded professor, complete with tweed jacket and bowtie (which he obliviously insists is cool), with a sometimes mercurial disposition.

He has also appeared on The Sarah Jane Adventures and has provided voice work for a series of video games. He has been signed for an additional 14 episodes, so will be the Doctor for at least three seasons. Like Eccleston, Smith was largely unfamiliar with the series before accepting the role, but he had an excuse—he was only seven when the series went on hiatus. (And now some of us can start feeling old!) Doctor Who: Peter Capaldi revealed as 12th Doctor - BBC News BBC News Doctor Who: Peter Capaldi revealed as 12th Doctor 4 August 2013 From the section Entertainment & Arts comments Close share panel Media captionPeter Capaldi was revealed as the new Doctor on a special programme hosted by Zoe Ball Actor Peter Capaldi has been announced as the new star of BBC sci-fi series Doctor Who. The 55-year-old Glasgow-born star will be the 12th actor to play the Doctor, replacing out-going lead Matt Smith. Capaldi is best known for his role as foul-mouthed spin-doctor Malcolm Tucker in the BBC series The Thick of It.

"It's so wonderful not to keep this secret any longer, but it's been so fantastic," he said after the news was revealed on a live BBC One show. The actor had been the bookmakers' favourite to take on the role, with betting on him becoming the next Doctor suspended on Friday. It is not the first time Capaldi has appeared on the show - he played Roman merchant Caecilius in 2008 Doctor Who adventure The Fires of Pompeii. Analysis By Tim MastersEntertainment correspondent, BBC News After Matt Smith, the youngest actor to play the Doctor, comes Peter Capaldi, one of the oldest. At 55, the same age as first Doctor William Hartnell in 1963, Capaldi's casting seems a significant nod to the past as the show celebrates its 50th anniversary. Capaldi is likely to bring gravitas - as well as humour - to a role widely regarded as one of the most prized in British television. Capaldi has a strong track record on TV, stage and in film - and is the first Doctor Who star with an Oscar on his CV (for best live action short film).

His previous appearances in Doctor Who episode The Fires of Pompeii and spin-off show Torchwood will make Capaldi a popular choice among fans. But how will his regenerated Doctor play to a generation born in the 21st Century? Only time will tell. At 55, he is the same age as William Hartnell when he was cast in the role as the first Doctor in 1963. "Being asked to play the Doctor is an amazing privilege. Like the Doctor himself I find myself in a state of utter terror and delight. I can't wait to get started," he said. Secret audition Steven Moffat, the show's lead writer and executive producer, said casting Capaldi as the Doctor was an "incendiary combination". "One of the most talented actors of his generation is about to play the best part on television." Moffat said Capaldi had been cast after a secret audition at his house. "We made a home video of [Capaldi] being the doctor and I showed it around and everyone said 'yes, that's the Doctor'.

Moffat added the actor had "briefly flicked through my mind" the last time he was casting the role, but he did not think he was right for the part, however "now that moment has arrived". Capaldi said he downloaded old Doctor Who scripts from the internet and practised the lines in front of a mirror to prepare for the audition. The 12 Doctors 11. Matt Smith (2010 - 2013) 12. Peter Capaldi (2013 - ) He revealed he was filming a BBC adaptation of The Three Musketeers in Prague when he found out he got the part. "I had my phone on silent so I missed the call," he said. "It was my agent and I rang her up and she said 'hello Doctor' - I haven't stopped laughing since." 'Incredible incarnation' Out-going Doctor Matt Smith welcomed Capaldi's casting, and pre-recorded a message for the new Time Lord. "I wish my successor all the best and say good luck and good on you for getting it, because I know he's both a huge fan of the show and a really nice guy," he said.

"The casting made me ready excited and as a fan I think it's a canny choice. If I had to pick someone, I'd pick him because I think he's great. I'm excited because I know what's coming and he's going to have a blast." Jenna Coleman, who stars as current Doctor Who companion Clara, said: "I'm so excited Peter Capaldi is the man taking on the challenge of becoming the 12th Doctor. "With Steven's writing and his talent I know we'll be making an amazing show with an incredible incarnation of number 12. I can't wait to start this new adventure." Media captionPeter Capaldi introduces himself as the new Doctor Ben Stephenson, controller of BBC Drama Commissioning said Capaldi was "an extraordinarily talented actor who can seemingly turn his hand to anything". "We can't wait to premiere his unique take on the Doctor on Christmas Day and we are sure he's going to become one of the all-time classic Doctors." Following the announcement, The Thick of It writer Armando Ianucci tweeted : "There can't be a funnier, wiser, more exciting Time Lord than Peter Capaldi. The universe is in great hands." Capaldi will film his first scenes on the series this autumn.

11 People Who Almost Played The Doctor | Mental Floss 11 People Who Almost Played The Doctor Wikimedia Commons/Bryan Dugan Like us on Facebook British sci-fi TV series Doctor Who has had a long and storied history since its first airing in 1963 (and its 2005 revival). Although its iconic protagonist, the Time Lord known only as “the Doctor,” never seems to truly age, he’s gone through quite a few changes in appearance and demeanor over his past 11 regenerations. Matt Smith, the Eleventh and current Doctor, has announced his intention to pass on the sonic screwdriver after this year’s 50th anniversary and Christmas specials, leaving the field wide open for speculation as to who will commandeer the TARDIS next. Each previous Doctor has brought his own flair to the role, but while it’s hard to imagine anyone else in Tom Baker’s striped scarf or David Tennant’s classic Converses, casting decisions could have gone very differently. 1. Hugh David The first would-be Doctor, Hugh David, was also the first actor to be turned down for the role.

David had the distinct honor of receiving an offer to originate the Doctor’s role by Rex Tucker, a personal friend who happened to be a member of the production team preparing for the series’ launch. When the show finally named Verity Lambert as its producer, however, she made the executive call that David, aged 38, was too youthful to play the wise and relatively wizened Doctor she envisioned. He was passed over in favor of William Hartnell, an actor two decades his senior, though the smooth-faced Matt Smith would later be cast as the Doctor’s eleventh incarnation at the tender age of 28. David instead went on to direct an episode each of the show’s fourth and fifth seasons, leaving his mark on the Whoniverse that way. 2. Geoffrey Bayldon Getty Images Theater-trained thespian Geoffrey Bayldon was lined up as a potential First Doctor after Verity Lambert said no to Hugh David’s youthful visage, but he wasn’t thrilled by the lengthy commitment the role would have required of him. He was also concerned about being pigeonholed into “old” roles.

Instead, he took on another starring role on British television: Catweazle, a befuddled wizard from the 11th century (above) accidentally thrust into the 1960s, in stark contrast to the more experienced time-traveling Doctor. After Catweazle took off , Bayldon was devoted to the career-defining role and refused a second offer to become the Second Doctor. Bayldon appeared in a supporting role as Organon in the show’s seventeenth season, but by the new millennium, he finally consented to take on the mantle of the Doctor—albeit only as a voice actor in the alternate-universe Doctor Who Unbound audio plays. He was 80 years old when the second of his two episodes aired, making him the oldest actor to ever play the Doctor and rendering his earlier objections highly ironic. 3. Richard Griffiths Getty Images Venerated stage and screen actor Richard Griffiths, renowned in England as Uncle Monty of Withnail & I and the original Hector of Alan Bennett’s The History Boys but more generally recognized as Harry Potter’s nasty Uncle Vernon, was twice considered a possible Doctor.

He was on the shortlist to succeed Tom Baker , but was passed over in favor of Peter Davison. Producers kept him in mind, and again considered casting him as a replacement for Sylvester McCoy, but the show was cancelled before Griffiths could set foot in the TARDIS. 4. Catherine Zeta-Jones Recently, some Whovians have campaigned to have a woman cast as the Twelfth Doctor (and other fans’ resulting pushback). But the notion of a “Time Lady” isn’t new to the 21st century. Russell T. Davies, the writer/producer responsible for the series’ 2005 revival, was intrigued by the prospect of a female Doctor. The Welsh native put forward the name of fellow country(wo)man Catherine Zeta-Jones as David Tennant’s potential successor —certainly a more glamorous choice than had ever been considered, but one with a long history of diverse dramatic roles to her name. However, Davies had no real pull with the casting decision, as he turned the show over to Steven Moffat in 2010, who in turn ushered in the reign of Matt Smith’s bow ties.

The idea of a female Doctor was also floated in the '80s, when the series was experiencing a ratings slump so severe that it was put on temporary hiatus from airing. Sydney Newman, the show’s original creator, suggested reviving audiences' interest with a female lead . He was called in to advise BBC One on how to bolster the show’s reputation. His plan consisted of temporarily bringing back Patrick Troughton as the Second Doctor before regenerating the Seventh Doctor in female form, though not “a flashy, Hollywood Wonder Woman because this kind of heroine with no flaws is a bore.” Candidates for this game-changing new Doctor included Frances de la Tour, Joanna Lumley, and Dawn French—all well-respected, established actresses felt to be equal to the historic role. The BBC nixed Newman’s radical proposal, choosing to keep the Time Lord a lord, not a lady, and the show’s waning popularity led to its 1989 cancellation. 5. Liam Cunningham Getty Images The crowded field of aspiring Doctors vying for the part after Sylvester McCoy stepped down attests to the show executives’ confusion about who could best rekindle Doctor Who’s former glory.

Irish actor Liam Cunningham put in a bid to become the Eighth Doctor, using both his natural Dublin accent as well as a put-upon “neutral American” one. Though neither voice netted him the job, he appeared as Captain Zhukov in the revived series. He now features on TV screens as Davos Seaworth in Game of Thrones. 6. Billy Connolly Getty Images Better known as a comedian and folk singer, Billy Connolly was another contender for the Doctor’s eighth regeneration. Though he was shortlisted for the part, it seems the decision was never his to make, as he says the opportunity “came up in a meeting, apparently, but nobody told [him] until after they had decided against it.” He claims he would have accepted the role with plans to play “a much angrier Doctor Who,” but unfortunately for Connolly, no one told his higher-ups that. 7. Mark McGann Liverpudlian Mark McGann auditioned for the role of the Eighth Doctor at the same time as his older brother Paul. In a double blow to Mark, he didn't get the part—but his brother did. Talk about sibling envy. 8.

Hugh Grant Getty Images Romantic comedy lead Hugh Grant now seems an unlikely choice for a sci-fi hero, but he was one of the first actors approached when casting a Ninth Doctor for the 2005 series revival. Grant turned the part down due to skepticism about the show’s potential to succeed, but he later got a second chance of sorts when playing one of the Doctor’s regenerations in a 1999 spoof production for charity (which also featured fellow would-be Doctor Joanna Lumley). With trademark self-deprecation, the actor notes that while he regrets his choice, it might have done the show some good, as he’d “probably make a mess of it” anyway. 9. Bill Nighy Getty Images Bill Nighy also said no to playing the Doctor, but unlike fellow Love, Actually castmate Grant, his refusal was due to a premonition that the show would take off and garner him an excess of unwanted media scrutiny. It was a character, he claimed, that came with “too much baggage.” He did, however, make an uncredited but significant appearance in 2010 as Musée d’Orsay curator and Vincent van Gogh enthusiast Dr. Black.

Although Nighy only recently disclosed his historic offer, he didn’t necessarily indicate at what point he turned down the opportunity. Out of respect to “whoever did” take the role, he has refused to say which Doctor he might have been. Despite speculation that he might have been the Ninth Doctor , Nighy’s career has spanned most of the show’s 50-year run, so there’s really no telling. 10. Eddie Izzard Getty Images Cross-dressing comedian Eddie Izzard was once rumored to have been cast as the Tenth Doctor, with word coming straight from the mouth of the Fourth Doctor himself. Former Doctor Who star Tom Baker claimed on BBC Radio Five Live in 2003 that Izzard had landed the role, touting Izzard as “mysterious and strange and seem[ing] like he has a lot of secrets”—all qualities befitting the inscrutable Doctor. The BBC itself discounted his comments as mere "speculation," and a spokesman said simply that no decision had yet been made. 11. Michael Jackson Getty Images The King of Pop could have been the man from Gallifrey.

In the late 1980s, at the height of Jackson’s on-screen success with Moonwalker, Paramount Pictures proposed a full-length Doctor Who film starring the chart-topping singer. It’s not clear that he was offered the role of the Doctor himself, though the information lends itself to that interpretation , but the role was substantial enough that execs had a second choice in mind should Jackson turn it down: Bill Cosby.

From William Hartnell to Matt Smith: What the Doctors did next | The Independent From William Hartnell to Matt Smith: What the Doctors did next Neela Debnath looks back at the careers of the Doctors after leaving the Tardis Friday 22 November 2013 09:24 BST Click to follow From William Hartnell to Matt Smith: What the Doctors did next 1/22 BBC 2/22 William Hartnell (centre) as the Doctor alongside Dracula and Frankenstein's monster in 'Doctor Who' episode 'The Chase' in 1965 Getty Images 3/22 Patrick Troughton in 'Doctor Who' serial 'The Web of Fear', one of nine long-lost episodes of Doctor Who which have not been seen since the 1960s but which have been recovered after they were tracked down to a store room in Nigeria PA 4/22 English actor Patrick Troughton holding one of his own paintings outside at his home in Teddington, London in 1981.

The work is a copy of Monet's 'Poppy Field' Getty Images Jon Pertwee played the third Doctor and here poses with a Dalek Getty Images Jon Pertwee as scarecrow Worzel Gummedge Getty Images 7/22 Tom Baker as the Doctor and Mary Tamm as his companion Romana on the set of 'Doctor Who' Getty Images 8/22 Tom Baker at a 'Doctor Who' audio recording session London, five-part adventure, 'Hornet's Nest'. Since 'Doctor Who' he has done a lot of voice work, most notable as the narrator on 'Little Britain' Rex Features 9/22 Actor Peter Davison dressed as the fifth Dr Who in the Tardis at BBC Television Centre in 1981 Getty Images 10/22 Peter Davison now, the actor has gone on to star in television shows such as 'Law and Order UK' and 'Lewis'.

He even made a guest appearance as the Doctor in the Children in Need special 'Time Crash' opposite David Tennant (left) BBC 11/22 Colin Baker as the sixth incarnation of the Doctor and one of the most underrated actors to have taken on the role BBC 12/22 Lewis Bradley as Jack (centre) and Colin Baker as Fleshcreep (right) perform during the traditional pantomime Jack and the Beanstalk on stage at the Theatre Royal Bath. Getty Images Sylvester McCoy as a quizzical incarnation of the Time Lord BBC 14/22 Sylvester McCoy at the world premiere of 'The Hobbit' movie in which he plays a wizard called Radagast the Brown Getty Images Paul McGann who played the Doctor for one adventure in the 1996 film BBC 16/22 Paul McGann has gone on to star in numerous television shows, here is a shot from ITV's 'A Mother's Son'.

Rex Features Christopher Eccleston as the Doctor and Billie Piper as his companion Rose Tyler BBC Christopher Eccleston in 2007 Hollywood film 'The Dark Is Rising' Rex Features 19/22 David Tennant as the tenth Doctor, standing alongside companion his companion Rose Tyler played by Biller Piper BBC David Tennant's most famous role post-'Doctor Who' as surly police officer Alec Harding in 'Broadchurch' ITV Doctor Who star Matt Smith BBC 22/22 Matt Smith will be leaving 'Doctor Who' in December, he has been working on Ryan Gosling's directorial debut 'How to Catch a Monster' in the US Getty Images The 11 Doctors There is a myth that once a Doctor Who actor leaves the role they are forever typecast as the Time Lord and end up running their careers into the ground. But is that criticism fair? We take a look back at the careers of the men who have played the Doctor. William Hartnell Time Lord tenure (1963-1966) William Hartnell left Doctor Who due to his ailing health.

After his time on the show he starred in several other things, including police drama series Softly, Softly: Taskforce and No Hiding Place. He also had a role in the thriller Tomorrow at Ten which was to be his last film appearance before his death in 1975. His deteriorating health was limiting but he did reprise his role as the Doctor for the show's 10th anniversary special in 1973. Hartnell's tenure as the first Doctor has ensured his legacy as a great actor. Most recently, archive footage featuring him as the first Doctor was used on an episode of Doctor Who. William Hartnell (centre) as the Doctor alongside Dracula and Frankenstein's monster in 'Doctor Who' episode 'The Chase' in 1965 Patrick Troughton: Time Lord tenure (1966-1969) After stepping off the Tardis, Troughton had numerous film and television roles, including The Omen, Coronation Street and The Sweeney. He even appeared in the first ever episode of Inspector Morse. It seems that for Troughton, Doctor Who may have been the highlight of his career as he never reached such success in subsequent roles.

He also made an appearance in the 20th anniversary special The Five Doctors. Alongside acting, Troughton painted and even produced a copy of Monet's 'Poppy Field'. Sadly, he died of heart attack in 1987, however his legacy does live on. The eleventh Doctor, Matt Smith, has stated that the second Doctor is his favourite, and his performance has inspired his own incarnation of the Time Lord. English actor Patrick Troughton holding one of his own paintings Jon Pertwee: Time Lord tenure (1970-1974) Jon Pertwee bowed out of Doctor Who and went on to play the scarecrow Worzel Gummidge in the children's programme of the same name. To a generation of children he was known as the Doctor, and to another he was known as the friendly scarecrow, achieving success even after Doctor Who. Pertwee did reprise the role of the Doctor in the 20th anniversary special in 1983. He passed away in 1996 at the age of 76.

Jon Pertwee as scarecrow Worzel Gummedge Tom Baker: Time Lord tenure (1974-1981) Possibly one of the greatest and most famous of the Doctors, Baker has said Doctor Who was one of the nicest jobs he ever did but also killed his career. He played the part for seven years - the longest that any actor has done so. While his career never really took off or matched the popularity of Doctor Who, he had parts in television shows such as Monarch of the Glen in the noughties and the Dungeons and Dragons film flop starring Jeremy Irons. It is Baker's voiceover work that has been keeping him going, his booming sonorous tones have been on everything from The Magic Roundabout to Little Britain. Both Matt Lucas and David Walliams were Doctor Who fans and asked Baker to be their narrator. The actor has even written a dark children's story called The Boy Who Kicked Pigs about a nasty little boy who gets his comeuppance after causing a series of 'unfortunate accidents'. Baker's deliciously dark wit comes through. Like all Doctor Who stars, Baker is a firm fixture on the Science Fiction convention circuit.

Tom Baker at a 'Doctor Who' audio recording session London, five-part adventure, 'Hornet's Nest'. Since 'Doctor Who' he has done a lot of voice work, most notable as the narrator on 'Little Britain' Peter Davison: Time Lord tenure (1981-1984) The youngest actor to play the Doctor, Davison was already known for his work on All Creatures Great and Small and The Tomorrow People. Since leaving Doctor Who, Davison has remained a permanent fixture on British television and starring in everything from Miss Marple, Heartbeat, Jonathan Creek, Midsomer Murders and At Home with the Braithwaites. More recently he has been a guest star on sitcom Miranda and is currently in Law and Order UK, in which he starred alongside Doctor Who actress Freema Agyeman, who played companion Martha Jones opposite David Tennant's Time Lord. Doctor Who has never really left Davison on a personal level because his daughter Georgia Moffet starred in a recent episode of the show. While working on the show Moffet met her future husband Tennant, so Davison is now the father-in-law to another Doctor.

Davison reprised the role of the Doctor several time since leaving the show, most recently in a Children in Need special called Time Crash. Peter Davison now, the actor has gone on to star in television shows such as 'Law and Order UK' and 'Lewis'. He even made a guest appearance as the Doctor in the Children in Need special 'Time Crash' opposite David Tennant (left) Colin Baker: Time Lord tenure (1984-1986) Considered by many to be the worst Doctor - which is simply not true - the actor has continued to have a strong career. Although his work does not reach the heights of his Doctor Who stardom, Baker has had roles in both television and most notably on stage. He has starred in stage roles including She Stoops To Conquer, H.M.S. Pinafore and The Woman in White. Baker was in the first episode of television show Jonathan Creek and Dangerfield. Last year he took part in reality television show in I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here! and came eighth out of 12. Like all Doctor Who actors, Baker plays the Doctor in audio plays produced by Big Finish and is also on tour on the convention circuit.

Baker has continued to have success which suggests that his time of Doctor Who did not spell the end of his career. Lewis Bradley as Jack (centre) and Colin Baker as Fleshcreep (right) perform during the traditional pantomime Jack and the Beanstalk on stage at the Theatre Royal Bath. Sylvester McCoy: Time Lord tenure (1987-1996) He was the last actor to play the Doctor after the show got cancelled. All was quiet for a while but in the mid-nineties McCoy took on the role of the Doctor again for the 1996 move and handed over the Doctor Who baton to Paul McGann. There had been the Doctor Who 30th special Dimensions in Space but McCoy was step back onto the Tardis briefly for the 1996 film. The movie was a backdoor pilot which saw McCoy's Doctor meet an unfortunate end after he was shot dead in the streets of San Francisco. McCoy then went on to do plays parts on stage, including The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe and the Fool to Ian McKellan's King Lear.

McCoy was Peter Jackson's second choice to play Bilbo Baggins in The Lord of the Rings trilogy but ultimately lost out to Ian Holm. However, McCoy most recently played a wizard called Radagast the Brown in Jackson's The Hobbit trilogy. He is set to reprise his role for The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug. Sylvester McCoy as Radagast the Brown in 'The Hobbit' Paul McGann: Time Lord tenure (1996) Although McGann had the shortest of tenures as the Doctor, he has been associated with role ever since. In order to create cohesion between the television series and the film, McGann recently took on the mantae of the Doctor again for The Night of the Doctor , a mini-episode in the run-up to the 50th anniversary. Following his first turn as the Time Lord in 1996, McGann has worked in several films such as The Queen of the Damned and Lesbian Vampire Killers. But he has had more success on British television, featuring in numerous programmes. Some of his most recent work has been on ITV's A Mother's Son and BBC's Ripper Street and Luther.

Despite playing the Doctor, McGann has managed to avoid being typecast. Paul McGann as the Doctor in 'Night of the Doctor' (BBC) Christopher Eccleston: Time Lord tenure (2005) The actor who helped bring back Doctor Who in 2005 left after one series in the role. After exiting the show, Eccleston went on to play roles in US science fiction superhero show Heroes. He also played John Lennon in the television biopic Lennon Naked and a man forced into drug dealing in the critically acclaimed The Shadow Line. He has also had success on the big screen in Hollywood films including G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra, The Dark is Rising and Thor: The Dark World. Time and again Eccleston continues to leave critics and audiences moved by his brilliant performances and he is having a successful career after Doctor Who. Christopher Eccleston in 2007 Hollywood film 'The Dark Is Rising' David Tennant: Time Lord tenure (2005-2010) Recently voted the nation's favourite Doctor, Tennant has had a tough time leaving behind his Time Lord past. Playing the Doctor sent his profile soaring however, he has taken on numerous roles since leaving.

His biggest success to date was as the hard-bitten cop Alec Hardy in ITV's crime drama Broadchurch. He has also taken on a number of different roles on stage, including Hamlet opposite Patrick Stewart, Benedick in Much Ado About Nothing and currently playing the title role in Richard II. The Scottish star will be back on our screens again in The Day of the Doctor as the tenth Doctor. It will take a long time before Tennant can fully free himself of the mantle of the Doctor but it is interesting to watch his career progress. David Tennant's most famous role post-'Doctor Who' as surly police officer Alec Harding in 'Broadchurch' Matt Smith: Time Lord tenure (2010-2013) We have two more adventures left with the eleventh Doctor but Matt Smith has already filmed them and is moving on to other things. During his time as the Time Lord, Smith did play various roles in other projects, including Christopher Isherwood in Christopher and His Kind and Bert Bushnell in Bert and Dickie. He also played a character in Ryan Gosling's directorial debut How to Catch a Monster, which required him to shave off his hair.

But Smith is not resting on his laurels, the actor recently made his own debut in the directing chair with a short film called Cargese. Smith will be taking on the role of the murderous Wall Street banker Patrick Bateman in a musical adaptation of American Psycho. It's safe to say that Smith is doing everything he can to make sure his most famous role will not be the Doctor with this raft of projects. Matt Smith will be leaving 'Doctor Who' in December, he has been working on Ryan Gosling's directorial debut 'How to Catch a Monster' in the US The ‘Doctor Who’ 50th anniversary special ‘The Day of the Doctor’ will be on 23 November on BBC1 New 'Doctor Who': It's Peter Capaldi FacebookEmail Twitter Google+ LinkedIn Pinterest New 'Doctor Who': It's Peter Capaldi And the sonic screwdriver goes to Peter Capaldi, who was named the new star of the British sci-fi franchise "Doctor Who" on Sunday during a live broadcast on BBC America.

Post to Facebook New 'Doctor Who': It's Peter Capaldi And the sonic screwdriver goes to Peter Capaldi, who was named the new star of the British sci-fi franchise "Doctor Who" on Sunday during a live broadcast on BBC America. Check out this story on USATODAY.com: CancelSend A link has been sent to your friend's email address. Posted! A link has been posted to your Facebook feed. 156 To find out more about Facebook commenting please read the Conversation Guidelines and FAQs New 'Doctor Who': It's Peter Capaldi Brian Truitt, USA TODAY Published 2:40 p.m. ET Aug. 4, 2013 | Updated 3:06 p.m. ET Aug. 4, 2013 The Scottish-born actor becomes the 12th actor to play the British sci-fi icon. Peter Capaldi was named the new star of "Doctor Who" on Sunday. (Photo: Tim P. Whitby/Getty Images) Story Highlights Peter Capaldi was named the new star of 'Doctor Who' on Sunday His first appearance will be in the annual Christmas special later this year He takes over for the departing Matt Smith And the sonic screwdriver goes to Peter Capaldi.

The Scottish actor was named the new star of the British sci-fi franchise Doctor Who on Sunday during a live broadcast on BBC America. He will replace the departing Matt Smith, whose time in the time-traveling police box the TARDIS ends later this year. "It's so wonderful not to keep this secret any longer," said Capaldi, a lifelong fan of the show. "I haven't played Doctor Who since I was 9 on the playground." Capaldi, 55, becomes the 12th man to play the Doctor since the cult show debuted in 1963 with star William Hartnell and the fourth Time Lord since executive producer Russell T Davies rebooted Doctor Who in 2005, following Christopher Eccleston, David Tennant and Smith. Executive producer Steven Moffat had considered Capaldi when they were casting the 11th Doctor. "There comes a right time for the right person to play it," he said. "We all had the same idea and it was a quite different idea," Moffat added.

When he and his team made a video with Capaldi, "everybody saw it and was like, 'That's the Doctor.' " American audiences most recently saw Capaldi as a World Health Organization doctor in the movie World War Z, and he also has big-screen roles in the upcoming The Fifth Estate this fall and next year's Maleficent. The half-hour live special on BBC America, hosted by British TV personality Zoe Ball, also featured past Who stars, including Peter Davison, the fifth Doctor (1981-84). "In a way it's the longest job in television. It's a whirlwind time when you do it, and it keeps on going after," said Davison, whose daughter is married to the 10th Doctor, Tennant. Smith recalled that people initially met his casting with backlash, but fans ultimately came around for him as the Doctor. "There are no parts like this," he said. "I loved it, I'll miss it, but when you gotta go, you gotta go." Doctor Who has long been a hit in the U.K., but more recently the Doctor has gained a huge following in the USA, with the show becoming the highest-rated series on BBC America.

Capaldi will make his first appearance in the Doctor Who Christmas Special at the end of 2013, and it marks Smith's final jaunt as the Doctor. Fans get to see him one more time, though, when Smith stars with Jenna Coleman, John Hurt and Tennant in the 50th anniversary special airing on Nov. 23. The main reason the series is still a fixture in global pop culture is because of anybody who's ever watched it, Capaldi said. "Doctor Who belongs to all of us. Everybody makes Doctor Who." 12529 CONNECT TWEET LINKEDIN 156 COMMENTEMAILMORE Read or Share this story: NEVER MISS OUT Life Be a pop culture maven. Get the news, reviews and the juiciest celebrity stories that keep you in the know, Monday-Friday. Doctor Who: Who will play the 12th Doctor? - BBC News BBC News Doctor Who: Who will play the 12th Doctor? By Tim Masters Entertainment and arts correspondent, BBC News 2 August 2013 Read more about sharing.

Close share panel Image caption Will Peter Capaldi, Billie Piper or Chiwetel Ejiofor be the next owner of the Tardis key? Speculation is mounting over who will replace Matt Smith in Doctor Who, with the announcement due on Sunday . Smith, who has played the Time Lord since 2010, announced in June that he would be leaving in this year's Christmas special. The past few weeks has seen a flurry of newspaper stories guessing at who might take over in the Tardis. Early favourites included Harry Potter star Rupert Grint and Being Human actors Russell Tovey and Damien Molony. As in previous years, some have suggested the role may go to a black actor, with Luther star Idris Elba, Homeland's David Harewood and former rapper Ashley Walters among those mentioned. There have also been calls for a female Doctor, with Billie Piper, Olivia Colman and Dame Helen Mirren on some wish lists. Here are some of the names appearing in the bookmakers' lists of favourites. Peter Capaldi Peter Capaldi has become the late favourite to take over the role of the Time Lord from Matt Smith.

The Scots actor, best known as foul-mouthed Malcolm Tucker in The Thick of It, is 6/4 favourite, according to bookmaker William Hill on Friday. Paddy Power has him at 7/4 favourite and Labrokes 11/8. Capaldi played Roman merchant Caecilius in 2008 Doctor Who adventure The Fires of Pompeii. At 55, as Metro points out , Capaldi is the same age as William Hartnell when he was cast in the role as the first Doctor in 1963. Ben Daniels Midlands-born Ben Daniels has enjoyed a long career in TV and film and on stage. The 49-year-old actor will be familiar to many through his role as Finn Bevan in BBC series Cutting It (2002-2005). Other TV appearances include political thriller The State Within (2006) and ITV drama Law & Order: UK. Daniels won an Laurence Olivier Award in 2001 for his performance in the Arthur Miller play All My Sons. Ladbrokes and Paddy Power give him odds of 4/1, and William Hill 5/1.

Chiwetel Ejiofor Chiwetel Ejiofor's career has successfully embraced television, film and theatre. Speaking on the The Andrew Marr Show in 2011 he said he would be interested in the role of the Time Lord if it was offered. Coming to public attention with his role in Stephen Frears' Dirty Pretty Things in 2002, film roles have included Kinky Boots, Children of Men and American Gangster. Notable TV roles include The Shadow Line and Dancing on the Edge. Ejiofor is currently appearing on stage in A Season In The Congo at London's Young Vic. He won a Laurence Olivier Award for best actor as Othello in 2008. Paddy Power has the 36-year-old actor at 12/1. Idris Elba Idris Elba, star of TV detective series Luther, has said he's "proud" that people have linked him with roles such as Doctor Who and James Bond. He told Newsbeat in July the roles were "national treasures".

But the 40-year-old Londoner, who shot to fame as drug lord Stringer Bell in HBO's The Wire, has also said of the idea of playing the Doctor: "I'd look silly in a bow tie." Elba portrays Nelson Mandela in the forthcoming film Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom. Other recent movie roles include Prometheus and Pacific Rim. Ladbrokes lists Elba at 12/1 while Paddy Power puts him at 25/1. David Harewood Homeland star David Harewood appeared in Doctor Who as Joshua Naismith in David Tennant's final two-part story The End of Time (2009-10). Speaking about being linked with the Doctor role, the 47-year-old actor told Entertainment Weekly : "It's only rumours but it's amazing to be attached to such an iconic role. "It would be extraordinary if the BBC were to make me the first black Doctor Who, it would be extraordinary. But I'm almost scared to make any comment whatsoever." Harewood was appointed an MBE for services to drama in 2011.

Ladbrokes has the actor at 10/1, while William Hill has 14/1 and Paddy Power 16/1. Rory Kinnear Rory Kinnear was tipped as an early favourite to replace Matt Smith in the Tardis, but has since ruled himself out of the race. "I haven't been and I am totally certain that I will not be asked to be the next Doctor Who," he told The Independent in July. On Friday, Paddy Power had Kinnear as its third favourite at 6/1. His best-known big screen role is as MI6 officer Bill Tanner in the recent Bond films. On TV he is in BBC comedy Count Arthur Strong and imminent Channel 4 drama Southcliffe. Kinnear won rave reviews for his Iago (opposite Adrian Lester's Othello) at the National Theatre earlier this year. He has also written his first play, The Herd, which opens at London's Bush Theatre in September. Billie Piper Billie Piper is returning for this November's 50th anniversary Doctor Who special. She played Rose alongside both Christopher Eccleston and David Tennant's Doctors.

Piper gained fame as a teenager when her 1998 single Because We Want To went to number one. Her acting career began with a part in BBC period drama The Canterbury Tales in 2003. She went on to star in ITV2's Secret Diary of a Call Girl and the BBC adaptation of Philip Pullman's The Ruby in the Smoke. Piper's most recent stage role was in Lucy Prebble's clinical drugs trial drama The Effect at the National Theatre, for which she earned an Olivier nomination. Piper is something of an outsider with the bookies. Paddy Power puts her at 33/1. Daniel Rigby Daniel Rigby, according to Ladbrokes, is the biggest mover and shaker in the betting, having been 20/1 a few days ago and now standing at 5/2. Rigby won a Bafta TV award in 2011 for his pitch-perfect portrayal of comedy legend Eric Morecambe in BBC Four biopic Eric and Ernie - beating off competition from Matt Smith (for Doctor Who) and Benedict Cumberbatch (Sherlock).

The 30-year-old actor's stage work includes the hit play One Man, Two Guvnors, alongside James Corden, in the West End and on Broadway. Andrew Scott Andrew Scott won a Bafta in 2012 for his role as Jim Moriarty in BBC series Sherlock. The Dublin-born actor told website Flicks and the City in June that it was "flattering" to be mentioned as a potential Doctor. "One has to wait to be asked," he said. "I know Mr Moffat very well, so he'll keep his cards close to his chest." Scott, whose stage work includes Emperor and Galilean at the National Theatre, is given 8/1 odds by Paddy Power and 10/1 from William Hill. Ben Whishaw Rory Kinnear's fellow Bond actor Ben Whishaw, who played Q in Skyfall, is 6/1 according to Ladbrokes, while William Hill has him at 12/1. Whishaw has also ruled himself out of becoming the next Doctor, telling the Daily Mail: "It's not going to be me. But I don't mind - I don't think you can be Q and Doctor Who.

It would be a bit wrong." Whishaw, who appeared in BBC drama The Hour, was last seen onstage opposite Judi Dench in Peter and Alice at the Noel Coward theatre. He has just been announced in the cast of a West End revival of Jez Butterworth's Mojo, which will begin at the Harold Pinter Theatre in October. Doctor Who Live: The Next Doctor, is on BBC One at 7pm on 4 August. William Hartnell: Original Doctor Who transformed himself from a poverty stricken illegitimate child and hard-drinking womaniser to one of television's most iconic characters - Mirror Online The original: William Hartnell as Doctor Who (Photo: BBC) Share Get celebs updates directly to your inbox + Subscribe Thank you for subscribing! Could not subscribe, try again laterInvalid Email Wearing a white wig and with a wild glint in his eye, the middle-aged actor took to the floor of a cramped and run-down BBC studio in 1963 and opened the doors on a half-century of time travel. William Hartnell, then 55, was the first and in some ways the strangest of the men who would star in Doctor Who, which is 50 years old on Saturday.

His Doctor was a Jekyll and Hyde personality who could be unnervingly stern on one hand and lovable and funny on the other. His real-life personality was no less complex. An actor who had enjoyed a long career in classical theatre, feature films and TV, he was at the same time a loving husband, devoted father and granddad – and a serial womaniser and serious drinker who struggled to come to terms with a past he considered deeply shameful. Despite many predictions that the curious new science-fiction show would be a dud – and an opening night that clashed with compelling coverage of the JFK assassination – Doctor Who became a big success in its original Saturday teatime slot. And it was Hartnell – until then best-known for military roles in Carry On Sergeant and The Army Game – who laid down the Time Lord template. In his dress shirt and frock coat, his Doctor seemed the epitome of Edwardian respectability. But Hartnell was acutely conscious that he was an illegitimate child who never knew his father. He always hid the truth about a background so poor he had to shoplift as a child. At 21 he married actress Heather McIntyre but he had countless affairs and one- night liaisons over the years.

His granddaughter and biographer Jessica Carney, 56, thinks he was trying to prove something to himself. Dashing: William Hartnell as a young actor (Photo: Tim Anderson) She says: “The marriage was complicated. Heather admired his talent and enjoyed his success but was driven to distraction by his heavy drinking and womanising. He admired and needed her so much yet still chased after other women. “It went on until late in life. I found a letter he had written to my gran saying, ‘I know I haven’t been a very good husband’. It was heartfelt.” Jessica, a talent agent from London, says her gran wanted to divorce Hartnell many times and in the late 1940s even enlisted a family friend to get the proof of his infidelity that was necessary to start proceedings in those days. The bid failed because he got too drunk to have sex with the young woman he picked up. Many years later, soon after his retirement from Doctor Who in 1966, he started sleeping with an actress starring in the same pantomime. Jessica says: “Heather found out but was by now so fed up she apparently let it be known that the girl could have him if she wanted.

That decided it. Bill didn’t want to leave Heather. "That was what was so ridiculous – he was outwardly very proud of her. But that didn’t stop him causing her unhappiness.” Jessica, whose book Who’s There? The Life and Career of William Hartnell has been reprinted for the anniversary, says the family knew never to ask about his past. “It was a big insecurity for him not knowing his father. He was ashamed and didn’t talk about his childhood. It hugely affected his confidence,” she says. He told the interviewer on Desert Island Discs in 1965 he was born in the village of Seaton in Devon. In fact he was born in St Pancras, London, in 1908 and his mother Lucy was an unwed mum, a huge stigma at the time. It was she who came from Devon and young William would visit relatives and learned to ride horses there. Good grandad: Hartnell with his granddaughter and biographer Jessica Carney (Photo: Tim Anderson) When his mum went to Brussels to work as a nurse he was fostered by a bootmender’s family and, living in abject poverty, turned to shoplifting.

Jessica says: “He was a bit of a young scally and was bullied for being illegitimate. He shoplifted because he was poor.” “His mother returned, but they had difficult relationship and he began to dread going home. She would hit him with a broom and throw things at him. He was hungry a lot of the time and got very skinny.” At the age of 14 he met his mentor Hugh Blaker, an artist and philanthropist who took it upon himself to help. First he sent William to train as a jockey, then to the Italia Conti acting school. He was a success and joined a touring theatre company in 1925. After marrying Heather they had one girl, Heather Anne. As well as the first Carry On film and The Army Game TV comedy, Hartnell also had roles in classic films including Brighton Rock and This Sporting Life. What happened next is told in tonight’s BBC2 Doctor Who docu-drama , An Adventure In Time and Space. In 1963 work was running dry when Hartnell was offered Doctor Who.

He had to be wined and dined by novice producer Verity Lambert – the BBC’s first woman in that role – and director Waris Hussein, before he was persuaded. Jessica explains: “They told him the premise: a bizarre old man whose origins are shrouded in mystery accompanied by his granddaughter, Susan, travels through time and space in a machine called the Tardis disguised as a police telephone box. My grandfather had been a serious actor in big films, playing soldiers and crooks and policemen. He was uncertain at first.” Thankfully Lambert won him round. The first rehearsal took place on Saturday, September 21 1963, and the pilot episode was recorded the following Friday. Hartnell plunged into his role with relish and at times struggled to separate reality from fiction. Tiny terrors: Admiring the first toy daleks with wife Heather (Photo: Tim Anderson) Jessica, who recalls watching the first episode aged six with her granddad, and playing with toy daleks on his living room floor, says: “He lived it and breathed it, ate Dr Who, and he found it hard to shake off. "He once went drinking with a friend and they were stopped by the police.

He swept out of the car, said ‘Leave this to me’, and told the police ‘I’m Doctor Who’. They let them go! And he always insisted on pressing the same sequence of buttons to close and open the Tardis door. He was a perfectionist.” Doctor Who was shot 48 weeks a year in London and Hartnell went home to Sussex only at weekends. Jessica saw more of him on TV than real life. The strain became too much and he developed arteriosclerosis, a thickening of the arteries. It affected his ability to learn his lines. In frustration he would fly off the handle at the cast and crew. Jessica says: “It was decided in July 1966 that for all concerned it would be better if he bowed out of the series.” The Doctor’s long history of “regener­ations” began when Patrick Troughton stepped into the role. Hartnell carried on working until 1970 and died quietly in his sleep aged 67 on April 23, 1975, with Heather by his side. Who’s There? The Life and Career of William Hartnell by Jessica Carney is published by Fantom Publishing, £19.99.

See fantomfilms.co.uk for more info

Question: Who was the first actor to play Doctor Who?
Answer: William Hartnell