Frazer Hines is one of the UK’s most charismatic stars of stage and screen. From his early days as a child actor in films such as X The Unknown, and appearances in Emergency Ward 10 and Coronation Street, Frazer became a household name playing the time-travelling Scot, Jamie McCrimmon, alongside Patrick Troughton in the BBC’s cult series Doctor Who. In 1972 he was cast as Joe Sugden in the fledgeling soap opera Emmerdale Farm, and became the housewife’s favourite farmer for over two decades. In this compelling and funny book, Frazer reveals his own thoughts and feelings when faced with stardom at an early age, the pressure of being an early ‘media celebrity’, his love of horses and cricket, and what it was actually like to date, marry and divorce some of the most eligible and beautiful women to have crossed stage and screen in the last 40 years.
This autobiography of the actor who played Jamie in Doctor Who in the late 1960a and Joe Sugden in Emmerdale Farm more recently is entertaining, though for me as a Doctor Who fan, there was very little about his time in the show, and rather too much for my taste about horse racing and cricket. He’s certainly had a more active love life than most! 4/5
Anyone interested in showbiz and television will love this book by Frazer Hines. It gives a frank and humourous look into the life of a favourite TV personality. His sense of fun shines through every story, although it bravely covers the ups and downs of his long and fascinating career. Highly recommended – read it, you’ll get a real sense of the man behind the public persona.