Bernard Hepton

Biography and career

Born in Bradford, West Riding of Yorkshire. He trained at Bradford Civic Theatre school under Esme Church along with actors such as Sir Robert Stephens. He has extensive stage experience as an actor, under Sir Barry Jackson in addition to a spell as Artistic Director of Birmingham Rep and Liverpool Playhouse.

On television, he played Caiaphas in the 1969 Dennis Potter play Son of Man, Toby Esterhase in the BBC Television adaptations of Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy and Smiley's People, and George Smiley in the radio adaptations. He also played the Kommandant in Colditz (1972–74), and later appeared for the same production team as Albert Foiret in three seasons of Secret Army (1977–79) as well as appearing as Pallas in I Claudius. Before that he made a guest appearance in an episode of the first series of Catweazle in 1970 where he played a naturalist. Other notable performances included Thomas Cranmer in both The Six Wives of Henry VIII (1970) and Elizabeth R (1971).

He played Sam Toovey in the 1989 television adaptation of Susan Hill's ghost story The Woman in Black. Before that he had played Inspector Goole in An Inspector Calls and Sir Thomas Bertram in Mansfield Park (1983).

On radio Hepton played the role of Albert, in Stranger in the Home by Alan Dapre, also the role of The Old Man in the Corner, the Baroness Orczy amateur, and mostly sedentary, sleuth in the BBC dramatisations called The Teahouse Detective (1998–2000).

His appearances in feature film have been less frequent. He made a brief appearance as Thorpey, a gangster in the classic British film Get Carter (1971), and another small role, as Milton Goldsmith, in Voyage of the Damned (1976).

Personal life

Bernard Hepton was married to actress Nancie Jackson who died in 1977. He married Hilary Joyce Liddell in 1979.