Keith Clifford (born 20 June 1938 in Halifax,

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 ...

) is a British actor best known for his role as Billy Hardcastle in ''

Last of the Summer Wine ''Last of the Summer Wine'' is a British sitcom created and written by Roy Clarke and originally broadcast by the BBC from 1973 to 2010. It premiered as an episode of ''Comedy Playhouse'' on 4 January 1973, and the first series of episodes foll ...

'' between 1999 and 2006.

Career

He played Billy Hardcastle on the

British sitcom A British sitcom or a Britcom is a situational comedy programme produced for British television. Most British sitcoms are recorded on studio sets, while some have an element of location filming. A handful are made almost exclusively on location ...

'' from 1999 until he decided to leave the series following the 27th series of 2006. (Billy was a comedy character who believed he was a direct descendant of

Robin Hood Robin Hood is a legendary heroic outlaw originally depicted in English folklore and subsequently featured in literature and film. According to legend, he was a highly skilled archer and swordsman. In some versions of the legend, he is depic ...

.) He also made guest appearances on '' Heartbeat'', ''

Dalziel and Pascoe Detective Superintendent Andrew "Andy" Dalziel and Detective Sergeant, later Detective Inspector, Peter Pascoe are two fictional Yorkshire detectives featuring in a series of novels by Reginald Hill. Characterisation and style Dalziel is ...

'' and an episode of '' Cold Feet'', and appeared in the TV film ''

Vacuuming Completely Nude in Paradise ''Vacuuming Completely Nude in Paradise'' is a television film directed by Danny Boyle released and produced by BBC in association with Destiny Films for BBC Two on 30 September 2001. A satire on door-to-door salesmen, it stars Timothy Spall, w ...

'' (2001). In 2007 he played Frank Nicholls in ''

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 ...

'' having previously appeared in the series in the guises of different characters; that of Les Battersby's mate, Charlie West, and Harry Norton, a showbiz associate of Alec Gilroy. He won a Sony Radio Award in 1993 for his portrayal of the

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly. The non-metropolitan county of Lancashi ...

comedian

Frank Randle Frank Randle (born Arthur Hughes, also known as Arthur McEvoy or Arthur Twist; 30 January 1901 – 7 July 1957) was an English comedian. A contemporary of fellow Lancastrians George Formby and Gracie Fields, he was regarded as more subv ...

in the radio play ''Randle's Scandals''. He has four children, twin sons and two daughters.

Television roles

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Clifford, Keith 1938 births Living people Actors from Halifax, West Yorkshire English male television actors British male comedy actors