Patrick lives in the shadow of Dr. Who
- Publication: Evening Herald
- Date: 1985-06-11
- Author: Syd Gillingham
- Page: 54
- Language: English
One-time Doctor Who, Patrick Troughton, stars in Long Term Memory, which launches a new BBC-2 drama series tonight.
IT'S REALLY quite extraordinary. declares Patrick Troughton, but he's still very much the shadow of Dr. Who, 17 years after he last played the good doctor in the weekly series. Not that he's complaining, mind.
"I was in San Francisco recently," explains Patrick, who stars in "Long Term Memory", the play which launches BBC 2's summer season of new drama tonight, "and I went down to the waterfront and the street vendors were stopping me and saying, 'Oh! It's Doctor Who!,..
"They're wild about the series in America and it seems to be on all the time there. although it varies from state to state. In October I'll be going - with as many of the other Doctor Whos as possible to another Doctor Who convention in Chicago.
"And I still get fan letters about Doctor Who from all over the world, because the series is still being shown in various countries.
"It's a lovely thing to happen from an ego peint of view it's a warm feeling to know that a part you have played was successful and people love you for it.
"But having been a character actor for long I wouldn't want to encourage the idea that this was all I could do because obviously I've got to make a living.
"I don't mind how fond they are of Doctor Who in America because it doesn't inhibit my being cast in Britain!"
It was in 1966 that Patrick took over as the the second Dr. Who - late William Hartnell was the first handing over, in turn, three years later to Jon Pertwee.
Since then he has appeared in two one-off productions, "The Five Doctors" and, more recently, The Two Doctors", in which he appeared with Colin Baker.
But did he imagine when he became the second Dr. Who that it would still play such a part in his life many years on?
"I did not," says the 64-year-old Londoner. "In fact, I thought I wouldn't be in it for much more than six weeks!
"But if I'd been Doctor Who longer than I was, well. that would have been disaster for me. I like to play the field that's the whole joy of acting for me,
"I love it to be a lucky dip to never know what's coming up and whether a part is going to be mad comedy or deadly serious.
"I've been lucky, I've always had a variety of parts. Since I started in television people have seen me in different things."
We're about to see him in different things again -and they couldn't be more different.
First of all, the play, "Long Term Memory," beautifully written (by M. J. Read), and beautifully acted, with Pat Heywood in the co-starring role, is a sad little tale and is as deadly serious as they come.
"But I do love the comedy roles," says Patrick. "For example, I've been in such shows as "The Two Ronnies" and I did a lot of work with Dick Emery. It's what I really started out by doing. I was a clown, and farcical parts have always been my natural element."
Home for Patrick and his wife. Shelagh, is house at Hampton Hill, in Middlesex. It's home, too, for their much-loved 'twins' two Labradors who answer to Bill and Ben and are six months old.
When he's not out walking Bill and Ben, Patrick likes his golf, fishing, sailing and gardening. And watching the box.
"We're avid viewers," he says. "For me. you know, television is the real National Theatre, paid for by the people and watched by the people.
"It's in everyone's sitting-room, and the standard in this country is so very high."
Disclaimer: These citations are created on-the-fly using primitive parsing techniques. You should double-check all citations. Send feedback to whovian@cuttingsarchive.org
- APA 6th ed.: Gillingham, Syd (1985-06-11). Patrick lives in the shadow of Dr. Who. Evening Herald p. 54.
- MLA 7th ed.: Gillingham, Syd. "Patrick lives in the shadow of Dr. Who." Evening Herald [add city] 1985-06-11, 54. Print.
- Chicago 15th ed.: Gillingham, Syd. "Patrick lives in the shadow of Dr. Who." Evening Herald, edition, sec., 1985-06-11
- Turabian: Gillingham, Syd. "Patrick lives in the shadow of Dr. Who." Evening Herald, 1985-06-11, section, 54 edition.
- Wikipedia (this article): <ref>{{cite news| title=Patrick lives in the shadow of Dr. Who | url=http://cuttingsarchive.org/index.php/Patrick_lives_in_the_shadow_of_Dr._Who | work=Evening Herald | pages=54 | date=1985-06-11 | via=Doctor Who Cuttings Archive | accessdate=5 December 2025 }}</ref>
- Wikipedia (this page): <ref>{{cite web | title=Patrick lives in the shadow of Dr. Who | url=http://cuttingsarchive.org/index.php/Patrick_lives_in_the_shadow_of_Dr._Who | work=Doctor Who Cuttings Archive | accessdate=5 December 2025}}</ref>
