Patrick Geoffrey Ryecart (born 9 May 1952) is an English actor.

Early life and career

Ryecart was born in Warwick, Warwickshire. His first West End appearance was in Bernard Shaw's '' Candida'' at the

Albery Theatre Albery is a name. It may refer to: ;People by given name *Albery Allson Whitman (1851−1901), African American poet, minister and orator ;People by surname: *A. S. Albery, British politician *Bronson Albery (1881−1971), English theatre director ...

, playing the young poet Marchbanks opposite

Deborah Kerr Deborah Jane Trimmer CBE (30 September 192116 October 2007), known professionally as Deborah Kerr (), was a British actress. She was nominated six times for the Academy Award for Best Actress. During her international film career, Kerr won a ...

, directed by

Michael Blakemore Michael Howell Blakemore OBE, AO (born 18 June 1928) is an Australian actor, writer and theatre director who has also made a handful of films. A former Associate Director of the National Theatre, in 2000 he became the only individual to win ...

. Among a string of fine reviews, Bernard Levin in the ''

Sunday Times ''The Sunday Times'' is a British newspaper whose circulation makes it the largest in Britain's quality press market category. It was founded in 1821 as ''The New Observer''. It is published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of News UK, w ...

'' described his performance as "supernova" and that he had not seen "such a talent in embryo since the young

Richard Burton Richard Burton (; born Richard Walter Jenkins Jr.; 10 November 1925 – 5 August 1984) was a Welsh actor. Noted for his baritone voice, Burton established himself as a formidable Shakespearean actor in the 1950s, and he gave a memorable pe ...

". Ryecart has continued working in theatre, television and film (his last film role Lord Wigram in ''

The King's Speech ''The King's Speech'' is a 2010 British historical drama film directed by Tom Hooper and written by David Seidler. Colin Firth plays the future King George VI who, to cope with a stammer, sees Lionel Logue, an Australian speech and language ...

'') with lead roles in the classics of Shaw, Sheridan, and Shakespeare to light comedies, TV situation comedy, thrillers and musicals. Among his notable credits in London are Jack Absolute in '' The Rivals'', with

Michael Hordern Sir Michael Murray Hordern Commander of the Order of the British Empire, CBE (3 October 19112 May 1995)Morley, Sheridan"Hordern, Michael Murray (1911–1995)" ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', Oxford University Press, 2004, online e ...

as his father and

Geraldine McEwan Geraldine McEwan (born Geraldine McKeown; 9 May 1932 – 30 January 2015) was an English actress, who had a long career in film, theatre and television. Michael Coveney described her, in a tribute article, as "a great comic stylist, with ...

as Mrs Malaprop, and Lord Goring in Peter Hall's ''

An Ideal Husband ''An Ideal Husband'' is a four-act play by Oscar Wilde that revolves around blackmail and political corruption, and touches on the themes of public and private honour. It was first produced at the Haymarket Theatre, London in 1895 and ran for ...

''. He has acted on many British television shows since the mid-1970s including '' Lillie'', ''

Romeo and Juliet ''Romeo and Juliet'' is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare early in his career about the romance between two Italian youths from feuding families. It was among Shakespeare's most popular plays during his lifetime and, along with ''Ham ...

'', '' The Professionals'', ''

Minder A minder is the person assigned to guide or escort a visitor, or to provide protection to somebody, or to otherwise assist or take care of something, i.e. a person who " minds". Government-appointed persons to accompany foreign visitors are of ...

(Se7ep5)'', '' Rumpole of the Bailey'', ''

Lovejoy ''Lovejoy'' is a British television comedy-drama mystery series, based on the novels by John Grant under the pen name Jonathan Gash. The show, which ran to 71 episodes over six series, was originally broadcast on BBC1 between 10 January 19 ...

'', '' Coming Home'' and ''

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 ...

''. In 1986 he appeared in the ''

Doctor Who ''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series depicts the adventures of a Time Lord called the Doctor, an extraterrestrial being who appears to be human. The Doctor explores the ...

'' serial ''

The Trial of a Time Lord The twenty-third season of British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'', known collectively as ''The Trial of a Time Lord'', aired in weekly episodes from 6 September to 6 December 1986. It contained four adventures: ''The Mysterious ...

'' in the ''

Mindwarp ''Mindwarp'' is the second serial of the larger narrative known as ''The Trial of a Time Lord'' which encompasses the whole of the 23rd season of the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. It was first broadcast in four week ...

'' segment. He was one of the lead characters in the BBC TV comedy series '' The High Life'' playing Captain Hilary Duff. He played Hugo Latimer in the BBC series '' Trainer''. He played Mr. Crane-Bolder in ''Catherine Cookson’s Rag Nymph'' a TV Mini-Series (1997). He also appeared in the 1996 ''

Agatha Christie's Poirot ''Poirot'' (also known as ''Agatha Christie's Poirot'') is a British mystery drama television programme that aired on ITV from 8 January 1989 to 13 November 2013. David Suchet starred as the eponymous detective, Agatha Christie's fictional Her ...

'' episode, " Dumb Witness" as Charles and for the BBC in ''My Son My Son''. He appeared in ''Midsomer Murders'' "The Night of the Stag" as Anthony Devereux (2011). In 2013 he played Sir Anthony Morgan in ''Agatha Christie’s Poirot'' "The Labours of Hercules". Also Dalziel & Pascoe episode and many mini series for the U.S. He played Sir Hugh Bodrugan in the 2015 BBC series of ''

Poldark ''Poldark'' is a series of historical novels by Winston Graham, published from 1945 to 1953 and continued from 1973 to 2002. The first novel, '' Ross Poldark'', was named for the protagonist of the series. The novel series was adapted twice ...

''. In 2016, he played the role of the Duke of Norfolk in the

Netflix Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a ...

series ''

The Crown The Crown is the state in all its aspects within the jurisprudence of the Commonwealth realms and their subdivisions (such as the Crown Dependencies, overseas territories, provinces, or states). Legally ill-defined, the term has differ ...

''. His extensive theatre credits include '' The Beastly Beatitudes of Balthazar B'' by J P Donleavy in London's West End, which he also produced, first playing Balthazar to Simon Callow's playing Beefy, (who was later replaced by Billy Connolly). Numerous tours include "Donkeys Years", "Rebecca", "Tunes of Glory" and "The Millionairess" opposite

Raquel Welch Jo Raquel Welch ( Tejada; September 5, 1940) is an American actress. She first won attention for her role in '' Fantastic Voyage'' (1966), after which she won a contract with 20th Century Fox. They lent her contract to the British studio Hamm ...

. He also produced, at the Garrick Theatre London (and later redirected for tour and the Edinburgh Festival 2011) "Jus' like That!" the highly successful affectionate tribute to the great Tommy Cooper, written by John Fisher. His film credits include '' A Bridge Too Far'' (1977), '' Silver Dream Racer'' (1980), '' Arthur the King'' (1985), ''

Prisoner of Honor ''Prisoner of Honor'' is a 1991 British made-for-television drama film directed by Ken Russell and starring Richard Dreyfuss, Oliver Reed and Peter Firth. It was made by Warner Bros. Television and distributed by HBO, and centers on the famou ...

'' (1991), ''

Parting Shots ''Parting Shots'' is a 1999 British dark comedy film starring Chris Rea, Felicity Kendal, Oliver Reed, Bob Hoskins, Diana Rigg, Ben Kingsley, John Cleese and Joanna Lumley. It was the final film directed by Michael Winner. Upon release in the ...

'' (1999) and ''

'' (2010).

Personal life

He was married to English actress Marsha Fitzalan, the third daughter of the late 17th Duke of Norfolk, from 4 July 1977 until their divorce in 1995. The couple met at drama school, The

Webber Douglas Academy Webber may refer to: *Webber, Kansas, a US city *Webber Township, Jefferson County, Illinois, USA *Webber Township, Lake County, Michigan, USA *Webber International University, in Babson Park, Florida, USA *Webber (surname) Webber (/ˈwɛbər/) i ...

. They have three grown up children: Mariella Celia (born 1982), Jemima Carrie (born 1984), and Frederick William Hamlet (born 1987). The two elder children are both married. Ryecart lives in London.

Partial filmography

*'' A Bridge Too Far'' (1977) - German Lieutenant *'' Silver Dream Racer'' (1980) - Benson *'' Silas Marner'' (1985) - Godfrey Cass *''

Tai-Pan A tai-pan (,Andrew J. Moody, "Transmission Languages and Source Languages of Chinese Borrowings in English", ''American Speech'', Vol. 71, No. 4 (Winter, 1996), pp. 414-415. literally "top class"汉英词典 — ''A Chinese-English Dictionary' ...

'' (1986) - Captain Glessing *'' Goldeneye: The Secret Life of Ian Fleming'' (1989) - Ivar Bryce *''Arms and The Man'' (1989) - Sergius Seranoff *'' Twenty-One'' (1991) - Jack *''

'' (1991) - Maj. Esterhazy *''

'' (1999) - Cleverley *''

'' (2010) - Lord Wigram *''Showreel'' (2011) - Gilbert *''Candle to Water'' (2012) - Cy *''The Contract'' (2016) - Greg *''

'' (2017-2019) - The

Duke of Norfolk Duke of Norfolk is a title in the peerage of England. The seat of the Duke of Norfolk is Arundel Castle in Sussex, although the title refers to the county of Norfolk. The current duke is Edward Fitzalan-Howard, 18th Duke of Norfolk. The dukes ...

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ryecart, Patrick English male stage actors English male television actors 1952 births Living people English male film actors Alumni of the College of the Venerable Bede, Durham Male actors from Warwickshire People from Warwick