Simon Williams

Simon Williams
Born	16 June 1946 (1946-06-16) (age 63) Windsor, Berkshire, England

Simon Williams (born 16 June 1946) is an English actor who is best known for playing James Bellamy in the period drama Upstairs, Downstairs. Frequently playing upper-class roles, he is also known for playing Dr. Charles Cartwright in the sitcom Don't Wait Up and Sir Charles Merrick in medical drama Holby City.

Early life

Simon Williams was born in Windsor, Berkshire, in 1946 ^[1] and his parents were the actor Hugh Williams and his wife Margaret Vyner.^[2] Simon Williams's brother is the poet Hugo Williams, and his sister Polly married his Don't Wait Up co-star and friend Nigel Havers.^[2] He and his first wife, actress Belinda Carroll, had two children, Tam and Amy, both actors, before divorcing.^[2] He married secondly, in 1986, the actress Lucy Fleming.^[2] Williams trained in rep at Worthing, Birmingham and Bath, and later joined the Theatre Workshop.^[1] Throughout his career, Simon Williams has appeared on stage in many productions, and has also directed a number of plays.^[1]

Television fame

Williams first appeared on television in 1967 in Man in a Suitcase, and in 1969 played the lead role in Slim John. He got his big break in 1971 when he made his first appearance as James Bellamy in the Upstairs, Downstairs episode "Board Wages". Williams would go on to appear in 37 episodes until the penultimate episode "All the King's Horses" in 1975. Following this, he appeared in Wodehouse Playhouse, the films The Incredible Sarah, Jabberwocky and the TV series The Prisoner of Zenda. From 1979 to 1981, he played Laurence Lucas in Agony, a role he reprised in 1995 in Agony Again.

In 1981, he played Buddo in the TV series Kinvig. In 1985, Williams replaced Richard Heffer to play Dr. Charles Cartwright in the sitcom Don't Wait Up, a role Williams continued for three series until 1990. In the meantime, he had also appeared in Juliet Bravo, the Doctor Who serial "Remembrance of the Daleks" as Group Captain Gilmore, Minder, and the pilot of The Alleyn Mysteries, in which he played Roderick Alleyn. He also was a guest star on the TV series Cluedo where he played murder victim, Mr. Chapman.

Since 1990

Simon Williams since 1990 has appeared in episodes of Bergerac, Dangerfield, dinnerladies, The Scarlet Pimpernel, Dalziel and Pascoe, Bad Girls, The Inspector Lynley Mysteries, Starhunter 2300, Cutting It, Heartbeat, Family Affairs, Doctors, The Bill and Diamond Geezer 2. In 1992 Williams starred in the series The Mixer, his co-star was Jeremy Clyde of "Chad & Jeremy" fame. Williams has also had recurring roles as Gerald Trigg in Law and Disorder in 1994 and Sir Charles Merrick in Holby City from 2000 to 2003. In 2000, he appeared on BBC Radio's Just a Minute. In 2002 he appeared in the film The Gathering Storm, and has also appeared in the Doctor Who audio drama Nekromanteia. In 2008, he appeared in an episode of the BBC spy series Spooks as bank owner Sir Francis Denham. In 2009, Williams returned to the fictional world of Holby to make a one-off appearance in Casualty as Professor de Silva, the father of junior doctor Toby de Silva.

Williams has also written two novels, Talking Oscars and Kill the Lights, and has written several plays.^[1] In early November 2007, Simon Williams performed in Curtain up! Lights up! Cock up! at the Jermyn Street Theatre near Piccadilly Circus in London.^[3]

Simon Williams opened the new Oxfam Book and Music Shop in Henley-on-Thames on Saturday 28 February 2009.

References

External links

• Simon Williams at the Internet Movie Database