Simon Stephen Shepherd (born 20 August 1956) is an English actor best known to TV audiences from many appearances, including as Dr Will Preston in eight series of
ITV's ''
Peak Practice
''Peak Practice'' is a British drama television series, series about a General Practice, GP surgery in Cardale—a small List of fictional towns in television, fictional town in the Derbyshire Peak District—and the Physician, doctors who wor ...
'' and Doctor Jonathan Barling in ''
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 ...
''.
Shepherd was born in
Bristol
Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...
. He went to school at
Clifton College
''The spirit nourishes within''
, established = 160 years ago
, closed =
, type = Public schoolIndependent boarding and day school
, religion = Christian
, president =
, head_label = Head of College
, hea ...
in Bristol and was a contemporary of the director
Roger Michell in Brown's House. He subsequently attended
Manchester Metropolitan University
Manchester Metropolitan University is located in the centre of Manchester, England. The university has over 40,000 students and over 4,000 members of staff. It is home to four faculties (Arts and Humanities, Business and Law, Health and Educat ...
and
Bristol Old Vic Theatre School
The Bristol Old Vic Theatre School is a drama school in Bristol, England. The institution provides training in acting and production for careers in film, television and theatre.
BOVTS is an affiliate of the Conservatoire for Dance and Drama. ...
and was a member of the
National Youth Theatre.
As well as his television appearances, such as playing Patrick Simmons in the 1984 Miss Marple adaptation 'A Murder is Announced', he has had many notable stage and film roles since 1980, including as Lord Ashbrook in the 2011
Bristol Old Vic
Bristol Old Vic is a British theatre company based at the Theatre Royal, Bristol. The present company was established in 1946 as an offshoot of the Old Vic in London. It is associated with the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School, which became a f ...
production of
Helen Edmundson's ''
Coram Boy
''Coram Boy'' is a 2000 children's novel by Jamila Gavin. It won Gavin a Whitbread Children's Book Award.
Stage adaptation
The book was adapted for the stage by Helen Edmundson, with music by Adrian Sutton, and played for two runs on the Ol ...
''.
In popular culture
Simon Shepherd was regularly mentioned in the BBC comedy ''
Gimme Gimme Gimme'' as Tom's crush and appeared as himself in an episode of each series.
He played Patrick Simmons in the 1984 ''
Miss Marple
Miss Marple is a fictional character in Agatha Christie's crime novels and short stories. Jane Marple lives in the village of St. Mary Mead and acts as an amateur consulting detective. Often characterized as an elderly spinster, she is one of Ch ...
'' TV-adaptation of ''
A Murder is Announced''. In 1989 he appeared in ''
Henry V Henry V may refer to:
People
* Henry V, Duke of Bavaria (died 1026)
* Henry V, Holy Roman Emperor (1081/86–1125)
* Henry V, Duke of Carinthia (died 1161)
* Henry V, Count Palatine of the Rhine (c. 1173–1227)
* Henry V, Count of Luxembourg (1 ...
'' and in 1990 in
Chancer.
He played Edgar Linton in the 1992 ''
Wuthering Heights
''Wuthering Heights'' is an 1847 novel by Emily Brontë, initially published under her pen name Ellis Bell. It concerns two families of the landed gentry living on the West Yorkshire moors, the Earnshaws and the Lintons, and their turbulent re ...
''. In 1993 he appeared in ''
Poirot
Hercule Poirot (, ) is a fictional Belgian detective created by British writer Agatha Christie. Poirot is one of Christie's most famous and long-running characters, appearing in 33 novels, two plays ('' Black Coffee'' and ''Alibi''), and more ...
'' “Jewel Robbery at the Grand Metropolitan” as Andrew Hall and in ''
Peak Practice
''Peak Practice'' is a British drama television series, series about a General Practice, GP surgery in Cardale—a small List of fictional towns in television, fictional town in the Derbyshire Peak District—and the Physician, doctors who wor ...
''. In 1999 he appeared in
Catherine Cookson
Dame Catherine Ann Cookson, DBE (''née'' McMullen; 20 June 1906 – 11 June 1998) was a British writer. She is in the top 20 of the most widely read British novelists, with sales topping 100 million, while retaining a relatively low profile i ...
’s “Tilly Trotter” and ''
Rogue Trader A rogue trader is person who makes financial trades in an unauthorised manner.
Rogue trader may also refer to:
* ''Rogue Trader'' (book), the autobiography of (and later a movie about) Nick Leeson, the man who caused the collapse of Barings Bank
* ...
''.
[ In 2008 he appeared in ''Agatha Christie’s Poirot'' “Mrs McGinty’s Dead” as Dr. Rendell.][ He appeared in the 2022 '' Midsomer Murders'' “The Scarecrow Murders”. He played Chief Inspector Dermott Craddock in the 2019 “The Mirror Crack’d” (stage play).
On 16 February 2011 Simon Shepherd guest-starred in the 2000th episode of the BBC TV Drama '' Doctors''.
He played the role of Sir Norman Cavendish in the play '']The Duck House
''The Duck House'' is a 2013 comedy farce play written by Dan Patterson and Colin Swash. It is based around the events of the 2009 UK parliamentary expenses scandal, and made its world premiere at the Yvonne Arnaud Theatre in October 2013, at ...
'' by Dan Patterson
Dan Patterson (born March 1960) is a British television producer and writer, responsible for the production of both the British and American incarnations of the improvisation show ''Whose Line Is It Anyway?'' and the British satirical panel show '' ...
and Colin Swash, starring alongside Ben Miller
Bennet Evan Miller (born 24 February 1966) is an English actor, comedian, and author. He rose to fame as one half of the comedy duo Armstrong and Miller. Miller is also known for playing the lead role of DI Richard Poole in the first two serie ...
and Diana Vickers
Diana Vickers (born 30 July 1991) is an English singer, songwriter, actress and fashion designer, who initially came to public attention as a semi-finalist on ''The X Factor'' in 2008. Vickers signed a record deal with RCA Records and, after to ...
. The show is a political farce based on the UK parliamentary expenses scandal of 2009 and played a five-week tour in October 2013 before transferring to London
London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
's Vaudeville Theatre
The Vaudeville Theatre is a West End theatre on the Strand in the City of Westminster. As the name suggests, the theatre held mostly vaudeville shows and musical revues in its early days. It opened in 1870 and was rebuilt twice, although each ...
through spring 2014.
In 2017 he appeared 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. ...
...
'' as Edward Reese in episode 5.11 "The Sins of Others".
On 25 March 2017 he starred in BBC1's ''
'' as Dr. Jonathan Barling in the episode 'Five Days.' He reprised the role on 4 August 2018.
in 1980 and they have four children. Shepherd supports several charities, especially those involving the well-being of children (
).