Stephen Dartnell

Stephen Dartnell
Dartnell in Doctor Who: The Sensorites (1964)
Born	(1931-04-30)30 April 1931[1]
Died	1994 (aged 62–63)
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1955–1966

Stephen Dartnell (30 April 1931[1] – 1994[2]) was a British actor,[3] who appeared in several television programmes.[4] He is best known for his two 1964 appearances in the first season of Doctor Who. He portrayed Yartek, leader of the Voord, in The Keys of Marinus[5] and John, a mineralogist who has been driven to mania, in The Sensorites.[6][7] Dartnell also made appearances in the 1960 feature films Circle of Deception and Oscar Wilde.[8] He was also a theatre director and was active with the Citizens Theatre in Glasgow.[4][9]

Personal life

As a gay young man during the early 1950s, Dartnell found himself the victim of homophobic abuse when a youth threw paint over him and mocked his sexuality. The youth then went home and told his father that the actor had propositioned him. The father went to the police but when the case came to court, the judge threw it out for being indefensible and the father and son were fined for wasting police time and perjury. As a result, for fear of bad publicity, Dartnell was kicked out of Joan Littlewood's Theatre Workshop (as was Harry Greene for sticking up for him) but was supported throughout this ordeal by Harry H. Corbett and Marjie Lawrence.[10]

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1960	Oscar Wilde	Cobble
	Saturday Night and Sunday Morning	Clubhouse worker	uncredited
	Circle of Deception	Brunner	uncredited
1972	Second Best	—	Director/Writer (short film)

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1955	BBC Sunday Night Theatre	Military recruit	Season 6, episode 44: "The Makepeace Story #3: Family Business"
	Othello	Sailor	TV movie
1960	ITV Television Playhouse	Jack Palmer	Season 5, episode 30: "Incident"
1964	Doctor Who	Yartek John	Season 1: (7 episodes)
1965	A Tale of Two Cities	Jacques One	Series 1 (4 episodes)
1966	Theatre 625	Barman	Season 3, episode 21: "A Man Like That"

References

1. https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0201758/?ref_=ext_shr
2. "Beyond the TARDIS: Obituary", Doctor Who Magazine, No. 220, 21 December 1994, pg.2 (I have had confirmation from a family tree owner for Stephen Thomas Dartnell 1931-1995 who informed that he was not an actor)
3. "Stephen Dartnell | Movies and Filmography". AllMovie. Retrieved 9 January 2019.
4. "Stephen Dartnell". IMDb. Retrieved 9 January 2019.
5. "Doctor Who Classic Episode Guide - The Keys of Marinus". BBC.
6. "Doctor Who Classic Episode Guide - The Sensorites". BBC.
7. "Doctor Who Guide: Stephen Dartnell". Doctor Who Guide. Retrieved 9 January 2019.
8. "Stephen Dartnell | TV Guide". TVGuide.com. Retrieved 9 January 2019.
9. Everett, Rupert (18 January 2007). Red Carpets and Other Banana Skins: The Autobiography. Grand Central Publishing. ISBN 9780759571396.
10. Corbett, Susannah (2011). Harry H. Corbett: The Front Legs of the Cow. History Press. ISBN 9780752480473.

External links

• Stephen Dartnell at IMDb
• Stephen Dartnell/Steven Dartnell at Theatricalia