Colin Tarrant (14 June 1952 – 26 January 2012) was an English actor best known for playing Inspector Andrew Monroe in ITV's ''
The Bill
''The Bill'' is a British police procedural television series, first broadcast on ITV from 16 August 1983 until 31 August 2010. The programme originated from a one-off drama, '' Woodentop'', broadcast in August 1983.
The programme focused on ...
'' between 1990 and 2002.
Early life and career
Tarrant was born in 1952 in
Shirebrook
Shirebrook is a town in the Bolsover district in Derbyshire, England. Close to the boundaries with the districts of Mansfield and Bassetlaw of Nottinghamshire,OS Explorer Map 270: Sherwood Forest: (1:25 000): it had a population of 13,300 in ...
,
Derbyshire
Derbyshire ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands, England. It includes much of the Peak District National Park, the southern end of the Pennine range of hills and part of the National Forest. It borders Greater Manchester to the nor ...
, and studied for a degree in English and Drama at
Exeter University
, mottoeng = "We Follow the Light"
, established = 1838 - St Luke's College1855 - Exeter School of Art1863 - Exeter School of Science 1955 - University of Exeter (received royal charter)
, type = Public
, ...
The People
The ''Sunday People'' is a British tabloid Sunday newspaper. It was founded as ''The People'' on 16 October 1881.
At one point owned by Odhams Press, The ''People'' was acquired along with Odhams by the Mirror Group in 1961, along with the ' ...
'', 29 January 2012 then at the cutting edge of
dramaturgy
Dramaturgy is the study of dramatic composition and the Representation (arts), representation of the main elements of drama on the stage.
The term first appears in the eponymous work ''Hamburg Dramaturgy'' (1767–69) by Gotthold Ephraim Lessing ...
. He briefly worked as a teacher before taking up acting, first at the
Northcott Theatre
The Northcott Theatre is a theatre situated on the Streatham Campus of the University of Exeter, Exeter, Devon, England. It opened in 1967 and was run until 2010 by the Northcott Theatre Foundation, when the company ceased operating after a pe ...
,
Exeter
Exeter () is a city in Devon, South West England. It is situated on the River Exe, approximately northeast of Plymouth and southwest of Bristol.
In Roman Britain, Exeter was established as the base of Legio II Augusta under the personal comm ...
and then with Medium Fair Community Theatre Company, Exeter 1975–77 (a company developed from the university drama department). After leaving Medium Fair he was part of
Peter Cheeseman
Peter Barrie Cheeseman, CBE (27 January 1932, Cowplain, Hampshire – 27 April 2010,
Stoke-on-Trent) was a British theatre director who is credited with having pioneered "theatre in the round".
Early life
His father's work as a Naval Commun ...
Stoke-on-Trent
Stoke-on-Trent (often abbreviated to Stoke) is a city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Staffordshire, England, with an area of . In 2019, the city had an estimated population of 256,375. It is the largest settlement ...
. He worked with Foco Novo,
Shared Experience Shared Experience is a British theatre company. Its current joint
, the
RSC
RSC may refer to:
Arts
* Royal Shakespeare Company, a British theatre company
* Reduced Shakespeare Company, a touring American acting troupe
* Richmondshire Subscription Concerts, a music society in Richmond, North Yorkshire, England
* Rock Ste ...
and the Leicester Phoenix Arts Centre.
His first major television role was that of Will Brangwen in the
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board ex ...
miniseries ''
The Rainbow
''The Rainbow'' is a novel by British author D. H. Lawrence, first published by Methuen & Co. in 1915. It follows three generations of the Brangwen family living in Nottinghamshire, focusing particularly on the individual's struggle to growth ...
'' (1988), playing opposite
Imogen Stubbs
Imogen Stubbs (born 20 February 1961) is an English actress and writer.
Her first leading part was in '' Privileged'' (1982), followed by ''A Summer Story'' (1988).
Her first play, ''We Happy Few'', was produced in 2004. In 2008 she joined '' ...
. A twelve-year run in ''The Bill'' followed between 1990 and 2002, after which he made many appearances on other television programmes as well as returning to the theatre.
In June 2005, he played
Brian Clough
Brian Howard Clough ( ; 21 March 1935 – 20 September 2004) was an English football player and manager, primarily known for his successes as a manager with Derby County and Nottingham Forest. He is one of four managers to have won the Englis ...
in the
Nottingham Playhouse
Nottingham Playhouse is a theatre in Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, England. It was first established as a repertory theatre in 1948 when it operated from a former cinema in Goldsmith Street. Directors during this period included Val May and Fr ...
The Independent
''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...
'', 20 June 2005, retrieved 29 January 2012 The play returned several times to the Nottingham Playhouse and played in other venues across England.That's the spirit Cloughie , ''Wandsworth Guardian'', 16 March 2006, retrieved 29 January 2012 He followed this with the role of the vagrant Davies in a Nottingham Playhouse production of
Harold Pinter
Harold Pinter (; 10 October 1930 – 24 December 2008) was a British playwright, screenwriter, director and actor. A Nobel Prize winner, Pinter was one of the most influential modern British dramatists with a writing career that spanne ...
's ''
The Caretaker
''The Caretaker'' is a play in three acts by Harold Pinter. Although it was the sixth of his major works for stage and television, this psychological study of the confluence of power, allegiance, innocence, and corruption among two brothers an ...
'', his performance described by ''
The Stage
''The Stage'' is a British weekly newspaper and website covering the entertainment industry and particularly theatre. It was founded in 1880. It contains news, reviews, opinion, features, and recruitment advertising, mainly directed at those wh ...
'' as "brilliant – wild-eyed, twitchy, aggressive, over-defensive and ungrateful".Asworth, Pat (2006) The Caretaker , ''
The Stage
''The Stage'' is a British weekly newspaper and website covering the entertainment industry and particularly theatre. It was founded in 1880. It contains news, reviews, opinion, features, and recruitment advertising, mainly directed at those wh ...
'', 3 November 2006, retrieved 29 January 2012 He starred as the 'Old Gent' in a new adaptation of ''
The Railway Children
''The Railway Children'' is a children's book by Edith Nesbit, originally serialised in ''The London Magazine'' during 1905 and published in book form in the same year. It has been adapted for the screen several times, of which the 1970 film ...
'' at the
National Railway Museum
The National Railway Museum is a museum in York forming part of the Science Museum Group. The museum tells the story of rail transport in Britain and its impact on society. It is the home of the national collection of historically significant r ...
Calendar Girls
''Calendar Girls'' is a 2003 British comedy film directed by Nigel Cole. Produced by Touchstone Pictures, it features a screenplay by Tim Firth and Juliette Towhidi, based on a true story of a group of middle-aged Yorkshire women who produced ...
'' which began in Chichester in January 2010.
Television roles included appearances in ''
Holby City
''Holby City'' (stylised on-screen as HOLBY CIY) is a British medical drama television series that aired weekly on BBC One. It was created by Tony McHale and Mal Young as a spin-off from the established BBC medical drama ''Casualty'', and pr ...
Doctors
Doctor or The Doctor may refer to:
Personal titles
* Doctor (title), the holder of an accredited academic degree
* A medical practitioner, including:
** Physician
** Surgeon
** Dentist
** Veterinary physician
** Optometrist
*Other roles
** ...
'', ''
Midsomer Murders
''Midsomer Murders'' is a British crime drama television series, adapted by Anthony Horowitz and Douglas Watkinson from the novels in the '' Chief Inspector Barnaby'' book series (created by Caroline Graham), and broadcast on two channels of I ...
'' and as Ted Williamson in an episode of ''
Casualty
Casualty may refer to:
*Casualty (person), a person who is killed or rendered unfit for service in a war or natural disaster
**Civilian casualty, a non-combatant killed or injured in warfare
* The emergency department of a hospital, also known as ...
'' which aired on
BBC 1
BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television bulletins, ...
on 11 December 2010.
Tarrant also taught at secondary schools between acting roles.
Personal life
Tarrant suffered from depression and died on 26 January 2012 at the
Bristol Royal Infirmary
The Bristol Royal Infirmary, also known as the BRI, is a large teaching hospital situated in the centre of Bristol, England. It has links with the nearby University of Bristol and the Faculty of Health and Social Care at the University of the Wes ...
from self-inflicted stab wounds at his home in Bristol. He is survived by his girlfriend and sons.Colin Tarrant dies, aged 59 , telegraph.co.uk, 29 January 2012, retrieved 29 January 2012 In April 2012, Tarrant's death was ruled a suicide by
Flax Bourton
Flax Bourton is a village and civil parishes in England, civil parish in Somerset, England. The parish, with a population of 715, is situated within the unitary authorities of England, unitary authority of North Somerset, on the edge of Tickenham ...
Coroner's Court.Former Bill actor Colin Tarrant killed himself /ref>