John Alderton

John Alderton
Born	27 November 1940 (1940-11-27) (age 68) Gainsborough, Lincolnshire, England

John Alderton (born 27 November 1940) is an English actor who is best known for his roles in Upstairs, Downstairs, Thomas & Sarah and Please Sir!. Alderton has often starred alongside his wife, Pauline Collins.

Early life

Alderton was born in Gainsborough, Lincolnshire, the son of Ivy (née Handley) and Gordon John Alderton.^[1] He grew up in Kingston upon Hull where he attended Kingston High School.^[2]

Early career

He first became familiar to television viewers when he took the role of Dr Moone in an early ITV soap opera, Emergency Ward 10. He married his co-star, successful actress Jill Browne, but they later divorced. He soon surpassed the fame of his ex-wife, taking the lead in the sitcom Please, Sir!, as hapless teacher Mr Hedges, which later resulted in him also playing the character in the 1971 feature film of the same name. In 1972 he appeared with Hannah Gordon in the BBC comedy series My Wife Next Door which ran for 12 episodes, and for which he won a Jacob's Award in 1975. He then transferred to another top-rated ITV series when he played Thomas Watkins, the chauffeur, in Upstairs, Downstairs, opposite his wife, Pauline Collins. They had a daughter (the actress Kate Alderton) and two sons (Nic Alderton and Richard Alderton) and also acted together in spin-off series, Thomas & Sarah, and another sitcom, No, Honestly, as well as in a series of short story adaptations called Wodehouse Playhouse (1975-78). In the meantime, he appeared on the big screen against-type as 'Friend' in John Boorman's cult sci-fi movie Zardoz, before returning to more familiar territory, as 1930s Yorkshire vet James Herriot in the film, It Shouldn't Happen to a Vet. Stage roles : He made his first stage appearance with the repertory company of the Theatre Royal, York in August 1961, in "Badger's Green" by R.C. Sherriff. After a period in repertory, made his first London appearance at the Mermaid, Nov. 1965, as Harold Crompton in "Spring and Port Wine", later transferring with the production to the Apollo. At the Aldwych, March 1969, played Eric Hoyden in the RSC's production of "Dutch Uncle". At the Comedy Theatre, July 1969, played Jimmy Cooper in "The Night I Chased the Women with an Eel". At the Howff, Oct. 1973, played Stanley in "Punch and Judy Stories", and played the same part in "Judies" at the Comedy, Jan. 1974. At the Shaw, Jan. 1975, played Stanley in Pinter's "The Birthday Party". At the Apollo, May 1976, played four parts in Ayckbourne's "Confusions".

Since 1980

During the 1980s and 1990s, Alderton was little seen, though he did provide the narration for the children's animated series 'Little Miss' in 1983 (with his wife Pauline Collins) and Fireman Sam. He also appeared alongside Pauline Collins in the successful series Forever Green. He made something of a comeback in the 2003 film, Calendar Girls. In 2004, he played a role in the BBC series of Anthony Trollope's He Knew He Was Right and also he starred in an episode of ITV 1's Doc Martin entitled "Of All The Harbours In All The Towns" as Sailor John Slater a friend and former lover of Joan Norton and in 2008 in the BBC adaptation of Charles Dickens' Little Dorrit.

References

External links

• John Alderton at the Internet Movie Database