David Dixon

 

 

David Dixon: 

Boyish, pixie faced actor best known for the part of feckless alien journalist Ford Prefect in BBC's 'Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy'. His first big break came in 'Family at War', ITV's wartime drama from 1970-72, in which he played the cynical son Robert Ashton. 

As Prince Leopold in 'Lillie'

He appeared in a very representative mix of good quality television during the  remainder of the '70s, such as 'The Legend of Robin Hood' as a slimy and effete Prince John, 'Rock Follies', and the Victorian bustle-rustler 'Lillie' about the royal admirers of music hall star Lillie Langtry. The '80s brought 'Hitchhikers' of course, but a lot of prosaic schedule-filler programmes as well, for instance, 'Target', 'Boon', A Touch of Frost' and unavoidably, 'The Bill'. One highlight was the darkly comic John Byrne series 'Tutti Frutti' in which he played the extremely unsympathetic violent ex-boyfriend of Emma Thompson's character, Suzi Kettles.      

'Tutti Frutti'

He has appeared in only a couple of feature films: fleetingly in the Michael Palin comedy, 'The Missionary' (1980) and before that in a leading role in the ghastly-looking 'Escort Girls' (1975) which I'm sure he'd rather forget. [Despite which, here's a link to the trailer, which I must warn you, is NSFW, and offensively sleazy, sexist and racist, although it does feature Alan Hawkshaw's 'The Champ' on the soundtrack. Click here.]  

In the seedy 'Escort Girls' (1975) 

In 'A Touch of Frost'. An episode from 1996 called 'Fun Times For Swingers' 

There's a rather odd fansite for him too. Here's a link.


David Dixon - imdb

Robert Longden

Robert Longden: 

The distinctively camp, adenoidal tones of actor Robert Longden have been heard in some minor classics of British TV. His whimsical annunciation (somewhere between Georgina Hale and Julian Clary) and strangely boyish manner means he tends to appear in eccentric pieces, notably Alan Plater's Beiderbecke trilogy, in which he played Mr Pitt, the quietly subversive planning officer. 

 

Other TV roles date from the early '70s to the '00s, and include: 'The Fenn Street Gang', Sapper Copping in 'Danger UXB' (pictured above), 'Peter Cook & Co', 'Wood & Walters', 'Boon', 'The Gentle Touch', a string of TV movie whodunits and the unavoidable 'Casualty' and 'Doctors'. His showreel would suggest that he's keeping fairly busy, but I don't think he quite hooked as many primetime shows as he deserved. 

He was in a few feature films, mostly mildly embarrassing, such as 'Adolf Hitler: My Part In His Downfall' (1974), 'Confessions of a Window Cleaner' (1974) and 'Escort Girls' (1975).   

He's still acting on the stage, it seems, and not just pantomime dames. He also found time to write the cult Melville-meets-St Trinian's play, 'Moby Dick: The Musical'. 


Robert Longden - imdb