[8][9] At the age of 16, he met the art collector Hugh Blaker, who later became his unofficial guardian, arranged for him to train as a jockey, and helped him to enter the Italia Conti Academy.

[8][12] He appeared in numerous Shakespearian plays, including The Merchant of Venice, Julius Caesar, As You Like It, Hamlet, The Tempest and Macbeth (all 1926).

He also appeared in She Stoops to Conquer, The School for Scandal (both 1926) and Good Morning, Bill (1927), before performing in Miss Elizabeth's Prisoner (1928).

Radio work also featured in his career, with his earliest known performance – in a production of Chinese Moon Party – being broadcast by the BBC on 11 May 1931.

[15] He served in the British Army in the Tank Corps, but he was invalided out after 18 months as the result of a nervous breakdown and returned to acting.

He turned up late for his first day of shooting, and Coward berated him in front of the cast and crew for his unprofessionalism, made him personally apologise to everyone and then sacked him.

[16] Hartnell continued to play comic characters until he was cast in the robust role of Sergeant Ned Fletcher in The Way Ahead (1944).

In 1947 he was cast in a major role in the Boulting brothers classic gangster film noir Brighton Rock, playing the tough gang underboss, Dallow.

He also appeared in a supporting role in the film version of This Sporting Life (1963), giving a sensitive performance as an ageing rugby league talent scout known as "Dad".

Hartnell later revealed that he took the role because it led him away from the gruff, military parts in which he had become typecast, and, having two grandchildren of his own, he came to relish particularly the attention and affection that playing the character brought him from children.

An obituary would state how delighted Hartnell was to get the role of the Doctor at the age of 55 after a career of "playing what he called bastards.

[22] Doctor Who earned Hartnell a regular salary of £315 an episode by 1966 (in the era of 48 weeks per year production on the series), equivalent to £7,412 in 2023.

"[32] Hartnell's deteriorating health (undiagnosed arteriosclerosis) began to affect his ability to learn his lines, with the problem increasing as his time on the series progressed.

When Hartnell's wife Heather found out about his planned involvement, she informed the show's crew that his failing memory and weakening health would prevent him from starring in the special.

In early 1975, he suffered a series of strokes, brought on by cerebrovascular disease, and he died in his sleep in hospital from heart failure on 23 April 1975, at the age of 67.

[43] For the 50th anniversary of Doctor Who in 2013, the BBC broadcast An Adventure in Space and Time, a dramatisation of the events surrounding the creation of the series, which had David Bradley portraying Hartnell.

[44][45][46] A blue plaque marking Hartnell's work in film and television was unveiled at Ealing Studios by Carney on 14 October 2018.