Graham Seed (born 12 July 1950 in

Godalming Godalming ( ) is a market town and civil parish in southwest Surrey, England, around southwest of central London. It is in the Borough of Waverley, at the confluence of the Rivers Wey and Ock. The civil parish covers and includes the settl ...

) is an English actor.

Education

Seed was born on 12 July 1950. He was educated at

Charterhouse School Charterhouse is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school (English independent boarding school for pupils aged 13–18) in Godalming, Surrey, England. Founded by Thomas Sutton in 1611 on the site of the old Carthusian monastery in Charter ...

, an independent boarding school in the

market town A market town is a settlement most common in Europe that obtained by custom or royal charter, in the Middle Ages, a market right, which allowed it to host a regular market; this distinguished it from a village or city. In Britain, small rura ...

of Godalming in

Surrey Surrey () is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Greater London to the northeast, Kent to the east, East Sussex, East and West Sussex to the south, and Hampshire and Berkshire to the wes ...

, followed by

RADA The Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, also known by its abbreviation RADA (), is a drama school in London, England, which provides vocational conservatoire training for theatre, film, television, and radio. It is based in Bloomsbury, Central Lond ...

in London.

Career

Seed is best known for playing Nigel Pargetter in the

BBC Radio BBC Radio is an operational business division and service of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) which has operated in the United Kingdom under the terms of a royal charter since 1927. The service provides national radio stations cove ...

series ''

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 ...

'' from 1983 until January 2011, although actor Nigel Carrington briefly played the role when Seed took a break in the late 1980s. Seed appeared in the well-known "Is it on the Trolley?" sketch, alongside

Victoria Wood Victoria Wood (19 May 1953 – 20 April 2016) was an English comedian, actress, musician, screenwriter, and director. Wood wrote and starred in dozens of sketches, plays, musicals, films and sitcoms over several decades, and her live comedy act ...

(its author) and Duncan Preston in the series '' Victoria Wood: As Seen on TV''. After his character's death in ''The Archers'' in 2011, Seed played himself as the villain in a Radio 4 pantomime who plans to bring down Radio 4 by releasing the Pips, but ultimately falls to his death whilst retrieving a banner, paralleling his Archers character. In addition to ''The Archers'', Seed has appeared in the TV soap operas '' Brookside'' (1995–97, as Dick Thornton), ''

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 ...

'' (1981, as a solicitor) and '' Crossroads'' (1985–88, as Charlie Mycroft). Seed's roles include the teenage

Britannicus Tiberius Claudius Caesar Britannicus (12 February AD 41 – 11 February AD 55), usually called Britannicus, was the son of Roman Emperor Claudius and his third wife, Valeria Messalina. For a time, he was considered his father's heir, but t ...

, son of the emperor

Claudius Tiberius Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus ( ; ; 1 August 10 BC – 13 October AD 54), or Claudius, was a Roman emperor, ruling from AD 41 to 54. A member of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, Claudius was born to Nero Claudius Drusus, Drusus and Ant ...

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 ...

adaptation of

Robert Graves Captain Robert von Ranke Graves (24 July 1895 – 7 December 1985) was an English poet, soldier, historical novelist and critic. His father was Alfred Perceval Graves, a celebrated Irish poet and figure in the Gaelic revival; they were b ...

' '' I, Claudius'' (1976), Harrop in William Boyd's Channel 4 Film '' Good and Bad at Games'' (1983) and Jorkins in the first episode " Et in Arcadia ego" of the

Granada Television ITV Granada, formerly known as Granada Television, is the ITV (TV network), ITV franchisee for the North West of England and Isle of Man. From 1956 to 1968 it broadcast to both the north west and Yorkshire on weekdays only, as ABC Weekend TV, ...

television adaptation of ''

Brideshead Revisited ''Brideshead Revisited: The Sacred & Profane Memories of Captain Charles Ryder'' is a novel by the English writer Evelyn Waugh, first published in 1945. It follows, from the 1920s to the early 1940s, the life and romances of Charles Ryder, esp ...

'' (1981). He also appeared in ATV's '' Edward the Seventh'' (1975), '' Bergerac'' (1981), '' C.A.B.'' (1986) ''

Midsomer Murders ''Midsomer Murders'' is a British Mystery fiction, mystery television series, adapted by Anthony Horowitz and Douglas Watkinson from the novels in the ''Chief Inspector Barnaby'' book series created by Caroline Graham (writer), Caroline Graham. ...

'' (2009) and '' Wild Target'' (2010).

Personal life

Seed and his first wife, Claire Colvin, were parents to theatre producer Nicola, and jazz guitarist Toby (1988–2018). In 2013, Seed married theatre producer Denise Silvey.

Filmography

*''

Gandhi Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (2October 186930January 1948) was an Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalist, and political ethicist who employed nonviolent resistance to lead the successful campaign for India's independence from British ...

'' (1982) – Wicket-keeper

References

External links

* 1950 births Living people English male film actors English male radio actors English male television actors People educated at Charterhouse School Alumni of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art {{UK-screen-actor-stub