tv/film

This is the page for details of my TV and FILM appearances over the years.
Behold my Showreel via Vimeo:


My full CV is on AHA Talent's webpage and at Spotlight.
I'm also on the IMDb - my page is here - if you want to check me out there.

TELEVISION

(* denotes a script credit)

GREAT EXPECTATIONS (BBC1) 2023
I played a vicar in this atmospheric adaptation of the novel by Charles Dickens.


BECOMING ELIZABETH (STARZ) 2022
I played a doctor in this excellent drama about the Tudor dynasty.

THE CAPTURE 2 (BBC 1) 2022
I played a translator in this excellent conspiracy thriller.


DOCTORS (BBC1) 2021
I played a shy man who turns into the March Hare in a Wonderland episode of the daytime BBC drama about doctors.

THE QUEEN'S GAMBIT (NETFLIX) 2020
I played Mr Hume, a Biology teacher giving dietary advice, in this brilliant adaptation of the Walter Tevis novel.


HOLBY CITY (BBC1) 2020
I played Gideon Spinks, a statistically concerned patient, in this long-running BBC medical drama.


A VERY ENGLISH SCANDAL (BBC) 2018
I played a BBC Radio journalist, interviewing Hugh Grant as Jeremy Thorpe, in this brilliant political drama.


STILL STAR-CROSSED (ABC) 2017
I played a cathedral caretaker in Episode 7 of this American TV series inspired by Romeo and Juliet.


TABOO (BBC1) 2017
I played a lawyer's clerk in this thrilling adventure about the East India Company.


DOCTOR THORNE (ITV1) 2016
I played an election agent in this sumptuous adaptation of Anthony Trollope's novel.


BRILLIANTMAN! (SKY ARTS) 2015
I played a man in a cafe pushing a pea around a plate in Kevin Eldon's wonderful silent comedy.
There's a review of the show here.


MAN DOWN (C4) 2015
I play Maxwell, a very big-eared chap in a support group, which Greg Davies' character Dan joins unwillingly.
This was a joy to be a part of  - such a lovely cast and crew and what an excellent sitcom.
It's on ALL 4 on demand and you can see a photo on my GALLERY page.


BADULTS (BBC3) 2014
Pappy's are a brilliant team of writers and performers and I was super-delighted to be on their flatshare sitcom.
Then they said I would have to sing. Oh.
I played an actor called Dominic, researching, and then playing, the role of Matthew in Tom's Charlie Kaufman-esque recreation of the flat.
The BBC Badults page has some clips from the show.
Luckily, none of them feature my singing.
Pics here on the GALLERY page.


THE IT CROWD (C4) 2013
I turn up as one of Moss's boardgame videoblog review buddies in the special last ever episode of this brilliant sitcom (The Internet is Coming).
I wear a remarkable T-shirt and a horrendous beard (see my GALLERY page). It was excellent!
In a previous episode I was a Calendar Geek - I cavorted with balloons.
And eagle-eyed users of DVD extras might spot me as a nerd fighting teacher...
ALL 4 on demand has the final episode (and all the others...)


COUNT ARTHUR STRONG (BBC2) 2013
I was the world's worst police sketch artist in this excellent show. I didn't do all the sketches, I have to say. It was great to do a scene with Ben Willbond (who I worked with on Talking and Not Talking) and Rory Kinnear, who is just tremendous.
The BBC Count Arthur Strong page has plenty of clips from the show.
And there are a couple of photos on my GALLERY page.


LITTLE HOWARD'S BIG QUESTION (CBBC) 2011
I play the world's most boring man in Howard Read's fab show for kids and adults. The episode's Big Question is "How can I be in two places at once?" and involves custard.

I loved being in this show - Here's me covered in cake and here's the BBC Little Howard's Big Question page


THE DOUBLE LIFE OF SAKI (BBC4) 2007
I read excerpts of letters and stories for this wonderful documentary about the life of Hector Munro, aka Saki.
The show was broadcast as part of BBC4's Edwardian Season.


*DOLLBY CITY (CBBC 1) 2007
After meeting a comedy producer at a sketch show in January 2006 and hearing that Childrens BBC were looking for new ideas for a set of comedy labs, I came up with the idea of setting a medical drama in a toy hospital. Casualty with teddy bears, basically. And they bought it! It was filmed in August 2006 with a great cast of actors and went out in March 2007 as part of Gina's Laughing Gear.


COMEDY CUTS (ITV2) 2006-2008
A quick fire sketch and stand up show for the digital channel, featuring masses of talented folks. In the first series, Martin White on the accordion and I backed up Robin Ince as he performed his material on a set that made us look like an exhibit. There's a YouTube clip of it here, viewed over 40,000 times.
In series two I went to Somerset to fly with the brilliant Craig Campbell. The man is not only a brilliant comedian but an excellent pilot. It was a lovely day and should make a fantastic series of spots.
Here's a snap of us when we came back to Earth.




*TOP TEN ON THE WEB (Teachers TV) 2006
The producers interviewed teachers at selected secondary schools to find out which websites they would recommend for students and other teachers in their subjects.
Then I scripted a set of links and presented them in an infinite white studio. It was the same room as Sky Rocket and it hadn't changed a bit.
I had a fab time doing this job - the subject was interesting and it was so nice to be doing some performing again.
Although Teachers TV is no longer broadcasting and the world of the web means many of the sites have changed or been taken down, you can still see the series here.


TOP TEN SCI-FI SHOWS (Channel 4) 2001
I was a guest on this Saturday evening slot filler and very happy I was too.
I got to talk about old programmes like Tomorrow People and Space 1999 and instead of being told to shut up, I was broadcast on national TV.
Keep being a geek is the lesson here, kids.
One day you too could have an opinion worth listening to!


*THE GREAT WEB RACE (Pilot for Ideal World TV) 2000
This was a pilot gameshow for E4. Hosted by Emily Booth, one of the stars of Bits and now Horror TV maven, it was a quiz where all the answers had to be found by using the World Wide Web.
I had a lot of fun as the 'expert' in the corner, but unfortunately E4 decided not to buy the idea as a series.


TIME GENTLEMEN PLEASE (SKY One) 2000
I used to do a double act with the fantastic Al Murray and we've stayed good friends ever since.
His Pub Landlord character is a work of genius and this sitcom (co-written by Rich Herring) was very funny indeed. I was in an episode called 'Day of the Triv-heads' and I played a computer nerd called Brian O'Green. I don't know where they got the name from.
It was great fun to film and the whole cast on the show were brilliant.


*SKY ROCKET (SKY One) 2000
This was Sky One's interactive Saturday night strand to link all their animated shows. I wrote and performed a series of short segments about the truth behind science fiction ideas and what would happen if they were for real.
They were very stylishly shot and the whole Sky Rocket thing looked excellent.


*CONSUMO! (Pilot for Ginger TV) 1998
*CONSUMO! (Pilot for Yorkshire TV) 1999

The Special Projects team (Dave Green, Danny O'Brien and I) wrote and presented two pilots of this brilliant idea.
A mix of broken comedy about shopping and products and semi-serious investigations into how and why we consume what we do, at the time it was the best concept I've ever been involved in.

We first developed it at Ginger TV and shot a version where I co-hosted with the brilliant and funny Sara Cox. 
Producer Gill Wilson then took the show to Yorkshire TV to make another pilot which we shot in Leeds.
Emma Kennedy co-hosted this time and was also delightful.


THIS MORNING WITH RICHARD NOT JUDY (BBC2) 1998
I played Richard's French exchange student chum, Nicolas, who still comes to visit him every year.
This went out live at Sunday lunchtime and I was a little nervous on the day.
Stew refers to me by my real name at one point, Rich corrects him but Stew insists I am really me and points out that I was on Planet Mirth as though that is a bad thing.

*COMEDY NATION (BBC2) 1997
I appeared in a few sketches for this (not quite as low budget as Planet Mirth, but nearly) late night BBC2 show.
I wrote a few too. One about truant policemen who hang around in parks and hate solving crime because it's boooring.
One about people swapping shirts like footballers at the end of games in inappropriate situations.
Lots of good things came out of this show.


*PLANET MIRTH (ITV) 1997
A co-production with the Sci-Fi Channel, this was just about the lowest budget sci-fi themed comedy sketch show of all time.
The economic considerations, the time restraints and the shooting and writing constraints meant it was never going to be Star Wars, but there are lots of little things in the show I like.
I did a series of sketches as a teacher explaining the truth about science fiction to his class and they were good fun.
Also a writer with terrible movie ideas who just keeps on pitching them.
Emma Kennedy has gone onto marvellous things and Rudy Lickwood and Milton Jones are both brilliant stand-ups.


CITY CENTRAL (BBC1) 1997
I played a vegetarian protester in one episode of this cop drama. They often had bizarre subplots and mine was pretty good.
For some reason I was dressed as 'Wally' from 'Where's Wally?' (Waldo, in the States) and this became a running gag. I handcuffed myself to a meat counter but gave the police the keys to my cuffs.
What a fool. It was great fun to do and the cast and crew were just lovely.


MEN BEHAVING BADLY (BBC1) 1996
In an episode called 'Cowardice' I played a Fightogram man. I'm only in the one scene right at the end, but still.
I had big mutton chops at the time as I'd just been filming a Vodafone commercial with Kyle MacLachlan in Wales where I was a scary shepherd.


*OFF  LIMITS (C4) 1995
I wrote and acted in a schools show for Channel 4 about work experience called 'When Roger Met Karen.'
Luisa Bradshaw from 'This Life' was in it too and she was great.
The programme looks fantastic (directed by the awesome Audrey Cooke) and a lot of the gags came over very well indeed.


FIST OF FUN (BBC2) 1994-95
I did quite a few sketches for Lee and Herring's brilliant series.
In the pilot (I was in a lot of pilots for great comedy shows) I was a mad man in the audience talking about my imaginary friend.
We did this again in the run of the show.
I was an Urban Man, running around in my pants in the cold.
I was in the Boy who Cried Wolf sketch.
They are brilliant comedians and lovely men and the actor Kevin Eldon and Peter Baynham are likewisely marvellous.
DVDs of Series 1 and Series 2 are now available from the wonderful folk at Go Faster Stripe!


THE FRIDAY NIGHT ARMISTICE (BBC2) 1995
I appeared in a couple of items for this show which also went out as THE SATURDAY NIGHT ARMISTICE depending on the night of the week they broadcast it.
In the unbroadcast pilot episode I sat at one side of the stage and judged things as either good or bad, right or wrong, or whatever, by flicking through a rolodex of all information.
Eventually the item was run during the series except this time I was in a tennis umpire's chair high above the studio, calling the other contributors on whether their gags were in or out.
In a later series I played a Tory MP, locked in a tank into which were placed single mothers, refugees, the homeless etc to see how upset they would make me.


KNOWING ME, KNOWING YOU WITH ALAN PARTRIDGE (BBC2) 1994
In the episode where Alan takes the show to Paris, I am a member of Cirque des Clunes. This involved a tricky bit of lurid and unpleasant mime, choreographed by Dave Schneider, and then some upstaging of Alan as he tried to do his link.
We also did a version of this for the non-broadcast pilot show.
WATCH ON EWETOOB.


*BIG SCIENCE (BBC2) 1994
My first TV break back in the mists of the 1990s.
Dave Green and I wrote a couple of minutes of comedy every week about the main science stories the show had covered.
Then they'd run the credits underneath me.
"Go Figure" was my catchphrase.
The show itself was really good and I had a blast doing the links and we learned a lot about the way TV gets made too.



FILM

 

THE SILENT TWINS 2022
I played a psychiatric doctor in this beautiful and poignant film


SEACOLE 2021
I have shot scenes, playing a War Office Clerk, in the biographical drama about the life of Mary Seacole

THE LIMEHOUSE GOLEM 2016
I played a cab driver in this adaptation of Peter Ackroyd's novel


A MONSTER CALLS 2016
I played Mr Clark, Conor's teacher, in the extraordinary film directed by JA Bayona, based on the novel by Patrick Ness.

MISS YOU ALREADY 2015
I played a nurse in this lovely film directed by Catherine Hardwicke and written by Morwenna Banks.

THREE MUSKETEERS 3-D 2011
I played a Tailor in Paul W.S. Anderson's thrilling steampunk-style 3-D version of the classic story.
I spent a couple of weeks on location in Bavaria and it was fantastic to watch the process as well as work with some amazing actors.
A couple of photos of me in costume on the GALLERY page.

SWINGING WITH THE FINKELS 2011
I was a waiter in Jonathan Newman's quirky romantic comedy.

CASANOVA 2005
In the Autumn of 2004 I spent 3 months in Venice working on Lasse Hallstrom's sumptuous movie, Casanova.
I was Andolini, the henchman of the movie's main villain, played by Jeremy Irons. This meant I did a lot of torturing, chasing the heroes down alleys, scowling and lurking. As you can imagine, I had a fantastic time.

The cast were all amazing and I made a couple of superb friends there.
Lasse Hallstrom is a brilliant director, and the crew and the production team were just fabulous too.
Images on the GALLERY page
PICCADILLY JIM 2005
I was one of an impish group of toffs all called Reg in John McKay's joyous Wodehouse adaptation.

TOOTH 2004
I played the Head Dispatcher of a team of tooth fairies in Edouard Nammour's delightful children's film.

SORTED 2000
I played a Thames Barrier Officer making a grim discovery in Alexander Jovy's kinetic rave-thriller.