Richard Stanley Thorp (2 January 1932 – 22 May 2013) was an English actor. He was best known for his 30-year tenure portraying Alan Turner in the ITV soap opera ''

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 ...

'' from 1982 to 2013. He also appeared in films such as '' The Dam Busters'' (1955) and ''

The Barretts of Wimpole Street ''The Barretts of Wimpole Street'' is a 1930 play by the Dutch/English dramatist Rudolf Besier, based on the romance between Robert Browning and Elizabeth Barrett, and her domineering father's unwillingness to allow them to marry. Presented f ...

'' (1957).

Early life

Thorp was born in Purley, London. Whilst showing early ambitions to act he started working in the shoe business, Lilley & Skinner, where his father was one of several directors. There he began writing advertising copy including the line "Men's shoes that men choose" whilst continuing to pursue amateur dramatics. However, it was his frequent bad time keeping that caused him to be sacked by his father enabling him to pursue his ambition and train at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama.

Career

Thorp's leading television roles included Dr. John Rennie in '' Emergency Ward 10'' from 1957 to 1961, and Doug Randall in ''

Crossroads Crossroads is a junction where four roads meet. Crossroads, crossroad, cross road(s) or similar may also refer to: Film and television Films * ''Crossroads'' (1928 film), a 1928 Japanese film by Teinosuke Kinugasa * ''Cross Roads'' (film), a ...

'' in 1975. He also appeared in a 1982 episode of ''

Strangers A stranger is a person who is unknown or unfamiliar to another person or group. Because of this unknown status or unfamiliarity, a stranger may be perceived as a threat until their identity (social science), identity and Character structure, chara ...

''. He was the longest-serving member of ''

'' since the death of

Clive Hornby Clive William Hornby (20 October 1944 – 3 July 2008) was an English actor, best known for his role as Jack Sugden in the ITV soap opera ''Emmerdale''. He first appeared in the programme (then named ''Emmerdale Farm'') in 1980, and remained in ...

in 2008. While he was happy to stay in the role of Alan Turner for so long, he complained that his character was not used as much any more. Thorp appeared as Lovejoy, a

British Rail British Railways (BR), which from 1965 traded as British Rail, was a state-owned company that operated most rail transport in Great Britain from 1948 to 1997. Originally a trading brand of the Railway Executive of the British Transport Comm ...

ways official, in an episode of ''

To the Manor Born ''To the Manor Born'' is a BBC television sitcom that first aired on BBC1 from 1979 to 1981. A special one-off episode was produced in 2007. Starring Penelope Keith and Peter Bowles, the first 20 episodes and the 2007 special were written by ...

'' centred on the proposed closure of the local

railway station Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in railway track, tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel railway track, rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of ...

. He also appeared on

Lily Savage's Blankety Blank ''Blankety Blank'' is a British comedy game show which first aired in 1979. The show is based on the American game show ''Match Game'', with contestants trying to match answers given by celebrity panellists to fill-in-the-blank questions. The ...

Personal life

Thorp was one of ''Emmerdale'' most private actors, although he gave an interview in 1995 with ''The People'' and revealed that he was separated from his wife, but they still lived in the same house together. Thorp was very good friends with

Lorraine Chase Lorraine Chase (born 16 July 1951) is an English actress and former model. She became well known for her strong south east London accent and frequent use of cockney slang, and found fame through a series of television adverts for Campari bef ...

, who played his on-screen daughter,

Steph Stokes Mary Stephanie "Steph" Stokes (also Turner and Forsythe) is a fictional character from the British ITV soap opera ''Emmerdale''. She was played by Lorraine Chase for a period of four years between 2002 and 2006. It was announced on 12 Septembe ...

in ''Emmerdale'', and Sheree Murphy, who played his on-screen granddaughter, Tricia Stokes in ''Emmerdale''. Thorp took a break from ''Emmerdale'' in July 2009 after undergoing a knee operation and returned in April 2010.

Death

Thorp died in

Shrewsbury Shrewsbury ( , ) is a market town and civil parish in Shropshire (district), Shropshire, England. It is sited on the River Severn, northwest of Wolverhampton, west of Telford, southeast of Wrexham and north of Hereford. At the 2021 United ...

on 22 May 2013. ''Emmerdale'' producer Kate Oates stated: "Richard's death is a sad loss to ''Emmerdale'', of which he was at the heart for so many wonderful years. Richard had a brilliant sense of humour and he will be missed by every single member of our production whose lives he touched."

Filmography

Film

References

External links

* 1932 births 2013 deaths Male actors from Surrey English male soap opera actors English male film actors People educated at Uppingham School Alumni of the Guildhall School of Music and Drama Actors from the London Borough of Croydon People from Purley, London {{UK-tv-actor-1930s-stub