Jeffrey Alan Rawle (born 20 July 1951) is a British actor from
Birmingham
Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands, within the wider West Midlands (region), West Midlands region, in England. It is the Lis ...
, England. He is known for playing Billy in ''
Billy Liar
''Billy Liar'' is a 1959 novel by Keith Waterhouse that was later adapted into a play, a Billy Liar (film), film, a Billy (musical), musical and a Billy Liar (TV series), TV series. The work has inspired and been featured in a number of popul ...
'' (1973–1974), and for portraying George Dent in the news-gathering sitcom ''
Drop the Dead Donkey'' (1990–1998), and
Silas Blissett
Silas Blissett is a fictional character from the British Channel 4 soap opera ''Hollyoaks'', played by Jeff Rawle. Rawle's casting was announced in December 2010 and it was revealed that he would portray a serial killer. Rawle was approached by ...
in ''
Hollyoaks
''Hollyoaks'' is a British soap opera which originally began airing on Channel 4 on 23 October 1995. It was created by Phil Redmond, who had previously conceived the soap opera ''Brookside (TV series), Brookside''. From 2005 to 2023, episodes h ...
'' (2010–2022). Other credits include ''
Minder'' (1993), ''
Doc Martin'' (2004), ''
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
''Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire'' is a fantasy novel written by British author J. K. Rowling. It is the fourth novel in the ''Harry Potter'' series. It follows Harry Potter (character), Harry Potter, a wizard in his fourth year at Hogwar ...
'' (2005), ''
Grantchester
Grantchester () is a village and civil parish on the River Cam or Granta (river), Granta in South Cambridgeshire, England. It lies about south of Cambridge.
Name
The village of Grantchester is listed in the 1086 Domesday Book as ''Granteset ...
'' (2023), and ''
Beyond Paradise'' (2024).
Early life
Rawle was born on 20 July 1951,
in
Birmingham
Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands, within the wider West Midlands (region), West Midlands region, in England. It is the Lis ...
.
His first secondary school was
King Edward VI School in
Aston
Aston is an area of inner Birmingham, in the county of the West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. Located immediately to the north-west of Birmingham city centre, Central Birmingham, Aston constitutes a wards of the United Kingdom, war ...
, Birmingham. When he was 15, his family moved 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 ...
, and it was at
High Storrs Grammar School that he first became interested in drama when he appeared in school plays. He worked at the
Sheffield Playhouse before training at
LAMDA
The London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art (LAMDA) is a drama school located in Hammersmith, London. Founded in 1861, it is the oldest specialist drama school in the British Isles and a founding member of the Federation of Drama Schools. In ...
.
Career
Rawle landed his first significant role in 1973 as the protagonist in the television version of
Keith Waterhouse
Keith Spencer Waterhouse Order of British Empire, CBE (6 February 1929 – 4 September 2009) was a British novelist and newspaper columnist and the writer of many television series. He was also a noted arbiter of newspaper style and journalisti ...
and
Willis Hall's ''
Billy Liar
''Billy Liar'' is a 1959 novel by Keith Waterhouse that was later adapted into a play, a Billy Liar (film), film, a Billy (musical), musical and a Billy Liar (TV series), TV series. The work has inspired and been featured in a number of popul ...
''.
He played Billy Fisher for two seasons, 26 episodes from 1973 to 1974.
In 1979, he appeared with
Ian McKellen
Sir Ian Murray McKellen (born 25 May 1939) is an English actor. He has played roles on the screen and stage in genres ranging from Shakespearean dramas and modern theatre to popular fantasy and science fiction. He is regarded as a British cu ...
and
Tom Bell in ''Bent'' at the
Criterion Theatre, London. In 1984, he appeared in the story ''
Frontios
''Frontios'' is the third serial of the 21st season of the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'', which was first broadcast in four twice-weekly parts on BBC1 from 26 January to 3 February 1984.
Set in the far future, the seri ...
'' as the character Plantaganet in ''
Doctor Who
''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series, created by Sydney Newman, C. E. Webber and Donald Wilson (writer and producer), Donald Wilson, depicts the adventures of an extraterre ...
''.
In 1980, he appeared in the ''
Hammer House of Horror
''Hammer House of Horror'' is a British horror anthology television series produced in Britain in 1980. Created by Hammer Films in association with Cinema Arts International and ITC Entertainment, it consists of 13 hour-long episodes, origin ...
'',
episode "
Charlie Boy." In 1981, he appeared in an episode of ''
Juliet Bravo
''Juliet Bravo'' is a television in the United Kingdom, British television police procedural drama series, first broadcast on 30 August 1980, that ran for six series and a total of 88 episodes on BBC One, BBC1. The theme of the series concerned ...
''.
In 1983, He starred as Jeff Harris in three episodes of ''
Angels
An angel is a spiritual (without a physical body), heavenly, or supernatural being, usually humanoid with bird-like wings, often depicted as a messenger or intermediary between God (the transcendent) and humanity (the profane) in variou ...
'' and appeared in ''
Bergerac'' (1983).
In 1989, he starred as W.O. Wilson in the three-part miniseries ''
Vote for Them'', which was about allied troops still based in Cairo in 1943.
He appeared in ''
Minder'' (1993)
and ''
Faith in the Future'' on
ITV from 1995 to 1998.
In 2004, Rawle appeared as Roger Fenn in the
ITV series ''
Doc Martin''.
The actor made a guest appearance as lawyer Jonathan Blunt in the fourth episode of the fourth series of ''
New Tricks
''New Tricks'' is a British television police procedural comedy drama, created by Nigel McCrery and Roy Mitchell, produced primarily by Wall to Wall (until its final year, when it was handled by Headstrong Pictures), and broadcast on BBC On ...
'' (2007).
In 2005, Rawle portrayed
Amos Diggory
The Ministry of Magic is the government of the British wizarding community in the fictional universe of ''Harry Potter'' for Britain and Ireland. It is led by an official called the Minister for Magic, and is first mentioned in ''Harry Potter a ...
, father of
Cedric Diggory
The following is a list of characters from the ''Harry Potter'' series. Each character appears in at least one ''Harry Potter''–related book or story by J. K. Rowling. These books and stories include the seven original ''Harry Potter'' nov ...
(
Robert Pattinson
Robert Douglas Thomas Pattinson (born 13 May 1986) is an English actor. #Filmography, His filmography often sees him portraying eccentric characters across a diverse range of genres. Known for starring in both major studio productions and in ...
), in ''
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
''Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire'' is a fantasy novel written by British author J. K. Rowling. It is the fourth novel in the ''Harry Potter'' series. It follows Harry Potter (character), Harry Potter, a wizard in his fourth year at Hogwar ...
''.
2008 saw Rawle play
Gilbert Murray
George Gilbert Aimé Murray (2 January 1866 – 20 May 1957) was an Australian-born British classical scholar and public intellectual, with connections in many spheres. He was an outstanding scholar of the language and culture of Ancient Greec ...
in the
National Theatre's production of
Tony Harrison's play ''
Fram''. The following year, he guested in ''
The Bill
''The Bill'' is a British police procedural television series, broadcast on ITV (TV network), ITV from 16 October 1984 until 31 August 2010. The programme originated from a one-off drama, "Woodentop (The Bill), Woodentop" (part of the ''Storyb ...
'' and appeared in ''
The Sarah Jane Adventures
''The Sarah Jane Adventures'' is a British science fiction television programme that was produced by BBC Cymru Wales for CBBC, created by Russell T Davies, and starring Elisabeth Sladen. The programme is a spin-off of the long-running BBC s ...
'' on
CBBC
CBBC is a British free-to-air Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast children's television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is also the brand used for all BBC content for children aged 6 to 12. Its sister c ...
. During 2010, Rawle joined the cast of ''
Hollyoaks
''Hollyoaks'' is a British soap opera which originally began airing on Channel 4 on 23 October 1995. It was created by Phil Redmond, who had previously conceived the soap opera ''Brookside (TV series), Brookside''. From 2005 to 2023, episodes h ...
'' as serial killer
Silas Blissett
Silas Blissett is a fictional character from the British Channel 4 soap opera ''Hollyoaks'', played by Jeff Rawle. Rawle's casting was announced in December 2010 and it was revealed that he would portray a serial killer. Rawle was approached by ...
. He stated that he was delighted to be playing such a sinister character. He has won various awards for his portrayal of Silas. He initially left the role in 2012, before making guest returns from January to May 2016, and from October 2020 to January 2021. He reprised the role in September 2022, when his grandson, Bobby, finally killed off his character.
In October 2012, it was announced that Rawle had joined the ''
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 ...
cast as Rory Bishton, a road sweeper with something to hide.
Rawle made his screen debut as Rory in early 2013.
He had previously appeared in the series in 2004.
Rawle has provided numerous narrations, including ''A Bear Called
Paddington
Paddington is an area in the City of Westminster, in central London, England. A medieval parish then a metropolitan borough of the County of London, it was integrated with Westminster and Greater London in 1965. Paddington station, designed b ...
'', three series of the
Duchess of York
Duchess of York is the principal courtesy title held by the wife of the Duke of York. Three of the eleven Dukes of York either did not marry or had already assumed the throne prior to marriage, while two of the Dukes married twice; therefore, th ...
's ''
Budgie the Little Helicopter'',
Stephen Hawking
Stephen William Hawking (8January 194214March 2018) was an English theoretical physics, theoretical physicist, cosmologist, and author who was director of research at the Centre for Theoretical Cosmology at the University of Cambridge. Between ...
's ''Universe'' and Tom Fort's ''The Grass is Always Greener'' for
BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. The station replaced the BBC Home Service on 30 September 1967 and broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes from the BBC's headquarters at Broadcasti ...
. Rawle's writing credits include ''
The Young Poisoner's Handbook'' in 1995 and ''Who Goes There?''
Filmography and television
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rawle, Jeff
1951 births
Living people
20th-century English male actors
21st-century English male actors
Alumni of the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art
British male film actors
British male soap opera actors
English male stage actors
English male television actors
English male voice actors
Male actors from Birmingham, West Midlands
People educated at King Edward VI Aston School
People educated at High Storrs Grammar School for Boys
Politicians from Sheffield