William Troughton is a British actor best known for playing Tom Archer in BBC Radio 4’s The Archers. He has played Tom since 2014, while his real father, David Troughton, plays Tom’s father Tony Archer. He is also part of the Troughton acting family and is the grandson of Patrick Troughton, the Second Doctor in Doctor Who. His career also includes theatre, television, and film.
Here’s what to know about William Troughton, from his long-running role in The Archers to his stage work, acting family, cricket background, and the projects that shaped his career.
Tom Archer Is the Role Most People Know
The strongest search intent around Troughton is simple: people want to know who plays Tom Archer and what else the actor has done.
William Troughton took over the role in 2014. Tom is the son of Tony and Pat Archer and has long been part of stories about farming, business, marriage, and family life.
The role has stayed with him for more than a decade. Recent 2026 episode listings still credit him as Tom Archer, so The Archers remains his clearest current role.
The casting also has a rare real-life link. David Troughton plays Tony Archer, meaning father and son play father and son in the same drama.
BBC programme records list David as Tony and William as Tom in the same episodes.
The Troughton Family Has Deep Acting Roots
William grew up in a family with strong links to British acting.
His father, David Troughton, has worked across theatre, television, and radio for many years. His grandfather, Patrick Troughton, is best remembered as the Second Doctor in Doctor Who.
His brother Sam Troughton is also an actor. Another brother, Jim Troughton, chose professional cricket and played for Warwickshire and England.
This family background is often one of the first things people notice about him. But his own work shows a career built across several formats rather than one famous surname.
Cricket Was a Serious Option Before Acting Won
Acting was not the only path available to him.
In a family interview with Birmingham Living, William said he had played cricket from the age of 11. He also said he had to choose between cricket and acting when he was about 14.
Acting won that decision.
The choice is easy to understand in the family context. Jim Troughton went on to become a professional cricketer, while William and Sam followed acting.
The cricket background is useful because it comes from William’s own comments, not from later biography sites guessing about his early life.
The Ladykillers Helped Move His Stage Career Forward
Before The Archers became his most familiar role, William had already built years of theatre experience.
One important step came with Graham Linehan’s stage version of The Ladykillers.
He first worked on the West End production as an understudy. He later played Harry Robinson on the UK tour in 2012.
In an interview with The List, he spoke about the joy of hearing a large audience laugh every night. That role gave him a full touring part after understudy work in London.
It also shows how his career developed. He built experience through theatre work rather than moving straight into a major screen role.
Private Peaceful Put the Whole Story on His Shoulders
Private Peaceful gave him a very different challenge.
In 2014, he performed the stage version of Michael Morpurgo’s World War I novel at the Tobacco Factory in Bristol.
The production was a one-man show. William played Tommo Peaceful and moved between the people in Tommo’s memories.
That meant he had to carry the full story with voice, movement, timing, and quick changes in character.
WhatsOnStage praised the performance and noted how he made the war scenes feel vivid on a nearly bare stage.
The role is important because it shows a skill that also matters in radio. An actor has to create a larger world without relying on a large set or visual effects.
West End and London Work Added More Range
William’s theatre record continued to grow after Private Peaceful.
He worked in The Woman in Black and later served as an understudy in Photograph 51, the West End production starring Nicole Kidman.
He also appeared in Clybourne Park.
In 2017, he joined the cast of Young Marx at London’s Bridge Theatre. He played Constable Crimp.
The production was notable because Young Marx was the first show staged at the new Bridge Theatre.
The Bridge Theatre lists William Troughton in the cast and also records many of his earlier stage, television, and radio credits.
Television and Film Have Been Part of the Mix
His screen career is smaller than his theatre and radio work, but it adds another part to the picture.
Television credits listed by the Bridge Theatre include Inspector George Gently, Doctors, Silk, The Crimson Field, and Tina & Bobby.
In Tina & Bobby, he played Geoff Hurst.
He also appeared in the thriller Armistice.
These roles did not replace theatre or The Archers as the center of his career. Instead, they show an actor who has moved between stage, radio, television, and film.
Why The Archers Still Matters Most in 2026
For William Troughton, The Archers has offered something very different from a play or short television role.
It has given him time with one character.
Tom Archer has changed over many years. The stories have moved through work, farming, relationships, family problems, and business decisions.
That long run lets the actor build a character slowly rather than solve everything in one production.
Recent 2026 episode listings still show William as Tom. That makes the role the clearest answer for readers asking what he is doing now.
The Father-Son Casting Is Memorable, but It Is Not the Whole Career
The David and William Troughton connection is an easy headline because it is unusual.
A real father and son playing Tony and Tom Archer gives the radio drama a detail few shows can match.
Still, William’s career makes more sense when that family link is treated as context rather than the full story.
He moved from understudy work into touring theatre. He carried a one-man production. He worked in the West End and at the Bridge Theatre. He added television and film credits. Then he built a long radio run that continues into 2026.
That is why his work stands on its own even inside a famous acting family.
A Career Built Across Radio, Theatre, and Screen
William Troughton is best known as Tom Archer, and that is the clearest answer to the main search intent around his name.
But the deeper story is broader. His theatre work includes comedy, war drama, West End productions, and major London stages. His screen credits add another layer, while cricket shows that acting was not his only early path.
For another Tozy profile about someone from a famous acting family who built a quieter path of his own, read our story on Alexander Bauer.
In 2026, The Archers remains the center of William Troughton’s public career, while the rest of his work explains the experience behind that familiar voice.
