Born: November 19, 1924
Age: 99
Birthplace: Sunderland, County Durham, England
William Russell Enoch (born 19 November 1924), better known as William Russell, is an English actor, mainly known for his television work. He was born in Sunderland, County Durham. He is probably best known for the role of companion Ian Chesterton in Doctor Who, from the show's first episode in 1963 until 1965.
In 1963 he was cast in Doctor Who as the Doctor's first male companion, science teacher Ian Chesterton, appearing in most episodes of the first two seasons of the programme.
Russell was one of the four original cast members of Doctor Who, starring opposite William Hartnell as the Doctor, Jacqueline Hill as Barbara Wright, Carole Ann Ford as Susan Foreman and later Maureen O'Brien as Vicki. His first involvement in the series took the form of the untransmitted pilot episode, which was eventually reshot and broadcast as "An Unearthly Child". He eventually departed, alongside Hill, in the penultimate story of the second season, The Chase.
Russell has continued his association with Doctor Who, having lent his voice as a narrator to several of the audiobook releases of the lost 1960s episodes. He appeared in The Game, one of the continuing Doctor Who audio stories produced by Big Finish. He has also recorded readings for some of the CD audio adaptations of Doctor Who story novelisations originally published by Target Books.
In the late 1990s Russell returned to the role of Ian for the VHS release of the story The Crusade, of which the second and fourth episodes are lost. He recorded several in-character scenes to camera, which helped to bridge the gap between the existing episodes.
Russell has also contributed to the Doctor Who DVD range, having participated in several audio commentaries and on-screen interviews since 2002. In February 2012, he appeared at the Gallifrey One convention in Los Angeles, his second convention in the United States following an event in Chicago in 1993.
In 2013, the BBC produced An Adventure in Space and Time, a docudrama depicting the creation and early days of Doctor Who, as part of the programme's fiftieth anniversary celebrations. Russell appeared as a character in the drama, portrayed by actor Jamie Glover. Russell also had a cameo role in An Adventure in Space and Time playing a BBC security guard named Harry.
The same year, Russell portrayed both Ian and the First Doctor in the Big Finish audio play "The Light at the End", produced to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Doctor Who.
Russell appeared in British films from 1950 onwards, appearing in well-known productions such as They Who Dare (1954), One Good Turn (1955), The Man Who Never Was (1956) and The Great Escape (1963). Later, he had minor roles in Terror (1978), Superman (1978) and Death Watch (1979) with Harvey Keitel and Harry Dean Stanton.
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1940 | God Gave Him a Dog | Field Judge | Uncredited |
1941 | Virginia | Loafer | Uncredited |
1952 | Gift Horse | Crewman | As Russell Enoch |
1953 | The Saint's Return | Keith Merton | As Russell Enoch |
Malta Story | Officer in Prison | Uncredited | |
Appointment in London | RAF Officer | Uncredited | |
1954 | The Gay Dog | Leslie Gowland | As Russell Enoch |
Intimate Relations | Michael | As Enoch Russell | |
They Who Dare | Lieut. Tom Poole | As Russell Enoch | |
1955 | Above Us the Waves | Ramsey | |
One Good Turn | Alec Bigley | ||
1956 | The Man Who Never Was | Joe | |
1957 | The Big Chance | Joe | |
1958 | The Adventures of Hal 5 | The Vicar | |
1962 | The Share Out | Mike Stafford | |
1963 | The Great Escape | Sorren | |
Return to Sender | Mike Cochrane | ||
1978 | Superman | 8th Elder | |
Terror | Lord Garrick | ||
1980 | Death Watch | Dr Mason | As William Russel |
1981 | Mark Gertler: Fragments of a Biography | Roger Fry | |
1989 | The Kill-Off | Rags | |
1990 | Deadly Manor | Alfred | |
1998 | Mob Queen | Swede Carlson |
His big break was the title role in The Adventures of Sir Lancelot on ITV in 1956. Russell has acted in many plays and TV series including Disraeli, Testament of Youth and the part of Ted Sullivan, the short-lived second husband of Rita Sullivan in Coronation Street. He also had a small part in an episode of The Black Adder, as a late replacement for Wilfrid Brambell, who had become impatient with delays to his scene and left the set before shooting it, and appeared as the Duke of Gloucester in the Robin of Sherwood episode "The Pretender". Other roles include Lanscombe in an episode of the 2005 series of Agatha Christie's Poirot ("After the Funeral").
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1955, 1960 | St. Ives | St. Ives | 6 Episodes |
1956 | The Adventures of Aggie | Ted Jordan | Hypertension |
Assignment Foreign Legion | Gerry Brooke | The Ghost | |
Theatre Royal | Boy | The Assassin | |
1956-1957 | The Adventures of Sir Lancelot | Sir Lancelot du lac / Sir Lancelot / Sir Blaint | 30 Episodes |
1957 | Nicholas Nickleby (TV Serial) | Nicholas Nickleby | 10 Episodes |
Sword of Freedom | Count Rene D'Albert | The Strange Intruder | |
1959 | Armchair Theatre | The Girl on the Beach | |
Tales From Dickens | David Copperfield | 3 Episodes | |
1960 | BBC Sunday-Night Play | Col. Friedrich Eilers Charles Hemington Oliver Farrant John Freeman |
Summer Theatre: The Devil's General Twentieth Century Theatre: The Elder Statesman Twentieth Century Theatre: I Have Been Here Before Twentieth Century Theatre: The Fanatics |
1961 | Hamlet (TV Serial) | Hamlet | 5 Episodes |
Triton | Captain Belwether | ||
1962-1963 | The Edgar Wallace Mystery Theatre | Mike Stafford Mike Cochrane |
The Share Out Return to Sender |
1963 | Suspense | John Richards | The Patch Card |
Jane Eyre | St. John Rivers | 2 Episodes | |
Drama 61-67 | Mick Lambert | Drama 63: Somebody's Dying | |
1963-1965 | Doctor Who | Ian Chesterton | 77 Episodes |
1966 | Breaking Point | Martin Kennedy | 5 Episodes |
1966-1967 | This Man Craig | Peter Rogers Peter Woodburn Avis |
You Can Choose Your Friends Old Flame Mates |
1967 | Dr. Finlay's Casebook | Neville | Who Made You? |
1969 | Parkin's Patch | Wilkins | No Friendship For Coppers |
Detective | Bill Cartwright | And So to Murder | |
1972 | Buggins' Ermine | Frank | |
1972-1973 | Harriet's Back in Town | Tom Preston | 90 Episodes |
1972-1981 | ITV Playhouse | Daddy Dr. Crane Frank |
Little Girls Don't Lindsey Buggins' Ermine |
1974 | Whodunnit? | Captain Alexander Anderson | A Piece of Cake: Christmas Special |
Father Brown | Reverend Wilfred Bohun | The Hammer of God | |
Justice | Dr. Victor Ashworth | Point of Death | |
1975 | Three Men in a Boat | Doctor | TV Movie |
The Doll | Julian Osborne | 1 Episode | |
Against The Crowd | Arthur Penwarren | Bread and Circuses | |
The Main Chance | Arnold Galbraith | We're the Bosses Now | |
The Hanged Man | Peter Kroger | Knave of Coins | |
1975-1977 | Crown Court | Edward Birkland Robert Aldrich |
Dead Drunk Home Sweet Home: Part 1 |
1977 | Van der Valk | Kees Rokin | Accidental |
1978 | BBC2 Play of the Week | Lord Folkstone Chapman Headmaster |
Fearless Frank |
Disraeli | Wyndham Lewis | 2 Episodes | |
Parables | Peter Vernon | A Gental Rain | |
Strangers | Bamford Harker | Accidental Death | |
1979 | Testament of Youth | Marriott | Buxton 1913 |
Shoestring | David Carn | Private Ear | |
Spearhead | Mr. Dickson B.F.S | Repercussions | |
1980 | Mackenzie | Francis Hammond | 2 Episodes |
The Professionals | Charles Holly | Involvement | |
Play for Today | Don | Instant Enlightenment Including V.A.T. | |
Armchair Thriller | Senior Officer | Dead Man's Kit: Part 1 | |
1983 | The Black Adder | The Duke of Winchester | The Archbishop |
1986 | Robin of Sherwood | The Duke of Gloucester | The Pretender |
1988 | The Four Minute Mile | AAA Official | |
1990 | Boon | John Loseley | Tales from the River Bank |
1992 | Coronation Street | Ted Sullivan | 46 Episodes |
1995 | Casualty | Mo Meredrew | Halfway House |
The Affair (TV Film) | Dr. Hastings | ||
1997 | Great Performances | Henry V at Shakespeare's Globe | |
2000 | Heartbeat | Gabriel Firth | Gabriel's Last Stand |
2005 | Agatha Christie: Poirot | Lanscombe | After the Funeral |
2013 | An Adventure in Space and Time | Harry - Security Guard |
Russell has played a number of roles in theatre with the Royal Shakespeare Company, the National Theatre and in the opening season of the Globe Theatre. In the 1980s, while a member of the Actors' Touring Company, he used the stage name Russell Enoch; on leaving the company he reverted to the name William Russell.
On 2 December 1988, Russell and his second wife, Balbina Gutierrez, had their first child Alfred Enoch, when he was 64 years old. Alfred is now an actor, known for portraying Dean Thomas in the Harry Potter film series and Wes Gibbins in the ABC legal drama How to Get Away with Murder.