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

Brian Gwaspari

Brian Gwaspari: 

Wiry, resolute sort of character actor, swerving equally expertly through some of the better action thrillers and comedies of the '70s and '80s, Londoner Brian Gwaspari is a more familiar face than he is a name. Getting an initial TV break in the bedsit 1974 drama serial 'Rooms', he soon started to crop up in popular shows such as 'The Sweeney', 'Van der Valk', 'The Professionals', 'Hazell' and 'The Gentle Touch'. He hit the big screen, in a comparatively small way, in 'The Spy Who Loved Me' (1977) and 'A Bridge Too Far' (1977) and was in a European-set episode of the American TV series 'Remington Steele' with Pierce Brosnan.     

After all that burning rubber and gunplay, the '80s saw a bit more comedy and light-hearted material. He had a stint as a copper investigating Roy's car-lot fire on 'EastEnders', and can be spotted in 'Ever Decreasing Circles', 'Help!', 'Roll Over Beethoven', 'No Frills' (a short lived sitcom with Kathy Staff reprising a sort of Nora Batty role in yuppy London), 'Hi De Hi', 'Yes, Prime Minister', and 'Joint Account', surely one of the beige-est sitcoms ever, about a female bank manager - whatever next?    

'Sweeney 2' (1978)

And an episode of The Professionals

Into the '90s and '00s and we've got a dusting of cosy crime sneaking into the mix: 'Wycliffe' and 'Poirot' for example, and a few more sitcoms, such as the Gwen Taylor vehicle, 'Screaming', 'The Brittas Empire' and 'Waiting for God'. On the cop show front, we can see him in 'The Chief' with Tim Piggot-Smith, and the oddball, largely-misfiring 'Virtual Murder' a character-actor-studded 1992 effort that might have attained some cult status if not let down by its dreary low budget feel.    

The Brittas Empire

More recently, there's the short 'Raspberry Ripple' (2007), followed by a single episode of 'Doctors' and a 'Midsomer Murders' in 2010. He's about 75 at time of writing, so hopefully he may pop up again somewhere unless he's got out of the business. In any case, a great supporting actor.          

Brian Gwaspari - 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

Nick Brimble

Nick Brimble:

Broodingly malevolent-looking and an imposing 6'4", Nick Brimble has made more than a few appearances, mainly as villains and heavies, over the years. Starting in the early '70s he started racking up roles in the popular tough-guy shows of the time, notably 'The Sweeney' on TV and in the feature film, where he was a semi-regular as DS Burtonshaw, and the likes of 'Z-Cars', 'Softly Softly', 'The Professionals' and 'Quiller'.       

About to get a nasty shock in a 1971 public information film

He can also be found in sci-fi shows including 'Space:1999' and 'Blakes 7' and had recurring roles in major hits of the time such as 'Danger UXB' and 'Penmarric' and historical serials like 'John Silver's Return To Treasure Island' and the ambitious pan-European 'William Tell' (AKA Crossbow) which was too similar to the smash-hit 'Robin Of Sherwood' to get much traction in the UK.   

Getting his mind extracted by Brian Blessed's sinister
SodaStream machine in an episode of 'Space:1999'

This regular UK television work was punctuated with film offers, some of which were for pretty major movies. He is the bearded Little John in 'Robin Hood Prince Of Thieves' (1991), and before that he crops up in 'Lust For A Vampire' (1971), 'Silver Dream Racer' (1980), 'Who Dares Wins' (1982), and 'Roger Corman's Frankenstein Unbound' (1990) with John Hurt and Raul Julia. 

Classic villainous performance in 'Dempsey & Makepeace'

As the Monster in 'Roger Corman's Frankenstein 
Unbound' (1990) a time-travel riff on the original

Television work has continued into the 21st century and you're sure to have seen him if you've watched mainstream broadcast TV much at all in the last 30 years. He appeared in 'The Bill' no fewer than six times between 1988 and 2007, had a long story arc in 'Emmerdale', and appeared in the mini series 'House Of Cards' and its follow-ups 'To Play A King' and 'The Final Cut'. And that's before we get into the inevitable round of 'Midsomer Murders', 'Boon, 'Dempsey & Makepeace', 'Bergerac', 'Wycliffe', 'Doc Martin', 'New Tricks' and 'Heartbeat'. 

It's a fair cop. Bang to rights in 'The Famous Five'

In fact, so distinctive and talented is Nick Brimble that it's a surprise that fewer people know his name. As with all these little salutes to character actors, I hope more people will recognise and enjoy his performances when they spot him in future. I know I will. 

Public Information Film - click here

Nick Brimble-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

Alan Ford

Alan Ford:

You know him. Intense, real-deal, London-born actor who has virtually created his own sub-type of the gimlet-eyed cockney villain: hard, trim, mod-stylish, a ruthless but rational enforcer or fixer. A slightly different proposition from the affable yet psychopath mob boss (typified by Bob Hoskins, Ray Winstone, Johnny Shannon, etc), you can watch him in action in some tough East End crime movies beginning with 'The Squeeze' (1977) and encompassing the classic 'The Long Good Friday' (1980) and the latter-day set of 'Lock Stock & Two Smoking Barrels' (1998) and 'Snatch' (2000) – running through to 'Jack Falls' (2011) and the less than satisfactory reboot of 'The Sweeney' (2012).

 

Rare image from the 1975 schools TV series 'Viewpoint',
radical and sophisticated media studies for the time.   

In the interesting London-set Stacey Keach vehicle
'The Squeeze (1977).  

On TV, as you might expect, there's a lot of London hardcase actioners and cop shows, sometimes on the side of law and order but more often than not as a villain of some sort. He's in 'Minder' ('90s variety) and 'Strangers', as well as a selection of lesser fare: 'Bergerac', 'Chinese Detective' etc,  - and he's racked up an impressive eight different characters in episodes of 'The Bill' stretching from 1985 to 2006...     

With DI Bulman (Don Henderson) in the excellent
ITV cop series 'Strangers' 

Less expected are the roles in a range of comedies. He was in the later series of 'Romany Jones' after the death of James Beck, playing (fell-off-the-back-of-a) lorry driver, Ken. He also appeared in 'Birds Of A Feather', 'Keep It In The Family' and 'The New Statesman', before a memorable turn as a boxing promoter in 'Knowing Me Knowing You With Alan Partridge' led to 'The Armando Iannucci Shows' and Matt Berry projects 'Snuff Box' and 'Toast Of London'.   

         

Despite the robes, delivering the full-on Alan Ford London
geezer treatment. A regular in Matt Berry's 'Snuff Box'.
   

All good stuff, and I notice he's also providing voice performances alongside the remarkable David Graham as one of Parker's dodgy mates, Light-fingered Fred, in the latest version of 'Thunderbirds Are Go'.  

Alan Ford-imdb 

Nicola Pagett

Nicola Pagett:

† June 15 1945 – March 3 2021

A very successful actress and a lasting English beauty, combining home counties pertness with the feline eyes of Sophia Loren, Nicola Pagett is possibly still best known for her role as Elizabeth Bellamy in 'Upstairs, Downstairs' the British primetime TV giant of the mid '70s. This came after a series of television appearances in memorable mod-era actioners such as 'Danger Man', 'Mr Rose', 'The Avengers', 'Man In A Suitcase' and 'The Persuaders'. These were interspersed with some serious television plays and historical dramas including a portrayal of the ultimate classical femme fatale, Messalina, in 'The Caesars'.        

In 'Danger Man', acting cute for Patrick McGoohan

With Christopher Matthews in 'Some Like It Sexy' (1969)

The 1977 TV adaptation of 'Anna Karenina'

The '80s and '90s saw her translate her sex siren persona into a series of sassy and sexy older women characters with her turn as Liz in David Nobbs' 'A Bit Of A Do' and two slightly similar Northern sitcoms: 'Ain't Misbehavin', written by 'Last Of The Summer Wine' creator Roy Clarke, and 'Up Rising' with Anton Rodgers. Neither seem to have been great successes.        

As Mary Queen of Scots in 'Anne Of A Thousand Days' (1969)

In the '90s adultery sitcom 'Ain't Misbehavin' with Peter Davison

Movie credits include 'The Viking Queen' (1967), 'Anne Of A Thousand Days' (1969), the Peter Sellers comedy 'There's A Girl In My Soup' (1970), 'Operation Daybreak' (1975), 'Privates On Parade' (1983) and 'An Awfully Big Adventure' (1995).    
Nicola Pagett-imdb

Matthew Scurfield

Matthew Scurfield: 

Distinctive beaky character actor who crops up in a lot of popular TV from the '70s onward... That's how I would usually kick off one of these little salutes to a character actor, peppering the entry with references to popular cultural touchstones, perhaps TV favourites such as 'The Sweeney', 'Pie In The Sky' or 'The Bill', or marginal roles in popular movies like '1984' (1984), 'Raiders Of The Lost Ark' (1981).  

I get the feeling, though, that Matthew Scurfield has some more interesting stuff going on. 

Playing a KGB agent in the Michael Caine and Lawrence Olivier
spy thriller, 'The Jigsaw Man' (1983)

He certainly has popped up in a bunch of that stuff, but the more I find out about him, the more interesting he seems. I could list a lot of middling '70s-'90s sitcoms and prime-time dramas from 'C.A.T.S. Eyes', 'Wycliffe'  and 'Boon' to 'Ripping Yarns', 'The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy' and 'Educating Marmalade'. Like some other British character actors, he was also rounded up for 'Game Of Thrones'. 
Brought up in an academic household but encumbered with undiagnosed dyslexia, he has tracked back and forth across high, mid and low-brow culture, from hanging out with Syd Barrett and Steven Berkoff to appearing in 'The Bill' and 'Coronation Street'. 

Waving at West London from a Lincoln Continental with
Pete Townshend in the art school project 'Lone Ranger' (1968)

Perhaps a better idea of the man comes from his pre-professional outing in the art school project 'Lone Ranger' (1968) - Storm Thorgerson and Alfreda Benge were also involved - a slightly rambling affair as you might imagine, but worth having a look at [you can see it here].           

Roughing up Ford Prefect (David Dixon) and Arthur Dent (Simon Jones)
in the BBC TV version of 'The Hitch Hikers Guide To The Galaxy' 

Giving Arthur some grief in the rebooted 'Minder' 

Still acting, but these days he is principally a counsellor based in Malta. His autobiography 'I Could Be Anyone' looks to be well worth investigating.          

Matthew Scurfield-imdb

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