Patrick Troughton was born in Mill Hill, London and was educated at Mill Hill School. He trained as an actor at the Embassy School of Acting in the UK and at Leighton Rollin's Studio for for Actors at Long Island, New York in the USA. During World War II he served in the Royal Navy and after the war ended he joined the Old Vic and became a Shakespearean actor. He won his most famous role as the second Doctor in Doctor Who, in 1966 and played the role for three years. His hobbies included golf, sailing and fishing. He was a father of six (David, Jane, Joanna, Mark, Michael and Peter), a stepfather to Gill and Graham and a grandfather to Harry Melling, Jamie and Sam Troughton.


He was the father of David Troughton and Michael Troughton. He was the grandfather of Sam Troughton and Warwickshire and England cricketer Jim Troughton. They are the sons of David Troughton. Enjoyed reading philosophy and comparative religion. Once claimed his favourite role on television had been Daniel Quilp in "The Old Curiosity Shop" (1962). He was an excellent swordsman. Children: Joanna, Jane, David, Michael, Peter and Mark. He was the only actor to play the Doctor and his archnemesis in the same story, which was "The Enemy of the World," in which he played a Hispanic dictator named Salamander. Grandchildren: Tierney and Florence Troughton. In 1948, he made his feature film debut as a shepherd in Escape (1948). One of the stars of the film was William Hartnell, his predecessor in the role of the Doctor in "Doctor Who" (1963). They had previously appeared in several plays together, one of which involved Troughton acting as Hartnell's understudy. When it was announced in 1980 that Peter Davison was to play the Fifth Doctor, he advised the 29-year-old actor to limit his time on the series to three years, as he had done, in order to avoid being typecast. Davison followed this advise. In March 1987, only weeks before Troughton's death, Davison advised Sylvester McCoy, who had been announced as the Seventh Doctor that month, to do likewise. Of the first four actors to play the Doctor in "Doctor Who" (1963), he had the shortest lifespan at 67 years and three days. He was the grandfather of Harry Melling (his daughter Joanna Troughton Melling's son).