Christopher Benjamin (born 27 December 1934) is an English actor with many stage and television credits since the 1960s. His television roles include three appearances in ''

Doctor Who ''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series depicts the adventures of a Time Lord called the Doctor, an extraterrestrial being who appears to be human. The Doctor explores the u ...

'', portraying Sir Keith Gold in ''

Inferno Inferno may refer to: * Hell, an afterlife place of suffering * Conflagration, a large uncontrolled fire Film * ''L'Inferno'', a 1911 Italian film * Inferno (1953 film), ''Inferno'' (1953 film), a film noir by Roy Ward Baker * Inferno (1973 fi ...

'' (1970),

Henry Gordon Jago Henry Gordon Jago is a character who appeared in the 1977 '' Doctor Who'' television serial, '' The Talons of Weng-Chiang''. He was played by Christopher Benjamin. He worked so well with Trevor Baxter's character, Professor George Litefoot, ...

in ''

The Talons of Weng-Chiang ''The Talons of Weng-Chiang'' is the sixth and final serial of the 14th season of the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'', which was first broadcast in six weekly parts on BBC1 from 26 February to 2 April 1977. In the serial ...

'' (1977) and Colonel Hugh Curbishley in ''

The Unicorn and the Wasp "The Unicorn and the Wasp" is the seventh episode of the fourth series of the revived British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'', which was aired on BBC One on 17 May 2008. Set in an English manor house in 1926, shortly before the ...

'' (2008). He also provided the voice of Rowf in the animated film ''

The Plague Dogs ''The Plague Dogs'' is the third novel by Richard Adams, author of ''Watership Down'', about the friendship of two dogs that escape an animal testing facility and are subsequently pursued by both the government and the media. It was first pub ...

'' (1982).

Early life

Benjamin was born in

Trowbridge Trowbridge ( ) is the county town of Wiltshire, England, on the River Biss in the west of the county. It is near the border with Somerset and lies southeast of Bath, 31 miles (49 km) southwest of Swindon and 20 miles (32 km) southe ...

Wiltshire Wiltshire (; abbreviated Wilts) is a historic and ceremonial county in South West England with an area of . It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset to the southwest, Somerset to the west, Hampshire to the southeast, Gloucestershire ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

Career

He is well known for his roles in some of the UK's biggest cult television programmes. This included playing the same character ("Potter") in two

Patrick McGoohan Patrick Joseph McGoohan (; March 19, 1928 – January 13, 2009) was an Irish-American actor, director, screenwriter, and producer of film and television. Born in the United States to Irish emigrant parents, he was raised in Ireland and Engla ...

dramas, ''

Danger Man ''Danger Man'' (retitled ''Secret Agent'' in the United States for the revived series, and ''Destination Danger'' and ''John Drake'' in other overseas markets) is a British television series that was broadcast between 1960 and 1962, and again b ...

'' and ''

The Prisoner ''The Prisoner'' is a 1967 British television series about an unnamed British intelligence agent who is abducted and imprisoned in a mysterious coastal village, where his captors designate him as Number Six and try to find out why he abruptl ...

'', fuelling speculation that they are possibly linked. He played the Old Man (boss of Philip Roath) in the Thames Television comedy by

Peter Tilbury Peter Tilbury (born 20 October 1945) is a British actor and writer, best known for the sitcom ''It Takes a Worried Man'' (1981-4), which he created and starred in. Tilbury was born in Redruth, Cornwall. As an actor Tilbury's television appearan ...

, ''

It Takes a Worried Man ''It Takes a Worried Man'' is a British TV sitcom. It was made by Thames Television and ran for three series, broadcast from to . The first two series were broadcast on the ITV network, and the third and final series on Channel 4. Most episode ...

'' (1981). He was also an occasional guest star in '' The Avengers'' and ''

'', making three appearances in each, mostly in comedy roles. He also played recurring roles in several period dramas. He was Sir John Glutton, the regular adversary in the period family adventure series ''

Dick Turpin Richard Turpin (bapt. 21 September 1705 – 7 April 1739) was an English highwayman whose exploits were romanticised following his execution in York for horse theft. Turpin may have followed his father's trade as a butcher ea ...

'', Channing in several episodes of the third series of ''

When The Boat Comes In ''When the Boat Comes In'' is a British television period drama produced by the BBC between 1976 and 1981. The series stars James Bolam as Jack Ford, a First World War veteran who returns to his poverty-stricken (fictional) town of Gallowshiel ...

'', and Prosper Profound in the acclaimed 1967 adaptation of ''

The Forsyte Saga ''The Forsyte Saga'', first published under that title in 1922, is a series of three novels and two interludes published between 1906 and 1921 by the English author John Galsworthy, who won the Nobel Prize in Literature. They chronicle the vici ...

''. He reprised the role of

, from the Doctor Who serial ''

'' in thirteen series of ''Jago and Litefoot'' audio plays, after a well received episode of the

Big Finish Productions Big Finish Productions is a British company that produces books and audio plays (released straight to compact disc and for download in MP3 and m4b format) based, primarily, on cult science fiction properties. These include ''Doctor Who'', the ...

audio C.D. series '' Doctor Who: The Companion Chronicles'' entitled '' The Mahogany Murderers''. He acted alongside

Trevor Baxter Trevor Baxter (18 November 1932 – 16 July 2017) was a British actor and playwright. He was educated at Dulwich College and the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art. Early years A postal worker's son, Baxter was born in Lewisham, London, England, an ...

who played Professor George Litefoot. He was Sir William Lucas in the acclaimed 1995 production of ''

Pride and Prejudice ''Pride and Prejudice'' is an 1813 novel of manners by Jane Austen. The novel follows the character development of Elizabeth Bennet, the dynamic protagonist of the book who learns about the repercussions of hasty judgments and comes to appreci ...

''. His few film roles include appearances in ''

Ring of Bright Water ''Ring of Bright Water'' is a book by Gavin Maxwell about his life in a remote house in coastal Scotland where he kept several wild otters as pets. First published in 1960, it became a best seller and is considered a literary masterpiece, event ...

'' (1969), ''

Brief Encounter ''Brief Encounter'' is a 1945 British romantic drama film directed by David Lean from a screenplay by Noël Coward, based on his 1936 one-act play ''Still Life''. Starring Celia Johnson, Trevor Howard, Stanley Holloway, and Joyce Carey, ...

'' (1974), ''

Hawk the Slayer ''Hawk the Slayer'' is a 1980 British sword and sorcery adventure film directed by Terry Marcel, and starring John Terry and Jack Palance. The story follows two warring brothers who fight to gain control of a magical sword. Brave warrior, the titu ...

'' (1980), ''

The Tichborne Claimant The Tichborne case was a legal ''cause célèbre'' that captivated Victorian England in the 1860s and 1870s. It concerned the claims by a man sometimes referred to as Thomas Castro or as Arthur Orton, but usually termed "the Claimant", to be t ...

'' (1998) and ''

Angel In various theistic religious traditions an angel is a supernatural spiritual being who serves God. Abrahamic religions often depict angels as benevolent celestial intermediaries between God (or Heaven) and humanity. Other roles include ...

'' (2007). His final screen appearance was in '' The Legend of Tarzan'' (2016). Predominantly a stage actor, after six years in repertory theatres, Manchester, Salisbury and Bristol Old Vic (1958-1965) he has performed regularly over twenty years with the

Royal Shakespeare Company The Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) is a major British theatre company, based in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, England. The company employs over 1,000 staff and produces around 20 productions a year. The RSC plays regularly in London, St ...

. He has played Bottom five times, at Bristol Old Vic, Regents Park, Radio 3, the RSC (including a tour of Australia and New Zealand) and finally at Glyndebourne in ''

The Fairy-Queen ''The Fairy-Queen'' (1692; Purcell catalogue number Z.629) is a semi-opera by Henry Purcell; a "Restoration spectacular". The libretto is an anonymous adaptation of William Shakespeare's comedy ''A Midsummer Night's Dream''. First performed ...

'', before retiring from the stage in 2012. His West End performances include ''

How the Other Half Loves ''How the Other Half Loves'' is a 1969 play in two acts by British playwright Alan Ayckbourn. It is a farce following the consequences of an adulterous affair between a married man and his boss’s wife and their attempts to cover their track ...

'' at the Duke of Yorks, ''

A Voyage Round My Father ''A Voyage Round My Father'' is an autobiographical play by John Mortimer, later adapted for television. The first version of the play appeared as a series of three half-hour sketches for BBC radio in 1963. It then became a television play with ...

'' at Wyndhams, ''

The Clandestine Marriage ''The Clandestine Marriage'' is a comedy by George Colman the Elder and David Garrick, first performed in 1766 at Drury Lane. It is both a comedy of manners and a comedy of errors. The idea came from a series of pictures by William Hogarth entit ...

'' at the Queens Theatre, and ''

The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui ''The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui'' (german: Der aufhaltsame Aufstieg des Arturo Ui, links=no), subtitled "A parable play", is a 1941 play by the German playwright Bertolt Brecht. It chronicles the rise of Arturo Ui, a fictional 1930s Chicago m ...

'' at the Saville (with

Leonard Rossiter Leonard Rossiter (21 October 1926 – 5 October 1984) was an English actor. He had a long career in the theatre but achieved his highest profile for his television comedy roles starring as Rupert Rigsby in the ITV series ''Rising Damp'' from ...

). He has also appeared in several plays at the Donmar, the Kings Head, Mermaid, etc. He has played Falstaff in rep at Salisbury, at Regents Park, and at the Globe in 2008 and after touring the USA and UK in 2010. He has appeared regularly in TV and radio since 1965.

Personal life

Benjamin is now retired, and living in Hampstead, London, with his wife, Anna Fox, an actress and writer.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Benjamin, Christopher 1934 births British male Shakespearean actors English male film actors English male stage actors English male television actors English male voice actors Living people People from Trowbridge Royal Shakespeare Company members