Peter Davison, born Peter Malcolm Gordon Moffett on April 13, 1951, in Streatham, London, is a celebrated British actor best known for his roles in television series such as All Creatures Great and Small and Doctor Who. His journey from a Surrey schoolboy to a household name is a testament to his talent and dedication to the craft of acting.
Davison’s early life took him from London to Knaphill, Woking, Surrey, where he grew up with his parents, Sheila and Claude Moffett, and his sisters. Claude, an electrical engineer originally from British Guiana, and Sheila fostered a supportive home environment. It was at Winston Churchill School in Woking that Peter Davison’s passion for acting ignited. He actively participated in school plays, discovering a natural flair for performance. This burgeoning interest led him to join the Byfleet Players, an amateur dramatic society, further honing his skills and solidifying his ambition to become a professional actor.
Upon completing his secondary education at sixteen, Davison’s academic achievements were modest. Securing three O Levels, he initially explored various career paths outside of acting. He held short-term positions ranging from a hospital porter to a Hoffman press operator. However, his aspiration to act remained undiminished. He applied and was accepted to the prestigious Central School of Speech and Drama, where he underwent three years of formal training, equipping him with the necessary techniques and discipline for a professional acting career.
Davison’s professional acting debut occurred in 1972. Fresh from drama school in July, he landed a small role in a Nottingham Playhouse production of Shakespeare’s Love’s Labour’s Lost. This marked the beginning of a formative three-year period in repertory theatre. He gained invaluable experience working with diverse repertory companies across Great Britain, frequently taking on Shakespearean roles and building a strong foundation in stage performance. His transition to television came in April 1975 with The Tomorrow People, a children’s series on Thames TV. In this series, Davison played Elmer, a memorable blond-wigged space cowboy character in the three-part story “A Man for Emily”. This role not only marked his television debut but also introduced him to his future wife, American actress Sandra Dickinson. They had previously met during a production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream in Edinburgh and later married on December 26, 1978, in Rockville, Maryland, Dickinson’s hometown.
Peter Davison as the Fifth Doctor in Doctor Who, showcasing his youthful and energetic portrayal of the iconic Time Lord.
Following his early acting roles, Peter Davison took an eighteen-month hiatus from acting to work as a file clerk at the Twickenham tax office. During this period, he explored his musical talents, pursuing singing and songwriting. He collaborated with Sandra Dickinson to record several singles and even composed theme tunes for television series, including Mixed Blessings (1978) and Button Moon (1980), demonstrating his versatility and creative range beyond acting. In 1977, Davison returned to television screens in Liebe zu Lydia, a period drama serial produced by London Weekend Television (LWT). He played Tom Holland, the romantic lead, further establishing his presence in television drama.
The pivotal moment in Peter Davison’s career arrived with his portrayal of Tristan Farnon in the BBC’s television adaptation of All Creatures Great and Small (1978). Based on the beloved books by James Herriot, the series chronicled the lives of veterinary surgeons in rural Yorkshire. Davison’s charming and often comedic portrayal of the younger, mischievous vet Tristan resonated deeply with audiences. All Creatures Great and Small became a massive success, initially running for three seasons from 1978 to 1980. The popularity of the series propelled Davison into the spotlight, leading to numerous offers for other television roles and solidifying his status as a prominent television actor. Simultaneously with All Creatures Great and Small, Davison took on lead roles in two sitcoms: LWT’s Holding the Fort (1980), where he played Russell Milburn, and the BBC’s Sink or Swim (1980), in which he portrayed Brian Webber. Each of these sitcoms enjoyed three seasons between 1980 and 1982, further cementing Davison’s reputation as a versatile and popular actor capable of handling both comedic and dramatic roles.
Peter Davison as Tristan Farnon in All Creatures Great and Small, a role that showcased his comedic timing and established him as a beloved television personality.
In 1980, Peter Davison reached another career peak when he was cast as the Fifth Doctor in the long-running science fiction series Doctor Who. Producer John Nathan-Turner, who had previously worked with Davison on All Creatures Great and Small, selected him to succeed Tom Baker, who had portrayed the Doctor for an unprecedented seven years. Davison’s casting was considered a significant departure, as he was the youngest actor to take on the iconic role at the time. His youthful energy and fresh interpretation of the Doctor brought a new dimension to the character. Davison officially announced his role as the Doctor on the BBC’s Pebble Mill at One in December 1980. During the broadcast, he engaged with viewers’ costume suggestions and embraced the idea of portraying a Doctor reminiscent of Tristan Farnon but with added bravery and intellect.
Prior to his Doctor Who debut, Peter Davison made an appearance in The Hitch Hikers Guide to the Galaxy (1981), recorded in December 1980 and broadcast in February 1981. This appearance heightened public anticipation for his upcoming role as the Doctor. His first on-screen appearance as the Doctor was a brief regeneration scene at the end of Logopolis: Part Four (1981). His first full story as the Fifth Doctor began with Castrovalva: Part One (1982), marking the start of season nineteen and a shift in the series’ broadcast schedule to Mondays and Tuesdays. Davison’s tenure as the Doctor was immediately successful. His initial season saw a significant increase in viewership compared to Tom Baker’s final season. Several episodes surpassed 10 million viewers, a benchmark that would not be reached again during the original run of Doctor Who. A highlight of his first season was the return of the Cybermen in Earthshock: Part One (1982), which became the most popular Cybermen story since the 1960s, demonstrating Davison’s impact on the series.
As the current Doctor, Davison played a central role in the 20th-anniversary celebrations of Doctor Who in 1983, including the special multi-Doctor episode The Five Doctors (1983). Despite the show’s continued success, Davison expressed dissatisfaction with his second season, citing concerns about writing, directing, budget constraints, and demanding studio schedules. Driven by these factors and a fear of typecasting, he decided to conclude his role at the end of his third season with The Caves of Androzani: Part Four (1984). His departure story is consistently ranked among the best Doctor Who stories by fans, allowing him to leave the role on a high note.
Peter Davison’s personal life also saw significant milestones during this period. On Christmas Day 1984, his daughter Georgia Elizabeth was born to Sandra Dickinson. However, after ten years of marriage, their relationship ended in separation and subsequent divorce. Following his departure from Doctor Who, Davison primarily focused on television work, the medium where he had achieved his greatest recognition. He secured recurring roles in various BBC series, including Henry Myers in Anna of the Five Towns (1985), Dr. Stephen Daker in A Very Peculiar Practice (1986), Albert Campion in Albert Campion (1989), and Clive Quigley in Ain’t Misbehavin’ (1994). He also played Ralph in Yorkshire TV’s Fiddlers Three (1991). Additionally, Davison reprised his beloved role as Tristan Farnon in several All Creatures Great and Small specials and revival seasons, reaffirming his connection with the character.
Davison has frequently revisited the Doctor Who universe after his initial tenure. In 1993, he appeared as the Fifth Doctor in Doctor Who: Dimensions in Time (1993), a charity skit for the BBC’s Children in Need. In 1985, he narrated an audio novelization of the Doctor Who story “Warriors of the Deep.” He has also participated in numerous Doctor Who video dramas and, more recently, in 2003 and 2004, starred as Detective “Dangerous Davies” in The Last Detective, a Meridian TV adaptation of Leslie Thomas’s novels. Through his diverse and enduring career, Peter Davison has solidified his place as a respected and beloved figure in British television, admired for his versatility, talent, and significant contributions to iconic series like All Creatures Great and Small and Doctor Who.
