Derek Fowlds

2022-08-06T14:51:25Z

2A00:23C6:62A3:1F01:85E8:553D:CF63:948F: /* Personal life and death */

{{Short description|English actor (1937–2020)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2021}}
{{Use British English|date=August 2011}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Derek Fowlds
| image = Derek Fowlds 5 Allan Warren.jpg
| imagesize =
| caption = Fowlds in 1974
| birth_name = Derek James Fowlds
| birth_date = {{birth date|1937|9|2|df=y}}
| birth_place = [[Wandsworth]], [[London]], England
| death_date = {{death date and age|2020|1|17|1937|9|2|df=y}}
| death_place = [[Bath, Somerset]], England
| occupation = Actor, presenter
| years_active = 1962–2020
| spouse = {{marriage|Wendy Tory|1963|1973|end=divorced}}<br/>{{marriage|[[Lesley Judd]]|1974|1978|end=divorced}}
| partner = Jo Lindsay (1976–2012; her death)
| children = 2
}}
'''Derek James Fowlds'''<ref name="Hayward">{{cite news|author=Anthony Hayward|date=17 January 2020|title=Derek Fowlds obituary|newspaper=The Guardian|url=https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2020/jan/17/derek-fowlds-obituary|access-date=18 January 2020}}</ref> (2 September 1937 – 17 January 2020) was an English actor best known for his appearances as "Mr Derek" in ''[[Basil Brush#Basil Brush from 1963 to 1984|The Basil Brush Show]]'' (1969–1973), [[Bernard Woolley]] in the [[sitcom]] ''[[Yes Minister]]'' (1980–1984) and its sequel ''[[Yes, Prime Minister]]'' (1986–1988), and as Oscar Blaketon in ''[[Heartbeat (British TV series)|Heartbeat]]'' (1992–2010).

==Early life==
Fowlds was born on 2 September 1937 in [[Wandsworth]], London, the son of Ketha Muriel (née Treacher) and James Witney Fowlds,<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.filmreference.com/film/38/Derek-Fowlds.html|title=Derek Fowlds Biography (1937–)|website=www.filmreference.com}}</ref> a salesman. Fowlds attended [[Ashlyns School]], a former [[Secondary Modern School]] in the historic town of [[Berkhamsted]] in Hertfordshire.<ref>''Who's Who on Television''. Publisher: ''ITV Books Ltd./Michael Joseph Ltd.'' Published: 1985. Retrieved: 27 January 2013.</ref> After leaving school aged 15, Fowlds worked at a printer's firm as an apprentice and also spent two years in the [[RAF]] as a wireless operator.<ref name="Hayward"/>

==Career==
After amateur acting, Fowlds trained at [[Royal Academy of Dramatic Art|RADA]] and made his debut on the [[West End of London|West End]] stage in ''[[The Miracle Worker]]''. He appeared in various film roles, including ''[[Tamahine]]'' (1963), ''[[East of Sudan]]'' (1964), ''[[Hotel Paradiso (film)|Hotel Paradiso]]'' (1966), ''[[Frankenstein Created Woman]]'' (1967), ''[[The Smashing Bird I Used to Know]]'' (1969), ''[[Tower of Evil]]'' (1972) and ''[[Mistress Pamela]]'' (1974), prior to becoming familiar to British television child viewers as "Mr. Derek" in the children's series ''The [[Basil Brush]] Show'', replacing [[Rodney Bewes]] as presenter.<ref name=Hayward/>

He played the role of [[Lord Randolph Churchill]] in the [[Associated Television|ATV]] series ''[[Edward the Seventh]]'' (1975). In ''[[Yes Minister]]'' and its sequel ''[[Yes, Prime Minister]]'' he played the naïve and callow [[Bernard Woolley]] alongside [[Paul Eddington]]'s [[Jim Hacker]] and [[Nigel Hawthorne]]'s [[Sir Humphrey Appleby]].<ref name=Hayward/>

From 1983 to 1985, Fowlds played the lead role in the sitcom ''[[Affairs of the Heart (TV series)|Affairs of the Heart]]''. He featured in a more sinister role in the 1990 political thriller ''[[Die Kinder]]''. Fowlds then played old and curmudgeonly Oscar Blaketon in the long-running [[Yorkshire Television]] police drama nostalgia series ''[[Heartbeat (British TV series)|Heartbeat]]'' set in the sixties for its entire eighteen-year run beginning in 1992. The character first appeared as the local police sergeant, then retired from the force and ran the post office before becoming a [[pub]]lican.<ref name=Hayward/>

==Personal life and death==
Fowlds married, and later divorced, Wendy Tory, and later wed and divorced (in 1978) the ''[[Blue Peter]]'' presenter and dancer [[Lesley Judd]]. His partner of 36 years, Jo Lindsay, died in 2012.<ref name="Hayward"/> He was the father of two sons, including the actor Jeremy Fowlds. His autobiography, ''A Part Worth Playing,'' was published in 2015.

He died at [[Royal United Hospital]] in [[Bath, Somerset|Bath]] on 17 January 2020 at age 82 from complications of heart failure and [[sepsis]], which had followed [[pneumonia]].<ref name="Hayward"/><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-51147182 |title=Derek Fowlds: Yes Minister and Heartbeat actor dies aged 82 – BBC News |work=BBC News|date= 17 January 2020|access-date=17 January 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url = https://news.sky.com/story/derek-fowlds-heartbeat-and-yes-minister-actor-dies-aged-82-11910634|title = Derek Fowlds: Yes Minister and Heartbeat actor dies aged 82|work = [[Sky News]]|date = 17 January 2020|access-date = 17 January 2020}}</ref> His funeral was held at St Katharine's Church in [[Holt, Wiltshire]] on 17 February 2020.

==Filmography==
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Year !! Title<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2ba08266fd|title=Derek Fowlds|website=BFI}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://bbfc.co.uk/search/releases/any/any/any/derek%20fowlds/any/0/any/any/any/any/any/any/any?advanced=true|title=Search for releases|website=bbfc.co.uk|publisher=British Board of Film Classification|access-date=21 January 2020}}</ref> !! Role !! Notes
|-
|1962 || ''[[The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner (film)|The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner]]'' || Borstal Inmate || Uncredited<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/profiles/education-passedfailed-derek-fowlds-1172858.html|title=Education: Passed/Failed Derek Fowlds|last=Sale|first=Jonathan|date=20 August 1998|website=The Independent|language=en|access-date=21 January 2020}}</ref>
|-
|1962 || ''[[We Joined the Navy]]'' || The Midshipman / Carson ||
|-
|1963 || ''[[Doctor in Distress (film)|Doctor in Distress]]'' || Medical Student Gillibrand ||
|-
|1963 || ''[[Tamahine]]'' || Bash ||
|-
|1964 || ''[[Hot Enough for June]]'' || Sun Bathing Man ||
|-
|1964 || ''[[East of Sudan]]'' || Murchison ||
|-
|1965 || ''[[Gideon's Way]]'' || Tim Coles || Episode 26: "The Nightlifers"
|-
|1966 || ''[[Hotel Paradiso (film)|Hotel Paradiso]]'' || Maxime ||
|-
| 1966 || ''[[Take a Pair of Private Eyes]]'' || Ambrose Frayne || 6 episodes
|-
|1967 || ''[[Frankenstein Created Woman]]'' || Johann ||
|-
|1967 || ''The Solarnauts'' || Tempo || Pilot: "Cloud of Death"
|-
|1969 || ''[[The Smashing Bird I Used to Know]]'' || Geoffrey ||
|-
|1969–1973 || The ''[[Basil Brush]]'' Show || Mr Derek || 64 episodes
|-
|1972 || ''[[Tower of Evil]]'' || Dan ||
|-
|1973 || ''[[Mistress Pamela]]'' || Sir Percy ||
|-
|1974 || ''[[Thriller (British TV series)|Thriller]]'' || Dicky || Series 3, Episode 3: "Death to Sister Mary"
|-
|1975 || ''[[Edward the Seventh]]'' || [[Lord Randolph Churchill]] || Episode: "Dearest Prince"
|-
|1976 || ''The Copter Kids'' || Captain Peters ||
|-
|1978 || ''[[Robin's Nest (TV series)|Robin's Nest]]'' || Ricky Hart || Series 2, Episode 2: "The Candidate"
|-
| 1979 || ''[[My Son, My Son (TV series)|My Son, My Son]]'' ||Newbiggen || 1 episode
|-
|1980–1984 || ''[[Yes Minister]]'' || Bernard Woolley || 22 episodes
|-
|1982 || ''[[Minder (TV series)|Minder]]'' || Meadhurst || Episode: "Dead Men Do Tell Tales"
|-
|1983–1985 || ''[[Affairs of the Heart (TV series)|Affairs of the Heart]]'' || Peter Bonamy || 7 episodes
|-
|1986–1988 || ''[[Yes Minister|Yes, Prime Minister]]'' || Bernard Woolley || 16 episodes
|-
|1988 || ''[[Inspector Morse (TV series)|Inspector Morse]]''|| Kurt Friedman / Michael Robson || Episode: "The Settling of the Sun"
|-
|1990 || ''[[Die Kinder]]'' || Crombie || 6 episodes
|-
|1992 || ''[[Over the Hill (1992 film)|Over the Hill]]'' || Dutch ||
|-
|1992–1994 || ''[[Firm Friends]]'' || John Gutteridge || 8 episodes
|-
|1992–2010 || ''[[Heartbeat (British TV series)|Heartbeat]]'' || Sgt. Oscar Blaketon || 342 episodes
|-
|2001 || ''[[Blankety Blank|Lily Savage's Blankety Blank]]'' || Himself<ref name="blanketyblank">{{cite episode|series=Lily Savage's Blankety Blank|network=[[ITV (TV network)|ITV]]|airdate=20 May 2001}}</ref> || 1 episode
|-
|2012 || ''[[Run for Your Wife (2012 film)|Run for Your Wife]]'' || Man in hat ||
|}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{Commons category}}
{{wikiquote}}
* [https://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2ba08266fd Derek Fowlds] at the [[British Film Institute]]
* {{IMDb name|0288621}}
* [http://nicholasrhea.co.uk/heartbeat/blaketon.html Derek Fowlds as Oscar Blaketon in 'Heartbeat']

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fowlds, Derek}}
[[Category:1937 births]]
[[Category:2020 deaths]]
[[Category:20th-century English male actors]]
[[Category:21st-century English male actors]]
[[Category:Alumni of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art]]
[[Category:British male comedy actors]]
[[Category:Deaths from sepsis]]
[[Category:English male film actors]]
[[Category:English male stage actors]]
[[Category:English male television actors]]
[[Category:Infectious disease deaths in England]]
[[Category:Male actors from London]]
[[Category:People from Balham]]

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Derek Fowlds