Hartnell's performance in "This Sporting Life" was noted by Verity Lambert, the producer who was setting up a new science-fiction television series for the BBC entitled "Doctor Who"; mainly on the strength of that performance, Lambert offered him the title role. Although Hartnell was initially uncertain about accepting a part in what was pitched to him as a children's series, in part due to his success in films, Lambert and director Waris Hussein convinced him to take the part, and it became the character for which he gained the highest profile and is now most remembered. Hartnell later revealed that he took the role because it led him away from the gruff, military parts in which he had become typecast, and, having two grandchildren of his own, he came to relish particularly the attention and affection that playing the character brought him from children. His first episode of "Doctor Who" aired on 23 November 1963.