Melvyn Hayes ('' né'' Hyams; born 11 January 1935) is an English actor and voice-over performer. He is best known for playing the effeminate Gunner (later Bombardier) "Gloria" Beaumont in the 1970s

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 ...

sitcom '' It Ain't Half Hot Mum'', for appearing in the

Cliff Richard Sir Cliff Richard (born Harry Rodger Webb; 14 October 1940) is a British singer and actor. He has total sales of over 21.5 million singles in the United Kingdom and, as of 2012, was the third-top-selling artist in UK Singles Chart histo ...

musical films '' The Young Ones'', '' Summer Holiday'' and '' Wonderful Life'' as well as '' Here Come the Double Deckers'' (1970–1971).

Professional career

Early life and stage roles

Born in

Wandsworth Wandsworth Town () is a district of south London, within the London Borough of Wandsworth southwest of Charing Cross. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London. Toponymy Wandsworth takes its name ...

, South London, Hayes attended Sir Walter St John's Grammar School For Boys,

Battersea Battersea is a large district in southwest London, part of the London Borough of Wandsworth, England. It is centred southwest of Charing Cross and also extends along the south bank of the Thames Tideway. It includes the Battersea Park. Hist ...

. As a youth he worked in Fleet Street, carrying advertising print blocks between newspapers. In 1950, he saw an advertisement seeking an assistant for the conjurer The Great Massoni. He got the job and was soon "disappearing twice daily for £4 per week" performing the Indian rope trick in Maskelyne's Mysteries at The Comedy Theatre in London. He was also in a theatrical troupe called Terry's Juveniles and later appeared in repertory theatres 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 ...

, Derbyshire and the Midlands. He returned to the Comedy Theatre in 1952, playing Tommie, opposite Florence Desmond, Anthony Ireland and Geoffrey Kerr, in ''The Apples of Eve''.

Film

His film roles include the young Victor Frankenstein in '' The Curse of Frankenstein'' (1957), Willem in ''

Operation Amsterdam ''Operation Amsterdam'' is a 1959 black and white British action film, directed by Michael McCarthy (film director), Michael McCarthy, and featuring Peter Finch, Eva Bartok and Tony Britton. It is based on a true story as described in the book ' ...

'' (1959), Cecil Biggs in '' Bottoms Up'' (1960), Jimmy in '' The Young Ones'' (1961) with

, Cyril in '' Summer Holiday'' (1963), again with Cliff Richard and 'Brother' Willy in '' Crooks in Cloisters'' (1964).

Voice roles

Hayes has performed voices on children's cartoons such as '' SuperTed'', '' The Dreamstone'', '' Little Dracula'', '' Alfred J. Kwak'', '' Pongwiffy'' and '' Budgie the Little Helicopter''.

Television

One of his earliest roles was in the BBC '' Billy Bunter of Greyfriars School''. He played Edek in '' The Silver Sword'' in 1957, a children's television serial about Polish refugees trying to find their father after

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. The Human Jungle (1963) Starring Herbert Lom as Dr Richard Corder. Hayes featured in '' It Ain't Half Hot Mum'' (1974–1981) as Gunner "Gloria" Beaumont for the first two series, then, after Bombardier Solomon left, he was promoted to bombardier. Other roles include parts in ''

EastEnders ''EastEnders'' is a British television soap opera created by Julia Smith (producer), Julia Smith and Tony Holland which has been broadcast on BBC One since February 1985. Set in the fictional borough of Walford in the East End of London, the ...

'' as Michael Rawlins. '' Carry On England'', ''

Love Thy Neighbour Love Thy Neighbor or Love Thy Neighbour may also refer to: Film * Love Thy Neighbor (1940 film), ''Love Thy Neighbor'' (1940 film), an American film * Love Thy Neighbour (1967 film), ''Love Thy Neighbour'' (1967 film), a Danish-German comedy fil ...

'', ''The Thin Blue Line'', '' Here Come the Double Deckers'', ''Potter's Picture Palace'' (1976 & 1978), the final series of '' Drop the Dead Donkey'' and '' Not Going Out'' (2023). He also provided the voice to characters in the English translation of the cartoon '' Alfred J. Kwak''. In March 2011, Hayes appeared as Mr Pink in the ''

ITV1 ITV1 (formerly known as ITV) is a British free-to-air Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the British media company ITV plc. It provides the ITV (TV network), Channel 3 ...

'' comedy TV series ''

Benidorm Benidorm ( , , ) is a municipality in the province of Alicante, Valencian Community, on the Mediterranean coast of Spain. Known as the “New York City, New York of the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean”, Benidorm has been a tourist destinatio ...

''. He was also in the '' Doctor Who - The Companion Chronicles'' audio ''The Scorchies'' (2013). In August 2023, Hayes appeared in the BBC sitcom '' Not Going Out''.

Personal life

Hayes was at one time the pub landlord of the Stag Inn in the village of Offchurch in

Warwickshire Warwickshire (; abbreviated Warks) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England. It is bordered by Staffordshire and Leicestershire to the north, Northamptonshire to the east, Ox ...

, the White Hart Tap in

St Albans St Albans () is a cathedral city in Hertfordshire, England, east of Hemel Hempstead and west of Hatfield, Hertfordshire, Hatfield, north-west of London, south-west of Welwyn Garden City and south-east of Luton. St Albans was the first major ...

Hertfordshire Hertfordshire ( or ; often abbreviated Herts) is a ceremonial county in the East of England and one of the home counties. It borders Bedfordshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the north-east, Essex to the east, Greater London to the ...

, and The Brantham Bull, Brantham,

Suffolk Suffolk ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East of England and East Anglia. It is bordered by Norfolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Essex to the south, and Cambridgeshire to the west. Ipswich is the largest settlement and the county ...

. He had 3 children with his first wife, Rosalind Allen. After they divorced, he married Wendy Padbury in 1974. After having two children, they divorced in 1987. Since 2010 he has been married to Jayne Male, with whom he has one child. Hayes is a member of the Grand Order of Water Rats, and in 2004 was made King Rat. In 2025, Hayes became a patron of The Music Hall Guild of Great Britain and America

Filmography

Film

* '' Adventure in the Hopfields'' (1953) as Ned Reilly * '' Face the Music'' (1954) as Hotel Bellhop * '' The Man Who Loved Redheads'' (1955) as Sydney * ''

Fun at St. Fanny's ''Fun at St. Fanny's'' is a 1955 British comedy film directed by Maurice Elvey and starring Fred Emney, Cardew Robinson and Vera Day. The film revolves around the teachers and students at St Fanny's private school. It was based on Robinson's "Ca ...

'' (1956) as Heckling Boy at Concert * '' The Curse of Frankenstein'' (1957) as Young Victor * '' Violent Playground'' (1958) as kid in Johnnie's gang (uncredited * ''

'' (1959) as Willem * '' No Trees in the Street'' (1959) as Tommy * ''

The Flesh and the Fiends ''The Flesh and the Fiends'' (US title ''Mania''; also known as ''The Fielndish Ghouls'' and ''Psycho Killers'') is a 1960 British horror film directed by John Gilling and starring Peter Cushing, June Laverick and Donald Pleasence. It was w ...

'' (1960) as Daft Jamie * '' Bottoms Up'' (1960) as Cecil Biggs * '' The Young Ones'' (1961) as Jimmy * '' The Silent Invasion'' (1962) as Jean * '' Summer Holiday'' (1963) as Cyril * '' Crooks in Cloisters'' (1964) as Willy * '' Wonderful Life '' (1964) as Jerry * '' A Walk with Love and Death'' (1969) as First Entertainer * '' Go for a Take'' (1972) as Ambulance Man * ''

'' (1973) as Terry * '' Man About the House'' (1974) as Nigel * '' Carry On England'' (1976) as Gunner Shorthouse * '' What's Up Superdoc!'' (1978) as Waiter / Pietro * '' A Touch of the Sun'' (1979) as

Ginger Rogers Ginger Rogers (born Virginia Katherine McMath; July 16, 1911 – April 25, 1995) was an American actress, dancer and singer during the Classical Hollywood cinema, Golden Age of Hollywood. She won an Academy Award for Best Actress for her starri ...

* '' The Zany Adventures of Robin Hood'' (1984) as Father Luther * '' Santa Claus: The Movie'' (1985) as Elf * '' King of the Wind'' (1990) as Twicker

Television

* '' Quatermass II'' (1955) as Frankie * '' Billy Bunter of Greyfriars School'' (1956–57, seasons 3-4) as Harold Skinner * '' The Silver Sword'' (1957) as Edek * '' Our Mutual Friend'' (1958) as Charley Hexam * '' Faces of Jim'' * '' The Human Jungle'' (1963) * '' It Ain't Half Hot Mum'' (1974–1981, seasons 1 & 2) as Gunner "Gloria" Beaumont * ''

'' as Michael Rawlins * ''

'' * '' The Thin Blue Line'' * '' Here Come the Double Deckers'' (1971) * ''Potter's Picture Palace'' (1976 & 1978) * '' Drop the Dead Donkey'' (1998, final season) * ''

'' (2011) as Mr Pink * '' Doctor Who - The Companion Chronicles'' audio ''The Scorchies'' (2013) * '' Not Going Out'' (2023) * '' Alfred J. Kwak'' as voice roles (English) * '' SuperTed'' as Skeleton * '' The Dreamstone'' as Frizz * '' Little Dracula'' as voice role * '' Alfred J. Kwak'' as Dolf and others * '' Pongwiffy'' as voice role * '' Budgie the Little Helicopter'' as Nosey and others

Stage

* ''Mysteries'' (1950) as Assistant for The Great Massoni at The Comedy Theatre, London * Terry's Juveniles theatrical troupe * ''

Sleeping Beauty "Sleeping Beauty" (, or ''The Beauty Sleeping in the Wood''; , or ''Little Briar Rose''), also titled in English as ''The Sleeping Beauty in the Woods'', is a fairy tale about a princess curse, cursed by an evil fairy to suspended animation in fi ...

'' Christmas pantomime as Nanny Nellie * ''

Aladdin Aladdin ( ; , , ATU 561, 'Aladdin') is a Middle-Eastern folk tale. It is one of the best-known tales associated with '' One Thousand and One Nights'' (often known in English as ''The Arabian Nights''), despite not being part of the original ...

'' Christmas pantomime as '' Widow Twankey''

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Hayes, Melvyn Living people English male film actors English male voice actors English male television actors 20th-century English male actors 21st-century English male actors Pantomime dames People from Ryde People educated at Sir Walter St John's Grammar School For Boys Male actors from the Isle of Wight Male actors from London People from Wandsworth Actors from the London Borough of Wandsworth 1935 births