Anthony Pitts (born 10 October 1962) is an English actor, most notable for playing

Archie Brooks Archie Brooks is a fictional character from the British ITV soap opera ''Emmerdale'', played by Tony Pitts. Pitts had a 10-year span as Archie between 1983 and 1993, but was axed and Archie became one of the victims of the Emmerdale plane c ...

in the long-running British soap ''

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, '' ...

'' between 1983 and 1993.

Early life

Pitts was born in

Sheffield Sheffield is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in South Yorkshire, England, whose name derives from the River Sheaf which runs through it. The city serves as the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is Historic counties o ...

, England. His family was working-class, his parents worked as a

joiner A joiner is an artisan and tradesperson who builds things by joining pieces of wood, particularly lighter and more ornamental work than that done by a carpenter, including furniture and the "fittings" of a house, ship, etc. Joiners may work in ...

and a

midwife A midwife is a health professional who cares for mothers and newborns around childbirth, a specialization known as midwifery. The education and training for a midwife concentrates extensively on the care of women throughout their lifespan; co ...

. Pitts originally intended to become a physician but ended up working as a car mechanic in his early career. He wrote a letter to the college to get out of college classes to become an actor. His family were livid at this. During his time at Stannington College, Sheffield

Barry Hines Melvin Barry Hines, FRSL (30 June 1939 – 18 March 2016) was an English author, playwright and screenwriter. His novels and screenplays explore the political and economic struggles of working-class Northern England, particularly in his native W ...

paid a visit looking for extras for his upcoming drama ''

Looks and Smiles ''Looks and Smiles'' is a 1981 British drama film directed by Ken Loach. It is based on the novel of the same name, written by Barry Hines. The film was entered into the 1981 Cannes Film Festival, where Loach won the Young Cinema Award. The film ...

''. Pitts was cast and soon upgraded to a bigger role in the production. He decided to follow his ambition to become an actor in 1983.

''Emmerdale''

In 1983, Pitts was landed in the role of loveable young rogue

in the British soap opera ''

Emmerdale ''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, '' ...

''. Pitts was chosen for the role by

Kevin Laffan Kevin Barry Laffan (24 May 1922 – 11 March 2003) was a British playwright, screenwriter, author, actor and stage director. Laffan is best known for creating the ITV soap opera ''Emmerdale Farm'', now titled ''Emmerdale''. Raised in a family ...

, who watched Pitts portray the

title character The title character in a narrative work is one who is named or referred to in the title of the work. In a performed work such as a play or film, the performer who plays the title character is said to have the title role of the piece. The title of ...

in a theatrical adaptation of ''

Nicholas Nickleby ''Nicholas Nickleby'' or ''The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby'' (or also ''The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby, Containing a Faithful Account of the Fortunes, Misfortunes, Uprisings, Downfallings, and Complete Career of the ...

'', and believed that Pitts' versatile acting ability and his strong

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a Historic counties of England, historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other Eng ...

accent, meant he was well suited for the role. The role was Pitts' very first role in a television series, and he first appeared on the show on 18 November 1983, and remained in the show for a total of ten years, involved in storylines that included his prison sentence in 1989 for setting fire to

Seth Armstrong Archibald Seth Armstrong is a fictional character from the British ITV soap opera, ''Emmerdale ''Emmerdale'' (known as ''Emmerdale Farm'' until 1989) is a British soap opera that is broadcast on ITV1. The show is set in Emmerdale (know ...

's property, becoming a suspect of whether or not he was the father of

Elsa Feldmann The following is a list of characters that first appeared in the British soap opera ''Emmerdale'' in 1990, by order of first appearance. This year saw the introduction of a new family, the Feldmanns. Siblings Elsa and Michael debuted in Februar ...

's child in 1990, and his relationship with lesbian

Zoe Tate Zoe Tate is a fictional character from the British soap opera ''Emmerdale'', played by Leah Bracknell. She made her first screen appearance during the episode broadcast on 12 December 1989. Zoe was involved in many major storylines during her ti ...

in 1993. In 1993, Pitts' character Archie was killed in the infamous

Emmerdale plane crash The ''Emmerdale'' Plane Crash, also known as the Beckindale Air Disaster, was a storyline for the British soap opera ''Emmerdale'', broadcast on ITV. The episode aired on 30 December 1993, and gave ''Emmerdale'' its highest-ever viewing figures ...

. Pitts' last appearance on the show was on 30 December 1993.

Other work

During his time away from ''

'', Pitts had notable guest appearances in shows including ''

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 ...

'' as Aidan Phillips in 1996, ''

EastEnders ''EastEnders'' is a Television in the United Kingdom, British soap opera created by Julia Smith (producer), Julia Smith and Tony Holland which has been broadcast on BBC One since February 1985. Set in the fictional borough of Walford in the Ea ...

'' as Cliff in 1996, ''

The Bill ''The Bill'' is a British police procedural television series, first broadcast on ITV from 16 August 1983 until 31 August 2010. The programme originated from a one-off drama, '' Woodentop'', broadcast in August 1983. The programme focused on ...

'' as Chris Riley in 1999, ''

The Royal ''The Royal'' is a British period medical drama, produced by Yorkshire Television (later part of ITV Studios), and broadcast on ITV1 from 2003 until its cancellation in 2011. The series is set in the 1960s and focuses on the lives of the st ...

'' as Alec Glazer in 2004 and ''

Unforgiven ''Unforgiven'' is a 1992 American Revisionist Western film starring, directed, and produced by Clint Eastwood, and written by David Webb Peoples. The film tells the story of William Munny, an aging outlaw and killer who takes on one more job, ...

'' in 2009 as Adam Boothroyd. Tony was the original choice for Terry Duckworth in Coronation Street, but Nigel Pivaro ended up playing the role instead. Pitts starred in Lilyhammer as Danny Croc Hammer, the brother of Duncan Hammer. Pitts has appeared in the police drama '' Heartbeat'' on two occasions, the first time in 1998 as Carl Southall and the second time in 2005 as Brian Gilbert. In 2002, he appeared as DI Healey in the miniseries ''In Deep'' alongside

Nick Berry Nicholas Berry (born 16 April 1963) is a retired English actor and pop singer. He is best known for his roles as Simon Wicks in ''EastEnders'' from 1985 to 1990, and as PC Nick Rowan in '' Heartbeat'' from 1992 to 1998. He sang UK chart sing ...

and

Stephen Tompkinson Stephen Phillip Tompkinson (born 15 October 1965) is an English actor, known for his television roles as Marcus in '' Chancer '' (1990), Damien Day in ''Drop the Dead Donkey'' (1990–1998), Father Peter Clifford in ''Ballykissangel'' (1996–9 ...

. He is now a screenwriter, as well as an actor. Pitts appeared in ''

Scott & Bailey ''Scott & Bailey'' is a British police procedural series that debuted on ITV on 29 May 2011 and concluded on 27 April 2016. The series stars Suranne Jones, Lesley Sharp, Amelia Bullmore, Nicholas Gleaves, Danny Miller and Pippa Haywood. The s ...

'' on ITV1/ITV1HD as Adrian Scott (the husband of

Lesley Sharp Lesley Sharp is an English stage, film and television actress whose roles on British television include ''Clocking Off'' (2000–2001), '' Bob & Rose'' (2001) and ''Afterlife'' (2005–2006). She was nominated for the BAFTA Award for Best Actres ...

's character, DC Janet Scott). He also had a small role in the 2012 film ''

War Horse The first evidence of horses in warfare dates from Eurasia between 4000 and 3000 BC. A Sumerian illustration of warfare from 2500 BC depicts some type of equine pulling wagons. By 1600 BC, improved harness and chariot designs ...

''. In 2012 Pitts starred in the third episode of ''

Dirk Gently Dirk Gently (born Svlad Cjelli, also known as Dirk Cjelli) is a fictional character created by English writer Douglas Adams and featured in the books '' Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency'', ''The Long Dark Tea-Time of the Soul'' and '' T ...

'' as Robbie Glover. In 2012 he also appeared as the Chief Superintendent in the '' Sherlock'' episode "The Reichenbach Falls". In 2013 he appeared as Sergeant Moss in the BBC drama series ''

Peaky Blinders The Peaky Blinders were a street gang based in Birmingham, England, which operated from the 1880s until the 1910s. The group consisted largely of young criminals from lower- to middle-class backgrounds. They engaged in robbery, violence, racke ...

''. Pitts played Captain Patero in ''Rogue One: A Star Wars Story'' in 2016. He also appeared as Detective Chief Superintendent Les Hargreaves in the 2014 second series of BBC's ''

Line of Duty ''Line of Duty'' is a British police procedural television series created by Jed Mercurio and produced by World Productions. On 26 June 2012, BBC Two began to broadcast the first series; it was its best-performing drama series in ten years wit ...

'', made an appearance in the series finale of series four in 2017, and then appeared in series five in 2019. From 2017 he appeared in two seasons of the series '' Jamestown'' as Edgar Massinger. Pitts also appeared in ''Wild Bill'' on ITV in 2019.

Filmography

Film

Television

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Pitts, Tony 1962 births English male soap opera actors Living people Male actors from Sheffield