I was just wondering, which of the two were oldest, if only by a few months, when they started the role?

well according to some quick wiki research hartnell was born 8th january 1908, making him 55years 10 month's and 15 day's old whereas peter capaldi was born on 14th april 1958 so he will already be 56 when his first full episode occurs so that mean's that even if you class christmas as his first appearance he'd be 55years and 8 month's so there really isn't much in it either way. I personally find it fascinating that there are so many similarities between the two with regard to the show. Starting near enough same age, both a first in line of a set of regeneration's. Peter capaldi being the first new doctor in what is hoped will be the second 50years as hartnell was the first doctor of the first 50 years. It really does feel as if the whole thing is restarting all over again but this time taking the experience and reputation of the first 50 years with it. long may it continue

If Capaldi stays 3 years, I suppose he will become the oldest ('currently serving') actor in the role.

He was also in the 50th albeit for about 5 seconds

Hard to believe that Hartnell and Capaldi are the same age in starting a new series. Hartnell looked older....Capaldi looks a lot younger in comparison. Sign of the times I suppose!
When William was the Doctor....I was 5 years old - I saw him as ancient! I am now approaching 54 years old - but I look a lot younger than him as he was! I look a bit more like Capaldi, with less wrinkles (cos I'm a bit fatter!!)
It's a bit weird how people aged back then compared to now!

Well, his eyes were.

You have to remember Hartnell wore a wig for the role, added a few years onto him. Definitely looks younger when you saw him as he normally was!

I was just looking at what the oldest age ever a Doctor has appeared in the role. Patrick Troughton was 65 by the time he appeared in The Two Doctors in 1985. Jon Pertwee wasn't that far behind and he was 64 when he appeared in The Five Doctors and indeed wasn't that far behind Hartnell and Capaldi, being only 50 when he first appeared. (It would be 51 but his birthday wasn't until July and he first appeared in January)

But then I looked and found a certain Richard Hurndall who was born in 1910 and he was 73 when he played the First Doctor in The Five Doctors so if we were being really picky, he is the oldest Doctor to have appeared in the show!

well,if you wanted to count it from that it would be 55 years 7 month's for capaldi, but still, as I said, not much in it between the two really

That would depend on if Tom Baker's character in The Day of The Doctor is the Doctor or not

Very good point! I was thinking of Tom Baker in that and if he is The Doctor, I concede your point!

but this thread was originally asking about when people started in the role.

Point taken

Yes it was but Verence was just responding to my more general post about the oldest age a Doctor has ever appeared.

Jon Pertwee was 146 when he played Doctor Who.

Well he looked it anyway.

Billy Hartnell grew up in very disadvantaged conditions and perhaps that contributed to his 'older look'. If Capaldi is half as good as Hartnell then I think the show's future is very rosy indeed.

Ha ha! None of the Doctors until the TVM really looked very appealing.

There are factors such as much better nutrition in modern diets, especially in the crucial development period of childhood, but for the most part I'm not sure if there's really any difference or if people's perceptions of age simply change as they themselves get older. When I was a child I only really recognized three 'ages': child, adult and old person (perhaps teenager too). Now, I can make good guesses of age to within a few years of people up to about 40 - which, perhaps crucially is within my own life-span. From then on, I find it a little harder. I expect that by the time I'm 60 I'll be able to distinguish between 50 and 60 fairly easily.

Also, fashion and appearance have a lot to do with it. Take Hartnell's wig off, shave his head so he doesn't have the old man receded hairline, which is uncommon nowadays because people shave their head to hide natural baldness, give him a good bout of modern standard dentistry and then put him in jeans and a modern shirt and I'm not convinced he would look all that old compared to a modern day person of the same age.

And his hand pulling the lever down on the TARDIS console, why does everyone forget the hand

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-19463119

Ha ha. I get the point you're making but diets are still better nowadays than in the time Hartnell would have been young, when many people, including children, were actually malnourished, and many people actually died of starvation. Malnourishment at a young age will make you physically weaker in adulthood and take many years off your life. People are healthier nowadays, and the evidence is simply in the huge increase in average life expectancy.

I think also, because Hartnell played more 'character' parts, he didn't need to worry about looking attractive. Besides, the programme didn't require the Doctor to be good-looking, whereas I think now that it's not overtly a requirement but it does pull in viewers that might not otherwise watch the programme.

John Hurt was 73 as well. It's his 74th birthday on Wednesday. So Hurt has Hurndall beaten by a few months.

And Hurt is the 'original' War Doctor, rather than a stand-in.

Ha! Ha! Ha! Very funny! A bit of sarcasm there, I see.

I really love the Five Doctors Outtakes that was included as one of the extras on the 2008 re-release of the story. Especially this bit featuring Hurndall:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cC2v...etailpage#t=85

So funny!

The whole outtakes reel is funny.