Stephen Leslie Hodson (5 November 1947 – 16 February 2025) was a British actor who played the role of Steve Ross in ''

Follyfoot ''Follyfoot'' is a children's television series co-produced by the majority-partner British television company Yorkshire Television (for transmission on ITV) and the independent West German company ''TV München'' (for transmission on the ZD ...

''.

Life and Career

Hodson was born in

Bradford Bradford is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in West Yorkshire, England. It became a municipal borough in 1847, received a city charter in 1897 and, since the Local Government Act 1972, 1974 reform, the city status in the United Kingdo ...

West Riding of Yorkshire The West Riding of Yorkshire was one of three historic subdivisions of Yorkshire, England. From 1889 to 1974 the riding was an administrative county named County of York, West Riding. The Lord Lieutenant of the West Riding of Yorkshire, lieu ...

on 5 November 1947. He was working as a

civil servant The civil service is a collective term for a sector of government composed mainly of career civil service personnel hired rather than elected, whose institutional tenure typically survives transitions of political leadership. A civil service offic ...

in Bradford when he won a place at the

Central School of Speech and Drama The Royal Central School of Speech and Drama, commonly shortened to Central, is a drama school founded by Elsie Fogerty in 1906, as the Central School of Speech Training and Dramatic Art, to offer a new form of training in speech and drama for ...

in London. From then-on he began appearing in roles on stage and later in television, appearing in ''The Grievance'' and '' The Rivals of Sherlock Holmes''. In 1971, he auditioned for role of Steve in ''Follyfoot'', but was initially unsuccessful. Another actor was employed, but later dismissed and Hodson was recruited to the part. He appeared in all three series of its run, from 1971 to 1973. During this period, there was a Steve Hodson fan club. In January 1973, he released a single called "Crystal Bay", written by

Maurice Gibb Maurice Ernest Gibb (; 22 December 1949 – 12 January 2003) was a British musician and songwriter. He achieved global fame as a member of the Bee Gees pop group. Although his elder brother Barry Gibb and fraternal twin brother Robin Gibb wer ...

and Billy Lawrie. Hodson appeared in a number of television series over the next few years, including '' All Creatures Great and Small'' and a six-episode children's series, '' Break in the Sun''. Hodson also appeared on Crimewatch UK in 1985 as a bank robber in a reconstruction of a theft, after which a number of people reported him to be the robber. Hodson continued to act and worked regularly as a voice artist on radio and for audio books, including work with

Christian Rodska Christian Rodska (born Christian Rodskjaer; 5 September 1945 – 21 March 2024) was an English actor who appeared in many television and radio series and narrated a number of audiobooks, including Sir Winston Churchill's Nobel Prize winning '' T ...

, his co-star in ''Follyfoot''. Hodson married his wife, Rosamund, soon after finishing in ''Follyfoot'', and they had two daughters.

Death

Hodson died on 16 February 2025, at the age of 77.

References

External links

* 1947 births 2025 deaths English male television actors English male voice actors English male radio actors Male actors from Bradford 20th-century English male actors {{UK-stage-actor-stub