# Michael Angelis

Nicolas Michael Angelis (29 April 1944 – 30 May 2020) was an English actor. He was best known for his television roles as Chrissie Todd in Boys from the Blackstuff, Martin Niarchos in G.B.H. and as the longest-running narrator of the British children's series Thomas & Friends from 1991 to 2012, as well as several other products and media related to the franchise.

## Early life and career

Nicolas Michael Angelis was born on 29 April 1944 in Paddington, London to an English mother, Margaret (née McCulla) (1920–1947), and a Greek father, Evangelos Angelis (1894–1959). He was raised in Dingle, Liverpool. He trained at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama, Glasgow, where he played roles in, among other works, Brendan Behan's The Hostage and The Zykovs by Maxim Gorky. He was featured in Boys from the Black Stuff (1982) and G.B.H..
Angelis appeared in comedies such as The Liver Birds (1975–1978) and Luv (1993–1994) and films such as A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square (1979) and No Surrender (1985). In 1983, he appeared at the Royal Exchange, Manchester in Harold Pinter's The Caretaker. He was a villain in the revived television series Auf Wiedersehen, Pet (2002), alongside former fellow Black Stuff star Alan Igbon. He narrated the British version of Thomas & Friends from 1991 to 2012, replacing Ringo Starr.
He narrated John Peel's autobiography, Margrave of the Marshes, which was broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2005. In 2006 he starred in Fated, a film set in Liverpool, and in 2007 he appeared in episodes of Midsomer Murders and The Bill. In September 2011 he participated in the BBC Radio 4 programme The Reunion, talking with other cast members about Boys from the Blackstuff.

## Personal life

Angelis married three times. His first marriage, in 1971, ended in divorce. He married the Coronation Street actress Helen Worth in 1991, although they had been a couple since the mid 1970s. They divorced in 2001, following his much-publicised affair with the woman who would become his third wife, Welsh model Jennifer Khalastchi, whom he married in 2003. He and Worth remained friends.
He was the younger brother of fellow actor Paul Angelis.

## Death

Angelis died from a heart attack at his home in Thatcham, Berkshire on 30 May 2020, at the age of 76.

## Filmography
### Film

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1979 | Me You and Him | Lucien | |
| 1979 | A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square | Pealer Bell | |
| 1980 | George and Mildred | Café proprietor | |
| 1983 | Pride of our Alley | Monty Banks | |
| 1985 | No Surrender | Mike | |
| 1994 | Woodcock | Cyril | |
| 1996 | Giving Tongue | Will Shaker | |
| 2000 | Thomas and the Magic Railroad | James and Percy | Voice actor workprints |
| 2005 | Calling All Engines! | UK Narrator | |
| 2006 | Fated | Tatty | |
| 2009 | Hero of the Rails | UK Narrator | |
| 2010 | Misty Island Rescue | UK Narrator | |
| 2011 | Day of the Diesels | UK Narrator | |
| 2012 | Blue Mountain Mystery | UK Narrator | |
| 2012 | First Time Loser | Father Malachie | |

### Television

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1972 | The Scobie Man | Fire Officer | |
| 1972 | The Thirty-Minute Theatre | Mike | |
| 1972 | Coronation Street | Franny Slater | Episode 1226 |
| 1972–1974 | Z-Cars | Trev/Bobo | Episodes: "Week Off", "Bits An Bats" |
| 1974 | Village Hall | Terry Elliot | Season 1 Episode 1 |
| 1975–1996 | The Liver Birds | Lucien Boswell | 34 episodes |
| 1976 | Rock Follies | Stavros | |
| 1977 | Crown Court | Lewis Van Doren | Episode: "The Family Business: Part 1" |
| 1977–1978 | Robin's Nest | Niarchos/Waiter | Season 1 Episode 3, Season 2 Episode 4 |
| 1979 | Hazell | Scouse Benny | Episode: "Hazell Gets the Bird" |
| 1980 | Minder | Nick | Series 1, Episode 10: "The Dessert Song" |
| 1981 | The Little World of Don Camillo (TV Series) | 1st Salesman | |
| 1981 | BBC2 Playhouse | Frankie | Season 7, Episode 15 |
| 1981 | World's End | Danny | |
| 1982 | Wood and Walters | Chuck Sweeney/Visitor | Season 1, Episode 5 and 6 |
| 1982 | The Gaffer | 'Bad-Back' Barker | Episode: "Unfit as a Fiddle" |
| 1982 | Boys from the Blackstuff | Christopher "Chrissie" Todd | |
| 1982 | The Professionals | Len Clarke | Episode: "Lawson's Last Stand" |
| 1983 | Reilly, Ace of Spies | Artuzov | Episodes: "The Last Journey", "Shutdown" |
| 1983 | Bergerac | Tony Morel | Episode: "Holiday Snaps" |
| 1985 | I Woke Up One Morning | Max | |
| 1985 | Summer Season | Jack Shaughnessy | Episode: "Time Trouble" |
| 1987 | The Marksman (TV series) | Irwin | |
| 1989 | Bread | Mr Cossack | Season 5, Episode 2 |
| 1989 | The Russ Abbot Show | | Season 4, Episode 2-4 (Anthony's Devon Adventure sketch) and 9 |
| 1990 | Single Voices | Terence | Episode: "The Last Supper" |
| 1991 | G.B.H. | Martin Niarchos | |
| 1991–2012 | Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends | Narrator | UK version |
| 1991–2012 | Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends | Narrator | US version2 episodes of Season 6, and 4 episodes of Season 7 |
| 1992 | Wail of the Banshee | Merlin | |
| 1992 | Between the Lines | Det Insp Kendrick | Season 1, Episode 6 |
| 1992 | Boon | Don Feldman | Episode: "Blackballed" |
| 1993 | Lovejoy | Tommy Norris | Episode: "Second Fiddle" |
| 1993 | Luv | Harold Craven | Season 1 Episode 4 |
| 1993–2015 | Casualty | Gordon McCauley/Jez Ingrams/Ollie Yates/Stanley Momford | Season 7 Episode 24, Season 10 Episode 14, Season 13 Episode 14, Season 29 Episode 21 |
| 1993–1995 | September Song | Arnie | |
| 1994 | Against All Odds | Episode: Snatched | |
| 1995 | Joseph | Rueben | |
| 1996 | Whatever Happened to The Liver Birds? | Lucien Boswell | |
| 1997 | Common As Muck | Pete | Season 2, Episode 4 and 5 |
| 1997 | A Touch of Frost | Reggie Stansfield | Episode: "Penny for the Guy" |
| 1997 | Melissa | D.I Kilshaw | |
| 1997 | Harry Enfield and Chums | | Appeared in the episode Harry Enfield and Christmas Chums alongside Thomas & Friends narrator Mark Moraghan |
| 1998 | The Jump | Donald Lewis | |
| 2000 | Holby City | Eddie Burke | Season 2 Episode 10 |
| 2000 | Heartbeat | Frank McCready | Series 9 Episode 22 "With This Ring" |
| 2000 | Playing the Field | Chris Hurst | Season 3 Episode 1–6, Season 4 Episode 4 |
| 2002 | Auf Wiedersehen, Pet | Mickey Startup | |
| 2002 | Always and Everyone | Frankie Hills | Episode: "A New Breed" |
| 2003 | Sweet Medicine | Liam | Season 1 Episode 5 |
| 2004 | Merseybeat | Colin Nivern | Episode: "Distant Vices" |
| 2006 | Jack and the Sodor Construction Company | UK Narrator | Spinoff series of Thomas & Friends |
| 2007 | Midsomer Murders | Nicky Harding | Episode: "The Axeman Cometh" |
| 2007 | The Bill | Martin Donnelly | Episode: "Good Cop Bad Cop" |
| 2012 | Good Cop | Robert Rocksavage | |

### Video games

| Year | Title | Role |
| 1999 | Thomas & Friends: The Great Festival Adventure | All characters |
| 2000 | Thomas & Friends: Trouble on the Tracks | All characters |
| 2001 | Thomas & Friends: Railway Advetures | Thomas, Harold, and Sir Topham Hatt |
| 2002 | Thomas & Friends: Building the New Line | All characters |
| 2003 | Thomas & Friends: Thomas Saves the Day | All characters |