William Russell (English actor)

William Russell
William Russell in 1953
Born
William Russell Enoch

(1924-11-19)19 November 1924
Sunderland, County Durham, England
Died3 June 2024(2024-06-03) (aged 99)
Gospel Oak, London, England[1]
Other nameRussell Enoch
OccupationActor
Years active1949–2022
Notable workDoctor Who
The Adventures of Sir Lancelot
Spouses
  • Balbina Gutierrez
    ​
    ​
    (m. 1953, divorced)​
  • Etheline Lewis
    ​
    (m. 1984)​
Children4, including Alfred Enoch

William Russell Enoch (19 November 1924 – 3 June 2024) was an English actor who performed as both Russell Enoch and William Russell. His career on stage and screen spanned over seven decades and he first achieved prominence in the title role of the television series The Adventures of Sir Lancelot (1956–1957). In 1963, he was in the original lead cast of BBC1's Doctor Who, playing the role of schoolteacher Ian Chesterton from the show's first episode until 1965.

Russell's film roles include parts in The Man Who Never Was (1956), The Great Escape (1963) and Superman (1978). On television, he appeared as Ted Sullivan in Coronation Street in 1992. In his later years, he continued his association with Doctor Who and returned as Ian for a 2022 cameo in "The Power of the Doctor", 57 years after the character left, which won him a Guinness World Record for the longest gap between TV appearances.

Early life

William Russell Enoch was born on 19 November 1924 in Sunderland, County Durham,[2] to Eva Compston (née Pyle) and Alfred James Enoch. He was educated at Wolverhampton Grammar School and Oxford University and became interested in acting at an early age.[3] He was involved in organising entertainment during his national service in the Royal Air Force and then, after university, went into repertory theatre.

Doctor Who

Russell at the 2012 London Film and Comic Con

In 1963, Russell was cast in Doctor Who as science teacher Ian Chesterton, the Doctor's first male companion, appearing in all episodes of the first two seasons of the programme except the last four.

Russell was one of the four original cast members of Doctor Who, starring opposite William Hartnell as the First 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 form in the pilot episode (not transmitted until 1991), which was later reshot and broadcast as the first episode of An Unearthly Child, the programme's first serial. He eventually departed, alongside Hill, in "The Planet of Decision", the final episode of The Chase, which served as the penultimate story of the second season.

It was intended that Russell would reprise the role of Ian in the 1983 serial Mawdryn Undead alongside Peter Davison as the Fifth Doctor for the twentieth season. Scheduling conflicts left him unavailable.[4]

After leaving Coronation Street in 1992, Russell had maintained 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 Productions. He also recorded readings for some of the CD audio adaptations of Doctor Who story novelisations originally published by Target Books.

In 1999, Russell returned to the role of Ian for the VHS release of The Crusade, of which "The Knight of Jaffa" and "The Warlords", the second and fourth episodes, respectively, are lost. He recorded several in-character scenes to camera, which helped to bridge the gaps between the existing episodes.

Russell also contributed to the Doctor Who DVD range, having participated in several audio commentaries and on-screen interviews since 2002.

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 was a character in the drama and was portrayed by actor Jamie Glover.[5] Russell himself had a cameo role, playing a BBC Commissionaire named Harry.[6]

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 fiftieth anniversary; aged 88, he became the oldest person to portray the Doctor,[7] a record he held until March 2023, when Tom Baker portrayed the Fourth Doctor in the Big Finish audio series The Fourth Doctor Adventures at the age of 89.

Russell made a cameo appearance as Ian in the 2022 special "The Power of the Doctor".[8] With this, his final role, he won a Guinness World Record for the longest gap between TV appearances.[9]

Personal life and death

In 1953, Russell married Balbina Gutierrez. The couple had three children but later divorced.[10]

In 1984, he married his second wife, Etheline Margareth Lewis,[11] a Barbadian Brazilian doctor.[12] Their son, Alfred Enoch, was born in 1988. Enoch subsequently became an actor as well, best known for playing Dean Thomas in the Harry Potter film series and Wes Gibbins in the television series How to Get Away with Murder. They performed together in the 2020 movie Executive Order.

Russell died at his home from pneumonia on 3 June 2024, aged 99.[13][14]

Filmography

Film

Russell appeared in British films from 1950 onward, 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). He later played minor roles in Terror (1978), Superman (1978) and Death Watch (1979).

Year Title Role Notes
1952Gift Horse a.k.a. Glory at SeaCrewmanAs Russell Enoch
1953Appointment in London a.k.a. Raiders in the SkyRAF OfficerUncredited
Intimate Relations a.k.a. DisobedientMichaelAs Russell Enoch
Malta StoryOfficer in PrisonUncredited
Always a Bride Dutton's Chauffeur
The Saint's Return a.k.a. The Saint's Girl FridayKeith MertonAs Russell Enoch
1954They Who DareLieut. Tom Poole
The Gay DogLeslie Gowland
1955One Good TurnAlec Bigley
Above Us the WavesRamsey
1956The Man Who Never WasJoe
1957The Big ChanceBill Anderson
1958The Adventures of Hal 5The Vicar
1962 The Share Out Mike Stafford
1963 The Great EscapeSorren
Return to Sender Mike Cochrane
1978TerrorLord Garrick
Superman8th Elder
1980Death WatchDr MasonAs William Russel
1981Mark Gertler: Fragments of a BiographyRoger Fry
1990Deadly ManorAlfred
2016 The Visit Hospital patient Short film
2020Executive Order Cameo appearance

Television

Russell's big break was the title role in The Adventures of Sir Lancelot on ITV in 1956, which for sale to the American NBC network became the first UK television series to be shot in colour. He acted in many plays and TV series including Disraeli, Testament of Youth and Coronation Street (as Ted Sullivan, the short-lived second husband of Rita Sullivan). He had a small part in an episode of The Black Adder, as a late replacement for Wilfrid Brambell, who became impatient with delays to his scene and left the set before shooting it. He was the Duke of Gloucester in the Robin of Sherwood episode, "The Pretender", and Lanscombe in a 2005 Agatha Christie's Poirot episode, "After the Funeral".

Year Title Episode(s) Role Network Archive status
1954 Lonesome Like TV Movie Rev. Frank Alleyne (as Russell Enoch) BBC Television Service Missing
BBC Sunday-Night Theatre Series 5, Episode 16 & 49: It Never Rains / The Whiteoak Chronicles - Young Renny Bill Bolton (as Russell Enoch) / Renny BBC Television Service Missing
1955 Series 6, Episode 38: The Scarlet Pimpernel Vicomte de Tournai BBC Television Service Missing
St. Ives All 6 episodes St. Ives BBC Television Service Exists
The Sleeping Beauty TV Movie The Prince BBC Television Service Exists
1956 Theatre Royal Episode 19: The Assassin Boy ITV (ATV) Exists
1956-1957 The Adventures of Sir Lancelot All 30 episodes Sir Lancelot du lac / Sir Bliant ITV (ITC) Exists
1956 Assignment Foreign Legion Episode 8: The Ghost Gerry Brooke CBS Missing
The Adventures of Aggie Episode 10: Hypertension Ted Jordan ITV Missing
1957 Hour of Mystery Episode 8: The Crime of Margaret Foley Kevin Ormond ITV (ABC) Missing
Nicholas Nickleby All 10 episodes Nicholas Nickleby BBC Television Service Missing
Sword of Freedom Series 1, Episode 29: The Strange Intruder Count René d'Albert ITV (ITC) Exists
1958 Television World Theatre Episode 11: The Circle of Chalk Prince Pao BBC Television Service Missing
Who Fought Alone: Epitaph on a Scottish Soldier TV Movie Unknown BBC Television Service Missing
Saturday Playhouse Episode 23: The Duke in Darkness Voulain BBC Television Service Missing
Television Playwright Episode 22: In a Backward Country Anthony Broderick BBC Television Service Missing
1959 ITV Play of the Week Series 4, Episode 28: The Face of Treason Nevil Rigden ITV Missing
Armchair Theatre Series 3, Episode 37: The Girl on the Beach Smoky ITV (ABC) Missing
Tales from Dickens Episodes: Uriah Heep & David and Dora David Copperfield ITV Exists
Never Die TV Movie Inspector Sauvé BBC Television Service Missing
1960 St. Ives All 6 episodes; remake of St. Ives BBC Television Service Missing
Twentieth Century Theatre Our Betters / The Fanatics / I Have Been Here Before / The Elder Statesman Lord Bleane / John Freeman / Oliver Farrant / Charles Hemington BBC Television Service Partial (The Fanatics survives)
Summer Theatre Episode: The Devil's General Col. Friedrich Eilers BBC Television Service Missing
1961 Tales from Dickens Episode: David and Dora Get Married David Copperfield ITV Exists
BBC Sunday-Night Play Series 2, Episode 18: An Inspector Calls Gerald Croft BBC Television Missing
Triton All 4 episodes Captain Belwether BBC Television Missing
Adventure Story TV Movie Hephaestion BBC Television Exists
Hamlet All 5 episodes Hamlet ITV (Rediffusion) Missing
A Song of Sixpence TV Movie Alberto Monzelli BBC Television Missing
1963 Drama '63 Series 3, Episode 7: Somebody's Dying Mick Lambert ITV (ATV) Exists
Jane Eyre Episode 5 St. John Rivers BBC Television Exists
Suspense Series 2, Episode 28: The Patch Card John Richards BBC Television Missing
BBC Sunday-Night Play Series 4, Episode 46: Pig in the Middle Frank BBC Television Missing
Doctor Who Series 1, 42 episodes Ian Chesterton BBC Television Partial (9 episodes missing)
1964
Series 2, 35 episodes BBC One Partial (2 episodes missing)
1965
1966 This Man Craig Series 1, Episode 22 & 26: Mates / Old Flame Avis / Peter Woodburn BBC Two Missing
Breaking Point All 5 episodes Martin Kennedy BBC Two Missing
1967 Dr. Finlay's Casebook Series 5, Episode 6: Who Made You? Neville BBC One Missing
This Man Craig Series 2, Episode 20: You Can Choose Your Friends Peter Rogers BBC Two Missing
1969 Who-Dun-It Episode 10: Don't Shoot the Cook Marcel Dupre ITV (ATV) Exists
Detective Series 3, Episode 8: And So to Murder Bill Cartwright BBC One Missing
Parkin's Patch Episode 14: No Friendship for Coppers Wilkins ITV (Yorkshire) Exists
1972-1973 Harriet's Back in Town 90 episodes Tom Preston ITV (Thames) Exists
1972 ITV Playhouse Series 6, Episode 5: Buggins' Ermine Frank ITV (Granada) Exists
1974 Justice Series 3, Episode 12: Point of Death Dr. Victor Ainsworth ITV (Yorkshire) Exists
Father Brown Episode 1: The Hammer of God Rev. Wilfred Bohun ITV (ATV) Exists
Whodunnit? Christmas Special: A Piece of Cake Captain Alexander Anderson ITV (Thames) Exists
1975 The Hanged Man Episode 3: Knave of Coins Peter Kroger ITV (Yorkshire) Exists
Crown Court Series 4, Episodes 49 & 50: Dead Drunk Pts. 2-3 Edward Birkland ITV (Granada) Exists
The Main Chance Series 4, Episode 12: We're the Bosses Now Arnold Galbraith ITV (Yorkshire) Exists
Against the Crowd Episode 7: Bread and Circuses Arthur Penwarren ITV (ATV) Exists
The Doll Episodes 2 & 3 Julian Osbourne BBC One Exists
1976 Scene Series 9, Episode 6: Newsworthy: The Girl Who Saw a Tiger Mr. Rose BBC One Exists
1977 Crown Court Series 6, Episodes 4-6: Home Sweet Home Pts. 1-3 Robert Aldrich ITV (Granada) Exists
Van der Valk Series 3, Episode 2: Accidental Rokin ITV (Thames) Exists
1978 Strangers Series 1, Episode 4: Accidental Death Bamford Harker ITV (Granada) Exists
Parables Episode 3: A Gentle Rain Peter Vernon ITV Missing
Disraeli Episodes 1 & 2 Wyndham Lewis ITV (ATV) All programmes exist from this point
BBC2 Play of the Week Series 2, Episode 3: Fearless Frank Headmaster / Lord Folkestone / Chapman BBC Two
1979 Spearhead Series 2, Episode 5: Repercussions Mr. Dickson B.F.S. ITV (Southern)
Shoestring Series 1, Episode 1: Private Ear David Carn BBC One
Testament of Youth Series 1, Episode 1: Buxton 1913 Marriott BBC Two
1980 Play for Today Series 10, Episode 16: Instant Enlightenment Including VAT Don BBC One
ITV Playhouse Series 12, Episode 11: Lindsey Dr. Crane ITV (Thames)
The Professionals Series 4, Episode 4: Involvement Charles Holly ITV (LWT)
Mackenzie 4 episodes Francis Hammond BBC One
1981 ITV Playhouse Series 13, Episode 1: Little Girls Don't Daddy ITV (Thames)
1983 The Black Adder Series 1, Episode 3: The Archbishop The Duke of Winchester (as Russell Enoch) BBC One
1986 Robin of Sherwood Series 3, Episode 10: The Pretender The Duke of Gloucester ITV (HTV)
1988 The Four Minute Mile TV Movie AAA Official (as Russel Enoch) ABC
1990 Boon Series 5, Episode 2: Tales From the Riverbank John Losely (as Russell Enoch) ITV (Central)
1992 Coronation Street 47 episodes Ted Sullivan ITV (Granada)
1995 The Affair TV Movie Dr. Hastings HBO
Casualty Series 10, Episode 5: Halfway House Mo Meredew BBC One
2000 Heartbeat Series 10, Episode 4: Gabriel's Last Stand Gabriel Firth ITV (Yorkshire)
2006 Poirot Series 10, Episode 3: After the Funeral Lanscombe ITV1
2013 An Adventure in Space and Time TV Movie Harry - security guard BBC Two
2022 Doctor Who Episode: The Power of the Doctor Ian Chesterton BBC One

Audio

Year Title Role Notes
2005Doctor Who: The Monthly RangeDarzil CarlisleBig Finish Productions; Story: "The Game"
2009–2014Doctor Who: The Companion ChroniclesIan ChestertonBig Finish Productions; 8 releases
2010–2013Doctor Who: The Lost StoriesIan ChestertonBig Finish Productions; 4 releases
2011The Five CompanionsIan ChestertonBig Finish Productions; Special release
2013The Light at the EndIan Chesterton, First DoctorBig Finish Productions; Special release
2014, 2016Doctor Who: The Early AdventuresIan Chesterton, First DoctorBig Finish Productions; 4 releases
2016–2017Big Finish Short TripsNarrator4 releases
2020Susan's WarIan ChestertonBig Finish Productions; Story: "Sphere of Influence"

References

  1. ↑ "William Enoch | In Memoriam | Death Notices". death-notices.co.uk. Retrieved 9 August 2026.
  2. ↑ Births, Marriages & Deaths Index of England & Wales, 1916–2005.; at ancestry.com
  3. ↑ Doctor Who The Collection: season 2
  4. ↑ "BBC One – Doctor Who, Season 20, Mawdryn Undead – the Fourth Dimension". Archived from the original on 15 November 2022. Retrieved 24 January 2023.
  5. ↑ Foster, Chuck (8 February 2013). "An Adventure in Space and Time: Jamie Glover to play William Russell". Doctor Who News. Archived from the original on 11 February 2013. Retrieved 8 February 2013.
  6. ↑ Foster, Chuck (9 February 2013). "An Adventure in Space and Time: William Russell". Doctor Who News. Archived from the original on 12 February 2013. Retrieved 9 February 2013.
  7. ↑ Mulkern, Patrick (1 November 2010). "An Interview with William Russell". Radio Times. Archived from the original on 29 November 2022. Retrieved 29 November 2022.
  8. ↑ Mulkern, Patrick (23 October 2022). "Doctor Who's classic companions on their return: "It was a total joy"". Radio Times. Archived from the original on 3 November 2022. Retrieved 23 October 2022.
  9. ↑ Pilastro, Eleonora (23 November 2022). "Doctor Who character breaks record for longest gap between TV appearances". Guinness World Records. Archived from the original on 25 November 2022. Retrieved 28 November 2022.
  10. ↑ "William Russell". Archived from the original on 23 January 2023. Retrieved 23 January 2023.
  11. ↑ "What Harry Potter's Alfred Enoch got up to next". Evening Standard. Archived from the original on 15 August 2019. Retrieved 11 October 2018.
  12. ↑ EURPublisher01 (30 October 2014). "From 'Potter' to 'Murder': Brit Alfred Enoch on His Hollywood Ride". Lee Bailey's Electronic Urban Report. Archived from the original on 6 September 2017. Retrieved 14 October 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  13. ↑ Coveney, Michael (4 June 2024). "William Russell obituary". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 4 June 2024. Retrieved 4 June 2024.
  14. ↑ Perry, Kevin E G (5 June 2024). "Doctor Who original cast member William Russell dead at 99". Independent. Retrieved 3 July 2024.
This page is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 unless otherwise noted. Additional terms may apply for the media files.