# Roger Leach (actor)

Roger Leach (22 April 1948 – 1 December 2001) was an English-Australian actor who played Sgt. Tom Penny in The Bill, and guest starred in Bergerac, Perfect Scoundrels and Doctors.

## Early life

Roger was born in Sydney, Australia and read English at Sydney University where he also participated in rowing and other athletics. He won a scholarship to the Central School of Speech and Drama and moved to the UK in 1971. He had many acting roles, including 42 appearances at the Salisbury Playhouse.

## Career

Leach became a household name when in 1984 he was asked to become one of the stars in The Bill, a highly successful ITV series about the Metropolitan Police in which he played Sergeant Tom Penny. He was also a successful stage actor. In all he played in 42 productions for artistic director David Horlock and four others at the Salisbury Playhouse. He also toured around Britain in many productions at local repertory theatres. Among these, he played Lambert le Roux in Pravda to critical acclaim, Rev Hale in Arthur Miller's The Crucible, Ebenezer Scrooge in Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol, Bluntschi in Arms and the Man, Subtle in The Alchemist, Claudio in William Shakespeare's Measure for Measure, and Colin in Ashes, for which feat of achievement he was cast in The Bill.
Leach appeared in a West End production of Anthony Shaffer's play The Case of the Oily Levantine directed by Patrick Dromgoole, and at the Royal Court in Gimme Shelter. In later years he featured as Uncle Max in the Sound of Music, Captain Brackett in South Pacific, the Narrator in The Rocky Horror Show, Doolittle in My Fair Lady, and in 2001, Peachum in a tour of The Threepenny Opera.
Leach was also a director, teaching Shakespeare classes in text and audition techniques at three leading drama schools. He contributed scripts to shows Moon and Son, EastEnders and The Bill. In October 2001, he read the Letters of Beethoven with the Sarum Chamber Orchestra and started rehearsals for The Donkeys Years at the Salisbury Playhouse, which was due to open in January 2002.
Leach died at the age of 53 after a four-year battle with cancer.

## Filmography
### Television

List of Television performances :
| Year | Title | Role | Episode |
| 1975 | BBC Play of the Month | Airman | episode: Chips with Everything |
| 1977 | Nicholas Nickleby | Captain Adams | episode 1.5 |
| 1979 | Shoestring | D.J. | episode 1.5 Listen To Me |
| 1983 | Bergerac | Tyler | episode 2.3 "Clap Hands, Here Comes Charlie" |
| 1984–1991 | The Bill | Sgt Tom Penny | 161 episodes |
| 1984 | The Costs | | |
| 1986 | Call Me Sister | Hotel Porter | episode 1.1 Long Shot |
| 1992 | Press Gang | Pompous Man | episode 4.1 Bad News |
| 1992 | Perfect Scoundrels | Vicar | episode 3.2 Dirty Tricks |
| 1993 | Inside Victor Lewis-Smith | Old Bill Policeman 1 | episode 1.2 Nationwide |

### Writer

List of Plays/Screenplays :
| Year | Title | Collaboration/episode | Type | Theatre |
| 1990 | The Bill | episode: One of Those Days | TV series | |
| 1991 | The Bill | episode: Married to the Job | TV series | |
| 2006 | Audience with Murder | with Colin Wakefield | Dramatic Comedy | Her Majesty's Theatre |
| 2007 | On Your Honour | with Colin Wakefield | Drama | Jermyn Street Theatre |

### Theatre

List of Theatrical performances :
| Year | Title | Role | Theatre |
| 1974 | Barchester Towers | Footman | Salisbury Playhouse |
| 1974 | An Inspector Calls | ASM/Eric Birling | Salisbury Playhouse |
| 1974 | Time and Time Again | ASM/Peter | |
| 1974 | All My Sons | ASM (Assistant Stage Manager) | Salisbury Playhouse |
| 1978 | Gilgamesh | | Playhouse Theatre, Salisbury |
| 1978 | Once in a Green Moon | | Salisbury Arts Theatre |
| 1979 | The Case of the Oily Levantine | Sergeant | Theatre Royal, Bath |
| 1999 | My Fair Lady | Alfred Doolittle | Perth Theatre Company |