Bennett Roberts (1 July 1950 – 7 June 2021) was a Welsh actor most famous for his portrayal of Chief Inspector Derek Conway in the ITV British television series ''

The Bill ''The Bill'' is a British police procedural television series, first broadcast on ITV from 16 August 1983 until 31 August 2010. The programme originated from a one-off drama, '' Woodentop'', broadcast in August 1983. The programme focused on ...

''.

Early life

Roberts was born in Bangor,

Gwynedd Gwynedd (; ) is a Local government in Wales#Principal areas, county and preserved county (latter with differing boundaries; includes the Isle of Anglesey) in the North West Wales, north-west of Wales. It shares borders with Powys, Conwy County B ...

on 1 July 1950. He attended

Friars School Friars School is a school in Bangor, Gwynedd, and one of the oldest schools in Wales. History 1557 Establishment The school was founded by Geoffrey Glyn who had been brought up in Anglesey and had followed a career in law in London. A fria ...

and went on to study at the

Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art Webber may refer to: * Webber, Kansas, a US city * Webber Township, Jefferson County, Illinois, USA * Webber Township, Lake County, Michigan, USA * Webber International University, in Babson Park, Florida, USA * Webber (surname), people with the su ...

in London, graduating in 1978.

Career

He was best known for playing Chief Inspector Derek Conway in ''The Bill'' between 1987 and 2002. Other numerous television appearances include '' The Professionals'', ''

Angels In various theistic religious traditions an angel is a supernatural spiritual being who serves God. Abrahamic religions often depict angels as benevolent celestial intermediaries between God (or Heaven) and humanity. Other roles include ...

'', ''

The Queen's Nose ''The Queen's Nose'' is a children's novel by Dick King-Smith, first published by Gollancz in 1983 with illustrations by Jill Bennett. Set in England, where King-Smith lived, it features a girl who can use a fifty pence coin to make wishes. W ...

'', '' Doctors'' and '' Casualty''. He had also been active in films. In 2010, he appeared in the Mike Leigh film, '' Another Year''. In 2011, he played Briggs in Cary Fukunaga's ''

Jane Eyre ''Jane Eyre'' ( ; originally published as ''Jane Eyre: An Autobiography'') is a novel by the English writer Charlotte Brontë. It was published under her pen name "Currer Bell" on 19 October 1847 by Smith, Elder & Co. of London. The firs ...

''. In 2014, he played Jean in ''

A Little Chaos ''A Little Chaos'' is a 2014 British period drama film directed by Alan Rickman. The story was conceived by Alison Deegan who co-wrote the screenplay along with Rickman and Jeremy Brock. The film stars Kate Winslet, Matthias Schoenaerts, Alan ...

'' directed by Alan Rickman, and then in 2016 appearing in ''

Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children ''Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children'' is a contemporary fantasy debut novel by American author Ransom Riggs. The story is told through a combination of narrative and a mix of vernacular and found photography from the personal archiv ...

'', directed by Tim Burton. In 2019, he appeared as William, in the Danish biographical film ''

Daniel Daniel is a masculine given name and a surname of Hebrew origin. It means "God is my judge"Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 68. (cf. Gabriel—"God is my strength" ...

''.

Personal life

Roberts lived in

Ilkeston Ilkeston is a town in the Borough of Erewash, Derbyshire, England, on the River Erewash, from which the borough takes its name, with a population at the 2011 census of 38,640. Its major industries, coal mining, iron working and lace making/texti ...

Derbyshire Derbyshire ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands, England. It includes much of the Peak District National Park, the southern end of the Pennine range of hills and part of the National Forest. It borders Greater Manchester to the no ...

, with his wife, Helen Lloyd, a former television producer and

continuity announcer In broadcasting, continuity or presentation (or station break in the U.S. and Canada) is announcements, messages and graphics played by the broadcaster between specific programmes. It typically includes programme schedules, announcement of t ...

for Central TV. Roberts had one son, Joe, and one granddaughter, Elsie. Roberts died on 7 June 2021, at the age of 70.

Filmography

Television

*'' A Woman's Place?'' (1978) – Mark *'' The Professionals'' (1980) – CI5 Man *''

'' (1980) – Graham *'' Doctor Who'' (1984) – Trooper *'' The Bretts'' (1987) – Milkman *'' Hard Cases'' (1988) – Tom Gregory *''

'' (1988–2002) – Chief Inspector Derek Conway *'' Tales of Sherwood Forest'' (1989) – Malcolm *'' The Bill: Target'' (1996) – Acting Supt. Conway *'' Sooty Heights'' (2000) – Policeman *''

'' (2001) – Sir Cedric Barkhouse *'' Casualty'' (2005) – Mike Meller *'' Fallet - Skandia'' (TV Movie) (2009) – Will Mesdag *'' Doctors'' (2010) – Brian Taylor *'' Doctors'' (2012) – Dennis Hirst *'' Casualty'' (2016) – Isaac Sandison

Film

*'' Another Year'' (2010) – Mourner *''

'' (2011) – Briggs *''

'' (2014) – Jean *''

'' (2016) – 40's First Old Man *''

'' (2019) – William

References

External links

* People from Bangor, Gwynedd Welsh male television actors 1950 births 2021 deaths {{UK-actor-stub