Hurndall was born in Darlington and he attended Claremont Preparatory School, Darlington and Scarborough College, before training as an actor at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts. He then appeared in several plays at Stratford-upon-Avon. Hurndall acted with the BBC radio drama repertory company from 1949 to 1952. In 1959, he played Sherlock Holmes in a five part adaptation of The Sign of Four He continued to play roles on BBC radio until about 1980, often as the leading man.
In 1958 he became the third host of the Radio Luxembourg program called This I Believe.
Television work
Hurndall appeared in numerous radio and stage plays, films and television series over the course of his lengthy career. He appeared in 'Someone at the Door', a 1949 live broadcast TV comedy / thriller, which also featured Patrick Troughton. Other television shows of the era that he appeared in include The Avengers, The Persuaders!, Blake's 7, Whodunnit! and Bergerac. He played the suave London gangster Mackelson in the gritty 1968 drama seriesSpindoe and the following year had a recurring role as flawed senior civil servantJason Fowler in the final series of The Power Game. He appeared in the comedy series Steptoe and Son in 1970 as Timothy, a gay antique dealer who takes a shine to Harold Steptoe, in Any Old Iron. He appeared twice in the series Public Eye, first playing a distinguished entomologist who is unwilling to trace his missing son in "The Golden Boy" and later a priest in "How About a Cup of Tea?". He was Lord Montdore in Love ina Cold Climate.
''Doctor Who''
In 1983, to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the BBC science fiction television series Doctor Who, producer John Nathan-Turner planned a special event, The Five Doctors, a 90-minute episode to feature four of the five actors who had at that point played the role of the Doctor. William Hartnell, the actor who originated the role, had died in 1975. Hurndall eventually won the role of the First Doctor, playing him as acerbic and temperamental but in some ways wiser than his successors. His casting in the role was approved by Hartnell's widow, Heather. When Tom Baker, who played the Fourth Doctor, declined to appear in the programme, Hurndall's role was expanded slightly to have the First Doctor take a greater part in the action.
Films
His films included Joanna, Hostile Witness, Some Girls Do, Zeppelin, I, Monster, Lady Caroline Lamb, Royal Flash, and Crossed Swords.
Death
In April 1984, Hurndall died of a heart attack at the age of 73 in London, less than five months after the first broadcast of The Five Doctors. Many sources, including Elisabeth Sladen's autobiography, state that he died before being paid for the role.
