Over its 62 years on television, Doctor Who has had many different writers. But it’s recently come to light that even the show’s very first stars, William Hartnell and Carole Ann Ford, tried their hand at writing episodes!
Carole Ann Ford, the original companion Susan Foreman, has shared that she and William Hartnell, who played the very first Doctor, created a history for the Doctor‘s adventures before the show even began with the first episode, ‘An Unearthly Child’.
Bill and I came up with the idea together,” she explained. “We figured the TARDIS wasn’t the newest version. It was an older model that had been updated, but those updates weren’t quite functioning perfectly.
My grandfather, Bill, was working in a massive hangar filled with countless TARDISes, all undergoing repairs. He was busy improving how one of them functioned when an alien invasion suddenly began.
Everything was chaotic, and he quickly pulled me into the TARDIS, announcing, ‘Let’s go!’ We ended up leaving in a TARDIS that wasn’t fully functional – he kept trying to fix it throughout our adventures – and we finally landed on Totter’s Lane.
Ford explained that actors need to consider their character’s entire life, not just the scenes they’re performing. He said an actor should think about what happened in their character’s past and what might happen in their future, beyond what’s shown on screen.
In the interview, Ford also talked about her friendship with Hartnell, sharing her initial thoughts about him as an actor.
Honestly, I just found him completely endearing! He had this really charming personality, and he was so sweet and thoughtful. What I really appreciated was that he took everything seriously – and I love that in someone. I can’t stand it when people don’t treat their work with respect and just goof off.
The role meant the world to him. He cared about it deeply and strived for absolute perfection because of how much it mattered.
People might have misunderstood Bill if they didn’t appreciate how much he strived for perfection. He wouldn’t tolerate carelessness or a lack of dedication when it came to his work, but ultimately, his high standards were justified.
If you don’t fully commit to what you’re doing, the audience won’t believe it, and they won’t be entertained. If you don’t take it seriously, why should they?
We stopped joking around about the monsters during rehearsals, and it was probably a good thing, because looking back, I’m amazed I didn’t burst out laughing!
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Authors
Louise Griffin edits the Sci-Fi & Fantasy section at TopMob, writing about popular franchises like Doctor Who, Star Wars, Marvel, House of the Dragon, and Good Omens. Before joining TopMob, she was a Senior Entertainment Reporter at Metro and holds a degree in English Literature.
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2026-01-14 20:04