Doctor Who legend William Russell dies aged 99 as tributes flood in for original cast member: 'Devastated'
Russell has died at the age of 99
BBC
Doctor Who star William Russell has died at the age of 99, and "devastated" fans have flooded social media with tributes.
Russell was part of the original Doctor Who series after being cast in 1963. He also made a special return to the BBC sci-fi show in 2022.
Russell found fame back in 1956 through ITV series The Adventures of Sir Lancelot.
He went on to feature as Ian Chesterton in the very first episode Doctor Who, starring alongside William Hartnell as the first titular character in 1965.
In 2022, he made a cameo appearance in the show as Jodie Whittaker's Doctor left the production.
Russell also starred in ITV soap Coronation Street as Ted Sullivan in 1992.
Derek Ware fight co-ordinator runs through the fight scene with the Ian (William Russell) during a break in filming the Dr Who story The Crusades at the BBC studios
Getty
Radio Times reports the 99-year-old died on Monday, June 3.
He is survived by his three children, Robert, Laetitia and Vanessa from his first marriage to Balbina Gutierrez.
He also has a son, Alfred, with second wife Etheline Margareth Lewis Enoch.
He also leaves behind four grandchildren. Fans have flooded social media with tributes as they remember Russell's iconic roles.
Doctor Who original cast in 1963
Getty
Taking to X, one penned: "RIP William Russell. Reunited with Jaqueline Hill and William Hartnell at last, along with plenty of other special people #DoctorWho."
"RIP William Russell. The legend who played one of #DoctorWho's greatest companions, the brilliant Ian Chesterton," a second shared.
Another wrote: "RIP William Russell, who portrayed the first male companion alongside, Ian Chesterton the 1st Doctor (William Hartnell) from 1963-65 in @bbcdoctorwho. And after over 50 years, he cameoed as the character for the 300th story and BBC’s 100th anniversary special in 2022."
"I'm devastated this evening to hear of the passing of William Russell, aka Ian Chesterton, Knight of Jaffa. He swung through 60s Doctor Who with effortless cool, and always played it straight and took the material seriously, if not always himself. RIP," another fan wrote.
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Someone else added: "Sad to read about William Russell's passing, but also feeling grateful we had him on this planet with us, and for so long too! (He was my grandparents' generation, and outlived them all by at least a decade and a half.)"
"R.I.P. William Russell (Ian Chesterton, companion of the first doctor)," another added.
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