William Shakespeare (bapt. 26 April 1564 - 23 April 1616[1]) was an playwright, poet, and actor. Widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language, Shakespeare's collected works, including collaborations, consisted approximately of 39 plays, 154 sonnets, two narrative poems, and a few other verses, some of uncertain authorship.
- You may be looking for Shakespeare's in-universe counterpart.
Along with James Goss, Jonathan Morris, Julian Richards, Justin Richards, and Matthew Sweet, Shakespeare was stated as the co-writer of the Doctor Who anthology The Shakespeare Notebooks. Published in 2014, almost four hundred years after his death, Shakespeare is the earliest-born person to be credited on a Doctor Who universe release.
As a famous historical figure, Shakespeare is also one of the few people involved with Doctor Who behind-the-scenes not only to exist in-universe but also to appear in performed media played by someone other than themselves. He was portrayed onscreen by Hugh Walters in 1965's The Chase and by Dean Lennox Kelly in 2007's The Shakespeare Code. He has also been depicted on audio, being played by Jem Bassett in 2002's The Time of the Daleks and by Michael Fenton-Stevens in 2006's The Kingmaker.