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




