Nigel Le Vaillant (born 11 June 1958) is a British former actor, who worked in television in the United Kingdom during the 1990s.

Early life

Le Vaillant's English father moved to Pakistan after service during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, and worked in the tea plantation industry there, eventually becoming Chief Executive for

Brooke Bond Brooke Bond is a brand of tea owned by Ekaterra, formerly an independent tea-trading and manufacturing company in the United Kingdom, known for its PG Tips brand and its Brooke Bond tea cards. History Brooke Bond & Company was founded by Ar ...

in South Asia. Le Vaillant was born in the country and raised in

Karachi Karachi (; ur, ; ; ) is the most populous city in Pakistan and 12th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 20 million. It is situated at the southern tip of the country along the Arabian Sea coast. It is the former cap ...

.Dangerfield TV star who turned his back on fame
/ref> The family returned to England, settling in

Sussex Sussex (), from the Old English (), is a historic county in South East England that was formerly an independent medieval Anglo-Saxon kingdom. It is bounded to the west by Hampshire, north by Surrey, northeast by Kent, south by the English ...

when he was 16, although he regularly returned to Asia, especially India, in the following years. He was educated at

Bryanston Bryanston is a village and civil parish in north Dorset, England, situated on the River Stour west of Blandford Forum. In the 2011 census the parish had a population of 925. The village is adjacent to the grounds of Bryanston School, an inde ...

school in England and at

St Peter's College, Oxford St Peter's College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford and is located in New Inn Hall Street, Oxford, United Kingdom. It occupies the site of two of the university's medieval halls, dating back to at least the 14th ...

, although he later stated that, despite his outward appearance, he "never felt like a Westerner".

Acting career

Le Vaillant began acting soon after the family returned to England, although he initially struggled to find work in the industry and spent nine years unemployed. After short appearances, such as P.C. Miller in The Gentle Touch in 1980, he spent three series in the

BBC One 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, p ...

drama ''

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 ...

'' playing the character of Dr. Julian Chapman, before leaving to star as the title character in the prime-time BBC series '' Dangerfield''. He left the production in 1997, having married former ''Casualty'' star Nicola Jeffries two years earlier. He also appeared in the short-lived sitcom ''

Honey for Tea ''Honey for Tea'' is a British sitcom that aired on BBC1 in 1994. Starring Felicity Kendal, it was written by Michael Aitkens. The series was poorly received at the time, receiving a particularly scathing review from Victor Lewis-Smith in the Lo ...

'',Honey For Tea
/ref> and in the cinema film ''

Tom's Midnight Garden ''Tom's Midnight Garden'' is a children's fantasy novel by Philippa Pearce. It was first published in 1958 by Oxford University Press with illustrations by Susan Einzig. It has been reissued in print many times and also adapted for radio, telev ...

'', playing the adult Tom. He briefly returned to acting in 2009 to play British Prime Minister

Edward Heath Sir Edward Richard George Heath (9 July 191617 July 2005), often known as Ted Heath, was a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1970 to 1974 and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of the Conserv ...

in the television drama '' Margaret''.

Post acting life

He abandoned the acting profession in the early 2000s, being psychologically uneasy with the fame that comes with being a recognized figure on national television, and spends much of his time in

Southern India South India, also known as Dakshina Bharata or Peninsular India, consists of the peninsular southern part of India. It encompasses the States and union territories of India, Indian states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and T ...

where he is a property developer, while also maintaining a residence in

Brixton Brixton is a district in south London, part of the London Borough of Lambeth, England. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London. Brixton experienced a rapid rise in population during the 19th ce ...

, South London.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Le Vaillant, Nigel 1958 births Living people British male television actors British expatriates in India Male actors from Karachi 20th-century British male actors 21st-century British male actors People educated at Bryanston School Alumni of St Peter's College, Oxford