From the age of 10 years old,  between 1970 to 1981, I worked as a professional actor. For me this was an amazing experience which I still feel very lucky to have had.

I went to stage school, met movie, TV & pop stars, all whilst doing something that (in the main) I loved doing.

The following gives a resume of my main acting credits.

After insisting to my parents that I wanted to be an actor, I joined a London based theatrical agency and had my first set of publicity photo’s.

My first couple of jobs involved modelling. The first for an educational book and one for a clothes magazine (see left) - dig the outfit !

My main roles:

It’s a Two Foot Six Inches Above the Ground World

Wyndham’s Theatre - London

Starring Prunella Scales - Basil Faulty’s wife in BBC’s ‘Faulty Towers’

I played Sean (her son)

Playing my brother was Adrian Hall - the boy in ‘Chitty Chitty Bang Bang’

Tom Brown’s Schooldays

The Cambridge Theatre - London

Starring Roy Dotrice - he was well known in the 70’s!

I played Tadpole (the boy who tries to burn down the school)

Also in this show were Simon Le Bon (of Duran Duran) and Keith ‘Cheggers’ Chegwin

The Water Babies

The Royalty Theatre - London

Starring Jessie Mathews - was a film star in the 40’s & 50’s

and most famous for her role in the BBC radio show, The Archers

I was one of the water babies (of course!) - top far right in the cast photo

Gala Performance

The Yvonne Arnould Theatre in Guildford

Starring Eartha Kitt & Terry Scott

I took part in an exert from ‘Kiss Me Kate’ with the Saddlers Wells Opera Company

click to enlarge

Peter Pan

The Coliseum - London

Starring Maggie Smith - most recently famous for her role in the Harry Potter films

and the late Dave Allen - comedian most famous during the 70’s

I played ‘Slightly Soiled’ - one of the ‘lost boys’

which had been played by Noel Coward in his youth.

I was invited back to appear again the following year

with Susan Hampshire (TV actress) and Michael Denison (film actor).

During a third year I was asked to join the tour of the show which was performed at:

The Birmingham Hippodrome

and The Liverpool Empire

Doing this play three years running gave me a deep love of the Peter Pan story

Macbeth

The Old Vic. - London

With The Royal Shakespeare Company

Starring Diana Rigg - famous for playing Emma Peel in the TV series ‘The Avengers’

and also for her role in the James Bond movie ...............................................

I played Young Macduff

By this time I had spent three years at Barbera Speake Stage School and also appeared in various TV adverts plus small roles & ‘walk on’ parts in a number of TV programmes....

...and then followed my

break-through in to television...

Shadows (TV Series)

ITV - Thames Television

Starring Prescilla Dunn - who was the wife of Clive Dunn who was in the BBC comedy series ‘Dad’s Army’

This was my first lead/starring role on television

(& I loved it !!)

The Horse In The House (TV Series)

ITV - Thames Television

This was my second lead role, playing along side my sister, katrina, although she didn’t actually play my sister. The second series starred Davy Jones who rocketed to worldwide fame when he was in the late 60’s comedy series about a pop band - The Monkeys

A Bunch of Fives (TV Series)

ITV - ATV Television (now owned by Granada TV)

I had a starring role in the first series of this seven part programme aimed at a 14-16 year old audience. Playing a 5th form schoolboy & lead singer in a band this was my perfect part and, for me, the peak of my acting career. I received fan mail and had a brief period of fame & singing of autographs - it was great !

Unfortunately ATV lacked the foresight to see what that type of programme could become and only ran it for two series. The BBC then stole the idea and turned it in to ‘Grange Hill’  

Then came the big huge massive film offers........

......well actually just tiny little itty bitty appearances really.

I found this to be a frustrating come down after my TV successes

Sweet William (Film)

Starring Jenny  Agutter

I make a very brief appearance as a delivery boy

Wings (TV Series)

BBC 1

The director of ‘A Bunch of Fives’ had moved to the BBC and gave me my first role in a serious evening drama programme. I played a young aircraft pilot (‘flyer’) and had a nice scene where I got involved in a fight in a bar - good fun although I hated having to have my hair cut short. The make up girls at the BBC were always fanciable but their hair cutting skills were not so good !

Enemy at The Door (TV Series)

ITV - London Weekend Television

In the same year I won my second part in this evening period drama about the occupation of the Channel Islands during the 2nd world war.

I played assistant to a hair dresser who was trading on the black market. Yet another bad hair cut was required !

How Sleep The Brave (Film)

Starring nobody famous!

I appear quite a bit but say very little in this low budget movie about the Vietnam War - filmed in woodland near Slough !!!

I meet my death when I fire off a machine gun and then get hit by a hand grenade. The explosive they used blew me backwards and nearly deafened me. I didn’t need to act out dying at all !!

Budsy Malone (Film)

Starring Jodie Foster & Scott Baio

Splatter, splatter, splatter - this was not the sound of a splurge gun, but more the sound of ten tons of brylcreem they kept putting in my hair.

I was a gangster, policeman & baseball guard - but not a word did I utter. I hated being an ‘extra’, I hated the haircut, I hated the fact that the lead roles were mainly given to American children, most of whom couldn’t act - although Jodie Foster was amazing and (once the bad acting had been placed on the cutting room floor) the end result was quite unique - some might even say good !!

...so I received an offer to join a theatre company that would place me under contract for a whole year...

Reddiskip Theatre Company

Based at The Palace Theatre in Redditch (Nr Birmingham)

I was employed under Manpower Services Commission as part of a team of actors to write, produce and perform educational plays in schools. We performed to all age groups of school children within schools around Redditch and Worcestershire.  We held Saturday morning drama classes and performed two seasons of weekly repertory  theatre within The Palace Theatre itself. This included a total of seven plays which all ran for one week each.

This work was my most demanding yet. Highly enjoyable, and once again I found my own slice of fame - be it within the community of Redditch where Reddiskip was well promoted in the local media and I became well known in the locality. For most of the year I couldn’t walk through Redditch shopping centre without being recognised - a slightly odd situation which I relished. I wasn’t famous, yet people treated me a bit like I was

Kidnapped At Christmas

The Civic Theatre in Rotherham & Sheffield Town Hall

Oh yes - a panto (on tour) - every actor has to do one !

This was to be the last job I took in my formative years as an actor.

I didn’t like it. Panto wasn’t for me.

It was at this point that I started to re-think my future and decided to look for a second string to my bow. A friend (and flatmate of the time) and I started London’s very first cycle courier company - ‘On Yer Bike’. We began with a couple of bikes, a handful of clients within advertising, and within months we were recruiting other riders and building a growing & successful business