Many critics think that Hartnell left for other reasons, i.e. he was pushed out because he cost too much money (other regular actors were getting a quarter of what he was earning per episode), but the original six-page treatment of the show clearly stated as a first paragraph that Doctor Who was ‘an exciting adventure – Science Fiction Drama serial for Children’s Saturday viewing’. This vindicated Hartnell’s reasons for leaving.
Hartnell loved the adoration of young fans, but when the show started to get more sophisticated – more grown up and darker – his love and attachment towards the show started to diminish. This is reinforced by the fact that in 1964 he came up with an idea of a series called The Son of Doctor Who, in which a wicked son would wreak havoc across the universe and the Doctor would have to step in to sort things out. The BBC was not keen on the idea but sometime afterwards Hartnell said, ‘I still think it would have worked and been exciting for children.’
One could argue that Hartnell’s The Son of Doctor Who idea anticipated the new series’ story ‘The Doctor’s Daughter’, in which the audience is given the distinct idea that a spin-off series is highly likely and, above all, has the potential to be successful. In ‘The Doctor’s Daughter’, it was the real-life daughter of Doctor Who Peter Davison, Georgia Moffett, who would take on the part.
Hartnell preserved the dignity of his ‘grandfather’ character during his reign as Doctor Who. In truth, his ailing health dictated that he couldn’t have stayed on much longer in the role, even if he wanted to. A shame really, as four years later the show would be shown in colour. However, a story like ‘Spearhead from Space’ (the first Jon Pertwee – and colour – story), in which walking shop-window dummies killed innocent civilians and consequently attracted the wrath of real-life parents, would have been the final heartbreak for Hartnell.
When one appreciates how poor and unhappy Hartnell’s formative years were, one can understand why he was a little over-sentimental towards children as the Doctor, not unlike the sensitivities Charles Dickens would show his young characters in his novels (he had a bad time himself as a child, while working in a blacking factory, and his heart and soul was always with the younger generation).
William Hartnell left Doctor Who at exactly the right time, unaware of the legacy he would create by doing so. The show was still popular, for he had quit while he was ahead. The BBC wanted it to continue, so another actor had to take over; the idea of regeneration took shape and gave the show its own excuse for reinvention. It is widely accepted that Kit Pedler and Gerry Davis came up with the idea of regeneration; indeed, they were writers of the very last William Hartnell Doctor Who story, ‘The Tenth Planet’, the first story ever to star the Cybermen.
Heather Hartnell said that her husband was happy that Patrick Troughton took over the role. Hartnell was familiar with ‘Pat’s’ work, having worked on a film with him before Doctor Who (Escape starring Rex Harrison in 1947), so he believed the future of the show was in good hands.
Hartnell would make one further appearance as the Doctor in the show, for the tenth anniversary story ‘The Three Doctors’, playing alongside his successors Patrick Troughton and Jon Pertwee. He was a very unwell man at that time and had to read his short cameo roles from dummy boards, but he did it and enjoyed the experience too, spending some time with Troughton and Pertwee for publicity photographs, although he looked terribly frail by that time.
Within two years of the photo call, Hartnell would be dead from arteriosclerosis. He died on 23 April 1975, aged 67. Until her death in 1984, Heather Hartnell wrote to fans all over the world and attended several Doctor Who events; such was the impact and legacy of the first ever Doctor Who.
Today William Hartnell’s place in TV history is secured. He was the man who made Doctor Who popular – magical – with children all over the world.
Perhaps one of the best epitaphs Hartnell could have had, albeit inadvertently, was within a two-page feature in the 1965 Doctor Who annual. Entitled ‘Who is Dr Who?’, the article speaks fondly of Hartnell’s time traveller: ‘He is mostly very gentle and kind-hearted and he has the utmost respect for life of any kind… and his heart is big enough to respect every one of the countless forms life has taken in all the ages and all the worlds.’
Hartnell believed wholeheartedly in Doctor Who, so much so, in fact, he lived the part more than any other he ever played, as he told Jack Bell of the Daily Mirror on 23 April 1966: ‘Doctor Who has given me a certain neurosis – and it is not easy for my wife to cope with. I get a little agitated, and it makes me a little irritable with people. In fact, Doctor Who seems to be taking over.’
Was this the reason why he left the show, the character taking him over? No, but the irritability was the first sign of his growing illness, arteriosclerosis, something not totally appreciated when he was in the role. He found it difficult to remember his lines. He lost his temper with cast members very quickly, especially new ones. All the original cast and crew had left to pursue other projects, and, coupled with his failing health, he began to feel at odds with the show he so deeply loved.
Why did he love it so much? Let us consider that in many of his post-war roles he had played an army officer and, what with such a traumatic exit from the war himself (and his love being comedy not tough-guy roles), a general dissatisfaction is clearly evident regarding the course of his career.
Another reason for his love of Doctor Who is encapsulated in a quote from the Doctor Who Tenth Anniversary Radio Times Special, where he recalls his lasting memory of the show. He had been asked to open a fete, so he dressed in his Doctor Who clothes and turned up in an old car owned by a friend. ‘I’ll never forget the moment we arrived. The children just converged on the car cheering and shouting, their faces all lit up. I knew then just how much Doctor Who really meant to them.’
Further evidence of the reality of the show for children comes from Hartnell’s last Doctor Who companion, Anneke Wills, who said: ‘… my own children got wound-up in it. One day, while I was away rehearsing, they saw an episode in which I got carried off by monsters. They were very worried about whether I was going to come home that night. They didn’t realise that the episode they had been watching had in fact been recorded the week before, and they half-believed their poor mum had been gobbled up by the wicked monsters!’
So Hartnell had made a credible character and starred in a show that had a strong young audience, but what about afterwards? Was there life after Doctor Who? If he was a TV icon, was Hartnell allowed to move on after the show? Also, if it was his most fulfilling role, was he happy to be a jobbing actor again?
No, would be the general answer to all these questions.
Hartnell was already booked to appear in pantomime that first Christmas after leaving the role. Handbills for Puss in Boots highlighted the fact that ‘Television’s original Dr Who’ would be a major star (when in actual fact he was Buskin the Cobbler looking like Doctor Who!). If that wasn’t enough, other promotional lines for the pantomime read, ‘Meet the monsters from Outer Space… Super Win-a-Dalek Competition’. Clearly, Hartnell wouldn’t be allowed to forget his greatest role very quickly.
Although the pantomime played to large audiences, it had its fair share of criticism, which stemmed largely from technical problems. Acoustics were a nightmare, with the orchestra being too loud and actors, including Hartnell, too quiet when reciting their lines.
Regardless, Hartnell continued to act and, in February 1967, he recorded an episode of No Hiding Place entitled ‘The Game’. Suddenly Hartnell was back in a military role, this time an ex-Indian