How about this for a Doctor Who team-up: former showrunner Russell T Davies recently came face-to-face with iconic Who actor William Russell. But do you know who he played?


10 points if you said science teacher Ian Chesterton, the Doctor’s first ever companion. Alongside history teacher Barbara Wright, who also worked at Coal Hill School, Chesterton appeared in Who’s debut story An Unearthly Child in 1963. Through his adventures with William Hartnell’s Time Lord, Ian was knighted by King Richard I of England, trained as a Roman Gladiator and even battled the Daleks in their first TV appearance.

Ian even managed to fly a Dalek time machine home when his adventures with the Doctor’s were finished. Unfortunately, he didn’t bump into Russell T Davies using the same mode of transport – the two met on a speeding train – but that didn’t stop the former Who head from being extremely happy about the encounter. Just look at that grin!


Doctor Who returns to BBC1 this autumn