Frazer Hines facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Frazer Hines
Hines in 2014
Born	Frazer Simpson Frederick Hines (1944-09-22) 22 September 1944 (age 80) Horsforth, Yorkshire, England
Alma mater	Corona Theatre School
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1955–present
Television	Doctor Who Emmerdale Farm
Spouse(s)	Gemma Craven ​ ​ (m. 1981; div. 1984)​ Liz Hobbs ​ ​ (m. 1994; div. 2003)​

Frazer Simpson Frederick Hines (born 22 September 1944) is an English actor famous for his roles in two major British TV shows. He is best known for playing Jamie McCrimmon in the classic series of Doctor Who. He appeared in more episodes than any other companion of the Doctor.

Hines started his career as a child actor. He even appeared in the movie A King in New York (1957) with the legendary Charlie Chaplin. He also played Joe Sugden in the popular soap opera Emmerdale Farm for 22 years.

Early Life and First Roles

Frazer Hines was born in Horsforth, a town near Leeds, England. His family soon moved to Harrogate. As a child, he loved performing. He attended a dance school and quickly became known for his talent. At age seven, a newspaper headline called him "a young star."

This early success led him to the Corona Theatre School in London. There, he studied with other future stars like Richard O'Sullivan and Dennis Waterman. He started getting small parts in movies. His big break came in 1957 when he starred in a TV show called Huntingtower. That same year, he acted alongside Charlie Chaplin.

Throughout the 1960s, Hines was a familiar face on television. He appeared in many popular shows, including Coronation Street. He also worked with actor Patrick Troughton in a series called Smuggler's Bay in 1964. They would later become famous co-stars.

Starring in Doctor Who

In 1966, Frazer Hines was cast as Jamie McCrimmon in Doctor Who. Jamie was a brave Scottish Highlander from the 18th century. He became the companion of the Second Doctor, played by Patrick Troughton.

Jamie was only supposed to be in one story. However, he was so popular that he became a main character. He stayed on the show from 1966 to 1969. Hines appeared in 116 episodes, making him the longest-serving companion in the show's history.

Hines returned to play Jamie twice more after leaving the show. He appeared in the 20th-anniversary special "The Five Doctors" (1983) and in The Two Doctors (1985).

Leaving the TARDIS

Working on Doctor Who was very demanding. Hines, Patrick Troughton, and their co-star Wendy Padbury (who played Zoe Heriot) decided to leave the show together. They felt they were exhausted from the busy schedule. Their final story was The War Games in 1969.

Deborah Watling and Frazer Hines at a Doctor Who 50th Anniversary event

Inspiring the Outlander Books

The author Diana Gabaldon was inspired to write her famous Outlander book series after seeing Hines as Jamie. She saw him in a kilt during a Doctor Who episode and thought of a story set in Scotland. She named her main character Jamie Fraser. It was a coincidence that the character's last name was so similar to Frazer's first name.

Returning to the Doctor Who Universe

Even decades later, Hines continued to be part of the Doctor Who world. He began working with Big Finish Productions on new audio stories. In these stories, he plays Jamie and also does an amazing impression of Patrick Troughton as the Second Doctor.

He also provided narration for old Doctor Who episodes where the video was lost. In 2023, he played Jamie again in a new TV series called Tales of the TARDIS.

Life on the Farm in Emmerdale

After Doctor Who, Hines was cast in the new soap opera Emmerdale Farm in 1972. He played the character Joe Sugden. He was a main character on the show for 22 years, leaving in 1994.

He decided to leave because the long working hours kept him away from his family and home. Even though his character was later killed off-screen, Hines has said he would be happy to return to the show if it were possible.

Later Career

After Emmerdale, Hines continued to act, especially in theatre. He toured the country in many plays. In 2015, he had a special guest role in the TV show Outlander. This was the show he had helped inspire years earlier. He played an English prison warden.

More recently, he has appeared in the TV series Doctors and the movie Lost at Christmas (2020).

Personal Life

Frazer Hines has been married twice. In 1996, he wrote a book about his life called Films, Farms and Fillies. A new version of the book, called Hines Sight, was released in 2009.

In 2010, Hines shared that he had recovered from colorectal cancer. He had kept his illness private for many years. Since his recovery, he has worked to raise awareness for cancer research charities.

Selected Film and TV Roles

Film

Television

See also

In Spanish: Frazer Hines para niños