# Peter Hawkins

Peter John Hawkins (3 April 1924 – 8 July 2006) was a British actor. From the 1950s to 1980s, he was one of the most sought-after voice artists for television.

## Early life

Peter John Hawkins was born on 3 April 1924 in Hargwyne Street in Brixton, south London, to Detective Inspector John Stephen and piano player Doris Matilda. According to his son Silas, his father's talent was derived from his mother's ability to mimic others. Hawkins made his first stage appearance as a member of the chorus in a musical. During his last year at school, he wrote, with three friends, a revue entitled The Five Bs, the name of their form. He worked at Pitman's from the ages of 16 to 18, writing similar shows at a youth club. Hawkins joined the Royal Navy, entertaining with impressions for which he wrote scripts, and survived when HMS Limbourne sank after being torpedoed escorting the cruiser Charybdis near Guernsey. He was rescued by Ronnie Hill, a theatre actor at the time, and while recovering, Hawkins took part in plays, which resulted in his being taken into Combined Operations' Entertainments productions of the Royal Naval Barracks' Scran Bag.

## Career

Following his time with Scran Bag, Hawkins won a two-year place at the Central School of Speech and Drama, and in 1949, his television career began with an adaptation of J.B. Priestley's The Good Companions. He began his long association with children's television with the magazine programme Whirligig voicing several characters, including Mr. Turnip, Alexander Scrope, Petrio in Stranger from Space, Albert in Jeremy Make-Believe and the Can We Help You? segment. Hawkins joined the show after being asked by the producer of a children's serial he was playing the villain for.
In 1952, Hawkins became the voices of both Bill and Ben, the Flower Pot Men, for which he invented their Oddle-Poddle language. He made Bill's voice higher-pitched and Ben's lower-pitches to distinguish them, and praised the puppetry of Audrey Atterbury. The scripts would be written in English, and Peter would translate them into Oddle-Poddle, creating words similar to "Slogalog" (Slowcoach the Tortoise) and "Haddap" (Hello). He, Audrey and Gladys Whitred would keep in touch for at least thirty years afterwards.
In 1956, Hawkins married actress Rosemary Miller, who he met doing voices on Toytown. Hawkins was Ernest the Policeman, and reprised the role for the 1972 series. Hawkins would also meet Roy Skelton during Toytown, becoming a close friend. He would also be offered the role of a Doctor in Miller's star series Emergency Ward 10, although due to his many voice roles, he was unable to appear.
One of his best-known roles was all the voices in Captain Pugwash. Creator John Ryan praised him for his ability to perform many different voices, although he had to be hidden behind a monitor due to his facial expressions distracting the animators. Because of this, he could write down notes about incidental characters in the script and be reminded by them appearing onscreen.
Hawkins gained a reputation for pulling off difficult character voices, which led to him being cast as the Daleks in Doctor Who in 1963. After a trial session he settled on a monotone, which caused worry among executives that it would become monotonous. He solved this problem by raising the voice's pitch when the Daleks got angry. Hawkins would voice the Daleks in every subsequent 1960s story they appeared in, as well as the two 1960s feature films, The Curse of the Daleks stage play and Out of the Unknown, and he and fellow Dalek voice David Graham would become lifelong friends, although star William Hartnell and guest star Kevin Stoney would also strike up a relationship. Despite his son Silas being a Doctor Who fan, he did not find it strange that it was his father voicing the Daleks, although the Daily Express framed it as if he boasted to his friends about it, which Hawkins hated.
In 1966, Hawkins voiced the Cybermen in the fourth and final part of the Doctor Who serial The Tenth Planet, originated by Roy Skelton. For the subsequent three Cyberman serials he used an electrolarynx, which he described as very uncomfortable. He considered the story and cast of his last Dalek story, The Evil of the Daleks, to be the best. Hawkins never returned afterwards, as he had enough of having to fund it himself. He was, however, going to be the voice of K9 before John Leeson, with whom Hawkins had worked with on the first year of Thames Television's Rainbow, won the role.
One of his most prominent live-action roles in the period was 1965's The Big Spender, for which he grew and curled his hair for three months. As well, throughout the late 1950s and early 1960s he appeared in many advertising magazine programmes. In 1969 he played an Albanian interpreter speaking English in The Power Game, which he considered his hardest role to play.
In 1972, Hawkins joined the ensemble of Dave Allen at Large, even writing various skits, and staying until 1978, as well as voicing Zippy in Rainbow. In the pilot, he also voiced Sunshine, Bramble and Pillar, but after many policy changes they were removed. He tried to rewrite gags, which proved hard for the target audience, and so left the series, despite being asked to stay. He was eventually replaced by Roy Skelton, whom he recommended.
Throughout the 1980s, as well as providing voices in SuperTed, The Family-Ness and Jimbo and the Jet-Set, Hawkins reprised his roles of Bill and Ben for various shows, including Six Fifty-Five Special and Blue Peter. He claimed the reason for being able to remember such voices was that he believed that the right voice would appear if the right ideas were thought in a live-action role, and used the same thoughts to reprise the role. In 1988 he, his wife Rosemary Miller and David Graham did voices together for the English dub of the German animated film Stowaways on the Ark.
Due to Hawkins' role as Spotty Dog in The Woodentops, he was chosen by Nick Park to voice Gromit in his short film A Grand Day Out. He eventually decided to make Gromit a mute character to save on the effort required to animate his mouth, instead using his eyes and monobrow to communicate. None of Hawkins' original dialogue has been publicly released. Although Gromit snores and whimpers in A Grand Day Out, whether or not these were recorded by him is unconfirmed.
Silas believed his father had the most involvement with the Flower Pot Men, although he also enjoyed the diverse cast of Captain Pugwash, being very proud when it appeared in The Times as a crossword clue: "The captain is all for the dog having a bath". By comparison, when it was claimed Hilda Brabban created the Flower Pot Men, Hawkins immediately wrote a rebuttal. According to Silas, Hawkins gave thought to every role, yet never looked back at them.

## Personal life

Hawkins was interested in jewellery, fossils, "serious" music and eating out. He supported Chelsea F.C.. He used his record collection to expand his vocal range, and also had a collection of Japanese sword guards and Impressionist works, including those of Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Camille Pissarro and Claude Monet, much to the delight of Gale Pedrick. He considered his collection as "applause" for his busy yet anonymous voice work. In 1977, however, he sold his collection of sword guards at Sotheby's, with the highest-selling, by Seiyoken Hagiya Katsuhira and depicting the Three Sake Tasters, fetching £4,200, an auction record.
His wife, Rosemary Miller, whom he had married in 1956, also had an interest in collecting paintings. On 27 August 1959, they had a son named Silas, who was named in case he grew up to become an actor, which he did, going to follow his parents' careers and provide voiceovers on shows such as Summerton Mill. Despite his busy schedule, Hawkins spent lots of time with his son, reading bedtime stories as if he was recording, which Silas thought was overwhelming.

## Health problems

Hawkins regularly smoked 20 Olivier cigarettes in his prime, and, later, it would give him eczema. According to his son Silas, Hawkins' wife Rosemary would constantly dress his rashes. In 1992, Hawkins had an operation to remove a tumor in his brain, which left him unable to read and made him very drowsy.

## Death

Hawkins died on 8 July 2006, aged 82, of pneumonia. The funeral was held at St. Matthews in Queensway, where Silas was baptised. A showing of "The Survivors", his first Doctor Who episode, was arranged, and Silas scattered his ashes at Fermain Bay, Guernsey, where HMS Limbourne sank.

## Filmography
### Film

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1952 | The Lost Hours | Mechanic | Uncredited |
| 1964 | No Short Cut | Narrator | voice only, uncredited |
| 1965 | Dr. Who and the Daleks | Daleks | voice only, uncredited |
| 1965 | Look at Life: James Bond's Island | Narrator | Part of Look at Life, voice only |
| 1966 | Daleks' Invasion Earth 2150 A.D. | Daleks | voice only, uncredited |
| 1973 | Assassin | Passport Officer | |
| 1975 | Great | Voices | |
| 1975 | Super Natural Gas | Voices | |
| 1978 | Kingdom of Gifts | Voices | voice only, uncredited |
| 1979 | The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe | Dwarf Fox | voice only |
| 1980 | Rail Report 13: On Track for the Eighties | Narrator | British Transport Films, voice only, uncredited for latter two |
| 1980 | Centenary Express | Narrator | British Transport Films, voice only, uncredited for latter two |
| 1981 | The Train Makers | Narrator | British Transport Films, voice only, uncredited for latter two |
| 1981 | Moon Man | Narrator | voice only |
| 1984 | And the Walls Came Tumbling Down | Narrator | documentary film, voice only |
| 1988 | Stowaways on the Ark | Willi Worm | English version, voice only |
| 1989 | Asterix and the Big Fight | Getafix | English version, voice only |
| 1990 | Peter in Magicland | Sandman | English version, voice only |

### Television

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1949 | The Good Companions | Albert Tuggeridge | TV movie |
| 1949 | Old English | Reporter | TV movie |
| 1950-1956 | Whirligig | Mr. Turnip Alexander Scrope Petrio Albert | 91 episodes |
| 1951-1953 | Saturday Special | Porterhouse | 35 episodes |
| 1951 | Aladdin | Lord High Chamberlain | TV movie |
| 1952 | Three Little Mushrooms | Voices | 5 episodes |
| 1952-1953 | Flower Pot Men | Bill Ben | 26 episodes |
| 1953 | Peter and the Wolf | Narrator | TV movie |
| 1954-1957 | Billy Bean and His Funny Machine | Billy Bean | 30 episodes |
| 1954 | Harlequinade | Voices | TV movie |
| 1955 | The Travelling Musicians | Voices | TV movie |
| 1955-1956 | A Rubovian Legend | Lord Chamberlain Albert Weatherspoon | Series 1: (4 episodes) |
| 1955-1956 | The Woodentops | Spotty Dog | 26 episodes |
| 1956 | The Bird of Truth | Voices | TV movie |
| 1956 | Alice's Adventures in Wonderland | Cheshire Cat | TV Movie |
| 1956 | Meet the Penguins | Voices | 5 episodes |
| 1956 | The Holy Mice | Voices | TV Movie |
| 1956-1958 | Toytown | Ernest the Policeman | 18 episodes |
| 1957 | The Emperor's Nightingale | Voices | TV movie |
| 1957 | Beauty and the Beast | Voices | TV movie |
| 1957 | The Machine Breakers | Tom Thorpe | 3 episodes |
| 1957 | The Stolen Miniatures | Henry | TV movie |
| 1957 | Studio E | Willoughby | 7 episodes |
| 1957 | Treasure Island | Narrator | 7 episodes |
| 1958 | The Thompson Family | Ron Hicks | 3 episodes |
| 1958 | Life with the Lyons | Unknown | Episode "Who's Your Lady Friend?" |
| 1959 | Call Me Sam | Unknown | Episode 2 |
| 1959 | Adolphus | Narrator | 6 episodes |
| 1959-1960 | Small Time | Bruin and other voices | In shows Brock and Bruin, The Lost Invitation and Cookery Tales of Oaktree Kitchen |
| 1960 | Friday Magazine | Presenter | 7 episodes |
| 1960 | The Days of Vengeance | P.C. Harris and Narrator | 6 episodes |
| 1960-1962 | Playbox | Ben Cooke Jack Royde | 2 episodes |
| 1962 | Tintin and the Broken Ear | Narrator | 7 episodes |
| 1962 | The Tommy Steele Show: Quincy’s Quest | Topper | TV movie |
| 1963 | Blue Peter | Narrator (In Search of a Unicorn and Little Watha segments) | 6 episodes |
| 1963 | ITV Play of the Week | Sparks | Episode “The Seventh Wave” |
| 1963-1968 | Doctor Who | Dalek voices Cyberman voices | 51 episodes |
| 1964-1966 | Songs for the Times | Narrator | 5 episodes |
| 1964 | Boatswain on the Ice | Narrator | German film dubbed for TV |
| 1964 | Fred Hoyle’s Universe | Narrator | Documentary |
| 1964-1969 | Bleep and Booster | Narrator | 44 episodes |
| 1965 | The Roy Castle Show | Dalek | 1 episode |
| 1965 | The Newcomers | Radio announcer | 2 episodes |
| 1965-1966 | The Big Spender | Spiro | 5 episodes |
| 1966 | The Wednesday Play | Mr Willis | Episode "A Walk in the Sea" |
| 1966 | Softly, Softly | Detective Sergeant Thorne | Episode 14 "Blind Man's Buff" |
| 1966 | The Prizewinners | Narrator (A Policeman's Lot) | TV movie |
| 1966 | Five for Venice | Narrator | TV Movie |
| 1966 | Eugene Onegin | Narrator | TV Movie |
| 1966-1967 | Disney Wonderland | Goofy | 59 episodes |
| 1966-1967 | Captain Zeppos | Voices | English version, 15 episodes |
| 1967 | Merry-Go-Round | Narrator | Episode "The Flying Breeze" |
| 1968 | The White Horses | Voices | English version, 13 episodes |
| 1969 | Hark at Barker | Shoong Pu Teng | Series 1, episode 7: "Rustless and the Solar System" |
| 1969 | The Power Game | Interpreter | Episode "Standard Practice" |
| 1969 | Out of the Unknown | Dalek | Episode "Get Off My Cloud" |
| 1970 | Doomwatch | Computer | Episode 5: "Project Sahara" |
| 1970 | Paulus the Woodgnome | Paulus | English version, 39 episodes |
| 1970-1971 | The Tomfoolery Show | Voices | 17 episodes |
| 1971 | A Family at War | Dimmock | Episode "We Could Be a Lot Worse Off" |
| 1972-1974 | Larry the Lamb | Voices | 26 episodes |
| 1972 | The Adventures of Sir Prancelot | All characters | 31 episodes |
| 1972 | The Dick Emery Show | Unknown | 1 episode |
| 1972-1978 | Dave Allen at Large | Various | 19 episodes |
| 1972 | The Shadow of the Tower | Voice | Episode 5: "The Serpent and the Comforter" |
| 1972-1973 | Rainbow | Zippy | Series 1: (50 episodes) |
| 1973 | Son of the Bride | Mr. Cuthbertson | Episode 3 "Of Unsound Mind" |
| 1973 | The Count of Monte Cristo | Voices | 17 episodes |
| 1973 | Tymancha’s Friend | Voices | English version of Russian film |
| 1973 | Black and Blue | Voices | Episode 4, "Rust" |
| 1973-1975 | The Daily Fable | Mr. Owl | English version, 30 episodes |
| 1974 | Dial M for Murder | Sergeant Maclean | Episode 7 "Dead Connection" |
| 1974 | Father Brown | Gibbs | Episode 1: "The Hammer of God" |
| 1974-1975 | Captain Pugwash | All characters | 30 episodes |
| 1975 | Sadie, It's Cold Outside | Radio announcer | Episode 4 |
| 1976 | Bless This House | Radio announcer (uncredited) | Episode "Beautiful Dreamer" |
| 1976 | Agaton Sax | Narrator | English version, 4 episodes |
| 1976-1977 | Noah and Nelly in.. SkylArk | Voices | 30 episodes |
| 1977 | Rudy Schokker Cries No More | Voices | Dutch film dubbed for TV |
| 1977 | The Eieheiji Temple | Voices | Japanese film dubbed for TV |
| 1978 | The Glorious Musketeers | Rochefort | French film dubbed for TV |
| 1979 | The Perishers | Marlon BH | 20 episodes |
| 1979 | Quincy's Quest | Voices | TV movie |
| 1980-1986 | The Adventure Game | Opening narration | 11 episodes, uncredited |
| 1983-1986 | SuperTed | Narrator | 36 episodes |
| 1984 | C.Q. | Voices | TV movie |
| 1984-1985 | The Family-Ness | Voices | 25 episodes |
| 1985 | Seaview | Mynah bird | Episode "The Godfather" credited in Radio Times only |
| 1986-1987 | Jimbo and the Jet-Set | Voices | 25 episodes |
| 1989 | Windfalls | All characters | 12 episodes |
| 1989 | The Storyteller | Devil | Episode 1: "The Soldier and Death" |
| 1989 | Theatre Night | Michael Lomax | Episode "Knuckle", uncredited |
| 1989-1990 | Penny Crayon | Dennis | 12 episodes |
| 1991 | The Storyteller: Greek Myths | Vulture | Episode 4 "Daedalus and Icarus" |

### Radio

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1949 | Sheppey | Unknown | Play |
| 1949 | Leopold the Beloved | Martial | Play |
| 1949 | An English Summer | Willie Wishart | Play |
| 1949 | The Taverna Brothers | Hermann | Play |
| 1950 | Eden End | Wilfred Kirby | Play |
| 1950 | The Ivory Door | Titus | Play |
| 1953 | Just Fancy | Unknown | 24 episodes |
| 1954 | The Mystery of Robert the Devil | Various | Play |
| 1955 | No Peace for the Wicked | Various | 3 episodes |
| 1955 | Mrs Dale's Diary | Tiffin | Play |
| 1955 | The Good Soldier | Jimmy | Play |
| 1955 | A Tinker's Tale | Raven | Play |
| 1955 | Ray's a Laugh | Daisy the Turkey | Episode 11 "Let's Talk Turkey" |
| 1955-1958 | Educating Archie | Various | 6 episodes |
| 1956 | Floggits | Unknown | Play |
| 1957 | Mrs. Dale's Diary | Monument | Unrelated to 1955 production |
| 1957 | Life with the Lyons | Unknown | Christmas Edition |
| 1958 | Round the Bend | Unknown | 30 episodes |
| 1960 | We're in Business | Parrot | Episode “The Parrot” |
| 1960 | Something to Shout About | Joey the Parrot | Play |
| 1960-1961 | Spy-Catcher | Various | 2 episodes |
| 1960 | Meet the Huggetts | Unknown | 2 episodes |
| 1960 | Law and Disorder | Various | 2 episodes |
| 1961-1964 | Listen on Saturdays | Narrator | 82 episodes |
| 1961 | Inspector Scott Investigates | Mr. Faraday | 1 episode |
| 1961 | Shadow on the Sun | Unknown | 3 episodes |
| 1963 | Clancy of the Outback | Wright | Episode 2 "The Youno Prospector" |
| 1964-1967 | Emery at Large | Unknown | 4 episodes |
| 1964 | A State of Chaos | Unknown | Play |
| 1965 | Moonstrike | Various | 3 episodes |
| 1965 | Marriage Lines | Various | 3 episodes |
| 1966 | The Morecambe and Wise Show | Unknown | 4 episodes |
| 1966 | Scandal! | Various | 4 episodes |
| 1966-1967 | Steptoe and Son | Unknown | 2 episodes |
| 1967 | A Life of Bliss | Unknown | Episode “The Homecoming” |
| 1967 | Six Steps in the Dark | Unknown | Episode 1 |
| 1967 | The Young Pioneers | Voices | Episode 1 "The Sempill Inheritance" |
| 1967 | The Likely Lads | Scoutmaster | 1 episode |
| 1967 | The Bird's Nest | Unknown | Play |
| 1968 | Strange | Major Marcos | Play |
| 1969 | A Scent of New Mown Hay | Mavranin | Episode 1 |
| 1969 | The Dark Island | Major Williams | 5 episodes |
| 1970 | Mister Pybus | Stan Cullen | Episode 26 "Brigshaw and Son" |
| 1970 | A Batchelor Confirmed | Narrator | Special |
| 1971 | The Music of Exile | Narrator | Special |
| 1974 | And the Wall Came Tumbling Down | Leonard Gile | Episode 6 "The Last Map" |
| 1975 | Home to Roost | Various | 2 episodes |
| 1975 | Galbraith | Lander | 2 episodes |
| 1978 | Chanson francaise | Narrator | 6 episodes |
| 1978 | Strains of Moravia | Narrator | Play |
| 1978 | The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy | Frankie Mouse | Fit the Fourth |
| 1979 | The Biggest Cream Bun in the World | Voices | Part of Listen with Mother |
| 1980 | Uncle Ben's Big Dinner | Voices | Part of Listen with Mother |
| 1980 | The Milkman Wouldn't Get Up | Voices | Part of Listen with Mother |
| 1990 | Spinsters on the March | Narrator | Play |

### Sources

* "Search results for "Peter Hawkins" at the BBC Programme Index". Retrieved 10 March 2025.
* "Peter Hawkins". BFI. Archived from the original on 11 August 2020. Retrieved 10 March 2025.
* Hawkins, Silas (October 2014). "Voices-Voices-Voices!". Doctor Who Magazine (477). Panini Comics: 66.
* Noble, Peter (1959). "British Film and Television Year Book, Volume 9". British Film and Television Year Book. United Kingdom: Cinema TV Today. Retrieved 7 July 2024.
* Noble, Peter (1960). "British Film and Television Year Book, Volume 10". British Film and Television Year Book. United Kingdom: British and American Press. Retrieved 7 July 2024.
* Noble, Peter (1962). "British Film and Television Year Book, Volume 12". British Film and Television Year Book. United Kingdom: British and American Press. Retrieved 10 March 2025.
* Noble, Peter (1970). "British Film and Television Year Book". British Film and Television Year Book. United Kingdom: Cinema TV Today. Retrieved 10 March 2025.
* Noble, Peter (1974). "British Film and Television Year Book". British Film and Television Year Book, Volume 29. United Kingdom: Cinema TV Today. Retrieved 10 March 2025.
* Noble, Peter (1978). "British Film and Television Year Book". International Film and TV Year Book, Volume 33. United Kingdom: Screen International. Retrieved 10 March 2025.
* John Cech (September 2009). Imagination and Innovation: The Story of Weston Woods. Scholastic.
* "Sunday Night at the London Palladium (Season 8, 1962-63)". The Classic TV Archive. Retrieved 10 March 2025.
* Jessica Fielding (31 March 2016). "Tonight's Anglia TV… in 1967". Transdiffusion. Retrieved 10 March 2025.