# John Alderton

John Alderton (born 27 November 1940) is an English actor. He is best known for his roles in Upstairs, Downstairs, Thomas & Sarah, Wodehouse Playhouse, Little Miss (original television series), Please Sir!, No - Honestly and Fireman Sam (the original series). Alderton has often starred alongside his wife, Pauline Collins.

## Early life

Alderton was born on 27 November 1940 in Gainsborough, Lincolnshire, the son of Ivy (née Handley) and Gordon John Alderton. He grew up in Hull where he attended Kingston High School.

## Career

He graduated from the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in 1961 and appeared in their production of The Doctor and The Devils by Dylan Thomas. Alderton first became familiar to television viewers in 1962, when he played Dr Moone in the ITV soap opera Emergency Ward 10. After an uncredited role in Cleopatra (1963), and appearing in British films such as The System (1964), Assignment K (1968), Duffy (1968) and Hannibal Brooks (1969), he played the lead in the comedy series Please Sir!, as hapless teacher Mr Hedges, which later resulted in him also playing the character in the 1971 feature film of the same name. He was cast by Richard Lester in the title role of a film version of Flashman but the project was abandoned.
In 1972, he appeared with Hannah Gordon in the BBC comedy series My Wife Next Door which ran for 13 episodes, and for which he won a Jacob's Award in 1975. He then transferred to another top-rated ITV series when he played Thomas Watkins, the chauffeur, in Upstairs, Downstairs, opposite his wife, Pauline Collins. They had a daughter (the actress Kate Alderton) and two sons and also acted together in spin-off series, Thomas & Sarah, and another sitcom, No - Honestly, as well as in Wodehouse Playhouse (1975–78), a series featuring adaptations of short stories by P. G. Wodehouse (primarily the Mr. Mulliner stories). In the meantime, he appeared on the big screen against-type as 'Friend' in John Boorman's cult sci-fi film Zardoz (1974), before returning to more familiar territory, as 1930s Yorkshire vet James Herriot in the 1976 film, It Shouldn't Happen to a Vet. Filmink called him "the great lost British film star of the 1970s".
He was a subject of the television programme This Is Your Life in 1974 when he was surprised by Eamonn Andrews.
He made his first stage appearance with the repertory company of the Theatre Royal, York in August 1961, in Badger's Green by R.C. Sherriff. After a period in repertory, he made his first London appearance at the Mermaid, November 1965, as Harold Crompton in Spring and Port Wine, later transferring with the production to the Apollo. At the Aldwych. In March 1969, he played Eric Hoyden in the RSC's production of Dutch Uncle. At the Comedy Theatre, July 1969, he played Jimmy Cooper in The Night I Chased the Women with an Eel. At the Howff, in October 1973, he played Stanley in Punch and Judy Stories, and played the same part in Judies at the Comedy, January 1974. At the Shaw Theatre, London, in January 1975, he played Stanley in Pinter's The Birthday Party. At the Apollo, London in May 1976, he played four parts in Ayckbourn's Confusions.
During the 1980s and 1990s, Alderton had a few roles. He narrated BBC1's children's original animated series Little Miss in 1983 (with his wife Pauline Collins) and, from 1987 to 1994, narrated and voiced all the characters in the original series of Fireman Sam. From 1987 to 1988 he played Estragon in Samuel Beckett's Waiting For Godot at the National Theatre. In 1988, he starred as Surgeon Robert Sandy in Tales of the Unexpected, in the episode The Surgeon, and from 1989 to 1992 he starred in the series Forever Green as the character Jack Boult. he also appeared in the film Clockwork Mice in 1995. Alderton played opposite his wife Pauline in Mrs Caldicot's Cabbage War in 2002 and made something of a comeback in the 2003 film, Calendar Girls. Then, in 2004 he played a role in the BBC series of Anthony Trollope's He Knew He Was Right. Also in 2004, Alderton starred in the first series of ITV 1's Doc Martin in an episode entitled "Of All The Harbours in All The Towns" as sailor John Slater, a friend and former lover of Aunt Joan. He played Christopher Casby in the 2008 BBC adaptation of Charles Dickens' Little Dorrit.

## Personal life

Alderton married actress Jill Browne in 1964, but they divorced. In 1969, he married actress Pauline Collins and they have three children, a daughter (Kate, who is also an actor) and two sons.

## Filmography
### Film

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1963 | Cleopatra | 1st Officer | Uncredited |
| 1964 | The System | Nidge | |
| 1965 | Operation Crossbow | RAF 'Dakota' Navigator | Uncredited |
| 1966 | In the West End Tonight | Harold Crompton | TV film |
| 1968 | Assignment K | George | |
| 1968 | Duffy | Antony | |
| 1969 | Hannibal Brooks | Bernard | |
| 1969 | All Star Comedy Carnival | Bernard Hedges | TV film |
| 1971 | Please Sir! | Bernard Hedges | |
| 1974 | Zardoz | Friend | |
| 1976 | It Shouldn't Happen to a Vet | James Herriot | |
| 1995 | Clockwork Mice | Swaney | |
| 2002 | Mrs Caldicot's Cabbage War | Hawksmoor | |
| 2003 | Calendar Girls | John Clarke | |
| 2010 | Magic Hour 2 | Robert | |

### Television

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1962–1963 | Emergency Ward 10 | Richard Moone | Series regular |
| 1963 | Drama 61-67 | Peter Harris | Episode: "Drama '63: Question of Guilt" |
| 1965 | The Sullavan Brothers | Norman Vincent | Episode: "Insufficient Evidence" |
| 1965 | Londoners | Telfer, Rait's Assistant | Episode: "A Little Touch of Henry" |
| 1965 | Six of the Best | Alf | Episode: "Annie Doesn't Live Here Anymore" |
| 1965 | Love Story | Albert | Episode: "Twice Upon a Time" |
| 1968 | The Wednesday Play | Charley | Episode: "Mooney and His Caravans" |
| 1968 | Thirty-Minute Theatre | Geoffrey Bell | Episode: "A Personal Affair" |
| 1968 | Armchair Theatre | Peter | Episode: "One Night I Danced with Mr. Dalton" |
| 1968 | Never a Cross Word | Blackdown | Episode: "Mr and Mrs Baldock and Friend" |
| 1968 | Boy Meets Girl | Gerald | Episode: "Easy on the Clutch" |
| 1968–1971 | Please Sir! | Bernard Hedges | Series regular |
| 1969 | BBC Play of the Month | Octavius Caesar | Episode: "Julius Caesar" |
| 1969 | Thirty-Minute Theatre | Richard Fox | Episode: "Roly Poly" |
| 1969 | The Wednesday Play | Mike | Episode: "A Serpent in Putney" |
| 1970 | BBC Play of the Month | Bob Acres | Episode: "The Rivals" |
| 1970 | BBC Play of the Month | Malcolm | Episode: "Macbeth" |
| 1971 | The Fenn Street Gang | Bernard Hedges | 3 episodes |
| 1972 | BBC Play of the Month | Tom Wrench | Episode: "Trelawny of the Wells" |
| 1972 | ITV Sunday Night Theatre | Ben Spray | Episode: "Ben Spray" |
| 1972 | My Wife Next Door | George Bassett | Series regular |
| 1972–1973 | Upstairs, Downstairs | Thomas Watkins | Recurring role |
| 1973 | ITV Play of the Week | Azarius | Episode: "Tobias and the Angel" |
| 1974–1975 | No, Honestly | Charles Danby | Series regular |
| 1975–1978 | Wodehouse Playhouse | Various roles | Series regular |
| 1977 | The Upchat Line | Mike Upchat | Recurring role |
| 1979 | Thomas & Sarah | Thomas Watkins | Series regular |
| 1980 | Play for Today | Paul Clements | Episode: "A Walk in the Forest" |
| 1980 | Tales of the Unexpected | Rev. George Duckworth | Episode: "Georgy Porgy" |
| 1983–1984 | Father's Day | Lyall Jarvis | Series regular |
| 1987–1994 | Fireman Sam | Narrator, all voices | Voice role |
| 1988 | Tales of the Unexpected | Robert Sandy | Episode: "The Surgeon" |
| 1989–1992 | Forever Green | Jack Boult | Series regular |
| 1990 | Screenplay | Doug | Episode: "Keeping Tom Nice" |
| 1991 | Tonight at 8.30 | Various roles | 3 episodes |
| 1996 | Testament: The Bible in Animation | Jonah | Episode: "Jonah", voice role |
| 1998 | Heartbeat | Jim Ryan | Episode: "The Enemy Within" |
| 1998 | The Mrs Bradley Mysteries | Alastair Bing | Episode: "Speedy Death" |
| 1999 | Peak Practice | Harry Capper | Episode: "Before the Lights Go Out" |
| 2001 | Dalziel and Pascoe | Sgt Ted Lock | Episode: "Secrets of the Dead" |
| 2004 | Down to Earth | David Brewer | Episode: "Family Ties" |
| 2004 | He Knew He Was Right | Mr. Outhouse | Miniseries |
| 2004 | Doc Martin | John Slater | Episode: "Of All the Harbours in All the Towns" |
| 2008 | Little Dorrit | Mr. Casby | Series regular |