Actor William Russell, who portrayed one of the first companions in Doctor Who, has passed away at the age of 99.
Born on November 19th, 1924, Russell is perhaps best remembered for his role of school teacher Ian Chesterton in the long-running sci-fi series, Doctor Who. One of the four original characters created for the show’s initial launch in 1963, the role of Ian was initially that of the heroic male, with the Doctor (played by William Hartnell) originally as a more mysterious, grumpy foil. Over time, the Doctor gained importance as the de-facto lead character, but Ian was still just as important, quite often coming up with clever solutions to get out of precarious situations, and serving the heroic youth role.
Russell starred as Ian from the very first episode of Doctor Who, “An Unearthly Child,” on November 23rd, 1963, through to the end of the Dalek serial “The Chase” on June 26th, 1965. He was reportedly set to reprise his role as Ian in the 1983 story “Mawdryn Undead,” but scheduling conflicts got in the way. Almost 40 years later, Ian did return, in a touching cameo in the closing moments of Jodie Whitaker’s final story as the Doctor, “The Power of the Doctor.” In fact, this appearance broke a Guinness World Record of the longest gap between appearances of a character in a television series – a whopping 57 years!
The actor also made a cameo appearance in the 2013 docudrama, An Adventure in Space and Time, which told a somewhat fictionalized account of the creation of Doctor Who. Other notable roles for Rusell across his long career included Sir Lancelot in the 1950s series The Adventures of Sir Lancelot, and roles in Superman and The Great Escape.
William Russell passed away on June 3rd, 2024 at the age of 99. His acting legacy continues on through his son, Alfred Enoch, who appeared in the Harry Potter film series as Dean Thomas.
Current Doctor Who showrunner had this to say about Russell’s passing:
- “An absolute legend, for Doctor Who and the whole of television. In 1963, William created the template for the Doctor’s companion, and that’s still going strong, 61 years later. He’s adored by fandom, and will never be forgotten.”