Ian Crossley (born 1951), better known by the stage name Fine Time Fontayne, is an English actor and stage director.

Early life

Fontayne was born in

Wombwell Wombwell () is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley in South Yorkshire, England. In the 2011 census, data for the town was split between the ward of Wombwell and small sections that fell into the wards of Darfield (specifically the a ...

West Riding of Yorkshire The West Riding of Yorkshire was one of three historic subdivisions of Yorkshire, England. From 1889 to 1974 the riding was an administrative county named County of York, West Riding. The Lord Lieutenant of the West Riding of Yorkshire, lieu ...

(now

South Yorkshire South Yorkshire is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England. It borders North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire to the north, the East Riding of Yorkshire to the north-east, Lincolnshire ...

) into a mining family. In the 1960s, he moved with his parents and brothers to

Sheffield Sheffield is a city in South Yorkshire, England, situated south of Leeds and east of Manchester. The city is the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire and some of its so ...

, where they ran a pub. He took his

stage name A stage name or professional name is a pseudonym used by performers, authors, and entertainers—such as actors, comedians, singers, and musicians. The equivalent concept among writers is called a ''nom de plume'' (pen name). Some performers ...

when he began singing and playing at a local

folk Folk or Folks may refer to: Sociology *Nation *People * Folklore ** Folk art ** Folk dance ** Folk hero ** Folk horror ** Folk music *** Folk metal *** Folk punk *** Folk rock ** Folk religion * Folk taxonomy Arts, entertainment, and media * Fo ...

club in Yorkshire. He had previously called himself Ordinary Seaman Whittle.''All Memories Great & Small'', Oliver Crocker (2016; MIWK) He started acting in the 1970s with the Crucible Vanguard Company.

Career

In the early years of his career Fontayne worked in cabaret, community and repertory theatre, as well as the Red Ladder Theatre Company. He has played a variety of roles in many long-running British TV series such as '' All Creatures Great and Small'', ''

Coronation Street ''Coronation Street'' (colloquially referred to as ''Corrie'') is a British television soap opera created by ITV Granada, Granada Television and shown on ITV (TV network), ITV since 9 December 1960. The programme centres on a cobbled, terraced ...

'', ''

Emmerdale ''Emmerdale'' (known as ''Emmerdale Farm'' until 1989) is a British television soap opera that is broadcast on ITV (TV network), ITV. The show is set in Emmerdale (known as Beckindale until 1994), a List of fictional towns and villages, fict ...

'' as well and '' Heartbeat''. He is a frequent voice in BBC Radio dramas (including ''The Blackburn Files'' and '' Street and Lane'') and has appeared in films including '' 24 Hour Party People'' and ''

Butterfly Kiss ''Butterfly Kiss'' (alternative title ''Killer on the Road'') is a 1995 British film, directed by Michael Winterbottom and written by Frank Cottrell Boyce. It stars Amanda Plummer and Saskia Reeves. The film was entered into the 45th Berlin In ...

''. Fontayne appeared in the 2002 radio series ''The Little World of Don Camillo''. He directed a successful production of ''Sleeping Beauty'' at the

Mercury Theatre The Mercury Theatre was an independent repertory theatre company founded in New York City in 1937 by Orson Welles and producer John Houseman. The company produced theatrical presentations, radio programs and motion pictures. The Mercury also r ...

Essex Essex ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East of England, and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Kent across the Thames Estuary to the ...

in December 2007 and January 2008. In February 2020, Fontayne portrayed the role of Ned Wainwright in 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 ...

soap opera ''

Doctors Doctor, Doctors, The Doctor or The Doctors may refer to: Titles and occupations * Physician, a medical practitioner * Doctor (title), an academic title for the holder of a doctoral-level degree ** Doctorate ** List of doctoral degrees awarded b ...

''. Fontayne was also a regular feature in Oldham Colliseum's annual pantomime, co-writing and performing as the pantomime dame in productions of Aladdin, Sleeping Beauty and Mother Goose. In 2023, he appeared as Joseph Broadbent in

Shane Meadows Shane Meadows (born 26 December 1972) is an English director, screenwriter and actor, known for his work in independent film, most notably the cult film ''This Is England'' (2006) and its three sequels (2010–2015). Meadows' other films inc ...

' period drama '' The Gallows Pole''.

References

External links

* Review of Hamlet with Fine Time Fontayne: * https://extra.shu.ac.uk/emls/15-3/revham.htm 1951 births Living people English male actors English male television actors English theatre directors People from Wombwell Male actors from South Yorkshire Actors from the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley {{theat-director-stub