Peter Alexander (born 15 October 1952,

Midsomer Norton Midsomer Norton is a town near the Mendip Hills in Bath and North East Somerset, England, south-west of Bath, Somerset, Bath, north-east of Wells, Somerset, Wells, north-west of Frome, west of Trowbridge and south-east of Bristol. It has ...

Somerset Somerset ( , ), Archaism, archaically Somersetshire ( , , ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel, Gloucestershire, and Bristol to the north, Wiltshire to the east ...

) is an English actor and director. He is probably best known for playing the character of Phil Pearce in '' Emmerdale Farm'' for three years. He holds the unusual distinction of having appeared in all the main UK-made TV soap operas of the last 25 years, including ''

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 ...

'', ''

Coronation Street ''Coronation Street'' (colloquially referred to as ''Corrie'') is a British television soap opera created by ITV Granada, Granada Television and shown on ITV (TV network), ITV since 9 December 1960. The programme centres on a cobbled, terraced ...

'', ''

Brookside Brookside may refer to: Geography Canada * Brookside, Edmonton * Brookside, Newfoundland and Labrador * Brookside, Nova Scotia United Kingdom * Brookside, Berkshire, England * Brookside, Telford, an area of Telford, England United States * Bro ...

'', ''

Emmerdale ''Emmerdale'' (known as ''Emmerdale Farm'' until 1989) is a British television soap opera that is broadcast on ITV (TV network), ITV. The show is set in Emmerdale (known as Beckindale until 1994), a List of fictional towns and villages, fict ...

'' and ''

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 ...

''. He returned briefly to ''

'' as a different character in 2006 for the King's River House explosion plotline. He has appeared in many national touring theatrical productions, and in recent years has directed and starred in many pantomimes.

Early life

He was born in

but spent the first seven years of his life in nearby Peasedown St John,

. He was one of five children, and his parents were May Alexandra and Thomas Henry Carlile. He attended boarding school at Woolverstone Hall School in

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 ...

. After a spell at Chichester College he trained in drama at the Guildford School of Acting.

Career

He has appeared in many UK TV series, notably as Phil Pearce in '' Emmerdale Farm''. More recently he has carved out a career as a performer and director of pantomime, notably at Leeds City Varieties theatre, Leeds and in

Rochdale Rochdale ( ) is a town in Greater Manchester, England, and the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough of Rochdale. In the United Kingdom 2021 Census, 2021 Census, the town had a population of 111,261, compared to 223,773 for the wid ...

. In 2008 he was employed as voice coach at

Glyndebourne Festival Opera Glyndebourne Festival Opera is an annual opera festival held at Glyndebourne, an English country house near Lewes, in East Sussex, England. History Under the supervision of the Christie family, the festival has been held annually since 1934, e ...

, with Sir Peter Hall's production of ''

Albert Herring ''Albert Herring'', Op. 39, is a chamber opera in three acts by Benjamin Britten. Composed in the winter of 1946 and the spring of 1947, this comic opera was a successor to his serious opera '' The Rape of Lucretia''. The libretto, by Eric Cro ...

''.

TV and film appearances

* ''Premiere'' (1979) * ''

'' (1982) * ''

Minder A minder is the person assigned to guide or escort a visitor, or to provide protection to somebody, or to otherwise assist or take care of something, i.e. a person who " minds". Government-appointed persons to accompany foreign visitors are of ...

'' (1984) * '' Affairs of the Heart'' * '' Emmerdale Farm'' (1983–1986) * '' All Creatures Great and Small'' (1990) * '' Medics'' (1990) * ''Flash Back'' (1991) * '' Singles'' (1991) * ''

'' (1993) * '' Mission Top Secret'' (1994) * ''

'' (1996) * ''

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 ...

'' (1995–2000) * ''

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 ...

'' (2003) * '' Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit'' (2005) * ''

'' (2006) * ''The Marchioness Disaster'' (2006) * ''

'' (2006) * '' Heartbeat'' (1993–2007) * ''

The Royal Today ''The Royal Today'' is a British medical drama, and a spin-off of the similarly themed drama, ''The Royal''. The concept is that whilst ''The Royal'' is set in the late 1960s, ''The Royal Today'' featured the same hospital in the present day, wi ...

'' (2008) * '' Last Tango in Halifax'' (2016)

Theatre career

He has appeared in many theatrical productions during his acting career. Notable examples include: * ''Cinderella'', Gracie Fields Theatre, Rochdale (2001) * ''Allo Allo'', national tour (2008) *'' Porridge'',

The Lowry Lowry is a theatre and gallery complex at Salford Quays, Salford, Greater Manchester, England. It is named after the early 20th-century painter L. S. Lowry, known for his paintings of industrial scenes in North West England. The complex opened ...

Theatre, Salford (part of national tour) (2010)

Personal life

He is married to Penny Stevenson, who runs a dance school in Halifax. For more than 25 years they have lived in

Luddendenfoot Luddendenfoot or Luddenden Foot is a village in West Yorkshire, England. It is in the borough of Calderdale, to the northwest of Sowerby Bridge and west of Halifax, West Yorkshire, Halifax. The population of Luddendenfoot is 2,547, with the wide ...

Calderdale Calderdale () is a metropolitan borough of West Yorkshire, England, which had a population of 211,439. It takes its name from the River Calder, and dale, a word for valley. The name Calderdale usually refers to the borough through which the ...

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ) is an area of Northern England which was History of Yorkshire, historically a county. Despite no longer being used for administration, Yorkshire retains a strong regional identity. The county was named after its county town, the ...

. He has two children, Emily, an actress, and Nicholas, a doctor. He is also a magistrate. He has been involved in relief work in

Tanzania Tanzania, officially the United Republic of Tanzania, is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It is bordered by Uganda to the northwest; Kenya to the northeast; the Indian Ocean to the east; Mozambique and Malawi to t ...

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Alexander, Peter 1952 births Living people English male soap opera actors People from Midsomer Norton British entertainers Pantomime dames English theatre directors Alumni of the Guildford School of Acting Male actors from Somerset Actors from Bath and North East Somerset