Doctor Who actor William Russell has died aged 99, it was announced on Tuesday.
Best known for playing schoolteacher Ian Chesterton in the BBC sci-fi series, he died on Monday, with The Guardian confirming his death a day later.
The cause of the actor’s death has not yet been confirmed. The father of four is survived by his wife, Etheline, and his son, Alfred Enoch, who played Dean Thomas in the Harry Potter films.
William appeared in the first Doctor Who story, An Unearthly Child, alongside William Hartnell, who played the initial Time Lord.
It also starred Carole Ann Ford, who played classmate Susan, and Jacqueline Hill, who was Ian’s fellow teacher, Barbara Wright.
William was in almost every episode of the first two seasons of Doctor Who and, after leaving the show in 1965, went on to narrate audio stories for the franchise.
Doctor Who actor William Russell has died aged 99, it was announced on Tuesday
The father-of-four is survived by his wife, Etheline (right) and son Alfred Enoch (left), who played Dean Thomas in the Harry Potter films.
He earned a Guinness World Record for the longest gap between television appearances when he reprized his role as Ian 57 years after he had finished playing the Master, in Time Lord actress Jodie Whittaker’s final episode as the Doctor, titled ‘The Power of the Doctor’. .
William’s film roles include roles in 1956’s The Man Who Never Was, 1963’s The Great Escape, and 1978’s Superman.
He also played Ted Sullivan in ITV’s Coronation Street in 1992.
Along with his second wife, Etheline Lewis, whom he married in 1984, 31 years after marrying his first wife, Balbina Gutiérrez, William is survived by his and Etheline’s son Alfred.
He followed in his father’s acting footsteps and played Dean Thomas in the Harry Potter films.
William also had children Vanessa, Laetitia and Robert from his first marriage, and had four grandchildren.
In addition to an avalanche of tributes that have filled social media following the news of his death, stars such as Doctor Who actress Nicola Bryant, 63, have paid tribute to William.
The actress, who played Doctor Who companion Peri Brown from 1984 to 1986, said online: “What sad news to say goodbye to William Russell.”
He also played Ted Sullivan in ITV’s Coronation Street in 1992.
“What a wonderful man, with a lovely family, an extraordinary life and career.”
Actor and writer Nicholas Pegg added: “Raising a glass to William Russell, who left us just a few months before his 100th birthday.”
‘He was already a star when he became a crucial part of the genesis of Doctor Who, his long and notable career spanning everything from Shakespeare to Blackadder. A good actor and a charming man.
Doctor Who’s Russell T Davies shared a tribute on Instagram along with a photo of him with William.
He wrote: ‘William Russell (1924-2024). What a sad loss, William played the Doctor’s first companion, Ian Chesterton, back in 1963. A schoolteacher, trapped in the Tardis by a wily old Doctor, unable to get home, taken to the Stone Age, Skaro, the Crusades, planet of the Zarbi…!
‘Marvelous! An excellent, agile, witty and sincere actor who absolutely sold the truth of those early years. Before that, he had been Sir Lancelot at the BBC; It is often underestimated what a reserve star he was for Doctor Who.
‘He later married Rita Fairclough as Ted Sullivan in Coronation Street. In the photo, I met him on a train in 2018! I was dazzled! He spoke with great pride and joy about his son, Alfred Enoch, whom he had seen in King Lear at the Royal Exchange. Absolutely charming man. A good and long life. Well done, sir, well played.’
Artist Stuart Humphryes shared: ‘RIP, the late legendary actor William Russell (1924-2024). He was the first and greatest of all the companions who starred in Doctor Who. He first played Ian Chesterton in 1963 and returned one last time to the series to play him in 2022, earning him an award from the Guiness Book of Records. A wonderful entry, but still immensely sad. It is the passing of an era and also of a hero. Sleep well, Sir Ian, Knight of Jaffa. I was one of your biggest fans.
Russell would have turned 100 in November, having been born in Sunderland in 1924.