Brian Capron

Brian Capron: 

A very familiar face: perhaps it's that of 'Hoppy' Hopgood from 'Grange Hill', or of Gail's murderous husband Richard Hillman from 'Coronation Street', as those are possibly the most memorable of his TV appearances.      

In an episode of 'Blake's 7'

Brian Capron has also been seen in many of the nation's favourites, starting with 'Z-Cars' in 1973 and including other cop and crime dramas such as 'Dixon of Dock Green', 'The Sweeney', 'The Gentle Touch', 'Shoestring' and 'Bergerac'.

A 1977 episode of  'Crown Court' entitled
'A Place to Stay' 

The handsome and amiable seeming actor is also a mainstay of comedy through the 70s-90s, heading the cast of the house-sharing sitcom 'Full House', and showing up on 'Beryl's Lot',  'Doctor On The Go', 'Kelly Monteith', 'Minder', 'Birds of a Feather', 'Take My Wife' (with the curious coupling of Duggie Brown and Elisabeth Sladen), 'Mixed Blessings', and Dawn French's 'Murder Most Horrid'.  

'Full House' in which he starred with Christopher Strauli (right),
seen here in the first episode with the great Milton Johns. 
 

Since the 2000s, he's clocked up a solid reckoning of daytime dramas from 'Doctors', 'Judge John Deed' and 'New Tricks' to 'Midsomer Murders' and 'Where the Heart Is'. 

On the big screen, he can be spotted in the Gwyneth Paltrow 'Emma' (1996), '101 Dalmations' (1996), and in bigger roles in the lesser-known British productions, 'Ambleton Delight' (2009) and 'The National Union of Space People' (2016).      

Brian Capron-imdb

Tim Wylton

 

Tim Wylton:  

In some ways the epitome of the ubiquitous character actor, but Welsh-born Tim Wylton is a respected thesp with a long line of successes behind him. Often portraying a likeable duffer, Wylton's open expression and precise comedic timing has seen him appear in some large-scale productions.

'The Dustbinmen' L-R Tim Wylton, Trevor
Bannister, Bryan Pringle, Graham Haberfield

Starting out in the '60s with roles in various television plays, his first big break was as Eric in 'The Dustbinmen', a now largely forgotten Granada sitcom but one that was popular at the time. Apart from this regular role, he settled into a steady stream of small one-off parts through the late '60s and '70s, including 'The Strange Report', 'The Liver Birds', and the domestic bliss sitcom triumvirate of 'My Good Woman', 'Now, Take My Wife' and 'His and Hers'. He was also a regular stooge to veteran comedian Harry Worth in his series 'Half and Hour's Worth'.  

As postman Willy Nilly in 'Under Milk Wood (1972)

Around this time he also found himself in a pair of interesting feature films: the Richard Burton-helmed 'Under Milk Wood' (1972) and the school-drama oddity Melody (1971). And, although he never lost his knack for comedy, casting directors now started to find him invaluable for small but memorable drama roles, including 'The Strauss Family', 'Thriller', 'Special Branch', 'Telford's Change' and 'The Sweeney'.  

In 'The Colour of Blood', an episode of Brian Clemens'
popular 'Thriller' drama thread from the '70s

Into the '80s, and period drama became a bigger part of his skill set, with appearances in 'To Serve Them All My Days', 'The Citadel', and 'The Good Companions' while keeping his hand in with the comedies, such as 'Bit Of A Do', 'Cockles', Whoops Apocalypse' and  the previously discussed 'Mog' with Enn Reitel. Other popular shows that he appears would include: 'Juliet Bravo', 'Strangers' and 'Bulman', 'A Very Peculiar Practice', 'C.A.T.S Eyes', 'The Bretts' and the Peter Davison 'Campion' series.    

In David Nobbs' comedy of northern manners,
'A Bit Of A Do' 

In the later phases of his career he has done some good comedy: 'French & Saunders', 'Absolutely Fabulous', Haryy Enfield & Chums', and so on, while keeping his hand in with the likes of primetime stuff like 'Poirot', 'Lovejoy', 'Boon', 'Wycliffe', 'Cadfael', 'Rumpole Of The Bailey', 'A Touch Of Frost', and some fodder such as 'The Bill', 'Heartbeat', 'Doctors' and forays into soaps  - 'Coronation Street' and 'Emmerdale'. 

As Mr Gardiner in the 1995 BBC production of 'Pride
 and Prejudice' with Colin Firth and Jennifer Ehle.

All in all, an interesting collection, so a salute is long overdue.   

Tim Wylton-imdb

Anthony O'Donnell

Anthony O'Donnell:  

I thought I only knew Anthony O'Donnell as Ray, the camper unfortunate enough to pitch next to Keith and Candice-Marie in Mike Leigh's 'Nuts In May'. As is often the case, I came to realise that I had seen the compact Welsh actor in quite a lot more than that. And that's without taking into account his long and successful stage career with the National Theatre, the RSC and many other prestigious theatrical institutions, largely as I am not much of a theatre-goer. 

'Nuts In May' in 1976

'Nuts in May' in 1976 was, it seems, his first foray into television, and the remainder of the '70s saw only a few appearances, in 'The Onedin Line', 'Crown Court' and 'The Sweeney' for example, and you don't get much more '70s than that. There was also an attempt to launch him as a sitcom star in LWT's rather pedestrian 'Lovely Couple', penned by the screenwriter of the 'Confessions...' films, but I don't have any memory of seeing it, despite it reuniting him with 'Nuts In May' star Roger Sloman in several episodes. 

The short-lived 1979 sitcom that didn't quite
make Anthony O'Donnell a household name.

Into the '80s and '90s and he was balancing an increasingly successful theatre career with the odd TV role. Memorable among these was the small but sinister gangster Big Dai in 'Minder', and some others such as the revived 'Tomorrow People', the vet series 'Noah's Ark', the Higson and Whitehouse one-off 'Dead At Thirty', and 'A Very Peculiar Practice'.

As Big Dai in the 'Minder' episode 'The Cruel Canal'

Cinema roles from this period include 'Santa Claus The Movie' (1985), 'Robin Hood' (1991), and a reconnection with Mike Leigh for 'Secrets & Lies' (1996). 

With Brazilian star Joaquin De Almeida in
'Xango From Baker Street' (2001)

 With the arrival of the 21st century, and now in his fifties, he appeared in Kenneth Branagh's 'Love's Labours Lost' (2001), and as Watson in a Brazilian twist on Sherlock Holmes, 'Xango From Baker Street' (2001), 'Vera Drake' (2004), 'The Baker' (2005), 'Death Defying Acts' (2007) and 'Skyfall' (2012).

        

The menacing looking (but ultimately played-for-laughs) Sontaran,
Kaagh, in 'The Sarah Jane Adventures', a spin-off of 'Doctor Who'  

Meanwhile, back on the small screen, came appearances in 'The Sarah Jane Adventures' as the humorously belligerent alien, Kaagh, and a turn in 'Gavin & Stacey', as well as Ruth Jones's 'Stella', the period drama 'Twenty Thousand Streets Under The Sky', 'The Suspicions Of Mr Whicher', and the Jeremy Thorpe drama 'A Very English Scandal'. All good stuff.  

In the supernatural comedy-drama, 'Being Human'

With Hugh Grant in 'A Very British Scandal'

Anthony O'Donnell-imdb

Michael Deeks

 

Michael Deeks:   

An angelic jack-the-lad type of the '70s variety, Michael Deeks got a taste of the big time playing Swiftnick in the well-crafted and very popular teatime series 'Dick Turpin', an excellent comic foil and sidekick to Richard O'Sullivan in the lead role. Prior to that he had been seen in a few small roles in the early and mid-'70s, including 'The Tomorrow People', 'Within These Walls' and the original BBC version of the Borstal drama 'Scum', although not the film remake.  

Young highwayman Swiftnick meets his hero Dick Turpin
for the first time, under rather trying circumstances
 

With his mixture of wide-eyed innocence and puckish delinquency, Michael Deeks was cast in a variety of contemporary and period dramas, one of the more substantial of these was the intricate six-part Armchair Thriller story, 'The Circe Complex'. He plays prisoner Cat Devlin, persuaded to extract information from a fellow inmate, a canny jewel thief. He was also in a TV 'Hammer House Of Horror' and in the quite atmospheric TV play 'Tarry Dan Tarry Dan Spooky Old Man', which survives as a blurry YouTube video here.         

With an avuncular Arthur Daley (George Cole) in 'Minder' 

Perhaps inevitably, with the passing of these twinkly teenage years, he found himself as just one of many young male actors competing for jobs, and the plum roles dried up. A definite prune was the annoyingly silly (even for an '80s  kids' show) 'Galloping Galaxies' in which he appears as a dim robot amid the usual slapstick and feeble jokes. Rather better were roles in 'Juliet Bravo' and that episode of 'Minder' where Mel Smith plays an unscrupulous pop manager faking his star's death.   

Slightly channelling Dudley Sutton's Tinker Dill 
in the kids' show 'Bad Boyes' from the late '80s  

He's in one of those star-studded corporate training videos made by John Cleese's Video Arts Ltd, but sadly it's rather hard to see these unless you're a corporation. And an amusing episode of the always decent 'Strangers', dealing with modern day highwaymen. But, after a single episode of 'The Bill', it seems that he retired from acting and became landlord of a pub in the home counties for a time.

In any case, a salute is due. Cheers and your very good health.             

Michael Deeks-imdb

Brian Osborne

Brian Osborne: 

† 1940 – July 8 2021*

Even among the staunchest of enthusiasts, the later 'Carry On' films are generally held in lower regard than the early and mid-period examples, which in some ways is a shame as the supporting cast of the '70s films often had some great character actors of the period. An example of this is the redoubtable Brian Osborne, who had already gathered a few modest credits in TV shows such as 'Softly Softly' and  'Redcap' before he appears as an ambulance driver in 'Carry On Matron' (1972). He can also be seen in 'Carry On Abroad' (1972),  'Carry On Girls' (1973), 'Carry On Dick' (1974),  'Carry On Behind' (1975) and 'Carry On England' (1976). He was also a regular in the same period's generally unfunny TV spin-off 'Carry On Laughing'.     

Vendor of the notorious love potion liqueur in
'Carry On Abroad' (1972) 

This raised profile may well have led to an increasing number of TV roles in the early '70s, in such popular fare as 'Follyfoot', 'Pardon My Genie', 'Some Mothers Do Ave Em' and, more substantially, 'Upstairs Downstairs' in which he played Pearce the chauffeur.   

The latter '70s saw appearances in 'Space:1999', 'Are You Being Served?', 'The Sandbaggers' and 'Secret Army', but perhaps surprisingly not 'The Sweeney' or 'The Professionals'.

In the film version of the popular TV series 'Bless This
House' (1972), here with Robin Askwith in the role of Mike

In 'Space:1999', and about to fall victim to some 
floral foul play by the young lady with her alien plant    

During the '80s you might have spotted Brian Osborne in 'Moonfleet', 'Minder', 'Shine On Harvey Moon', 'Juliet Bravo', 'Sorry!' and 'A Dorothy L Sayers Mystery: Have His Carcase', while the '90s offered the likes of 'London's Burning' and 'The Bill'.  

In the excellent BBC production of the Dorothy L
Sayers mystery 'Have His Carcase' from 1987  

Beyond his 'Carry On' shenanigans, he does appear in a few big screen productions, including 'Women In Love (1969), 'Under Milk Wood' (1971), 'Bless This House' (1972), Nighthawks (1981), 'Haunters Of The Deep' (1984) and 'Last Orders' (2001). It seems that he hasn't been in anything since 2003, so I hope he is enjoying a happy retirement.  

* (Edit 21/7/21: I'm sad to learn that Brian Osborne has died, in the Canary Islands, aged 81,  just a couple of days before I published this little salute.)

Brian Osborne-imdb

Derek Martin

Derek Martin:  
† Apr 11 1933 – Jan10 2026

If you watch 'EastEnders', you'll recognise Derek Martin as lovelorn cabbie Charlie Slater who was finally killed off in 2016, after 700+ episodes and even a spin-off, 'Slaters In Detention'. And if you don't watch 'EastEnders', you'll recognise him from dozens of cop series, gangster dramas and comedies, stretching back to the '60s.

Cutting up rough in an episode of 'The Professionals'

Despite having little formal drama training, Londoner Derek Martin has been ubiquitous in no-nonsense roles across British television for decades. Leaving his job at Smithfield meat market and starting as a stuntman and extra, he soon proved to be more than capable with dialogue and gradually built a reputation as reliable casting for heavies, coppers, soldiers and security guards. 

An uncredited appearance in the 'Doctor Who'
adventure 'The Claws Of Axos' from 1971

In 'The Curse Of Fendahl', a classic Tom Baker 'Who' from 1977 

An idea of this trajectory can be seen from his long involvement with 'Doctor Who'. Cast in no fewer than nine adventures from 1965 onwards, he was an uncredited extra until 1977's 'The Curse Of Fendahl'. A conscious decision to move away from stunt work and into speaking roles paid off after much effort and application. The long upwards haul included appearances in 'No Hiding Place', 'Adam Adamant Lives!', 'Z-Cars', 'Softly Softly', 'Terry & June', 'Hart To Hart' (an episode shot in London), 'Target', 'Shoestring', 'Private Schultz', 'Minder' and 'Angels'.        

As a redcap in an episode of 'It Ain't Half Hot Mum'
with the late Windsor Davies and Donald Hewlett  

As the bent copper DI Lyall in 'Law & Order' 

Big breaks came in the form of 'Law & Order' in 1978, a gritty police corruption drama featuring his soon-to-be 'EastEnders' colleague Peter Dean. He also played David Yip's guvnor DCI Berwick in 'The Chinese Detective' and Janet McTeer's cynical deputy in the prison drama 'The Governor'. 

A TV stalwart and deserving of a salute.

Derek Martin-imdb 

Harry 'Aitch' Fielder

 

Harry 'Aitch' Fielder:

† April 26 1940 – February 6 2021

King of the Extras, Harry Fielder has died. A legendary supporting player in the British film and television industries, it's almost easier to list which classic productions he doesn't appear in. 

It's apparently something of a game among Brit film buffs to spot his fleeting appearances, particularly in horror films, Carry-Ons, classic TV (all the ITC cult shows, plenty of 'Dr Who'), every great sitcom, and beyond. A tough looking Londoner, he appears often as coppers and villains, but there aren't many bit-part roles he hasn't tackled. 

Trivia: He got paid £11 a day for his seven days work as one of Darth Vader's elite troopers.
  

Harry 'Aitch' Fielder-imdb

Dicken Ashworth

Dicken Ashworth:

These days, if I were to say the words 'Alan Partridge' to you, you'd probably lunge back with a hearty 'A-ha!'. Well, if you're that sort of person, you might. But, back in the early '80s, those words would immediately bring to mind the image of Dicken Ashworth. He was playing the hefty, sobbing and very drunk sad-sack Alan Partridge, stumbling about the close in Channel 4's new soap 'Brookside', knocking over the bins and yelling 'Why did you leave me, Sam?', while the net curtains twitched nervously in the front rooms of Edna Cross and Sheila Grant.  

As the (very Yorkshire) alien barbarian chieftain, Gunn-Sar,
in 'Blakes 7'. Thankfully, he has his shirt on in this shot. 

Burly, gruff and permanently-moustachioed Yorkshire-born actor Dicken Ashworth made his first TV appearances in the late '70s, but an early memorable role was in 'Minder' as the abusive husband of one of Terry's old girlfriends (played by Sharon Duce). It's the episode where Terry gets a bit wistful and almost gives up all the ducking and diving with Arthur when she tells him the her lad is his son. 

 

The ominous arrival in London of violent husband 
Ronnie, looking for his wife and son, in 'Minder'

In 'Scabs', the award-winning ITV drama about the
miners' strike, still a very raw subject in 1986.   

Comedy buffs might remember him in Norman Lovett's awkwardly surreal sitcom 'I, Lovett', and others such as 'Love Hurts', 'Keeping Up Appearances', 'The Thin Blue Line', The Detectives', and the star-studded but rather clunkily satirical 'Look At The State We're In!'. He also crops up in fun stuff like 'Doctor Who', 'Blakes 7', and 'Crossbow' aka 'William Tell', the international TV collaboration in the 'Robin of Sherwood' mould. 

Norman's neighbour Darren, in 'I, Lovett'

He was arguably more at home in police and action dramas, from the cosy capers of 'Boon' and 'Big Deal', to the more gritty 'Inspector Morse', The Chinese Detective', 'Juliet Bravo', 'The Gentle Touch', 'Hazell'. In addition to 'Brookside', he had soap stints in 'Coronation Street' and 'Emmerdale', as well as multiple roles over the years in 'The Bill' and those old stand-bys 'Doctors' and 'Heartbeat', but he is unusual in avoiding the 'Casualty'/'Holby City' universe.        

A bit of muscle for protection racketeer Philip 
Jackson in an episode of 'The Gentle Touch' 

He was in some feature films too. He's in the fantasy classic 'Krull' (1983), 'Force 10 From Navarone' (1978) and Roman Polanski's 'Tess' (1979). He also provided the voice of Mr Mulch in 'Wallace & Gromit: Curse of the Were Rabbit' (2005).

So, there you go. Knowing you, Dicken Ashworth. A-ha!

Dicken Ashworth-imdb

David Sibley

David Sibley: 

You will almost certainly have your familiar buttons pushed by British actor David Sibley. He  has appeared in a very solid set of UK television favourites over the years, starting with 'Survivors', the prescient disease drama of the '70s. Another important supporting role was in the very popular First World War series 'Wings', following the development of the Royal Flying Corps through a compelling narrative of character and class clashes, lost youth and authentic aerial sequences.   

As sickly hippie Kim in 'Survivors'

With the great Tom Baker in 'Dr Who: The Pirate Planet' 

Some of the big-name successes that he has been associated with more recently include 'Downton Abbey', 'Silent Witness', 'Broadchurch' and 'Wallander', alongside some choice period TV dramas such as the 1998 BBC 'Middlemarch', 2013's 'War and Peace' and the star-studded 2018 'Vanity Fair'.  

As flight mechanic Corporal Morgan in 'Wings'

As an RAF bar steward in the National Service 
comedy 'Get Some In' with the great Tony Selby

Feature film appearances are not extensive, but you might spot him in 'Gandhi' (1982), 'Willow (1988), and 'Great Balls Of Fire!' (1989), or possibly in '45 Years' (2013) with Tom Courtenay and Charlotte Rampling. 

In the reconstruction segments of the IRA drama documentary 
'The Year London Blew Up: 1974', as an unnamed police detective

In the acclaimed police drama 'Broadchurch' 
playing pathologist Dr Lovegood 

In his youth, his somewhat elfin combination of mysterious hooded eyes and perky chipmunk-ish smile led to a few interesting TV roles, and as he has matured, this appealingly ambiguous side to his appearance and performances has obviously caught the eye of casting directors. His characters turn up in many popular detective and light mystery programmes, such as 'Ruth Rendell Mysteries', 'Shoestring'(memorably playing a mild-mannered psycho), 'Midsomer Murders', 'Alleyn Mysteries', 'Frontiers' and 'Judge John Deed',  but he's also in some of our old favourites like 'Minder', 'Blakes 7' and 'Dr Who'.

With Geraldine James in '45 Years' (2013) playing the ukulele at the wedding anniversary 
party for the troubled couple played by Charlotte Rampling and Tom Courtenay

Naturally, he has been ingested by the great long-running drama monsters; 'Holby City', 'Casualty', 'Doctors', The Bill' etc, but keep an eye out for him in the long-ignored LWT drama series 'Rooms', currently (late 2020) getting some airtime on the Talking Pictures channel on British TV.

All in all, a solid all-rounder and a bit more.       

David Sibley-imdb

Michael Stainton

 

Michael Stainton: 

A lot of policemen. Quite a few landlords. But a LOT of policemen. The perpetually unamused Michael Stainton must be familiar to anyone who had even a casual acquaintance with British television in the '70s and '80s. In comedy and in drama, this solidly imposing actor appeared frequently in blue as one of the quintessential portrayers of the uniformed plod. He's the  copper in 'Whatever Happened To The Likely Lads?', 'Rising Damp', Citizen Smith',  'Only Fools And Horses', 'Never The Twain' and 'Mind Your Language', but also in 'Juliet Bravo', 'The Ruth Rendell Mysteries', 'Lord Peter Wimsey', numerous television plays and even 'Brideshead Revisited'.       

Michael Stainton as the copper who brings an end to Terry's attempt
to give Bob a stag night in 'Whatever Happened To The Likely Lads?'

 

Michael Stainton's earliest roles were on TV back in the mid '50s, already stepping easily from historical dramas and crime shows into light entertainment and comedy such as 'Hancock', 'The Army Game', 'Benny Hill', 'Hugh & I' and Sid James's popular show 'Citizen James'.   

As the vicar in the pilot episode of 'Last Of The Summer Wine'

In the '60s and '70s, the mix of drama and comedy was still strong, with the likes of 'Softly Softly', The Plane Makers', and 'No Cloak-No Dagger' more than offset by 'The Liver Birds', 'All Gas And Gaiters', 'Dad's Army', Moody & Pegg', 'The Two Ronnies' and 'Steptoe & Son'. To these we can add old favourites of this blog, 'Shelley', 'A Sharp Intake Of Breath' and 'Ripping Yarns'. He was also a regular in Jimmy Edwards' school comedy 'Whack-O!', which seems more bizarre every time the recollection of it crops up these days.    

As Don the ever-sympathetic landlord in 'You Must Be
The Husband', with the late Tim Brooke-Taylor  

As the Beano-esque Father in the silly Mickey Dolenz-directed
kids series 'Metal Mickey', which at least featured Irene Handl

This momentum was carried into the '80s and he appears in a lot of popular shows. He was Sergeant Tipper in the genteel detective series 'Charters & Caldicott', and pops up in programmes as diverse as the TV comedy vehicles of Russ Abbott, Kenny Everett, Kelly Monteith, Les Dawson and Les Dennis and the drama potboilers of 'The Bill' and 'London's Burning'.   

 As Alleyn's implacable desk officer in 
an episode of 'The Ruth Rendell Mysteries'  

Big screen appearances have been scant, a few obscure films and an uncredited part in 'Carry On Dick' (1974). To view his TV track record though, is to scan lightly over the history of British middle-brow entertainment of five decades, and for that he is surely due a salute.     

Michael Stainton-imdb