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William Russell "Ross" Davidson (25 August 1949 – 16 October 2006) was a Scottish
actor
An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), li ...
best known for his role as
Andy O'Brien in the
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
soap opera
A soap opera, or ''soap'' for short, is a typically long-running radio or television serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term "soap opera" originated from radio dramas originally being sponsored ...
''
EastEnders''.
Career
Davidson started his working life as a
physical education
Physical education, often abbreviated to Phys Ed. or P.E., is a subject taught in schools around the world. It is usually taught during primary and secondary education, and encourages psychomotor learning by using a play and movement explorat ...
teacher in
Scotland
Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...
in the early 1970s. He also played water polo at international level for Scotland. He left teaching to run a pub and disco in
Glasgow
Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...
, but furthered his ambitions to act by attending night classes.
He made his screen acting debut on television in ''A Degree of Uncertainty'' (1979), a BBC ''
Play for Today'' set in a Scottish university, then appeared as a kilted dancer in ''
Stanley Baxter on Television'' (1979). He also had small parts as a member of a mime troupe in ''
The Comedy of Errors
''The Comedy of Errors'' is one of William Shakespeare's early plays. It is his shortest and one of his most farcical comedies, with a major part of the humour coming from slapstick and mistaken identity, in addition to puns and word play. ...
'' ("
BBC Television Shakespeare
The ''BBC Television Shakespeare'' is a series of British television adaptations of the plays of William Shakespeare, created by Cedric Messina and broadcast by BBC Television. Transmitted in the UK from 3 December 1978 to 27 April 1985, it ...
", 1983) and a photographer in ''
Widows II'' (1985), as well as appearing in the film ''
The Pirates of Penzance
''The Pirates of Penzance; or, The Slave of Duty'' is a comic opera in two acts, with music by Arthur Sullivan and libretto by W. S. Gilbert. Its official premiere was at the Fifth Avenue Theatre in New York City on 31 December 187 ...
'' (1983) and the
Monty Python short ''
The Crimson Permanent Assurance
''The Crimson Permanent Assurance'' is a 1983 British swashbuckling comedy short film that plays as the beginning of the feature-length motion picture '' Monty Python's The Meaning of Life''.
Having originally conceived the story as a six-minu ...
'' (1983), made to accompany the group's feature ''
The Meaning of Life''. In
Spain
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, image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg
, national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond")
, national_anthem = (English: "Royal March")
, i ...
, the
Netherlands
)
, anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau")
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands
, established_title = Before independence
, established_date = Spanish Netherl ...
and
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
he was seen in commercials for products ranging from chewing gum to beer.
In 1985 he became one of the original cast of the BBC's flagship soap opera ''
EastEnders''. He played the altruistic nurse Andy O'Brien for 18 months, after which his screen alter-ego went down in history for being the first main character to be killed off, dying in a road accident in August 1986.
Just before he left ''EastEnders'' Davidson recorded a pop single, "Jigsaw Puzzle", that failed to chart. He then returned to acting in stage plays (he had previously appeared in ''
Guys and Dolls
''Guys and Dolls'' is a musical with music and lyrics by Frank Loesser and book by Jo Swerling and Abe Burrows. It is based on "The Idyll of Miss Sarah Brown" (1933) and "Blood Pressure", which are two short stories by Damon Runyon, and also bo ...
'' at the
National Theatre) and returned to the small-screen in 1987 as a television presenter. He presented the BBC lunchtime magazine show ''Daytime Live'' (1987–88) and the sports challenge series ''Run the Gauntlet'' (1989–90).
Davidson later returned to acting and appeared in the
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a fourth television service ...
soap opera ''
Brookside Brookside may refer to:
Geography Canada
* Brookside, Edmonton
* Brookside, Newfoundland and Labrador
* Brookside, Nova Scotia
United Kingdom
* Brookside, Berkshire, England
* Brookside, Telford, an area of Telford, England
United States
* Br ...
'' and in the Welsh soap ''
Pobol Y Cwm
''Pobol y Cwm'' (''People of the Valley''; ) is a Welsh-language soap opera produced by the BBC since October 1974. The longest-running television soap opera produced by the BBC, ''Pobol y Cwm'' was originally transmitted on BBC One Wales and l ...
''. He also played the role of Peter O'Dell in the Scottish soap ''
Take the High Road
''Take the High Road'' (renamed ''High Road'' from 1994 to 2003) was a Scottish soap opera produced by Scottish Television, which started in February 1980 as an ITV network daytime programme, and was broadcast until 2003. It was set in the ficti ...
'' for three years. He starred as Andy Morgan in the
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a fourth television service ...
soap opera ''
Hollyoaks
''Hollyoaks'' is a British soap opera which began airing on Channel 4 on 23 October 1995. It was created by Phil Redmond, who had previously conceived the soap opera '' Brookside''. Since 2005, episodes have been aired on sister channel E4 a ...
'' from 1999 to 2002.
Personal life
Davidson's first marriage was to a primary school teacher, but it ended within three years. He took his ex-wife's maiden name, Ross, as his stage name.
While he was working on ''EastEnders'' Davidson began a relationship with
Shirley Cheriton
Shirley Cheriton (born 28 June 1955) is an English actress and performer, best known for her roles as Debbie Wilkins in the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'' and her portrayal of Miss Prescott in the ''Are You Being Served?'' follow up, ''Grace & Fa ...
, who played his on-screen girlfriend
Debbie Wilkins
Debbie "Debs" Wilkins is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'', played by Shirley Cheriton, from 21 March 1985 to 14 May 1987.
Debbie is Walford's first upwardly mobile character. She has an on/off relationship with her i ...
. The couple separated after five years. He had a son with his second wife, Barbara Black, before they married in 2005. They lived together in the
Essex
Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and Grea ...
resort of
Frinton-on-Sea. Black had three children from her previous marriage.
Illness and death
In February 2005 Davidson was diagnosed with a
brain tumour, and swiftly underwent surgery. It was unsuccessful and a month later he was readmitted to the Oldchurch Hospital in
Romford
Romford is a large town in east London and the administrative centre of the London Borough of Havering. It is located northeast of Charing Cross and is one of the major metropolitan centres identified in the London Plan. Historically, Romfo ...
, where he was told that he had a
glioblastoma Grade 4, the fastest-growing and most invasive form of brain tumour. In July 2005 Davidson went public with the news that his tumour was inoperable and that his life expectancy was 12–18 months. He died on 16 October 2006.
Filmography
References
External links
*
''EastEnders'' characters - Andy O'BrienObituary in The IndependentBBC News report on death
{{DEFAULTSORT:Davidson, Ross
1949 births
2006 deaths
Deaths from brain cancer in England
People from Airdrie, North Lanarkshire
People from Frinton-on-Sea
Scottish male soap opera actors
Scottish male television actors