Edward De Souza

Edward De Souza:
Debonair De Souza approached male lead status in the early '60s, appearing in the Hammer films ‘The Phantom of the Opera’ (1962) and ‘The Kiss of the Vampire’ (1962), followed by 'Jules Verne's First Men In The Moon' ( 1964), but somehow he missed that particular boat and moved into character roles, in which he has been a consistent fixture across more than five decades.  There have been a number of relatively high profile film appearances. In 1977 he played Sheik Hosein in the James Bond film The Spy Who Loved Me' and is seen in the fantasy drama ‘The Golden Compass’ (2007).

Propping up the bar of the Rovers Return in 'Coronation Street'

Television, however, has been his bread and butter, with comedy playing a surprisingly large part. From 1961 to 1966, he starred in the sitcom 'Marriage Lines' with Richard Briers and Prunella Scales.  de Souza played the role of Afonso in One Foot in the Grave One Foot in the Algarve (1993). He also appeared in 'Not In Front Of The Children' with Wendy Craig, as well as the underrated office comedy, 'The Squirrels' and the television version of 'After Henry' (1989–90).

In 'Kiss Of The Vampire' (1962)

In TV drama, he was solicitor Bonny Bernard in the first series of ‘Rumpole of the Bailey’ (1978), and in 1982 he appeared in the final ‘Sapphire & Steel’ adventure as "The Man". Farrington. Earlier, he took the part of Soveral (the Portuguese Ambassador to Britain) in ‘Edward the Seventh’, and joined the British soap opera Coronation Street as Colin Grimshaw, in 2008 and 2009. To this we can add a sprinkling of cult fodder stretching from 'The Saint', 'The Avengers', and 'Department S' to 'Strangers' and 'The Sweeney'. Latterly you might catch him in 'Doctors', the 2012 version of 'The Borgias', or 'New Tricks'.  

In the Wednesday Play 'The End Of Arthur's
Marriage', with the late Ken Jones

 Trivial treat: In 1965, he appeared as the lead in the Doctor Who story Mission to the Unknown – the only story ever broadcast in the series not to feature the Doctor in any capacity. He took on Valentine Dyall’s trademark role as the ominous sounding 'Man in Black' on BBC Radio 4 between 1988 and 1992.

Not quite stealing the limelight in 'Kiss Of A Vampire' (1962)

Edward De Souza-imdb