David Quilter (born 11 June 1942) is an English actor who has made numerous appearances in British television plays and series since the mid-1960s.

Early life and family

He was born in Northwood, London, and attended

Bryanston School Bryanston School is a public school (English independent day and boarding school for pupils aged 13–18) located next to the village of Bryanston, and near the town of Blandford Forum, in Dorset in South West England. It was founded in 1928 ...

Dorset Dorset ( ; archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The ceremonial county comprises the unitary authority areas of Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole and Dorset. Covering an area of ...

. "My first inkling that it was possible to be a professional actor was when a boy at school got a scholarship to

RADA The Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA; ) is a drama school in London, England, that provides vocational conservatoire training for theatre, film, television, and radio. It is based in the Bloomsbury area of Central London, close to the Sena ...

," remembered Quilter. "I never did any acting at school, which I slightly regret, but seeing him actually go off and train to be an actor, it made me realise that it was what I wanted to do."''All Memories Great & Small'', Oliver Crocker (2016; MIWK) Quilter trained at Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art in

South Kensington South Kensington, nicknamed Little Paris, is a district just west of Central London in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. Historically it settled on part of the scattered Middlesex village of Brompton. Its name was supplanted with t ...

and then joined weekly rep at Chesterfield in 1963. "We did seven plays in eight weeks," he recalled. "I then joined the RSC in 1964 to play very small parts in the complete history cycle." Quilter's grandfather, Lawrence Beesley, was a survivor of the sinking of and wrote an account of his experience called ''The Loss of the SS Titanic''. Quilter made three 15-minute films based on Beesley's story, and in 2012 gave a reading of Beesley's account at the

Aldeburgh Aldeburgh ( ) is a coastal town in the county of Suffolk, England. Located to the north of the River Alde. Its estimated population was 2,276 in 2019. It was home to the composer Benjamin Britten and remains the centre of the international Aldeb ...

Lighthouse Station for the 100th anniversary of the sinking.

Career

His television appearances include; '' Softly, Softly: Taskforce'' (1967), '' Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em'' (1973), '' Get Some In!'' (1975–78), ''

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 ...

'' (1990–97), ''

Grange Hill ''Grange Hill'' is a British children's television drama series, originally produced by the BBC and portraying life in a typical comprehensive school. The show began its run on 8 February 1978 on BBC1, and was one of the longest-running program ...

'' (2000) as Mr Arnold, ''

Silent Witness ''Silent Witness'' is a British crime drama television series produced by the BBC, which focuses on a team of forensic pathology experts and their investigations into various crimes. First broadcast in 1996, the series was created by Nigel Mc ...

'' (2001–03) and '' Doctor Who'' (2008). He also appeared in the film '' The Battle of Britain'' (1969) as a pilot, '' All Creatures Great and Small'' (1988), ''

Goldeneye ''GoldenEye'' is a 1995 spy film, the seventeenth in the List of James Bond films, ''James Bond'' series produced by Eon Productions, and the first to star Pierce Brosnan as the fictional Secret Intelligence Service, MI6 agent James Bond (lit ...

'' (1989), '' Charles and Diana: Unhappily Ever After'' (1992) as the Duke of Edinburgh, and '' Jinnah'' (1998).

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Quilter, David 1942 births Living people English male film actors English male television actors People from Northwood, London People educated at Bryanston School Alumni of the Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art