Peter Reginald Gadd (3 June 1925 – 11 May 2013), known professionally as Arnold Peters, was an English actor, who played Jack Woolley in ''

The Archers ''The Archers'' is a British radio soap opera currently broadcast on BBC Radio 4, the corporation's main spoken-word Radio broadcasting, channel. Broadcast since 1951, it was famously billed as "an everyday story of country folk" and is now pr ...

'' radio soap opera for 31 years.

Biography

Born in

Hendon Hendon is an urban area in the London Borough of Barnet, northwest London northwest of Charing Cross. Hendon was an ancient Manorialism, manor and parish in the county of Middlesex and a former borough, the Municipal Borough of Hendon; it has ...

Middlesex Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a Historic counties of England, former county in South East England, now mainly within Greater London. Its boundaries largely followed three rivers: the River Thames, Thames in the south, the River Lea, Le ...

, but brought up in

Northamptonshire Northamptonshire ( ; abbreviated Northants.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. It is bordered by Leicestershire, Rutland and Lincolnshire to the north, Cambridgeshire to the east, Bedfordshi ...

, he was educated as a day boy at

Wellingborough School Wellingborough School is a co-educational Private schools in the United Kingdom, private day school in the market town of Wellingborough in Northamptonshire. It was established in 1595 and is one of List of the oldest schools in the United Kin ...

.Obituary: Arnold Peters
telegraph.co.uk, 13 May 2013 He joined the

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the Air force, air and space force of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. It was formed towards the end of the World War I, First World War on 1 April 1918, on the merger of t ...

in 1944, but was found to be unfit for military service, and after the war spent five years at the Northampton Repertory Theatre"Obituary: Arnold Peters"
BBC News, 13 May 2013 (now the

Royal & Derngate Royal & Derngate is a theatre complex in the Cultural Quarter, Northampton, Cultural Quarter of Northampton, England, consisting of the Royal Theatre, Derngate Theatre and the Northampton Filmhouse. The Royal was built by theatre architect Cha ...

). While performing in a pantomime during this period he met Beryl, a dancer, who became his wife.Sue Arnol
Obituary: Arnold Peters
''The Guardian'', 14 May 2013 Peters made many appearances on TV, including a regular role in '' Swizzlewick'' (1964), which also featured Philip Garston-Jones, whom he replaced as Jack Woolley, and

Margot Boyd Margot Boyd (born Beryl Billings, 24 September 1913 – 20 May 2008) was an English stage, television and radio actress. She grew up in Bath and trained as an actor at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA). Here Boyd acted in a production ...

, also known for her work in ''The Archers''. He also appeared in '' Please Sir! TV Series(1970)'

Jude the Obscure ''Jude the Obscure'' is a novel by Thomas Hardy which began as a magazine serial in December 1894 and was first published in book form in 1895 (though the title page says 1896). The protagonist, Jude Fawley, is a working-class young man; he i ...

'' (1971), ''London Belongs to Me'' (

Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the second-longest in the United Kingdom, after th ...

, 1977), Dennis Potter's '' Pennies from Heaven'' (1978)Marcus Williamso
"Arnold Peters: The voice of Jack Woolley in ''The Archers''"
''The Independent'', 15 May 2013 and an episode of ''

Only Fools and Horses ''Only Fools and Horses'' (titled onscreen as ''Only Fools and Horses....'') is a British television sitcom that was created and written by John Sullivan (writer), John Sullivan. Seven series were originally broadcast on BBC One in the United Ki ...

'' called " A Royal Flush" (1986). In the 1990s, Peters appeared in television advertisements for

Werther's Original Werther's Original (from the original German language, German: Werthers Echte) is a brand of caramel and butter confectionery owned by the German company August Storck, based in Berlin, Germany. The candy is popular in Europe and North America. ...

Toffees. He was best known for playing businessman and hotelier Jack Woolley in the long running BBC radio series ''

'' from May 1980 until 2011."Arnold Peters, ''Archers'' actor, dies"
BBC News, 13 May 2013 Jack Woolley was not the first role he had performed in ''The Archers'', but was by far the most extended of his three roles in the soap opera; he had first joined the cast in 1953, the year he became a Midlands member of the BBC repertory company.""Archers actor Arnold Peters dies, aged 87
''Birmingham Mail'', 13 May 2013 The role, as farmhand Len Thomas lasted for 13 years, and the actor was soon cast again, as the Reverend David Latimer in 1968; the character died in 1973.

Personal life

Peters lived in the village of Wollaston,

. He died in Northamptonshire on 11 May 2013, after suffering from

Alzheimer's disease Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disease and the cause of 60–70% of cases of dementia. The most common early symptom is difficulty in remembering recent events. As the disease advances, symptoms can include problems wit ...

for some years, a condition with which he was diagnosed shortly after his ''Archers character. He was the cousin of

Gyles Brandreth Gyles Daubeney Brandreth (born 8 March 1948) is a British broadcaster, writer and former politician. He has worked as a television presenter, theatre producer, journalist, author and publisher. He was a presenter for TV-am's '' Good Morning Bri ...

. He was married to Beryl Peters, whom he met when they appeared in a production of ''

Cinderella "Cinderella", or "The Little Glass Slipper", is a Folklore, folk tale with thousands of variants that are told throughout the world.Dundes, Alan. Cinderella, a Casebook. Madison, Wis: University of Wisconsin Press, 1988. The protagonist is a you ...

'' and had a daughter Caroline, who was a teacher of ballet and drama.

Filmography

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Peters, Arnold 1925 births 2013 deaths English male radio actors English male television actors Actors from the London Borough of Barnet Male actors from Northamptonshire Deaths from dementia in England Deaths from Alzheimer's disease in England People educated at Wellingborough School People from Hendon