William Russell (1924-2024)

16 Replies

Hello everyone.

Welcome to ‘Bradley’s Basement’ blog and I’m Tim Bradley.

I’m saddened that William Russell, who played Ian Chesterton – the first male companion in ‘Doctor Who’ in 1963 – has passed away. A couple of days ago, my parents and I were chatting about him, as we hoped he would live on to be 100 this year. Sadly, that wasn’t to be, but I’m happy that he lived a good life.

At the time of this tribute, I’m currently revisiting Season 2 of the classic ‘Doctor Who’ TV series on Blu-ray, as I’m currently updating my reviews on each of the nine stories featured in the season. I intend to keep on checking out Season 2 to honour the memory of the beloved man who played Ian.

William Russell was with William Hartnell, Carole Ann Ford and Jacqueline Hill at the beginning of the classic TV series, and he played Ian for two seasons. Since then, he reprised the role of Ian in the Big Finish audios, and has reprised the character quite recently in ‘The Power of the Doctor’ in 2022. As well as playing Ian, he also played Lord Darzil Carlisle in the Big Finish audio story ‘The Game’ with Peter Davison and Sarah Sutton.

He’s also been in ‘An Adventure In Space and Time’, which celebrated ‘Doctor Who’s 50th anniversary in 2013. I’ve seen William Russell in one of Norman Wisdom’s films called ‘One Good Turn’, released in 1955. And would you believe he played one of the Krypton Elders in ‘Superman: The Movie’? He was also in the Richard Donner cut of ‘Superman II’. 🙂

Tim Bradley with William Russell at the ‘Bournemouth Film & Comic Con 2015’, August 2015
Tim Bradley with William Russell at the ‘London Comic Con Spring’, Olympia, March 2019

I saw William Russell at three conventions, including ‘Dimensions 2013’ in Newcastle in October 2013, at the ‘Bournemouth Film & Comic Con’ in August 2015 and at the ‘London Comic Con Spring’ in March 2019. I’m pleased to have met him. I’ve also had my DVD cover of ‘The Chase’ and my CD cover of ‘The Five Companions’ signed by him.

Without William Russell, ‘Doctor Who’ wouldn’t be where it is today. The impact he made on the TV series as Ian Chesterton has been very significant. I’m pleased I wrote for Ian in the first ‘Zorbius’ story called ‘The Zondor Robbers’ and recently in my 60th anniversary story ‘The Thirteen+ Doctors’.

My prayers and thoughts go to the friends and family of William Russell during this difficult time.

Check out the Radio Times tribute to William Russell – https://www.radiotimes.com/tv/sci-fi/doctor-who-william-russell-dies-newsupdate/

Thanks for reading, everyone.

Bye for now.

Tim

16 thoughts on “William Russell (1924-2024)”

  1. Williams Fan 92

    Hi Tim,

    It’s sad that William Russell’s gone. That only leaves Carole Ann Ford from the start of the show now.

    I’ll best know him for ‘Doctor Who’, and I’ve also seen William Russell in ‘The Adventures of Sir Lancelot’ and an episode of ‘The Blackadder’. 99 is a good to live to, and it’s nice that he lived beyond the show’s 60th anniversary.

    Xavier

    Liked by 3 people

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      1. Tim Bradley Post author

        Hi scifimike,

        Thanks for sharing the YouTube link to William Russell as Ian’s introduction to ‘The Crusade’. I’m looking forward to revisiting that when checking out ‘The Crusade’ on Blu-ray in the next four weeks or so.

        I’m pleased William Russell got to live a long life and very glad that I’ve met him at conventions.

        Best wishes,

        Tim 🙂

        Liked by 2 people

    2. Tim Bradley Post author

      Hi Xavier,

      Thanks for sharing your thoughts.

      I’ve yet to see William Russell in ‘The Adventures of Sir Lancelot’ and his episode of ‘The Blackadder’. Apparently, he was also in the 1956 film ‘The Man Who Never Was’, which I’ve also yet to see.

      I’ve just finished revisiting ‘The Dalek Invasion of Earth’ on Blu-ray and enjoyed him in that. Looking forward to checking out the rest of the season and updating my reviews on the stories featured in Season 2 of classic ‘Doctor Who’.

      Best wishes,

      Tim 🙂

      Liked by 2 people

      Reply ↓
    1. Tim Bradley Post author

      Hi Connor,

      Many thanks for sharing your touching tribute to William Russell as Ian in ‘Doctor Who’. Greatly appreciate it. I’ve enjoyed his appearances in ‘Doctor Who’, both on TV and on audio and it’s very easy to picture Ian in my mind, especially when writing for him in my ‘Doctor Who’ stories. I’m glad he and Jacqueline Hill set the template for how ‘Doctor Who’ companions should be played in TV and audio. I’m very pleased I’ve been able to meet him a few times and share how much I’ve enjoyed him as Ian in ‘Doctor Who’.

      Best wishes,

      Tim 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply ↓
  3. zack613

    “Thanks for sharing the YouTube link to William Russell as Ian’s introduction to ‘The Crusade’. I’m looking forward to revisiting that when checking out ‘The Crusade’ on Blu-ray in the next four weeks or so.”

    I just learned that those introductions were filmed in Ian Levine’s Living Room. 🤷‍♂️

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply ↓
  4. A F J Kernow

    Hello again Tim,

    I’ve found it interesting reading the tributes to William Russell. A vital and reassuring presence has departed the Who family. But what a legacy he leaves behind. 

    I loved hearing his narration of the CD audio of Marco Polo. I also enjoyed his work for Big Finish.

    It is only after watching the first three stories, that you realise what a great unit the original TARDIS team was. The conflict between the humans and the aliens was just as important component of the series. Their character arc was well drawn as each pair grew to trust one another.

    William Russell gave a super performance as Ian. He demonstrated a great sensitivity to the demands of being the audience’s point of view. His partnership with Jacqueline Hill was really effective and they set a high standard for the Doctor Who companions going forward.

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply ↓
    1. scifimike70

      Finally realizing after all these years that William Russell had a cameo in the first Superman movie (as one of the council faces for General Zod’s trial) was a big surprise for me.

      Liked by 3 people

      Reply ↓
      1. Tim Bradley Post author

        Hi scifimike,

        Yeah, I wouldn’t have known that William Russell was in the first ‘Superman’ movie either unless I looked it up, as it’s a blink and you’ll miss it moment and I don’t recall him having any lines in the film. I need to check out the film and Richard Donner’s cut of ‘Superman II’ sometime to be sure.

        Many thanks,

        Tim 🙂

        Liked by 1 person

      2. scifimike70

        You’re welcome. Richard Donner was clearly happy to cast Dr. Who actors in his productions as he cast Patrick Troughton in The Omen.

        Liked by 2 people

    2. Tim Bradley Post author

      Hi Tony,

      Thanks for sharing your thoughts on William Russell. I need to check out his ‘In Conversation’ interview with Matthew Sweet in the Season 2 Blu-ray box set as I’ve only seen some of it and not all of it. I’m currently writing up my updated review on ‘The Dalek Invasion of Earth’ and enjoying revisiting some of my favourite scenes with Ian.

      I’m glad you enjoyed the ‘Marco Polo’ audio TV soundtrack with linking narration by William Russell. I listened to that in my 60th anniversary marathon last year when revisiting ‘Marco Polo’ on Audible. It’s also been nice to hear his Big Finish audio appearances including ‘The Masters of Luxor’, ‘Domain of the Voord’, ‘The Revenants’, ‘The Game’ and ‘The Five Companions’.

      I didn’t get to have any many lengthy chats with him compared to Sarah Sutton, but I’m pleased I’ve met and seen William Russell at three conventions and have photos with him over the years.

      I’m looking forward to sharing my updated thoughts on Season 2 of ‘Doctor Who’, especially when highlighting the relationship between Ian and Barbara in stories like ‘The Romans’ and ‘The Chase’ and how William Russell and Jacqueline Hill played their characters so superbly.

      Many thanks for your comments.

      Tim 🙂

      Liked by 2 people

      Reply ↓

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