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Freddie Fletcher (born 1950) is an English actor best known for playing Jud, in
Ken Loach
Kenneth Charles Loach (born 17 June 1936) is a British film director and screenwriter. His socially critical directing style and socialist ideals are evident in his film treatment of social issues such as poverty (''Poor Cow'', 1967), homelessne ...
's 1969 film ''
Kes''.
He also appeared in the ITV series ''Fox''.
Early years
Fletcher was born in
Grimethorpe
Grimethorpe is a large village in the metropolitan borough of Barnsley in South Yorkshire, England. Historically within the West Riding of Yorkshire, it had a population of 4,672 at the 2011 census. Grimethorpe is located to the east of Barnsl ...
,
West Riding of Yorkshire
The West Riding of Yorkshire is one of three historic subdivisions of Yorkshire, England. From 1889 to 1974 the administrative county County of York, West Riding (the area under the control of West Riding County Council), abbreviated County ...
, and attended
Willowgarth Secondary School. He later said, "The only acting I did was in the headmaster's office".
When he left school he worked as a painter and decorator for a large firm, until
Ken Loach
Kenneth Charles Loach (born 17 June 1936) is a British film director and screenwriter. His socially critical directing style and socialist ideals are evident in his film treatment of social issues such as poverty (''Poor Cow'', 1967), homelessne ...
cast him as Jud Casper, the violent brother of Billy Casper in ''
Kes'' released in 1969.
Career after ''Kes''
Like many of the actors in ''Kes'', Fletcher had no formal acting experience, but almost immediately found television work after the film was released and commended by the critics.
Fletcher had a regular television role as layabout Raymond Shepherd, one of
Diana Dors
Diana Dors (born Diana Mary Fluck; 23 October 19314 May 1984) was an English actress and singer.
Dors came to public notice as a blonde bombshell, much in the style of Americans Marilyn Monroe, Jayne Mansfield and Mamie Van Doren. Dors was pr ...
's wayward sons in the comedy series ''
Queenie's Castle''. The show was first broadcast on Bonfire Night in 1970 and ran for two years.
Shortly before ''Queenie's Castle'' came to an end in September 1972, in the January of that year he was seen as a football team captain in
Jack Rosenthal
Jack Morris Rosenthal (8 September 1931 – 29 May 2004) was an English playwright. He wrote 129 early episodes of the ITV soap opera ''Coronation Street'' and over 150 screenplays, including original TV plays, feature films, and adaptations.
...
's drama ''
Another Sunday and Sweet F.A.'', which was part of
Granada Television
ITV Granada, formerly known as Granada Television, is the ITV franchisee for the North West of England and Isle of Man. From 1956 to 1968 it broadcast to both the north west and Yorkshire but only on weekdays as ABC Weekend Television was it ...
's ''Sunday Night Theatre'' series.
For the rest of the 1970s, Fletcher appeared in television plays, including four
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 exam. ...
...
''
Play for Today
''Play for Today'' is a British television anthology drama series, produced by the BBC and transmitted on BBC1 from 1970 to 1984. During the run, more than three hundred programmes, featuring original television plays, and adaptations of stage ...
'' episodes between 1973 and 1978. He also made another successful movie, playing one of the ship's radio officers in the British thriller ''
Juggernaut
A juggernaut (), in current English usage, is a literal or metaphorical force regarded as merciless, destructive, and unstoppable. This English usage originated in the mid-nineteenth century and was adapted from the Sanskrit word Jagannath.
...
'' in 1974, starring
Richard Harris
Richard St John Francis Harris (1 October 1930 – 25 October 2002) was an Irish actor and singer. He appeared on stage and in many films, notably as Corrado Zeller in Michelangelo Antonioni's '' Red Desert'', Frank Machin in ''This Sporting ...
and
Anthony Hopkins
Sir Philip Anthony Hopkins (born 31 December 1937) is a Welsh actor, director, and producer. One of Britain's most recognisable and prolific actors, he is known for his performances on the screen and stage. Hopkins has received many accolad ...
.
In 1978, he appeared in the
ITV
ITV or iTV may refer to:
ITV
*Independent Television (ITV), a British television network, consisting of:
** ITV (TV network), a free-to-air national commercial television network covering the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man, and the Channel Islan ...
movie ''Clouds of Glory'', starring
Felicity Kendal
Felicity Ann Kendal (born 25 September 1946) is an English actress, working principally in television and theatre. She has appeared in numerous stage and screen roles over a more than 70-year career, but the role that brought attention to her ...
, written by
Melvyn Bragg
Melvyn Bragg, Baron Bragg, (born 6 October 1939), is an English broadcaster, author and parliamentarian. He is best known for his work with ITV as editor and presenter of ''The South Bank Show'' (1978–2010), and for the BBC Radio 4 documenta ...
and directed by
Ken Russell
Henry Kenneth Alfred Russell (3 July 1927 – 27 November 2011) was a British film director, known for his pioneering work in television and film and for his flamboyant and controversial style. His films in the main were liberal adaptation ...
.
In November 1982, Fletcher played Chalkie Whitely's son Bob in two episodes of the ITV soap opera ''
Coronation Street
''Coronation Street'' is an English soap opera created by Granada Television and shown on ITV since 9 December 1960. The programme centres around a cobbled, terraced street in Weatherfield, a fictional town based on inner-city Salford.
Origi ...
''. By this time, actress
Lynne Perrie
Lynne Perrie (born Jean Dudley; 7 April 1931 – 24 March 2006) was an English actress, singer and television personality, best known as Mrs Casper in Ken Loach's 1969 film '' Kes'', Mrs Petty in the television series '' Queenie's Castle'', and ...
was established in the show as Ivy Tilsley. Perrie had played Fletcher's mother in ''Kes'' and had worked alongside him in ''
Queenie's Castle'' ten years before. Consequently, Fletcher had acted alongside Perrie's brother
Duggie Brown
Duggie Brown (born Barry Douglas Dudley; 7 August 1940 – 16 August 2022) was an English comedian and actor. He was the younger brother of actress and singer Lynne Perrie.
Stage work
During the early 1960s, Brown was a guitarist/vocalist in ...
in ''Another Sunday and Sweet F.A''.
In December 1980, Fletcher appeared in four episodes of ''
Emmerdale Farm
''Emmerdale'' (known as ''Emmerdale Farm'' until 1989) is a British soap opera that is broadcast on ITV1. The show is set in Emmerdale (known as Beckindale until 1994), a fictional village in the Yorkshire Dales. Created by Kevin Laffan, '' ...
'' as law breaking Derek Warner. He later reprised the role in 1984 for a further four episodes. When the character reappeared again in 1985, he was re-cast and actor Dennis Blanch took on the part until 1986.
In 1988 he was seen as menacing retired boxer Bob Derrick in 'Only One Woof' - an episode from All Creatures Great and Small.
In the 1990s, Fletcher continued to act regularly on television and in film. He had a regular role as Mr. Smithson in the ITV drama series ''
Children's Ward
''Children's Ward'' (retitled ''The Ward'' from 1995 to 1998) is a British children's television drama series produced by Granada Television and broadcast on the ITV network as part of its ''Children's ITV'' strand on weekday afternoons. The pro ...
''. He also appeared as farmer Sam Carver in the "
Bitter Harvest" episode of ''
Heartbeat'' in 1992, and played George Milton in the "Tender" episode of ''
Peak Practice
''Peak Practice'' is a British drama series about a GP surgery in Cardale—a small fictional town in the Derbyshire Peak District—and the doctors who worked there. It ran on ITV from 10 May 1993 to 30 January 2002 and was one of their most ...
'' in 1995.
The same year he co-starred with
Jane Horrocks
Barbara Jane Horrocks (born 18 January 1964) is a British actress. She portrayed the roles of Bubble and Katy Grin in the BBC sitcom ''Absolutely Fabulous''. She was nominated for the 1993 Olivier Award for Best Actress for the title role in th ...
,
Ray Stevenson
George Raymond Stevenson (born 25 May 1964) is an actor from Northern Ireland. He is known for playing Dagonet in the film ''King Arthur'' (2004) and Titus Pullo in the BBC/HBO television series ''Rome'' (2005–2007). He has portrayed two Marv ...
and
Gwen Taylor
Gwen Taylor (born 19 February 1939) is an English actress who has appeared in many British television programmes. She is known for her roles as Amy Pearce in the sitcom ''Duty Free'' (1984–1986); Barbara Liversidge in the sitcom '' Barbara'' ...
in ''
Some Kind of Life
''Some Kind of Life'' is an ITV's 1995 TV drama written by Kay Mellor and directed by Julian Jarrold, starring Jane Horrocks and Ray Stevenson, it was aired on 11 August 1996 and produced by Granada Television for the ITV Network
ITV is a ...
''.
In 1996, Fletcher played a minor part in the
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 exam. ...
...
film ''Brothers in Trouble''. That same year he was briefly seen as Judd, a pub landlord in the movie ''