Bill Paterson
Biography
William Tulloch Paterson (born 3 June 1945) is a Scottish actor. Throughout his career he has appeared regularly in radio drama and provided the narration for a large number of documentaries. Paterson has appeared in films and television series including Comfort and Joy (1984), Traffik (1989), Auf Wiedersehen, Pet (1986), Truly, Madly, Deeply (1990), The Witches (1990), Wives and Daughters (1999), Sea of Souls (2004–2007), Amazing Grace (2006), Miss Potter (2006), Little Dorrit (2008), Doctor Who (2010), Outlander (2014), Fleabag (2016–2019), Inside No. 9 (2018), Good Omens (2019), Brassic (2020) and House of the Dragon (2022). He is a recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award of the Scottish BAFTAs. William Tulloch Paterson was born in Glasgow on 3 June 1945. Paterson was raised in Dennistoun by his father, a plumber, and his mother, a hairdresser. He states that his interest in acting began with a school trip to the Citizens Theatre in the Gorbals in 1961. However, after school he chose to initially pursue a career based on an interest in architecture and spent three years as a quantity surveyor's apprentice before deciding to attend the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama
Known For
Doctor Who
2005
House of the Dragon
2022
Outlander
2014
Kill Jackie
2026
The One Show
2006
Play for Today
1970
Play for Today
1970
Play for Today
1970
Horizon
1964
Shetland
2013
The Sandman
2022
Agatha Christie's Marple
2004
Filmography
Doctor Who
as Edwin Bracewell · 2005
House of the Dragon
as Lord Lyman Beesbury · 2022
Outlander
as Ned Gowan · 2014
Kill Jackie
· 2026
The One Show
as Self - Guest · 2006
Play for Today
as Luke · 1970
Play for Today
as Archie MacLean · 1970
Play for Today
as McChuckemup / Texas Jim etc · 1970
Horizon
· 1964
Shetland
as James Perez · 2013
The Sandman
as Dr. John Hathaway · 2022
Agatha Christie's Marple
as Bradley · 2004
Halo
as Ackerson's Dad · 2022
Omnibus
· 1967
Foyle's War
as Patrick Jamieson · 2002
Law & Order: UK
as George Castle · 2009
Inside No. 9
as Mr. Green · 2014
Good Omens
as Tadfield Neighbourhood Watch · 2019
ScreenPlay
as Colin · 1986
ScreenPlay
as Det. Supt. Chase · 1986
Fleabag
as Dad · 2016
Brassic
as Tony Tillerton · 2019
The Repair Shop
as Narrator (voice) · 2017
The Singing Detective
as Dr Gibbon · 1986
Screen One
as PC Howard Mullen · 1989
The Play on One
as Alex McPherson · 1988
Sea of Souls
as Dr. Douglas Monaghan · 2004
Ladies First
as Louis · 2026
BBC2 Play of the Week
as Girling · 1977
The Modern World: Ten Great Writers
as Titorelli · 1988
Born and Bred
as Harry Woolf · 2002
Urban Myths
as Sir Arthur Conan Doyle · 2017
Murder Most Horrid
as Chief Inspector · 1991
Smiley's People
as Lauder Strickland · 1982
Scot Squad
as Sir Neville Archibald · 2014
Shoebox Zoo
as The Storyteller (voice) · 2004
Little Dorrit
as Mr. Meagles · 2008
The Witches
as Mr Jenkins · 1990
Between the Covers
as Self · 2020
How to Lose Friends & Alienate People
as Richard Young · 2008
The Michael Ball Show
as Self · 2010
Canterbury Tales
as Theo · 2003
The Adventures of Baron Munchausen
as Henry Salt · 1988
Wives and Daughters
as Mr Gibson · 1999
ShakespeaRe-Told
· 2005
Guilt
as Roy Lynch · 2019
Auf Wiedersehen, Pet
as Ally Fraser · 1983
High-Rise
as Mercer · 2015
Criminal Justice
as Harry Box · 2008
Miss Potter
as Rupert Potter · 2006
Scottish Playbill
as Cannavan · 1978
Traffik
as Jack Lithgow · 1989
The Killing Fields
as Dr. MacEntire · 1984
Doctor Zhivago
as Alexander Maximovich Gromeko · 2002
Chaplin
as Stage Manager · 1992
Melissa
as DCI Cameron · 1997
Love Sarah
as Felix · 2020
Trust
as John Tilson · 2003
Oliver's Travels
as Baxter · 1995
Spice World
as Brian · 1997
Dirk Gently
as Professor Jericho · 2012
The Man Who Invented Christmas
as Mr. Grimsby · 2017
The Ghostbusters of East Finchley
as Joe Small · 1995
The Secret Adventures of Jules Verne
· 2000
The Crow Road
as Kenneth McHoan · 1996
Junior Masterchef
· 1994
Rebecca
as Dr. Baker · 2020
Richard III
as Sir Richard Ratcliffe · 1995
Swallow
as Angus Tighe · 2001
37 Days
as Lord Morley · 2014
Sharman
as James Webb · 1995
Arthouse
as Self · 1997
Rebel Heart
as James Connolly · 2001
Tomb Raider
as Winston
Hilary and Jackie
as Cello Teacher · 1998
Byrne About Byrne
as Father/F.S. McDade · 1988
Hard Times
as Stephen Blackpool · 1994
Them From That Thing
as Various · 2012
Dad's Army
as Private Frazer · 2016
The Rachel Papers
as Gordon Highway · 1989
Sherlock Holmes and the Baker Street Irregulars
as Dr Watson · 2007
The Rebel
as Charles · 2016
The Repair Shop on the Road
as Self - Narrator · 2025
Sunshine
as Minister of Justice · 1999
Arthur's Whisky
as Henry · 2024
Amazing Grace
as Lord Dundas · 2007
Creation
as Dr. Gully · 2009
The 50 Greatest Television Dramas
as Self · 2007
Into the Storm
as Clement Attlee · 2009
The Return of the Musketeers
as Charles I · 1989
The Object of Beauty
as Victor Swayle · 1991
Shrinks
as Matt Hennessey · 1991
Bright Young Things
as Sir James Brown · 2003
A Private Function
as Wormold · 1984
Crush
as Gerald · 2002
Dutch Girls
as Mr Mole · 1985
The Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo
as Self - Narrator
Truly Madly Deeply
as Sandy · 1991
Lie with Me
as DCI Collman · 2004
Defence of the Realm
as Jack Macleod · 1986
The Colour Room
as Gordon Forsythe · 2021
Churchill's Secret
as Lord Moran · 2016
Suilven Spring
· 1974
Happy New Year, Colin Burstead
as Gordon Burstead · 2018
The Match
as Tommy · 1999
Licking Hitler
as Archie MacLean · 1978
Zanzibar
as Mr Green · 2018
Othello
as Sinclair Carver · 2001
1929: The Great Crash
as Narrator · 2009
Funky Black Shorts
as Teacher · 1994
Sherlock Holmes and the Baker Street Irregulars
as Dr Watson · 2007
Behind Bars
as Narrator · 2001
Children of the Wicker Man
as Self · 2024
Chaplin's Goliath
as Narrator (voice) · 1996
Marionette
as Dr. Mandelbaum · 2020
Franz Kafka's 'The Trial'
as Titorelli · 1988
The Writing on the Wall
as Bull · 1996
Complicity
as Wallace Byatt · 2000
The Spirit of 1926
as Family Lawyer · 2022
The Man who Crossed Hitler
as Kurt Ohnesorge · 2011
The List
as Reg Troughton · 2013
Just Ask for Diamond
as Chief Inspector Snape · 1988
Comfort and Joy
as Alan · 1984
Spanish Flu: The Forgotten Fallen
as Dr James Niven · 2009
A Bear Named Wojtek
as Zoo Director (voice) · 2023
A War on Science
as Narrator (voice) · 2006
The Madness and Misadventures of Munchausen
as Self - 'Henry Salt' · 2008
The Cherry Orchard
as Lopakhin · 1981
Rag Tale
as Tulloch 'Lucky' Lloyd · 2005
Mr White Goes To Westminster
as Ben White · 1997
Friendship's Death
as Sullivan · 1987
The Vanishing Army
as Girling · 1978
The Vote
as Simon Featherstone · 2015
Being Stanley Baxter
as Self · 2025
The Entity
· 2002
The House Was Not Hungry Then
as Father · 2025
The Animal Train
as Walrus · 1998
Hidden City
as Anthony · 1987
The Ploughman's Lunch
as Lecturer · 1983
The Cheviot, the Stag and the Black, Black Oil
as Various · 1974
The Story of a Recluse
as The Producer · 1987
Victory
as Capt. Davidson · 1996
Passing Places
· 1973
Fast Freddie, the Widow and Me
as Judge Underwood · 2011
God on the Rocks
as Kenneth Marsh · 1992
The Thin End of the Wedge
as Luke · 1977
The Whistle-Blower
as D.I. Neil Sleightholme · 2001
Wonderdate
as Kolodon · 2018
Bearskin: An Urban Fairytale
as Jordan · 1989
United Kingdom
as Tony · 1981
One Fine Day
as Third Man in Lift · 1979
The Odd Job
as Sergeant Mull · 1978
Intervention
as Dr. Martin · 2007
Battle of the Atlantic
as Himself - Narrator · 2002
Danielle Cable: Eyewitness
as DI Nick Biddiss · 2003
Jackie McCafferty's Romance
as Bus Conductor · 1978
Ghosts in the Machine
as Himself · 2009
A Passion for Churches
as Narrator · 2005
Britain’s Scenic Railways
as Narrator · 2021
God's Chosen Car Park
as Victor Rosen · 1986
The Interrogation of John
as Det. Supt. Chase · 1987
Lily My Love
as Colin · 1987
The White Room
as Jackie Jordan
Heart
as Mr. Kreitman · 1999
Fascism in Colour
as Narrator (voice) · 2006
The Day Mountbatten Died
as Narrator (voice) · 2019
The Phoenix: A Century of Cinema
as Narrator (Voice) · 2011
Shooting from the Heart: Chris Menges, Cameraman
as Self · 1985
Home Road Movies
as Father · 2002
Hitler on Trial: The Truth Behind the Story
· 2015
Yellowbacks
as Alex McPherson · 1990
Wall of Silence
as Howard Mullen · 1993
The Pen
· 1995
The Turnaround
as James Webb · 1995
Documenting John Grierson
as Narrator · 2014
Gone Fishing
as Old Bill · 2008
Birds Britannia
· 2010
Coming Up Roses
as Mr. Valentine · 1987
In Dreams
as Dr Gold · 1992
Chrono-Perambulator
as Professor Teddy Knox · 1999
Scotland's Finest: The Story of the Highland Games
as Narrator · 2012
The Riddle of the Sands
as Narrator · 1995
The Garden Beyond
as Jim Finlayson · 1977
Tell Tale Hearts
as Anthony Steadman · 1992
The Man Who Lives with Bears
as Self - Narrator (voice) · 2008
Clydescope
as Model Boat Show Commentator (voice) (uncredited) · 1974
Just Dandy
as Self