Ironically, Hartnell's origins were as enigmatic as the Doctor's - he never knew his father, who abandoned his unmarried mother before his birth. Being raised by a single mother in a society where illegitimacy carried social stigma made him an outcast like the Doctor. Like the Doctor, he became during a difficult youth the protégé of an older mentor, Hugh Blaker who steered him in the right direction toward self-improvement.

I wouldn’t give tuppence for Wikipedia’s opinion of William , he was a man of his day and didn’t take kindly to upstarts like Anneke Wills slagging him off , I don’t believe William was anymore racist than most people of his age back then a proud man that fought for his country and is Dr Who full stop

One of my favorite quotes describing Bill on set comes from Jean Marsh who played Sara Kingdom in the Daleks Master Plan. She said that looking back, Bill wasn’t always in the best of health on set and needed a lot of rest. But besides that, he was never an issue when it came to learning lines or rehearsing. The biggest problem of his was laughing, and a lot of it. It just shows how much joy the show brought to him, and even in a time when the producers were upset with him and his health wasn’t the best, he still brought smiles to those around him and himself.

4:49 -5:10 Spot on. That's what I have been trying to tell people when talking about classic Doctor Who. How they managed to keep going 26 years straight (but in particular Hartnell's run of 48 weeks a year) still continues to befuddle me.

My little family has just finished our first start to finish watch through of the First Doctor era. William Hartnell is brilliant, and a far better actor than anyone seems to give him credit for nowadays. He broke my heart with his performance more than once and he had a knack for the comedy that is rarely mentioned. The way he cared about the role shines through and I feel bad for him knowing he hit his defining role only to have to leave due to his health. I'm sure if he could he'd keep travelling through time and space forever. Rest in Peace, Mr Hartnell.

I feel like I’ve commented this over a thousand times on KZfaq, but Hartnell is my favorite Doctor. He often gets characterized as either “the first one” or “the grumpy one” but all reality, saying that is doing no justice to the role. Sure he was stubborn and an ass at some points, but when he developed a relationship with his companions, there was this sort of twinkle of childishness that was often covered up; plus while much of Hartnells humor isn’t vocal, watch his body language and facial reactions, that’s where his hilarity shines the brightest. My personal favorite Hartnell moments are, in no particular order, the doctor’s speech about the birth of a star as well as his apology to Barbara in The Edge of Destruction, The “You can’t change history, not one line” speech from the Aztecs, His goodbye to Susan in the TDIoE, his chat with Vicki about her not being angry with Barbara and him welcoming her aboard the Tardis in The Rescue, his goodbye to Barbara and Ian in the Chase, his speech at the end of the Massacre, and many more. He is such a fabulous doctor, often held back by many of his episodes being missing, but if given a chance, they are in for a treat.

I watched the first airings of his performance as an 8 year old. He became my surrogate father and my grandfather, both of whom I could not remember. He was sometimes scary, sometimes lovable, clever but flawed and always watchable. I listened to every word he uttered and totally believed in him. Some actors came close to his skills and presentation of the Doctor but never matched him. I still remember when he referred to Chesterton as Chesterfield!

Some fans were not over impressed by Hartnells final reduced role in The Three Doctors.I disagree and share Katy Mannings opinion that Hartnell had one last opportunity to play his beloved role and meet his successors. I can remember a friend at School telling me ( a year later) in 1974 that theyd seen the news that Hartnell had died.Thanks Mr Hartnell RIP

You’ve perfectly summed him up I think. A real enigma on a personal level but an excellent actor and a cultural touchstone. Very well done

I think that it's testament to his confidence in the show that even very early on in its run he predicted that it would go on for at least five years. And when you consider that in those days it was basically on for forty-odd weeks of the year that's some statement to make. It's only fitting that the one part he was basically seeking all his working life arrived in what proved to be the twilight of his acting career. Many actors find fame in a role fairly early on in their professional life only to slowly fade into relative obscurity over the course of time. William Hartnell did find relative fame for a while during the mid to late 40's through his (at that time) prolific film career. But there was no one stand-out role that really defined him. Thankfully, for him, and for millions of people throughout the country, he got his wish just as his health was on the cusp of declining. From the fairly under-the-radar TV and film appearances of the early 60's he was catapulted into virtual stardom with his defining role. I personally don't watch NuWho, it's just not for me for various reasons. But WH is a hero to me as he is to countless others. His legacy ( just like Patrick Troughtons) will NEVER die as long as television exists.

Michael Craze called him a grumpy old bastard! So glad I met him before he suddenly passed away in the late 1990's

In lesser hands, we wouldn't have just watched this video, because no one would be talking about Doctor Who, 60 years later. My first time seeing Hartnell was the clip at the front of The Five Doctors, but in the 90s as his stories came out on VHS, I got to properly enjoy his era - at least, what remains of it. I certainly appreciate that he was a product of his era, not without flaws, but then - show me a person who is. Hopefully the BBC will give the colour/abridged treatment to a few more b&w stories over the coming years, as I think that will really help the younger generation to access it. I've been trying to get my kids to watch The Daleks for years, but it wasn't til last week's 60th Anniversary special, that they finally enjoyed it.

i loved in the daleks when he accidently said gloves instead of drugs then corrected himself, the actors of ian barbara and susan work around it saying how badly the radiation is affecting him

The open to 5 Docs was my first glimpse of Hartnell, and I have to admit I was so young, I don't remember if Hurndall's recreation fooled me or not. :} Watching The Daleks in around 1990 on VHS - that was my first real introduction to the man who started it all, and I was sold.

Thank you, this video was made with thoughtful purpose, that being the love of the Dr Who tv series. Mr Hartnell gave a inspirational theme that allows for other to follow with their own 'verity'.

William Hartnell will always be the first Doctor.

Hartnell a man of all seasons

Honestly I wouldn’t say a bad thing against him, regardless of his life choices I believe he has done more than enough to earn his right to exist beyond his life and death. Guy could punch me with his ring hand and all I would say is “Congratulations on rising from the dead Mr Hartnell. Is David Bowie returning as well?”

Hartnell created the role. My 1st Doctor.

Brighton Rock a damn fine film and he played Dallow

I think that my favourite moment is in The Rescue: Part 2: 'Desperate Measures' and that little sit down talk with Vicki.

Great work as always Sir Chimp! I'd love to see these mini bios on all the classic doctors. Being across the pond, I don't have much awareness of them outside of that role.

I'm just glad William Hartnell is still acknowledged 60 years after Doctor Who began. I appreciate David Bradley's been appearing as the First Doctor in recent years as Hartnell's been gone nearly 48 years now. But I'm hoping this doesn't mean they're just gonna have Bradley appear as First Doctor in future and not show any old footage of Hartnell himself anymore. Otherwise some New Who fans who don't watch Classic era at all might see Bradley as the First Doctor and not give Hartnell a second thought. Despite "Twice Upon a Time", where they mixed "The Tenth Planet" footage with new footage.

Hi Chimp Hartnell is my favourite Doctor, and I loved who’s there. I found it rather informative. Have you listened to the new 1st Doctor Big Finish Boxset with Steven Noonan? I really liked it and like his hartnell impression too. The Special features also have noonan chat quite interestingly about Hartnell as an actor

Imitation is best form of flattery. Best Tribute to William Hartnett were other actors cast to perform the role in Dr Who Anniversary Specials.Richard Hurdell particularly plays him in the Five Doctors. As I knew him from different role in Blake's 7.

It's actually rather appropriate. The mysteries surrounding the man portraying the First Doctor, matches those of the character portrayed...

Jessica Carney talked about researching her book in (More Than) 30 Years In The TARDIS.

Amazing video! I've never heard this book before. But it's always fascinating to hear and just to explore these facts about him. At 4:21 where did you find that photo from? Judging from the cravat it is presumably from "The Web Planet." I've actually been looking through Google images to find it. But unfortunately, I had no luck. Really appreciate it!

EXTERMINATE! EXTERMINATE! Sorry, I couldn't resist, lol. Thanks for the video.

I don't think of William Hartnell as the first Doctor at all. To me, William Hartnell was the Doctor and my personal favourite.

Why was the Patrick Troughton casting in Adventure in Space and Time so bad? The dude looks like 30 years younger than Troughton

Good job Cancel Culture didn't exist in William's Time because he would find it hard to find a job afterwards. His history is kind of strange it's like he was existing in 2 parallel timelines at the same time or they both merged into 1 causing contradictions, very Mandel Effect. Off Topic but apart from The Master who interacts with many Doctor Who Villains/Monster/Aliens, have you noticed that even though The Whoniverse is vast and wonderful that when it comes to onscreen canon that Doctor Who Monsters and Aliens rarely ever meet or interact with one another? In Some stories it's just a cameo (Flux) in others it's full on (Doomsday). I just thought it was interesting and you could make a video on it.

You also forget,William Russell aka Russell Enoch is also Jewish. Overall, Hartnell is like anybody else. He just kid and make fun of anybody who is different and you just gotta laugh with him.

0:40 "...the life and times of Mr Billy Henry HAITCH" H = "AITCH", my friend... 😐

Wonder what Hartnell would think of Ncuti Gatwa

Tar.