Hartnell has risen in my estimations
William Hartnell has never been my favourite Doctor. My childhood Doctor was Peter Davison, and for many years, I said he was my favourite. Nostalgia is a powerful influence. As I grew older, I cited Patrick Troughton, Tom Baker and Sylvester McCoy as my ‘Holy Trinity’, spanning the three decades of the show’s original run. For some reason, Hartnell has never troubled my top three. By the time I reach the end of this experiment, I will re-appraise my favourite Doctors, but I wouldn’t be surprised if Hartnell has climbed up the leader board. Put simply, he was brilliant in the part, and if he hadn’t been quite so mesmerising and commanding as the Doctor, BBC bosses would never have troubled to replace him when the demands of the show became too much. It would simply have ended in 1966.
It’s right that we continue to revere, remember and celebrate the original Doctor, William Hartnell.
