Early career and breakthrough Hines made his debut in the film
John and Julie (1955) as an extra in a crowd scene, Hines went on to have minor roles in
Moby Dick,
The Weapon and
X the Unknown (all 1956). Hines' breakthrough role was in 1957 where he performed the role of Napoleon in a six-part television adaptation of
John Buchan's 1922 novel
Huntingtower. That same year, Hines appeared alongside
Charlie Chaplin in the film
A King in New York. From 1957 and throughout the 1960s, he performed a steady stream of roles in various television series, such as Jan in
The Silver Sword (1957–58), Tim Birch in
Emergency Ward 10 (1963–64), and Roger Wain in
Coronation Street (1965). He appeared in a 1964 serial, ''
Smuggler's Bay'', with
Patrick Troughton. With a well-established career in television, Hines acted in feature films less frequently, but appeared in
I Could Go On Singing (1963) with
Judy Garland and he provided an uncredited voice for the James Bond film
You Only Live Twice (1967).
Doctor Who , during the filiming of
The Abominable Snowmen Hines auditioned for the part of
Ben Jackson in
Doctor Who in 1966 but was unsuccessful. His debut came in the same year, when he was cast to play the part of
Jamie McCrimmon, the
companion of the
Second Doctor (played by Patrick Troughton). Originally intended as a one-off guest character, Jamie joined the regular cast and appeared in the series from 1966 to 1969. Hines reprised the role in a cameo in the 20th anniversary serial "
The Five Doctors" (1983) and as a guest star in
The Two Doctors (1985). Hines appeared in more episodes than any other "companion" actor in the history of the series, but many of the episodes featuring Jamie
no longer exist in the BBC's collection. The only actors to have more credited appearances are the
First to the
Fourth Doctor. In 1968, during his third year on the show, Hines released with
Major Minor Records the
novelty record "Who's Dr. Who?" Esteemed songwriters
Barry Mason and
Les Reed composed the music and lyrics, but the record was a commercial failure. Hines later called it the only flop Mason and Reed ever wrote. Hines, Troughton and
Wendy Padbury (who played the Second Doctor's other companion,
Zoe Heriot) all departed the show in 1969. At the advice of his agent, Hines was the first of the three to announce his intention to leave, though Troughton asked him to stay a few more months to the end of the
sixth season, as this was when Troughton planned to relinquish his role as well. The three actors remained with the show until the conclusion of the final serial
The War Games (1969). Hines remained in contact with Troughton. Author
Diana Gabaldon credits watching Hines in
The War Games (and finding him attractive in a kilt) as the inspiration for her first novel,
Outlander, a
time travel story set in 18th century Scotland. Consequently, she named the novel's male protagonist Jamie. She says that the character's surname, Fraser, is a coincidence, as the
PBS station on which she watched
Doctor Who habitually cut off the episode's credits. She did not learn Hines' name until several years after
Outlander was published. Hines has also recorded linking narration for many Second Doctor serials which no longer exist in video form; the soundtracks, along with Hines' narration, have been released on CD by BBC Audio. He also appeared in an audio trilogy with
Colin Baker's
Sixth Doctor as an older Jamie. In 2013, Hines portrayed both Jamie and the Second Doctor in the Big Finish audio play
The Light at the End, produced to celebrate the 50th anniversary of
Doctor Who. In 2023, he reprised his role as Jamie in the series
Tales of the TARDIS.
Emmerdale After his tenure as Jamie in
Doctor Who, Hines appeared in several films such as
The Last Valley and
Zeppelin (both 1971), until 1972 when he was cast in the soap opera
Emmerdale Farm as
Joe Sugden, a role he played until 1994. In between making episodes of
Emmerdale, as it was renamed in 1989, he has continued a career in the theatre and made occasional appearances in other TV shows. Hines was the subject of
This Is Your Life in 1992 after
Michael Aspel surprised him during the filming of
Emmerdale. He stated in a 2019 interview, "I left
Emmerdale because I got sick of going to work when it was dark and coming home when it was dark. I'd just got married and owned a stud farm, and so I said I would leave." He stated he was asked back to the show the following year but refused and was later killed off. Despite his off-screen death, Hines confirmed that he would like to return to the soap.
After Emmerdale Straight out of
Emmerdale, in 1995 Hines toured the UK in a production of
Doctor in the House with
Vicki Michelle,
Robin Askwith and
Windsor Davies. In 1998, he starred as Inspector Lord in a touring production of ''
Spider's Web''. Hines appeared with
Kate O'Mara in a tour of
The Hollow later that year. Hines appeared in
Peter Kay's
Comic Relief video of 2007, as one of the many guests dancing to the song ''
I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles) by the Proclaimers. In 2011, he toured in the play Five Blue Haired Ladies Sitting on a Green Park Bench
with Shirley Anne Field and Anita Harris. In 2014, Hines appeared in the film Two Days in the Smoke. He also appeared as Franklin D. Roosevelt in the stage musical Annie'' in 2014. Hines was cast in an episode of the
television adaptation of Outlander, which he had helped to inspire. In the May 2015 episode "
Wentworth Prison", Hines portrayed Sir Fletcher Gordon, an English prison warden. Hines said: "When it came to pass that they were making a TV series, I said 'I've got to be in it!'. My agent said they were casting for Sir Fletcher Gordon, so I went to see the casting director – it wasn't a given, I had to go and read for the part. I'm glad I did." In 2019, Hines starred in an audio film of
Up Pompeii!, celebrating the fiftieth anniversary of the series, appearing alongside original cast members including
Madeline Smith and
Tim Brooke-Taylor. Hines appeared as Sonny Troughton, a former criminal, in two episodes of
Doctors in 2020 and starred in the romantic-comedy film
Lost at Christmas set in the Scottish Highlands later that same year. ==Personal life==