Stephen Dartnell
Birth nameSteven Dartnell
Birth date1932
Death date1 December 1989 (aged 57)
Death placeGlasgow, Scotland
OccupationActor
Years active1955–1966

Stephen Dartnell (1932[1] – 1 December 1989[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

YearTitleRoleNotes
1960Oscar WildeCobble
Saturday Night and Sunday MorningClubhouse workeruncredited
Circle of DeceptionBrunneruncredited
1972Second BestDirector/Writer (short film)

Television

YearTitleRoleNotes
1955BBC Sunday Night TheatreMilitary recruitSeason 6, episode 44: "The Makepeace Story #3: Family Business"
OthelloSailorTV movie
1960ITV Television PlayhouseJack PalmerSeason 5, episode 30: "Incident"
1964Doctor WhoYartek JohnSeason 1 (7 episodes)
1965A Tale of Two CitiesJacques OneSeries 1 (4 episodes)
1966Theatre 625BarmanSeason 3, episode 21: "A Man Like That"

References

  1. ^ The corresponding record at Scotland's People gives his age as 57
  2. ^ "Deaths". Evening Standard. 5 December 1989. p. 10. Retrieved 24 December 2025.
  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. Archived 14 May 2023 at the Wayback Machine.
  6. ^ "Doctor Who Classic Episode Guide - The Sensorites". BBC. Archived 14 May 2023 at the Wayback Machine.
  7. ^ "Doctor Who Guide: Stephen Dartnell". Doctor Who Guide. Retrieved 9 January 2019.
  8. ^ "Stephen Dartnell | TV Guide". TVGuide.com. Archived 14 April 2019 at the Wayback Machine. 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.