Kevin Reardon Lloyd (28 March 1949 – 2 May 1998) was a British television actor, who came to prominence in the role of DC Alfred "Tosh" Lines in

Thames Television Thames Television, commonly simplified to just Thames, was a Broadcast license, franchise holder for a region of the British ITV (TV network), ITV television network serving Greater London, London and surrounding areas from 30 July 1968 until th ...

's police drama series ''

The Bill ''The Bill'' is a British police procedural television series, first broadcast on ITV from 16 August 1983 until 31 August 2010. The programme originated from a one-off drama, '' Woodentop'', broadcast in August 1983. The programme focused on ...

''.

Early life

Lloyd was born in

Derby Derby ( ) is a city and unitary authority area in Derbyshire, England. It lies on the banks of the River Derwent in the south of Derbyshire, which is in the East Midlands Region. It was traditionally the county town of Derbyshire. Derby gain ...

in the county of

Derbyshire Derbyshire ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands, England. It includes much of the Peak District National Park, the southern end of the Pennine range of hills and part of the National Forest. It borders Greater Manchester to the no ...

on 28 March 1949. His father was

Welsh Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, referring or related to Wales * Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales * Welsh people People * Welsh (surname) * Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peopl ...

. Ellis Aled Lloyd, was a police officer who was killed in the line of duty in 1970. Lloyd's grandfather and uncle were also police officers. He suffered from Perthes disease as a child. After leaving grammar school, he initially trained as a solicitor, before deciding that he wanted to be a professional actor. He studied acting at the

East 15 Acting School East 15 Acting School (East 15) is a British drama school in Loughton, Essex.Its degrees are awarded by the University of Essex, with which it merged on 1 September 2000. As of 2020, Essex University, where East 15 is located, has been ranked No. ...

Loughton Loughton () is a town and civil parish in the Epping Forest District of Essex. Part of the metropolitan and urban area of London, the town borders Chingford, Waltham Abbey, Theydon Bois, Chigwell and Buckhurst Hill, and is northeast of Char ...

Essex Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and G ...

Career

Prior to appearing in ''The Bill'' Lloyd had already played the high-profile role of nightclub owner Don Watkins in the

soap opera A soap opera, or ''soap'' for short, is a typically long-running radio or television serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term "soap opera" originated from radio dramas originally being sponsored ...

Coronation Street ''Coronation Street'' is an English soap opera created by ITV Granada, Granada Television and shown on ITV (TV network), ITV since 9 December 1960. The programme centres around a cobbled, terraced street in Weatherfield, a fictional town based ...

''. He also appeared in a number of other television shows, including the first series of '' Starting Out'', '' Boon'', '' Minder'', '' Dear John'', '' Farrington of the F.O.'', '' Dempsey and Makepeace'', ''

Z-Cars ''Z-Cars'' or ''Z Cars'' (pronounced "zed cars") is a British television police procedural series centred on the work of mobile uniformed police in the fictional town of Newtown, based on Kirkby, near Liverpool. Produced by the BBC, it debut ...

'', '' Andy Capp'', '' Auf Wiedersehen Pet'', ''

Blake's 7 ''Blake's 7'' (sometimes styled ''Blakes7'') is a British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC. Four 13-episode series were broadcast on BBC1 between 1978 and 1981. It was created by Terry Nation, who also wrote the first ser ...

'' and '' Casualty''. His film credits included roles in ''

Trial by Combat Trial by combat (also wager of battle, trial by battle or judicial duel) was a method of Germanic law to settle accusations in the absence of witnesses or a confession in which two parties in dispute fought in single combat; the winner of th ...

'' (1976),

Talent Talent has two principal meanings: * Talent (measurement), an ancient unit of mass and value * Talent (skill), a group of aptitudes useful for some activities; talents may refer to aptitudes themselves or to possessors of those talents Talent ma ...

(1979), '' Britannia Hospital'' (1982), '' Don't Open till Christmas'' (1984), '' Link'' (1986) and '' Billy the Kid and the Green Baize Vampire'' (1987). He was also active on stage in the 1970s, appearing in a production of

Joe Orton John Kingsley Orton (1 January 1933 – 9 August 1967), known by the pen name of Joe Orton, was an English playwright, author, and diarist. His public career, from 1964 until his death in 1967, was short but highly influential. During this brie ...

’s '' What the Butler Saw''. In 1992 he was a contestant on ''

Cluedo ''Cluedo'' (), known as ''Clue'' in North America, is a murder mystery game for three to six players (depending on editions) that was devised in 1943 by British board game designer Anthony E. Pratt. The game was first manufactured by Waddingt ...

'', teaming up with newsreader Lisa Aziz, conceding to the winning team of

Jenny Powell Jenny Powell (born 8 April 1968) is an English television and radio presenter. After appearing on '' No Limits'', she went on to present series such as ''Wheel of Fortune'', '' UP2U'', ''Gimme 5'', '' Live Talk'', ''Wordplay'' and '' Daybreak'' ...

and

Nigel Dempster Nigel Richard Patton Dempster (1 November 1941 in Calcutta, India – 12 July 2007 in Ham, Surrey) was a British journalist, author, broadcaster and diarist. Best known for his celebrity gossip columns in newspapers, his work appeared in the '' ...

. Lloyd was one of the most popular cast members of ''The Bill''. In 1996, the show won the award for "Best TV Drama" at the

National Television Awards The National Television Awards (often shortened to NTAs) is a British television awards ceremony, broadcast by the ITV network and initiated in 1995. The National Television Awards are the most prominent ceremony for which the results are vot ...

and it was Lloyd who collected it on behalf of the cast and crew. Lloyd spoke of the similarities between himself and his character in the series, namely that he and Tosh were both short, scruffy and slightly overweight, and both had multiple children to support. He also drew on aspects of his late father’s personality and manner for his performance. He had been so popular on ''The Bill'' that on 26 February 1992, within four years of joining the show, he was selected as special guest for the TV guest show ''

This Is Your Life This Is Your Life may refer to: Television * ''This Is Your Life'' (American franchise), an American radio and television documentary biography series hosted by Ralph Edwards * ''This Is Your Life'' (Australian TV series), the Australian versio ...

''.

Death

A chronic

alcoholic Alcoholism is, broadly, any drinking of alcohol that results in significant mental or physical health problems. Because there is disagreement on the definition of the word ''alcoholism'', it is not a recognized diagnostic entity. Predomina ...

, he played "Tosh" continuously from 1988 until he was sacked from ''The Bill'' on 27 April 1998 after turning up for filming too intoxicated to work. Shortly afterwards, he entered a

clinic A clinic (or outpatient clinic or ambulatory care clinic) is a health facility that is primarily focused on the care of outpatients. Clinics can be privately operated or publicly managed and funded. They typically cover the primary care nee ...

Burton-on-Trent Burton upon Trent, also known as Burton-on-Trent or simply Burton, is a market town in the borough of East Staffordshire in the county of Staffordshire, England, close to the border with Derbyshire. In 2011, it had a population of 72,299. Th ...

for medical supervision and a programme of alcohol detoxification, with the administration of ( antabuse). Whilst receiving treatment, he left the premises to consume alcohol. He returned to the clinic on 2 May 1998 in an intoxicated state, retired to bed, fell asleep, and died of

asphyxia Asphyxia or asphyxiation is a condition of deficient supply of oxygen to the body which arises from abnormal breathing. Asphyxia causes generalized hypoxia, which affects primarily the tissues and organs. There are many circumstances that ca ...

. His widow subsequently launched a legal action alleging negligence by the facility's medical staff, but lost the case in court. Lloyd died just one week after recording his final scenes for ''

'', and the character of Tosh was still appearing on-screen for more than a month after Lloyd's death. Tosh's final appearance was in the episode broadcast on 9 June 1998. Lloyd's funeral took place at

St Alkmund's Church, Duffield Saint Alkmund's Church is a parish church in the Church of England in Duffield, Derbyshire. History It dates back to the first millennium, and is situated on the banks of the River Derwent to the south of Duffield, Derbyshire, England. It is ...

; he was cremated following the church service.

Personal life

Lloyd was the older brother of

ITN Independent Television News (ITN) is a UK-based television production company. It is made up of two divisions: Broadcast News and ITN Productions. ITN is based in London, with bureaux and offices in Beijing, Brussels, Jerusalem, Johannesburg, N ...

journalist Terry Lloyd, who was killed whilst reporting in the second Persian Gulf War in 2003. Lloyd married Lesley in 1973. They had seven children: Mark, Sophie, James, Poppy, Henry, Edward and Chloe. In 1989, James, Poppy and Henry Lloyd appeared in an episode of ''The Bill'' as three of Tosh's children. James Lloyd is an actor who later appeared on ''The Bill'' as PC

Steve Hunter Stephen John Hunter (born June 14, 1948) is an American guitarist, primarily a session player. He has worked with Lou Reed and Alice Cooper, acquiring the moniker "The Deacon". Hunter first played with Mitch Ryder's Detroit, beginning a long ...

between 2004 and 2006. Chloe Lloyd died from

meningitis Meningitis is acute or chronic inflammation of the protective membranes covering the brain and spinal cord, collectively called the meninges. The most common symptoms are fever, headache, and neck stiffness. Other symptoms include confusion ...

aged 17 months. In 1991, Lloyd and his wife adopted a Romanian orphan, Ellie. Lloyd lived with his family in Duffield, Derbyshire, from which he regularly commuted a round trip of to

Notting Hill Notting Hill is a district of West London, England, in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. Notting Hill is known for being a cosmopolitan and multicultural neighbourhood, hosting the annual Notting Hill Carnival and Portobello Roa ...

, West London, where ''The Bill'' was filmed. Lloyd separated from his wife in 1995, with his wife blaming his alcoholism and accusing him of violence. He was subsequently in a relationship with Rita Hudson for the next three years, although he had reportedly resumed his relationship with his wife shortly before his death. He was a lifelong supporter of

Derby County Derby County Football Club () is a professional association football club based in Derby, Derbyshire, England. In 2022, it was announced that DCFC was acquired by Clowes Developments (UK) Ltd, a Derbyshire-based property group. Founded in 1884 ...

.Derby County v Burnley football programme, 14 January 1992, p7 In 1992, he was a subject on

, whereby the Derby County squad paid a video homage to him singing "We want Kevin Lloyd". His autobiography, ''The Man Who Loved Too Much'', was published in 1997.

References

External links

*
The Lloyd Brothers biography
at the ''CommuniGate''
Kevin Lloyd - Obituary
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lloyd, Kevin English male stage actors English male soap opera actors English male film actors 1949 births 1998 deaths Male actors from Derbyshire English people of Welsh descent Alcohol-related deaths in England Alumni of East 15 Acting School Deaths from choking People from Derby 20th-century English male actors