Biography
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 u...
Known For
Complete Filmography

Doctor Who: Wish World & The Reality War
2025
as Dr. Who (archive footage) (uncredited)
Belinda Chandra has been kidnapped by robots, faced a terrifying god and a creature of pure evil on her travels with the Doctor. With the TARDIS still...

Doctor Who: The Savages
2025
as The Doctor (voice)
The Doctor, Steven and Dodo land on an alien world in this animated reconstruction of a lost 1966 Doctor Who adventure. There, they meet two peoples: ...

Doctor Who at the Proms
2024
as The Doctor (1) (archive footage)
Doctor Who fan favourite Catherine Tate presents a concert of music, monsters and mayhem featuring soundtracks from the iconic series, a specially sho...

Doctor Who: The Celestial Toymaker
2024
as The Doctor (voice)
While the Doctor plays the Trilogic Game, Steven and Dodo are forced to play seemingly childish but ultimately dangerous games with the aim of being r...

Doctor Who: The Daleks in Colour
2023
as The Doctor (archive footage)
The very first crew of the TARDIS land in a petrified forest on an alien planet. Determined to explore, the Doctor leads his companions into the metal...

Talking Doctor Who
2023
as Self / The Doctor (1) (archive footage)
As part of the sixtieth anniversary celebrations of Doctor Who, David Tennant time-travels back through the BBC archives to tell the story of the Doct...
Tales of The TARDIS: The Three Doctors
2023
as The Doctor
Jo Jones and Clyde Langer meet again as she remembers when the Time Lords summoned three Doctors to fight Omega, an awesome adversary from Gallifrey's...

Doctor Who: Galaxy 4
2021
as The Doctor (voice)
The TARDIS lands on a planet on the verge of total annihilation as it drifts too close to the three suns which its orbits.

Doctor Who: Twice Upon a Time
2017
as The Doctor (1) (archive footage)
As the Twelfth Doctor nears regeneration, he stumbles on his first incarnation, also refusing to change. It takes a captain, a glass avatar and a fami...

Doctor Who: The Husbands of River Song
2015
as The Doctor (1) (picture) (uncredited)
It’s Christmas Day on a remote human colony and the Doctor is hiding from Christmas Carols and Comedy Antlers. But when a crashed spaceship calls upon...

Doctor Who: The Day of the Doctor
2013
as The Doctor (1) (archive footage)
In 2013, something terrible is awakening in London's National Gallery; in 1562, a murderous plot is afoot in Elizabethan England; and somewhere in spa...

An Adventure in Space and Time
2013
as The Doctor (1) (archive footage)
Actor William Hartnell felt trapped by a succession of hard-man roles while wannabe producer Verity Lambert was frustrated by the TV industry's glass ...

Don't Lose Your Head
2012
as The Doctor (archive footage)
Don't Lose Your Head was a DVD documentary concerning Doctor Who that was released on 28 January 2013.

Vision On
2012
as The Doctor (archive footage)
Vision On was a documentary of Clive Doig discussing the role of the vision mixer in making early Doctor Who episodes, including footage and discussio...

The Sets of Marinus
2009
as The Doctor (archive footage)
The Sets of Marinus is a BBC documentary looking at set design for the Doctor Who story The Keys of Marinus. It was released on the DVD of the serial.

Mounting the Rescue
2009
as The Doctor (1) (archive footage)
A look at the making of "The Rescue", featuring members of the original cast and crew. Featured on the DVD "Doctor Who: The Rescue", available in the ...

Doctor Who: The Next Doctor
2008
as The Doctor (1) (archive footage)
The Doctor arrives in Victorian London. It's Christmas, but snow isn't the only thing descending on the tranquil and jubilant civilization, as familia...

The Ties That Bind Us
2008
as The First Doctor (archive footage)
A look at the subtle (and not so subtle!) links to the show's past and future contained within the story of The Five Doctors.

Creation of the Daleks
2006
as The Doctor (archive footage)
The cast and crew's memories of the creation of the Daleks and the making of The Daleks.

Masters of Sound
2006
as The Doctor (archive footage)
Documentary on the sound effects of Doctor Who in the 1960s.

Inside the Spaceship: The Story of the TARDIS
2006
as The Doctor (archive footage)
A feature on Doctor Who: The Beginning box set which tells the stories of the Doctor's time machine - the TARDIS.

Doctor Who: Origins
2006
as The Doctor (archive footage)
A 55-minute documentary, detailing the creation of Doctor Who, including a rare interview with creator Sydney Newman, and new interviews with producer...

Future Memories: Making 'The Dalek Invasion of Earth'
2003
as The Doctor (1) (archive footage)
A look at the making of the Doctor Who (1963) story "The Dalek Invasion of Earth" (1964).

Remembering 'The Aztecs'
2002
as The Doctor (archive footage)
The guest actors of the 1964 "Doctor Who" (1963) story, "The Aztecs", reminisce about their time on the programme and making the series.

Doctor Who: Resurrection of the Daleks
1984
as The Doctor (1) (archive footage) (uncredited)
Captured in a time corridor, the Doctor and his companions are forced to land on 20th century Earth, diverted by the Doctor's oldest enemy - the Dalek...

Doctor Who: The Five Doctors
1983
as The Doctor (1) (archive footage)
Many incarnations of the Doctors and their old companions are taken out of time and deposited in the Death Zone on Gallifrey. There, they must battle ...

Doctor Who: Mawdryn Undead
1983
as The Doctor (1) (archive footage)
A warp ellipse draws the TARDIS off course. The Fifth Doctor's companions are separated from him not in space, but in time, and he has to deal with a ...

Doctor Who: Earthshock
1982
as The Doctor (1) (archive footage)
The Doctor and his companions must prevent the Cybermen from bombing the Earth in the 26th century. It is a battle not everyone will survive...

That's Carry On!
1977
as Sergeant Grimshawe
Celebrating twenty years of classic Carry On films, two of the films’ best-loved stars, Kenneth Williams and Barbara Windsor return to Pinewood film s...

Doctor Who: The Brain of Morbius
1976
as The Doctor (1) (picture) (uncredited)
Mad scientist Mehendri Solon is building a body from spare parts to house the disembodied brain of the evil Time Lord Morbius. He fancies the Doctor's...

Doctor Who: The Three Doctors
1973
as The Doctor
Time itself is in peril! The Time Lords and UNIT find themselves besieged by a mythic figure from the Time Lords' past hell-bent on destruction. The o...

Doctor Who: Day of the Daleks
1972
as The Doctor (1) (picture) (uncredited)
Guerillas time-jump back from the 22nd century to assassinate Sir Reginald Styles - a diplomat working for World Peace, The Doctor discovers they are ...

Doctor Who: The Power of the Daleks
1966
as The Doctor in the mirror (uncredited)
Following the Doctor's regeneration into a new, younger body, the TARDIS lands at an Earth colony on the planet Vulcan in the far future. Mistaken for...

Doctor Who: The Tenth Planet
1966
as The Doctor (1)
The Doctor's TARDIS lands at the Snowcap space tracking station in Antarctica in December 1986. A routine space mission starts going wrong. When the b...

Doctor Who: The Smugglers
1966
as The Doctor
The TARDIS arrives on the coast of seventeenth century Cornwall — much to the astonishment of Polly and Ben. Pirates led by Captain Samuel Pike and hi...

Doctor Who: The War Machines
1966
as The Doctor
The TARDIS arrives in London in 1966 and the First Doctor and Dodo visit the Post Office Tower. There they meet Professor Brett, whose revolutionary n...

Doctor Who: The Savages
1966
as The Doctor
The TARDIS has arrived on a far-distant and seemingly idyllic world. Yet the Doctor, Steven and Dodo learn it hides a terrible secret: the apparently ...

Doctor Who: The Gunfighters
1966
as The Doctor
Arriving in the town of Tombstone, the First Doctor finds himself involved with gunmen out to kill Doc Holliday...

Doctor Who: The Celestial Toymaker
1966
as The Doctor
The travellers arrive in a strange domain presided over by the Celestial Toymaker — an enigmatic, immortal entity who forces them to play a series of ...

Doctor Who: The Ark
1966
as The Doctor
The Doctor and his companions Steven Taylor and Dodo Chaplet arrive some ten million years into the future, on board a generation starship which is ca...

Doctor Who: The Massacre of St Bartholomew's Eve
1966
as The Doctor / Abbot of Amboise
The TARDIS materialises in Paris in the year 1572 and the Doctor decides to visit the famous apothecary Charles Preslin. Steven, meanwhile, is befrien...

Doctor Who: The Daleks' Master Plan
1966
as The Doctor
In the year 4000, the Daleks conspire to conquer the Solar System. Their scheme involves treachery at the highest levels and a weapon capable of destr...

Doctor Who: The Myth Makers
1965
as The Doctor
When the TARDIS arrives on the plains of Asia Minor not far from the besieged city of Troy, the Doctor is hailed by Achilles as the mighty god Zeus an...

Doctor Who: Galaxy 4
1965
as The Doctor
The Doctor, Vicki and Steven arrive on an arid planet where they meet the beautiful Drahvins and the hideous Rills. Each has crash-landed after a conf...

Doctor Who: The Time Meddler
1965
as The Doctor
In England, 1066, the Doctor confronts a mysterious Monk who is attempting to change history.

Doctor Who: The Chase
1965
as The Doctor
The Doctor and his companions are pursued through time and space by the Daleks on the desert planet Aridius and beyond.

Doctor Who: The Space Museum
1965
as The Doctor
On the planet Xeros, the TARDIS crew discover their own future selves frozen in time as exhibits in a galactic museum and must avert this potential fu...

Doctor Who: The Crusade
1965
as The Doctor
In 12th century Palestine, the Doctor and his friends are drawn into the holy war between the forces of King Richard the Lionheart and the Saracen rul...

Doctor Who: The Web Planet
1965
as The Doctor
On the planet Vortis, the Doctor and his companions aid the butterfly-like Menoptra in their battle against the parasitic Animus and its mind-controll...

Doctor Who: The Romans
1965
as The Doctor
The TARDIS crew take up residence near Rome in 64AD, where Ian and Barbara are kidnapped by slave traders, and the Doctor's imitation of Maximus Pettu...

Doctor Who: The Rescue
1965
as The Doctor
On the planet Dido, the Doctor, Ian and Barbara meet two survivors from a crashed spaceship who are terrorised by the monster Koquillion.

Doctor Who: The Dalek Invasion of Earth
1964
as The Doctor
The TARDIS arrives in a desolate future London, where the Doctor discovers his old enemies the Daleks have taken control of Earth.

Doctor Who: Planet of Giants
1964
as The Doctor
When the TARDIS malfunctions, it and its travellers land on Earth at the size of insects. They uncover a murderous plot involving a new insecticide, b...

Doctor Who: The Reign of Terror
1964
as The Doctor
The TARDIS materialises not far from Paris in 1794 — one of the bloodiest years following the French Revolution of 1789. The travellers become involve...

Doctor Who: The Sensorites
1964
as The Doctor
The Doctor, Ian, Barbara and Susan arrive in the TARDIS on board a spaceship. Their initial concern is for the ship's human crew, who are suffering fr...

Doctor Who: The Aztecs
1964
as The Doctor
The TARDIS materialises inside an Aztec tomb. Outside it, the Doctor and his companions soon discover that Mexico in the 15th century is a bloodthirst...

Doctor Who: The Keys of Marinus
1964
as The Doctor
The TARDIS arrives on the planet Marinus on an island of glass surrounded by a sea of acid. The travellers are forced by the elderly Arbitan to retrie...

Doctor Who: Marco Polo
1964
as The Doctor
The TARDIS crew lands in the Himalayas of Cathay in 1289, their ship badly damaged, and are picked up by Marco Polo's caravan on its way along the fab...

Doctor Who: The Edge of Destruction
1964
as Dr. Who
In this completely TARDIS-based story, the crew find themselves and their ship acting very strangely indeed. Blame runs high for the Ship's unusual be...

Doctor Who: The Daleks
1964
as Dr. Who
The TARDIS brings the Doctor, Susan, Barbara, and Ian to the planet Skaro where they meet two indigenous races — the Daleks, malicious mutant creature...

Doctor Who: An Unearthly Child
1963
as Dr. Who
Barbara Wright and Ian Chesterton, two humble teachers during 1963, discover a genius student's grandfather, simply known as "the Doctor", and his pol...

The World Ten Times Over
1963
as Dad
Early 1960s realist drama following a day in the lives of two London flatmates. Sylvia Syms and June Ritchie star as Billa and Ginnie, two singletons ...

To Have and to Hold
1963
as Insp. Roberts
A young woman is harassed by a man and seeks help from the police. The officer who visits her falls in love with her, but shortly after she is murdere...

Tomorrow at Ten
1963
as Freddie Maddox
A British policeman (John Gregson) tries to find a rich man's (Alec Clunes) son before a kidnapper's (Robert Shaw) time bomb blows.

Heavens Above!
1963
as Major Fowler
A naive but caring prison chaplain, who happens to have the same last name as an upper class cleric, is by mistake appointed as vicar to a small and p...

This Sporting Life
1963
as 'Dad' Johnson
In Northern England in the early 1960s, Frank Machin is mean, tough and ambitious enough to become an immediate star in the rugby league team run by l...

Piccadilly Third Stop
1960
as Colonel
A playboy tries to recruit a gang, who include an American who needs cash to satisfy his wife's expensive tastes, and an old time expert cracksman, to...

And the Same to You
1960
as Walter 'Wally' Burton
Dickie Dreadnought is the boxing-mad nephew of pious clergyman Reverend Sydney Mullet. To mollify his disapproving uncle, Dickie embarks on an elabora...

Jackpot
1960
as Supt. Frawley
Back in London after serving time, an ex-convict learns that his wife is not willing to return to him. He plans to crack a safe at a club.

The Desperate Man
1959
as Smith
Two reporters are held hostage in old castle, by thief, looking for jewels, that he had buried, after robbing a local house.

The Night We Dropped a Clanger
1959
as Sgt. Bright
The movie takes place during WWII. A dashing British RAF Officer is earmarked for a secret mission behind enemy lines in occupied France, but wishing...

The Mouse That Roared
1959
as Will Buckley
The Duchy of Grand Fenwick decides that the only way to get out of their economic woes is to declare war on the United States, lose and accept foreign...

Shake Hands with the Devil
1959
as Sergeant Jenkins
In 1921 Dublin, the IRA battles the "Black & Tans," special British forces given to harsh measures. Irish-American medical student Kerry O'Shea hopes ...

Strictly Confidential
1959
as Grimshaw
Two con-men just released from prison get straight back to their old tricks.

Carry On Sergeant
1958
as Sergeant Grimshawe
Sergeant Grimshawe wants to retire in the flush of success by winning the Star Squad prize with his very last platoon of newly called-up National Serv...

Date with Disaster
1958
as Tracey
A car salesman and suspected safecracker Miles saves his fiancee Sue from those who would kidnap her.

The Hypnotist
1957
as Inspector Ross
Culver is a psychiatrist who uses hypnotism to treat his patients. When Carpenter, a test pilot, comes to see him complaining of blackouts that make h...

Hell Drivers
1957
as Cartley, Hawlett Manager
An ex-con trying to go clean ends up working for a crooked trucking company swindling money.

Yangtse Incident: The Story of H.M.S. Amethyst
1957
as Leading Seaman Leslie Frank
While sailing lawfully up the Yangste in 1949, the British warship Amethyst found its return to the open sea blocked by Communist Chinese shore batter...

Tons of Trouble
1956
as Bert
An apartment handyman is unusually attached to a pair of boilers he names "Mavis" and "Ethel."

Private's Progress
1956
as Sgt. Sutton
Stanley Windrush has to interrupt his university education when he is called up towards the end of the war. He quickly proves himself not to be office...
Doublecross
1956
as Herbert Whiteway
A Cornish fisherman becomes involved with Iron Curtain spies.

Josephine and Men
1955
as Detective Sgt. Parsons
The trouble with Josephine is that her ever-loving and over-sympathetic nature leads her to switch from needful men to even more needful men...

Footsteps in the Fog
1955
as Herbert Moresby
A Victorian-era murder mystery about a parlour maid who discovers that her employer may have killed his first wife.

Will Any Gentleman...?
1953
as Detective Inspector Martin
A trip to the theatre changes a meek bank clerk's life, as he undergoes hypnosis and leaves without being woken up. Suddenly, he believes he is the wo...

The Holly and the Ivy
1952
as Company Sergeant Major
An English clergyman's neglect of his grown children, in his zeal to tend to his parishioners, comes to the surface at a Christmas family gathering.

The Ringer
1952
as Sam Hackett
An underhand solicitor receives threatening notes, and the police are called in to protect him.

The Pickwick Papers
1952
as Irate Cabman
The Pickwick Club sends Mr. Pickwick and a group of friends to travel across England and to report back on the interesting things they find...

The Magic Box
1952
as Recruiting Sergeant
Now old, ill, poor, and largely forgotten, William Freise-Greene was once very different. As young and handsome William Green he changed his name to i...

The Dark Man
1951
as Superintendent of Police
A killer called 'The Dark Man' commits double murder. This is witnessed by the young aspiring actress Molly Lester. The Dark Man tries everything to p...

Double Confession
1950
as Charlie Durham
The hero discovers his estranged wife dead and tries to frame her lover for the murder. He becomes involved with the criminals who make various unsucc...

The Lost People
1949
as Barnes
Set in a German theatre after the Second World War, two British soldiers are holding a disparate and hostile band of refugees in this theatre, prior t...

Now Barabbas
1949
as Warder Jackson
A prison governor deals with a variety of different prisoners, including a charming murderer.

Escape
1948
as Inspector Harris
A convict sentenced to three years for killing a detective escapes from a prison and goes on the run aided by a local girl.

Brighton Rock
1948
as Dallow
Centring on the activities of a gang of assorted criminals and, in particular, their leader – a vicious young hoodlum known as "Pinkie" – the film's m...

Temptation Harbour
1947
as Jim Brown
The story of a harbor signalman who retrieves a suitcase full of money after witnessing a murder, fails to report it to the police, and finds himself ...

Odd Man Out
1947
as Fencie - the barman
Belfast police conduct a door-to-door manhunt for an IRA gunman wounded in a daring robbery.

Appointment with Crime
1946
as Leo Martin
Small-time jewel thief Leo Martin is deserted by his partners-in-crime, club owner Gus Loman and driver Hatchett, when the robbery they are committing...

Murder in Reverse?
1945
as Tom Masterick
Tom Masterick, a dock worker, is wrongfully convicted of a murder charge. His death sentence is commuted to a long prison term. When released as an ol...

The Agitator
1945
as Peter Pettinger (as Billy Hartnell)
The Agitator is a 1945 British drama film directed by John Harlow and starring William Hartnell, Mary Morris and John Laurie. Its plot follows a young...

Strawberry Roan
1944
as Chris Lowe
Farmer Chris Lowe meets and falls in love with Molly , a chorus-girl. Despite the fact that she is a city girl through and through, she accepts his pr...

The Way Ahead
1944
as Sgt. Ned Fletcher
A mismatched collection of conscripted civilians find training tough under Lieutenant Jim Perry and Sergeant Ned Fletcher when they are called up to ...

Headline
1943
as Dell
A crime reporter begins to investigate the disappearance of his bosses wife who had witnessed a murder.

The Dark Tower
1943
as Jim Towers (as Bill Hartnell)
While working at a circus, a man hypnotizes a trapezist to kill her partner.

The Bells Go Down
1943
as Brookes
Comedian Tommy Trinder plays it straight in this tribute to the wartime AFS (Auxiliary Fire Service). The dedicated band who kept the fires of London ...

The Peterville Diamond
1943
as Joseph (as Bill Hartnell)
Frantic farce involving a neglected wife, a stolen diamond and four identical briefcases.

Sabotage at Sea
1942
as Jacob Digby
The captain of a British cargo ship shanghais a group of sabateurs, unaware that the daughter of the ship’s owner is among them.

The Goose Steps Out
1942
as German Officer at Station
Schoolteacher William Potts is the double of a captured German spy, so he is sent to Germany by British Intelligence to obtain the plans of a new secr...

They Flew Alone
1942
as Scotty
The story of flyer Amy Johnson the girl from Yorkshire who won the hearts of the British public in the 1930s with her record-breaking solo flights aro...

Suspected Person
1942
as Detective Saunders
After a $50,000 heist in New York, two of the suspected robbers walk free from the courtroom and they waste no time in heading to London in search of ...

Freedom Radio
1941
as Radio Location Aerial Operator (uncredited)
Hitler's doctor is gradually realising that the Nazi regime isn't as good as it pretends to be when his friends start to "disappear" into the camps. H...

They Came by Night
1940
as Undetermined Role
A man is blackmailed into taking his brother's place in a gang for a jewellery heist.
Murder Will Out
1939
as Dick
Paul and Pamela Raymond become immersed in intrigue after receiving a costly jade. As they look for assistance in saving their skins, all their leads ...

They Drive by Night
1938
as Bus Conductor
“Shorty” Matthews having recently been released from prison visits his girlfriend in London only to discover her murdered. Fearing he will be wrongly ...

Farewell Again
1937
as Minor Role
Farewell Again is a multiplotted British comedy/drama about soldiers on leave and the people they've left. Given a six-hour pass after a tour of duty ...

Midnight at Madame Tussaud's
1936
as Stubbs
Explorer Sir Clive bets that he can spend the night alone in Madame Tussauds Chamber of Horrors. Meanwhile, crooks hope to exploit his ward, Carol, fo...

The Crimson Circle
1936
Based on the novel by Edgar Wallace, detectives at Scotland Yard try and track down The Crimson Circle, a secret society of blackmailers
Parisian Life
1936

The Guv'nor
1935
as Car Salesman
The Guv'nor (released in the U.S. as Mr. Hobo) is a 1935 British comedy film starring George Arliss as a tramp who rides a series of misunderstandings...
The Perfect Flaw
1934
as Vickers
A clerk is planning to murder a stockbroker but is foiled in the attempt.
The Lure
1933
as Billy
Follow the Lady
1933
as Mike Martindale
A Frenchwoman attempts to blackmail a wealthy man...