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Doctor Who Actor Dies
William Russell
One of Doctor Who's original cast members, William Russell, has died aged 99.
Russell played schoolteacher Ian Chesterton in the first two series of the BBC's sci-fi show and was the Doctor's first companion.
He left the show in 1965, but in 2022 he reprised his role and made a cameo in Jodie Whittaker's final episode, The Power of The Doctor.
The actor broke a Guinness World Record for the longest gap between TV appearances.
In the first ever episode, An Unearthly Child, which aired in 1963, Russell's character meets the Doctor, played by William Hartnell.
Russell's character mistakenly calls him Doctor Foreman, before Hartnell then replies "Doctor Who?"
His other TV appearances included the title role of ITV's 1956 drama, The Adventures of Sir Lancelot and as Ted Sullivan in Coronation Street.
He appeared in films such as The Man Who Never Was in 1956, war classic The Great Escape in 1963 and 1978's Superman.
6 June 2024
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