Andy Hockley is a Welsh actor and singer born in 1959 in

Pontypridd () ( colloquially: Ponty) is a town and a community in Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales. Geography comprises the electoral wards of , Hawthorn, Pontypridd Town, 'Rhondda', Rhydyfelin Central/Ilan ( Rhydfelen), Trallwng ( Trallwn) and Treforest (). ...

, South Wales. He has performed extensively in theatres around the UK for nearly 40 years. Internationally his work has taken him to

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of Denmark , establish ...

, Switzerland,

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

and

Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, bor ...

. On television, he is best known as Mr Jolly of the Roundabout Stop in the BBC's iconic children's programme

Playdays ''Playdays'' (known as ''Playbus'' until December 1989) is a British pre-school television programme which ran from 1988 to 1997 on CBBC. The show was the successor to '' Play School'' and, like its predecessor, was designed as an educational p ...

. He recorded two series in the mid-'90s and was, in fact, the last Mr Jolly before the programme ended in 1997. He has appeared in 16 pantomimes at the Belgrade Theatre in

Coventry Coventry ( or ) is a city in the West Midlands, England. It is on the River Sherbourne. Coventry has been a large settlement for centuries, although it was not founded and given its city status until the Middle Ages. The city is governed b ...

, latterly as Dame. He also voiced Imp Y Celyn and Adult Tomjon in

Cosgrove Hall Cosgrove Hall Films (also known as Cosgrove Hall Productions) was an English animation studio founded by Brian Cosgrove and Mark Hall; its headquarters was in Chorlton-cum-Hardy, Manchester. Cosgrove Hall was once a major producer of childre ...

's adaptations of Terry Pratchett's

Discworld ''Discworld'' is a comic fantasy"Humorous Fantasy" in David Pringle, ed., ''The Ultimate Encyclopedia of Fantasy'' (pp.31-33). London, Carlton,2006. book series written by the English author Terry Pratchett, set on the Discworld, a flat ...

novels,

Soul Music Soul music is a popular music genre that originated in the African American community throughout the United States in the late 1950s and early 1960s. It has its roots in African-American gospel music and rhythm and blues. Soul music became ...

and

Wyrd Sisters ''Wyrd Sisters'' is Terry Pratchett's sixth ''Discworld'' novel, published in 1988. It re-introduces Granny Weatherwax of ''Equal Rites''. Plot ''Wyrd Sisters'' features three witches: Granny Weatherwax; Nanny Ogg, matriarch of a large tri ...

. He played Monsieur Firmin in Cameron Mackintosh's 25th Anniversary tour of 'The Phantom of the Opera' and then reprised the role at Her Majesty's Theatre in London for two years. In 2016 he played Grandpa Potts in the very successful UK/Ireland tour of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. Andy is the longest serving Wizard in the acclaimed musical ''Wicked'' in London's West End, having performed the role 1,119 times from July 2017 until March 2020, and again from September 2021 to January 2022 (as part of the 15th anniversary company) From March 2017 to February 2021, he played the part of building contractor and modern slaver Philip Moss in the long-running

BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC that replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. It broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history from the BBC' ...

drama ''

The Archers ''The Archers'' is a BBC radio drama on BBC Radio 4, the corporation's main spoken-word channel. Broadcast since 1951, it was famously billed as "an everyday story of country folk" and is now promoted as "a contemporary drama in a rural sett ...

''. The character is currently serving an eight-year prison sentence. In October 2022, he appeared in an episode of the BBC soap opera '' Doctors'' as Ron Osborne.

Filmography

References

External links

* * * Living people Welsh male stage actors Welsh male television actors Welsh male voice actors 1959 births {{UK-voice-actor-stub