John Slade Nettleton (5 February 1929 – 12 July 2023) was an English actor. He played Sir Arnold Robinson,

Cabinet Secretary A cabinet secretary is usually a senior official (typically a civil servant) who provides services and advice to a cabinet of ministers as part of the Cabinet Office. In many countries, the position can have considerably wider functions and powe ...

in '' Yes Minister'' (1980–1984) and President of the Campaign for Freedom of Information in the follow-up '' Yes, Prime Minister'' (1985–1988). Another political role for Nettleton was as Conservative Party MP Sir Stephen Baxter in the sitcom '' The New Statesman''.

Early life

Nettleton was born in Sydenham,

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, and graduated from RADA in 1951.

Career

Nettleton played Sir Arnold Robinson,

in '' Yes Minister'' (1980–1984) and President of the Campaign for Freedom of Information in the follow-up '' Yes, Prime Minister'' (1985–1988). He also played a Conservative Party Member of Parliament (Sir Stephen Baxter) in the sitcom '' The New Statesman''. Nettleton's other television roles included a Ministry of Defence department chief in ''The Avengers'' (episode " The See-Through Man", 1967), a police sergeant in '' Please Sir!'' (1969), Alfred Booker in ''The Champions'' (episode "Full Circle", 1969), Froggett in the office comedy series ''If It Moves File It'' (1970),

Francis Bacon Francis Bacon, 1st Viscount St Alban (; 22 January 1561 – 9 April 1626) was an English philosopher and statesman who served as Attorney General and Lord Chancellor of England under King James I. Bacon argued for the importance of nat ...

in '' Elizabeth R'' (1971), a Detective Superintendent in '' Doctor at Large'' in 1971, George Pattinson in a now lost episode ("The Uninvited") of '' Out of the Unknown'' (also in 1971), as Arthur Bellamy, brother to

Viscount A viscount ( , for male) or viscountess (, for female) is a title used in certain European countries for a noble of varying status. The status and any domain held by a viscount is a viscounty. In the case of French viscounts, the title is ...

Bellamy, in '' Upstairs, Downstairs'' (1972), '' The Country Wife'' (1977), '' Brideshead Revisited'' (1981), '' The Flame Trees of Thika'' (1981), '' The Citadel'' (1983), '' Martin Luther, Heretic'' (1983), ''

Brass Brass is an alloy of copper and zinc, in proportions which can be varied to achieve different colours and mechanical, electrical, acoustic and chemical properties, but copper typically has the larger proportion, generally copper and zinc. I ...

'' (1983), '' East of Ipswich'' (1987), Major Membury in ''A Perfect Spy'' (1987), Reverend Ernest Matthews in the ''

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 ...

'' serial '' Ghost Light'' (1989), ''

Longitude Longitude (, ) is a geographic coordinate that specifies the east- west position of a point on the surface of the Earth, or another celestial body. It is an angular measurement, usually expressed in degrees and denoted by the Greek lett ...

'' (2000), '' Midsomer Murders'' (2005) and '' Kingdom'' (2008). In the 1960s and 1970s, Nettleton was the reader of various illustrated stories on children's television programme '' Blue Peter''. Often these were about historical figures, such as

Florence Nightingale Florence Nightingale (; 12 May 1820 – 13 August 1910) was an English Reform movement, social reformer, statistician and the founder of modern nursing. Nightingale came to prominence while serving as a manager and trainer of nurses during th ...

. On stage, Nettleton appeared in the Lyttelton Theatre at the

Royal National Theatre The National Theatre (NT), officially the Royal National Theatre and sometimes referred to in international contexts as the National Theatre of Great Britain, is a performing arts venue and associated theatre company located in London, England, ...

in the 2006 productions of Harley Granville-Barker's '' The Voysey Inheritance'', directed by Peter Gill. He also appeared at the Olivier Theatre in the 1990 production of Alan Bennett's '' Wind in the Willows'', directed by Nicholas Hytner. He also voiced Grandpa in the PC video game ''The Scruffs''.

Personal life and death

Nettleton married actress Deirdre Doone in 1954. They had three daughters. Nettleton and Doone were members of the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament. He died on 12 July 2023, at the age of 94.

Filmography

References

External links

* *
John Nettleton
Aveleyman)(Wayback Machine) * {{DEFAULTSORT:Nettleton, John 1929 births 2023 deaths 20th-century English male actors 21st-century English male actors Actors from the London Borough of Lewisham English male film actors English male stage actors English male television actors Male actors from London People from Sydenham, London