| Mostly Credited As: | Richard Hurndall |
| Birth Name: | Richard Gibbon Hurndall |
| Date Of Birth: | November 03, 1910 |
| Country Of Birth: |  United Kingdom |
| Birth Place: | Darlington, Durham, England |
| Date Of Death: | April 13, 1984 |
Richard Gibbon Hurndall was a British stage, film, radio, and television actor. Though he performed in a variety of roles, he is known to Doctor Who fans as the 2nd actor to play The First Doctor in popular science fiction show Doctor Who.
Richard Hurndall was born in Darlington. After training with The Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts, he starred in several plays at Stratford-upon-Avon.
In 1983, to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the long-running show Doctor Who, producer John Nathan-Turner planned a very special event, The Five Doctors, a 90 minute episode to feature all of the actors to play the role of the Doctor up through and including the fifth and current occupant, Peter Davidson.
However, the actor who played the First Doctor, William Hartnell, had sadly died in 1975 just 3 years after appearing in "The Three Doctors". The show's unofficial fan consultant, Ian Levine, had seen Richard in Blake's 7, another BBC series, and suggested him to the producers as a possible replacement for Hartnell. Richard eventually won the role of the recast for the First Dr Who, playing him as acerbic and temperamental but in some ways wiser than his successors. When Tom Baker pulled out of appearing on "The Five Doctors' it gave Hurndall a greater partof the action.
Sadly Richard Gibbon Hurndall died at the age of 73 in London one year after The Five Doctors had aired.
