Neville Hughes (1 June 1945 – 28 June 2015) was a British actor in the 1960s and 1970s. Later he was a successful businessman in the motor manufacturer sales and marketing sector. John David Howell Hughes was born in 1945 at St. Clears,

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

. He was educated at Eagle House Prep School and Radley College where he was a brilliant young stage actor. He started to train as a doctor at

St Thomas' Hospital St Thomas' Hospital is a large NHS teaching hospital in Central London, England. Administratively part of the Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust, together with Guy's Hospital, Evelina London Children's Hospital, Royal Brompton Hospita ...

, but gave it up. After joining RADA in 1965, and working in repertory theatre, Hughes made his television debut in "The Man and the Hour". The following year he made his debut in '' Crossroads'', for which he is best known, as Rev Peter Hope, where he played opposite

Sue Nicholls Susan Frances Harmar Nicholls (born 23 November 1943) is an English actress. She is best known for her long-running role as Audrey Roberts in the soap opera '' Coronation Street'' (1979–1982, 1984–present). Her other roles on British tele ...

. He was also in the very first episode of ''

Dad's Army ''Dad's Army'' is a British television British sitcom, sitcom about the United Kingdom's Home Guard (United Kingdom), Home Guard during the World War II, Second World War. It was written by Jimmy Perry and David Croft (TV producer), David Crof ...

'' in 1968. Following this success he continued to appear in the role of Rev Peter Hope in ''Crossroads'' for four years. He appeared in theatre, film, radio and television roles including '' The Avengers'', '' Department S'', '' The Protectors'', '' Emergency – Ward 10'', '' Father Brown'' and ''

Rebecca Rebecca () appears in the Hebrew Bible as the wife of Isaac and the mother of Jacob and Esau. According to biblical tradition, Rebecca's father was Bethuel the Aramean from Paddan Aram, also called Aram-Naharaim. Rebecca's brother was Laban (Bi ...

''. He also appeared in the 1973 film '' Soft Beds, Hard Battles'' with

Peter Sellers Peter Sellers (born Richard Henry Sellers; 8 September 1925 – 24 July 1980) was an English actor and comedian. He first came to prominence performing in the BBC Radio comedy series ''The Goon Show''. Sellers featured on a number of hit comi ...

. In 1975 Hughes was offered the opportunity to work for on an 'apprentice scheme' with car manufacturer

BMW Bayerische Motoren Werke AG, trading as BMW Group (commonly abbreviated to BMW (), sometimes anglicised as Bavarian Motor Works), is a German multinational manufacturer of vehicles and motorcycles headquartered in Munich, Bavaria, Germany. Th ...

. He took to the role as a salesman, quickly becoming the company's best salesman of the year. From as sales trainer he became National Training Manager. In 1980 he seized the opportunity to set up his own company, Training Power Ltd. The company was a success securing a notable client list with top brands, Mercedes, BMW, Jaguar, GM and Volvo. It expanded into consultancy in films and television crossing four continents: Australasia, USA and the Middle East. After a management takeover John Hughes set up John D.H. Hughes Consultancy offering bespoke training programmes to the motor industry, while also focussing on middle management and director-level recruitment. He retired to his roots in West Wales where, indulging an enthusiasm for fly fishing, he set up a firm called Fishing Pursuits, that provided smoked fish to restaurants and pubs. He died at home in Wales leaving behind a wife and family.

References

*Croft, David; Perry, Jimmy; Webber, Richard (2000). ''The Complete A-Z of Dads Army''. Orion.

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hughes, Neville 1945 births 2015 deaths Welsh male stage actors Welsh male television actors Male actors from Carmarthenshire People educated at Eagle House School People educated at Radley College