Geek Syndicate Issue 7 | Page 85

Geek Syndicate
INTERVIEW

Frazer Hines, Doctor Who’s Longest Serving Companion
Image © Shaun Hines (http://www.shaunhines.com)

Frazer Hines is most known for his roles in British television series. In 1954, the young actor was cast in perhaps his most iconic role – as Jamie McCrimmon, a young highland warrior from the nineteenth century. Initially cast to appear in only the one, four part story (The Highlanders), Frazer impressed cast and crew so much that he was invited to join the TARDIS crew. Frazer went on to portray Patrick Troughton’s second in one-hundred and seventeen episodes of Doctor Who, including return appearances for The Five Doctors and The Two Doctors. Frazer’s career does not start and end with the BBC show. Viewers of ITV’s Emmerdale soap will be more than familiar with the actor, who has starred in upwards of one hundred and twenty episodes of that programme. Frazer has also appeared in over sixty other drama episodes and films in his career. At this year’s Sci-Fi Weekender, we at Geek Syndicate were lucky enough to grab a few minutes with Frazer to talk about his time in the long running science-fiction programme as well as his work outside of it … GS: So tell us Frazer, how did you get into acting? FH: I was born in Harrogate, Yorkshire and every Saturday I used to go to Marjory Newbury’s School of Dancing. When I was seven years old she put on a show at the Harrogate

Theatre Royal and I had to do this impersonation of Maurice Chevalier’s Louise. We weren’t a very rich family so my mother got these potato sacks, cut them up, dyed them white and made me a suit. Now I can’t stand itchy clothing next to my knees and so when I went on stage and went “every little breeze...” and it came to the tap dance, I was stiff legged, and the next day the newspapers said “Stiff legged seven year old stops show! He even had the Maurice Chevalier stiff legged walk” and somebody at Corona school saw this and came up to Harrogate and saw my mother and said “We’d like Frazer to come to Corona” and my mother said let’s leave him another year at home. My mother and I went down to Chiswick, London and I joined Corona School. The itchy trousers got me into acting!

Frazer’s first story. A 4 episode appearance turned into 117

Image © BBC Worldwide

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