John Duttine

Early life

Duttine was born in Barnsley, West Riding of Yorkshire.

He attended Buttershaw Secondary School; Stephen Petcher from his school would also appear in Heartbeat. He grew up in Buttershaw, in south-west Bradford. He trained at the Drama Centre London in north London. In London he shared a flat with Bradford actor Ken Kitson.

Career

In 1973, Duttine starred opposite Francesca Annis in the BBC adaptation of A Pin to See the Peep Show by F. Tennyson Jesse. This was followed in 1974 by a small role in the TV adaptation of the Lord Peter Wimsey story The Nine Tailors. His first big break came when he played John the Apostle in the 1977 television mini-series Jesus of Nazareth. This was followed almost immediately by his portrayal of Keith Nicholson, husband of football pools winner, Vivian Nicholson in John Goldschmidt's Spend, Spend, Spend (a Play for Today). He went on to star in the 1978 historical drama series The Devil's Crown, as the future King John.

Duttine then played leading roles in major BBC adaptations such as Wuthering Heights (as Earnshaw) in 1978. He became a household name for his lead performance in To Serve Them All My Days in 1980, for which he won the TV Times Best Actor award. He appeared to great acclaim in The Day of the Triffids (1981). He later starred in The Outsider in 1983, the sitcom Lame Ducks in 1984, and Ain't Misbehavin' from 1994 to 1995. He played opposite Sir Laurence Olivier in the play Saturday, Sunday, Monday, part of the Laurence Olivier Presents anthology series.

His film roles include Who Dares Wins (1982) and The Hawk (1993). More recent TV credits include: Doc Martin, Touching Evil, Taggart, Dangerfield, Midsomer Murders, Peak Practice, The Bill, Casualty, EastEnders, Dalziel and Pascoe, and Jane Hall.

Duttine has played two characters in the UK television series Heartbeat. His first appearance was as Paul Methorn, an MP and peace activist, in episode 7 of the first series: Face Value. He then played the role of Sgt. George Miller, the character making his first appearance in episode 16 of series 14: Golf Papa One Zero.

In 2007, he guest starred in the Doctor Who audio drama Exotron & Urban Myths. More recently (November 2013) Duttine appeared in BBC TV's The Paradise.

In 2016, he appears as George Hammond in the BBC series Father Brown episode 4.3 "The Hangman's Demise". In 2016, he also appeared in the ITV/Netflix series Paranoid.

Personal life

Duttine has a son from a former partner in Tarleton, West Lancashire. In 1998 he was married to actress Mel Martin, with whom he lives. The two have appeared on screen together in Talking to Strange Men, Casualty and Heartbeat.