Roy Hudd

Early life

Hudd was born in Croydon. His father was a carpenter and he attended Tavistock Secondary Modern School in Croydon and Croydon Secondary Technical School. He then worked as a messenger for an advertising agency, a window dresser and a commercial artist working under Harry Beck. In 1958 he took a summer job as a Redcoat at Butlins, Clacton working alongside Cliff Richard and Dave Allen.

Radio

Hudd first appeared on radio in 1959 on Workers' Playtime. He remains best known for the BBC Radio 2 satirical series The News Huddlines, which ran from 1975 to 2001. His other radio credits include Crowned Hudds (1994–95), The Newly Discovered Casebook of Sherlock Holmes (1999-2000) and Like They've Never Been Gone (1999-2002). He has acted in many comedy series and dramas for BBC Radio 4. He appeared on Radio Two for a week in April 2017 choosing the Tracks of my Years on the Ken Bruce Show.

Television

Hudd broke into television in the mid-1960s in sketch series such as The Illustrated Weekly Hudd and The Roy Hudd Show. His acting roles include the Dennis Potter series Lipstick on Your Collar, for which he received critical praise, and Karaoke. In the mid 1990s he appeared in two series of Common As Muck, a drama about a group of refuse collectors, alongside Edward Woodward.

From 2002 to 2003 he appeared as the undertaker Archie Shuttleworth in the ITV soap opera Coronation Street and has since returned for occasional guest appearances. He also starred in the ITV drama 'The Quest', alongside Sir David Jason and Hywel Bennett, from 2002-2004. In 2007 he appeared in episodes of New Tricks, Casualty and The Last Detective. In 2010 he appeared in BBC dramas Missing and Ashes to Ashes.

In 2012 he appeared in an episode of the BBC drama Call the Midwife. In 2014 he appeared in episodes of Midsomer Murders, Law and Order: UK and Holby City.

In December 2015 Hudd played Bud Flanagan in the BBC drama We’re Doomed! The Dad’s Army Story, about the creation of the titular long-running sitcom. In 2016 he appeared in an episode of Benidorm.

In 2017 he appeared in the ITV series Broadchurch.

Stage appearances

Hudd has appeared in many pantomime and variety performances. In 1977 he starred as Fagin in the West End revival of Lionel Bart's musical Oliver! at the Albery Theatre. In 1982 he played Bud Flanagan in Underneath the Arches at the Prince of Wales Theatre, for which he won a Society of West End Theatre Award. In 2000 he starred in a musical version of Hard Times at the Theatre Royal Haymarket.

In 2008 he played the part of the Wizard in a production of The Wizard of Oz at London's Royal Festival Hall.

Music hall

Hudd has written several books on music hall, re-recorded music hall records and appeared in the music hall revival show The Good Old Days. He is seen by broadcasters as an authority on the subject and is the longstanding President of the British Music Hall Society. His CD, Mirth, Magic and Melodrama consists of a collection of classic monologues from the music hall days, including The Pig and The Lion and Albert, first recorded by Stanley Holloway. For Celebrity Mastermind, broadcast on 3 January 2014, Hudd answered questions on the specialist subject of music hall comedian Dan Leno.

Max Miller

He is an authority on the comedian Max Miller and is known for his impersonation of him. He appeared as his hero in the Big Finish Productions Doctor Who audio play Pier Pressure in 2006. He is President of the Max Miller Appreciation Society.

Charity work

He has also had a long association with the Bristol Hospital Broadcasting Service, where he is considered an honorary member. In 1994 he officially opened their current studios in the Bristol Royal Infirmary. He is also a Past King Rat of the show business charity the Grand Order of Water Rats.

In addition to this, he was the first Honorary President of Sandwell Hospital Radio in West Bromwich for a period of ten years, visiting the studios, members and patients whenever he was appearing in the West Midlands.

Honours

Hudd was awarded an OBE in the 2004 New Year Honours List. In 1983 (1982 season), he was awarded the Society of West End Theatre Award as Best Actor in a Musical for his role in Underneath the Arches, as Bud Flanagan.

On 29 November 2010 Hudd was awarded an honorary degree of Doctor of Letters by the University of Westminster, where he had once studied commercial art at a time when the institution was known as the Regent Street Polytechnic.