This is a List of the Carleton Hobbs Bursary winners, who thus gained a six-month contract with the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

Radio Drama Company The Radio Drama Company is a company of actors formed by the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) in 1939, at the beginning of the Second World War. It is sometimes referred to as RDC, or the Rep, a survival from its original name, the Drama Re ...

. Until 1997, two Bursaries were awarded each year; in 1998, the number increased to six; in 2003, it fell back to five, and in 2004, to four.Carleton Hobbs Bursary award winners
at BBC.co.uk, accessed 23 January 2018

Winners

Source: *1953: Catherine Fleming *1954:

Mary Ure Eileen Mary Ure (18 February 1933 – 3 April 1975) was a British actress. She was the second Scottish-born actress (after Deborah Kerr) to be nominated for an Academy Award, for her role in the 1960 film '' Sons and Lovers''. Early life Born i ...

(declined), Edward Kelsey, Aline Waite *1955: Geoffrey Hodson, Annette Kelly *1956:

Rowena Cooper Rosemary Rowena Cooper (born 1935) is a British actress. She began her career in 1956, joining the Radio Drama Company by winning the Carleton Hobbs Bursary. In 1959 she joined the Dundee Repertory Theatre Company and went on to have an exte ...

Patrick Godfrey Patrick Lindesay Archibald Godfrey (born 13 February 1933) is an English actor of film, television and stage. Life and career Godfrey was born in Finsbury, London to Rev. Frederick Godfrey and Lois Mary Gladys (née Turner). In 1956 Godfrey ...

*1957: Anne Rye,

Charles Kay Alfred Charles Piff (31 August 1930 – 8 January 2025), better known by his stage name Charles Kay, was an English actor. Early life and education Kay was born in Coventry, Warwickshire, the son of Frances (née Petty) and Charles Beckingham ...

*1958: Eva Gaddon,

Jeremy Kemp Edmund Jeremy James Walker (3 February 1935 – 19 July 2019), known professionally as Jeremy Kemp, was an English actor. He was known for his significant roles in the miniseries '' The Winds of War'' and '' War and Remembrance'', the film ''T ...

*1959: Tobi Weinburgh, Derek Smith *1960:

Nerys Hughes Nerys Hughes (born 8 November 1941) is a Welsh actress and narrator, known primarily for her television roles, including her parts in the BBC TV series '' The Liver Birds'' (1971-1978) and '' The District Nurse'' (1984-1987). Early life and e ...

, Gareth Morgan *1961: Patricia Bendall,

Stanley Lebor Stanley Harvey Lebor (24 September 1934 – 22 November 2014) was an English actor. He was best known for his roles as Howard Hughes in the 1980s BBC TV comedy series ''Ever Decreasing Circles'', the Mongon Doctor in ''Flash Gordon'' (1980), and ...

*1962: Sian Davies, David Valla *1963: Petronella Barker, Bruce Condell *1964: Leroy Lingwood,

Rosalind Shanks Rosalind Shanks is a British actress and broadcaster. In 1964, she joined the BBC's Radio Drama Company by winning the Carleton Hobbs Bursary. Shanks starred as Margaret Hale the heroine in ''North and South'', in 1975, opposite Patrick Stewar ...

*1965: Patricia Gallimore, Anthony Jackson *1966:

Carole Boyd Carole Boyd is a British actress. She has had a career in theatre, television, and radio, and plays Lynda Snell MBE in BBC Radio 4's ''The Archers''. In 1998, she won the Audie Award for Best Female Narrator for her narration of Angela Huth's ' ...

Clive Merrison Clive Merrison (born 15 September 1945) is a Welsh actor of film, television, stage and radio. He is best known for his long running BBC Radio portrayal of Sherlock Holmes, having played the part in all 64 episodes of the 1989–1998 series o ...

*1967: Alexandra Romanes, Michael Harbor *1968: Margaret Gouriet,

Desmond McNamara Desmond McNamara (29 April 1938 – 7 June 2022) was an English actor on the stage, radio, television and film. McNamara was born on 29 April 1938 in Hackney, London, to Arthur and Winifred McNamara. He took on National Service in the RAF before ...

*1969: Deborah Dallas, Geoffrey Collins *1970s: Susan Coward, David Timson, Gail McFarlane, Elizabeth Revill, Madeline Cemm, Ginette Clarke, Terri Lang, Mary Nelson, Alison Draper,

Elizabeth Rider Elizabeth Rider is an English actress. Her career is marked by diverse roles in numerous television dramas. Education She trained at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, where she was awarded its Gold Medal. From there, Elizabeth joined th ...

Richard Griffiths Richard Thomas Griffiths (31 July 1947 – 28 March 2013) was an English actor. He was known for his portrayals of Vernon Dursley in the ''Harry Potter'' films (2001–2011), Uncle Monty in '' Withnail and I'' (1987), and Henry Crabbe in '' P ...

, Andrew Rivers,

Anthony Daniels Anthony Daniels ( ; born 21 February 1946) is an English actor and mime artist, best known for playing in 11 ''Star Wars'' films. He is the only actor to have either appeared in or been involved with all theatrical films in the series, and h ...

, David Ericson, Andrew Seear,

Tim Bentinck Timothy Charles Robert Noel Bentinck, 12th Earl of Portland, Count Bentinck of Waldeck Limpurg (born 1 June 1953), commonly known as Tim Bentinck, is an Australian-born British actor and writer, known for his long-running role as David Arche ...

Trevor Cooper Trevor Cooper (born 21 September 1953) is an English actor. Background Born 21 September 1953, Cooper studied law at Kingston Polytechnic and graduated with a master's degree in law from the University of Warwick. He taught for two years at Lo ...

*1980s: Kathryn Hurlbutt, Stella Forge, Alexandra Mathie, Eileen Tully,

Jenny Funnell Jenny Victoria Funnell (born 20 May 1963) is a British actress. Her roles include Sandy in the British sitcom '' As Time Goes By'' from 1992 to 2005. Early life Funnell was born in Kenya. She moved to the UK when she was four years old, and ...

, Jane Leonard, Karen Ascoe,

Victoria Carling Victoria Carling is an English radio, television, film and theatre actress. She has an MA in English from Cambridge, and graduated from Bristol Old Vic in 1987, winning the Carleton Hobbs Award (with Stephen Tompkinson) in the same year. After m ...

, Cara Kelly,

Jane Slavin Jane Slavin (born 11 March 1970) is an English actress and novelist. Slavin was the winner of the 1989 BBC Radio Drama Carleton Hobbs Award. She has appeared on television in ''Lewis'', ''Doctors'' as Gayle Buckley, ''Peak Practice'', '' Alway ...

, John McAndrew, Gary Cady, Simon Hewitt, Scott Cherry, Guy Holden, James McPherson, James Good,

Stephen Tompkinson Stephen Phillip Tompkinson (born 15 October 1965) is an English actor, known for his television roles as Marcus in '' Chancer '' (1990), Damien Day in '' Drop the Dead Donkey'' (1990–1998), Father Peter Clifford in '' Ballykissangel'' (1996� ...

, Dominic Rickhards, Charles Simpson *1990s: Cathy Sara,

Annabel Mullion Annabel Mullion (born 1969) is a British actress. She was educated at St Mary's School, Ascot and studied English and Drama at the University of East Anglia. She then completed the 3 year acting course at Central School of Speech and Drama, grad ...

Tracy Wiles Tracy Wiles (born c. 1970), also credited as Tracey Wiles, is an English actress, who has worked on radio, stage and TV, and in film. She has appeared in '' McCallum'' (1997), ''Sea of Souls'' (2004), ''Doctors'' (2005–2023), '' The Line of Be ...

, Amanda Gordon, Sarah Rice, Angus Wright, Robert Portal,

Julian Rhind-Tutt Julian Alistair Rhind-Tutt (born 20 July 1967) is an English actor. He is best known for playing Dr "Mac" Macartney in the comedy television series '' Green Wing''. Early life Rhind-Tutt was born on 20 July 1967 in West Drayton, London, the youn ...

, Nicholas Boulton, David Antrobus, Paul Jenkins,

Mark Bonnar Richard Mark Bonnar (born 19 November 1968) is a Scottish actor. He is known for his roles as Max in ''Guilt (British TV series), Guilt'', Duncan Hunter in ''Shetland (TV series), Shetland'', Bruno Jenkins in ''Casualty (TV series), Casualty'', ...

, Alistair Danson, Elizabeth Conboy, Priyanga Elan, Tilly Gaunt, Giles Fagan, Ben Crowe, Harry Myers, Fiona Clarke, Beth Chalmers, Gemma Saunders, Tom George,

Christopher Kelham Christopher Kelham is a British film actor and producer best known for his lead role as Dale in the 2010 film '' The Cost of Love''. Filmography *2001: '' Representative Radio'' as Ben *2004: '' Fakers'' as Tim *2005: '' What's Your Name 41?'' a ...

, Tim Treloar *2000: Helen Ayres, Clare Corbett, Jasmine Hyde, Thomas Arnold, Kenny Blyth, Simon (Alex) Trinder *2001:

Helen Longworth Helen Longworth (born 11 December 1976 in Preston, Lancashire) is a British actress. She has appeared in many radio plays including playing the character of Zofia in six series of ''On Mardle Fen'', Susie Dean in ''The Good Companions'' and Mari ...

, Sarah Paul,

Jonathan Forbes Jonathan Forbes (born 4 December 1976 in Dublin) is an Irish actor. Early life Forbes was born in Dublin, Ireland on 4 December 1976. He attended Gonzaga College where he was in the same class as fellow actor Andrew Scott (actor), Andrew Scot ...

Carl Prekopp Carl James Prekopp (born 25 May 1979) is a British actor. He is acclaimed for his radio plays. He played Richard III at the Riverside Studios (2010) and originated the part of Lawrence in Tim Firth's stage adaptation of ''Calendar Girls''. Pr ...

, Peter Darney *2002: Carla Simpson,

Laura Doddington Laura May Doddington (born 2 January 1981) is an English actress, known for portraying the role of Nicola Mitchell in the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'' since 2024. Her other roles include her portrayal of Zara in several of the ''Doctor Who'' ...

, Emma Callender, Scott Brooksbank, Simon Donaldson, Richard Wright-Firth *2003: Jaimi Barbakoff,

Gbemisola Ikumelo Gbemisola Ikumelo is a British actress, comedian and writer. She has won a BAFTA award for her short ''Brain in Gear'' and best female comedy performance from the Royal Television Society for her role in her show '' Famalam''. Life and career Ik ...

Lydia Leonard Lydia Leonard (born 5 December 1981) is a British actress. She starred in the stage adaptation of Hilary Mantel's ''Bring Up the Bodies''. On television, she is known for her roles in the BBC Two sitcom '' Quacks'' (2017) and the Amazon Prime s ...

, Damian Lynch, Chris Moran *2004: Emily Wachter, Alex Tregear, Rob Hastie,

Stuart McLoughlin Stuart McLoughlin (born 1980 in Bristol) is a British actor. He is notable for his appearance in the title role in 2008's '' Clone''. His other TV appearances include 2008's ''Little Dorrit ''Little Dorrit'' is a novel by English author Cha ...

*2005: Ella Smith, Sophie Roberts, John Cummins, Nick Sayce *2006: Bethan Walker, Emma Noakes,

Joseph Kloska Joseph Anthony Kloska (born 1983) is an English actor. He began his career in radio, moving on to work in television, theatre, and film. Life Named after a Polish grandfather, Teofil Joseph Kloska, who had settled in England, Kloska was brought ...

, Paul Richard Biggin *2007: Joannah Tincey, Laura Molyneux, Alex Lanipekun, Sam Pamphilon *2008: Donnla Hughes, Jill Cardo, Gunnar Cauthery,

Robert Lonsdale Robert Lonsdale (born 2 November 1983) is an English actor and musician. Early life and education Son of Tom and Dilys Lonsdale, he was born on 2 November 1983 in Marsden, West Yorkshire, and has one sister. He went to the Academy of Live and ...

*2009: Melissa Advani,

Emerald O'Hanrahan Emerald O'Hanrahan (born 1986) is an English actress best known for playing Emma Grundy in ''The Archers'' on BBC Radio 4. Early life She was born and raised in Cambridgeshire. Educated at St Mary's School, Cambridge, until 2002, where she took ...

, Rhys Jennings, Piers Wehner, Joseph Cohen-Cole *2010: Leah Brotherhead, Claire Harry, Iain Batchelor, Henry Devas *2011: Alex Rivers, Francine Chamberlain, Adam Billington, Rikki Lawton *2012: Eleanor Crooks, Stephanie Racine, Will Howard, Adam Nagaitis *2013: Georgie Fuller, Arthur Hughes, Harry Jardine, Joel Maccormac *2014: Hannah Genesius, Roslyn Hill, Monty D'Inverno, Paul Heath *2015: Evie Killip, Caolan McCarthy, Rebecca Hamilton, George Watkins *2016: Natasha Cowley, Keziah Joseph, Catriona McFarlane, Luke MacGregor *2017: Abbie Andrews, Isabella Inchbald, Adam Fitzgerald, Gary Duncan, Tayla Kovacevic-Ebong *2018: Alexandra Constantinidi, Liam Lau Fernandez, Lucy Doyle, Cameron Percival, Saffron Coomber *2019: Laura Christy, Greg Jones, Lucy Reynolds, Will Kirk, Scarlett Courtney

References

{{reflist Radio drama BBC Radio