Patrick Troughton is the reason ‘Doctor Who’ survived all those years ago, according to his son

The late Patrick Troughton came on board for Doctor Who at a pivotal moment in its history. Now that his son Michael Troughton has joined the world of the British sci-fi series for Big Finish’s The Second Doctor Adventures: Beyond War Games, he’s reflected on the important legacy of his father as the man who essentially assured the show’s continuation at its most crucial transition period.

When it became clear that William Hartnell couldn’t continue his work as the First Doctor, or just the Doctor as he was then known, the powers that be came up with the concept of regeneration and brought on a new face to portray the ancient Time Lord. There was no guarantee that this would work, especially since everyone had grown to love Doctor Who under Hartnell’s lead, but Troughton made the role his own and somehow prevailed against all odds.

More than fifty years since the introduction of the Second Doctor, we realize just how important Troughton was to the show’s continuation and survival, setting in motion the tradition that would immortalize the character and their story. Now that Michael Troughton has had a chance to step into the shoes of his father through the upcoming audio drama series, he asserts that without him, there’d be no Doctor Who today.

“He was a bloody amazing actor. And that’s essentially, really, why Doctor Who carried on, let’s be honest,” he told RadioTimes. “If it hadn’t been for him, I don’t think we’d be sitting here. It’s that transition from Bill [Hartnell] to Patrick that really made it continue.”

Troughton also revealed that he’s taken a lot of influence from his father’s work on the show, though he notes that there’s a lot of improvisation involved in those surviving episodes because they had a certain amount of time and the tape was very expensive.

The Second Doctor Adventures comes out this month.