Peter Joseph Egan (born 28 September 1946) is a British actor and

animal rights Animal rights is the philosophy according to which many or all sentient animals have moral worth that is independent of their utility for humans, and that their most basic interests—such as avoiding suffering—should be afforded the s ...

activist. He is known for his television roles, including Hogarth in ''

Big Breadwinner Hog ''Big Breadwinner Hog'' is a British television Thriller (genre), thriller Serial (radio and television), serial devised by Robin Chapman, produced by Granada TV and transmitted in eight parts, starting at 9.00pm on 11 April 1969 on the ITV (TV ...

'', the future

George IV of the United Kingdom George IV (George Augustus Frederick; 12 August 1762 – 26 June 1830) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and King of Hanover from the death of his father, King George III, on 29 January 1820, until his own death ten y ...

in ''

Prince Regent A prince regent or princess regent is a prince or princess who, due to their position in the line of succession, rules a monarchy as regent in the stead of a monarch regnant, e.g., as a result of the sovereign's incapacity (minority or illne ...

'' (1979); smooth neighbour Paul Ryman in the sitcom ''

Ever Decreasing Circles ''Ever Decreasing Circles'' is a British sitcom which ran on BBC1 between 1984 and 1989, consisting of four series and one feature-length special. It was written by John Esmonde and Bob Larbey, and it reunited them with Richard Briers, who h ...

'' (1984–89); and Hugh "Shrimpie" MacClare, Marquess of Flintshire, in ''

Downton Abbey ''Downton Abbey'' is a British historical drama television series set in the early 20th century, created and co-written by Julian Fellowes. The series first aired in the United Kingdom on ITV on 26 September 2010 and in the United States o ...

'' (2012–15).

Early life

Egan was born on 28 September 1946 in

Hampstead Hampstead () is an area in London, which lies northwest of Charing Cross, and extends from the A5 road (Roman Watling Street) to Hampstead Heath, a large, hilly expanse of parkland. The area forms the northwest part of the London Borough o ...

, London, the son of Doris (née Pick) and Michael Thomas Egan, who is of Irish descent. He was educated at

St George's Catholic School St. George's Catholic School is a Roman Catholic secondary school, with academy status, in Maida Vale, Westminster, London, England. The school also offers sixth form education franchised from St Thomas More Catholic School. History In 2010, O ...

Maida Vale Maida Vale ( ) is an affluent residential district consisting of the northern part of Paddington in West London, west of St John's Wood and south of Kilburn. It is also the name of its main road, on the continuous Edgware Road. Maida Vale ...

. He also attended the

London Oratory School The London Oratory School, also known as "The Oratory" or "The London Oratory" to distinguish it from other schools, is a Catholic secondary school for boys aged 7–18 and girls aged 16–18 in West Brompton. Founded in 1863 by The Fathers of Th ...

and the

Royal Academy of Dramatic Art The Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA; ) is a drama school in London, England, that provides vocational conservatoire training for theatre, film, television, and radio. It is based in the Bloomsbury area of Central London, close to the Senat ...

Life and career

Egan's first stage performance was in ''Charlie Girl''. His first television role was as the sex-and-cinema-obsessed Seth Starkadder in a BBC serialisation of ''

Cold Comfort Farm ''Cold Comfort Farm'' is a comic novel by English author Stella Gibbons, published in 1932. It parodies the romanticised, sometimes doom-laden accounts of rural life popular at the time, by writers such as Mary Webb. Plot summary Following ...

'' (1968). In 1969, he had come to notoriety as the acid-throwing gangster Hogarth in the controversial

Granada Granada (,, DIN: ; grc, Ἐλιβύργη, Elibýrgē; la, Illiberis or . ) is the capital city of the province of Granada, in the autonomous community of Andalusia, Spain. Granada is located at the foot of the Sierra Nevada mountains, at the c ...

series ''

''. Later, he had other starring roles: as

John Everett Millais Sir John Everett Millais, 1st Baronet, ( , ; 8 June 1829 – 13 August 1896) was an English painter and illustrator who was one of the founders of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood. He was a child prodigy who, aged eleven, became the youngest ...

in the BBC serial ''

The Love School ''The Love School'' (broadcast in the U.S. as ''The Brotherhood'') is a BBC television drama series originally broadcast in 1975 about the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood, written by John Hale, Ray Lawler, Robin Chapman and John Prebble. It was direc ...

'' (1975); as

Oscar Wilde Oscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde (16 October 185430 November 1900) was an Irish poet and playwright. After writing in different forms throughout the 1880s, he became one of the most popular playwrights in London in the early 1890s. He is ...

in the serial '' Lillie'' (1978), starring

Francesca Annis Francesca Annis (born 14 May 1945) is an English actress. She is known for television roles in '' Reckless'' (1998), '' Wives and Daughters'' (1999), ''Deceit'' (2000), and '' Cranford'' (2007). A six-time BAFTA TV Award nominee, she won the 19 ...

Lillie Langtry Emilie Charlotte, Lady de Bathe (née Le Breton, formerly Langtry; 13 October 1853 – 12 February 1929), known as Lillie (or Lily) Langtry and nicknamed "The Jersey Lily", was a British socialite, stage actress and producer. Born on the isla ...

; as Magnus Pym in the BBC dramatisation of

John le Carré David John Moore Cornwell (19 October 193112 December 2020), better known by his pen name John le Carré ( ), was a British and Irish author, best known for his espionage novels, many of which were successfully adapted for film or television. ...

's '' A Perfect Spy'' (1987) and another BBC sitcom, ''

Joint Account A joint account is a bank account that has been opened by two or more individuals or entities. Joint accounts are commonly opened by close relatives (such as by a married couple) or by business partners in an unincorporated business, but it can ...

'' (1989–90). Egan played the title role in the BBC series ''

'' (1979), and was a sinister immortal

Knight Templar , colors = White mantle with a red cross , colors_label = Attire , march = , mascot = Two knights riding a single horse , equipment ...

in Michael J. Bird's BBC series ''

The Dark Side of the Sun ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the ...

'' (1983). Egan also played Fothergill in the television series ''

Reilly, Ace of Spies ''Reilly, Ace of Spies'' is a 1983 British television programme dramatizing the life of Sidney Reilly, a Russian-born adventurer who became one of the greatest spies ever to work for the United Kingdom and the British Empire. Among his exploits ...

'' (1983). In 1986, he had the role of Henry Simcox in the television dramatization of

John Mortimer Sir John Clifford Mortimer (21 April 1923 – 16 January 2009) was a British barrister, dramatist, screenwriter and author. He is best known for novels about a barrister named Horace Rumpole. Early life Mortimer was born in Hampstead, London ...

's '' Paradise Postponed''. In 1988, he narrated the Video 125 drivers eye view 1066DC, which was a cab ride in a Network Southeast class 411 4CEP EMU from Hastings to London. He also guest-starred in episodes of ''

The Ruth Rendell Mysteries ''The Ruth Rendell Mysteries'' is a British television crime drama series, produced by TVS and later by its successor Meridian Broadcasting, in association with Blue Heaven Productions, for broadcast on the ITV network. Twelve series were bro ...

'' ("A New Lease of Death," 1991) and ''

A Touch of Frost A, or a, is the first letter and the first vowel of the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''a'' (pronounced ), plural ''aes' ...

'' ("Private Lives," 1999). Other roles have included the character Michael Cochrane in the programme '' The Ambassador'' (1998), and (on film) as the suave secret agent Meres in television spin-off ''

Callan Callan is a given name and surname of Irish and Scottish origin. It can derive from Ó Cathaláin, meaning ''descendant of Cathalán''. Callan can also be an Anglicized form of the Gaelic Mac Allin or Mac Callin. Notable people with the name includ ...

'' (1974), and the Duke of Sutherland in ''

Chariots of Fire ''Chariots of Fire'' is a 1981 British historical sports drama film directed by Hugh Hudson, written by Colin Welland and produced by David Puttnam. It is based on the true story of two British athletes in the 1924 Olympics: Eric Liddell ...

'' (1981). In 2007, Egan took the role of Victor in the film '' Death at a Funeral''. In 2009, he toured as lead Sir Hugo Latymer in Nikolai Foster's revival of

Noël Coward Sir Noël Peirce Coward (16 December 189926 March 1973) was an English playwright, composer, director, actor, and singer, known for his wit, flamboyance, and what ''Time'' magazine called "a sense of personal style, a combination of cheek and ...

's '' A Song at Twilight''. He is the narrator for the US and UK versions of ''

Forza Motorsport 3 ''Forza Motorsport 3'' is a 2009 racing video game developed for Xbox 360 by Turn 10 Studios. It is the sequel to ''Forza Motorsport 2'' and the third installment in the ''Forza'' series. The game includes more than 400 customizable cars (more t ...

'' and its sequel, ''

Forza Motorsport 4 ''Forza Motorsport 4'' is a 2011 racing video game developed by Turn 10 Studios and published by Microsoft Studios for the Xbox 360. It is the fourth installment in the ''Forza'' series. It is the first title in the series to support the Kinect ...

''. In 2012, Egan first appeared as Hugh "Shrimpie" MacClare, Marquess of Flintshire, in the Christmas special episode of

ITV's ITV is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network. It was launched in 1955 as Independent Television to provide competition to BBC Television (established in 1936). ITV is the oldest commercial network in the UK. Since the passin ...

''. For the drama's fifth series, Shrimpie became a recurring character; he also briefly appeared in series six. Later that same year, Egan appeared in

Alan Bennett Alan Bennett (born 9 May 1934) is an English actor, author, playwright and screenwriter. Over his distinguished entertainment career he has received numerous awards and honours including two BAFTA Awards, four Laurence Olivier Awards, and two ...

's ''

People A person ( : people) is a being that has certain capacities or attributes such as reason, morality, consciousness or self-consciousness, and being a part of a culturally established form of social relations such as kinship, ownership of prope ...

'', alongside

Frances de la Tour Frances J. de Lautour (born 30 July 1944), better known as Frances de la Tour, is an English actress. She is known for her role as Miss Ruth Jones in the television sitcom '' Rising Damp'' from 1974 until 1978. She is a Tony Award winner and th ...

, at the National Theatre. Also in 2012, he narrated a new recording of

Rick Wakeman Richard Christopher Wakeman (born 18 May 1949) is an English keyboardist best known as a former member of the progressive rock band Yes across five tenures between 1971 and 2004, and for his solo albums released in the 1970s. Born and raised ...

's album, ''Journey to the Centre of the Earth'', based on the story by

Jules Verne Jules Gabriel Verne (;''Longman Pronunciation Dictionary''. ; 8 February 1828 – 24 March 1905) was a French novelist, poet, and playwright. His collaboration with the publisher Pierre-Jules Hetzel led to the creation of the '' Voyages extra ...

Animal rights activism

Egan is a longtime animal lover and vegan. Starting in 2010, he began to campaign publicly on behalf of

. Egan is an ambassador for the dog rescue Saving Suffering Strays in

Sarajevo Sarajevo ( ; cyrl, Сарајево, ; ''see names in other languages'') is the capital and largest city of Bosnia and Herzegovina, with a population of 275,524 in its administrative limits. The Sarajevo metropolitan area including Sarajevo ...

Bosnia Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh, / , ), abbreviated BiH () or B&H, sometimes called Bosnia–Herzegovina and Pars pro toto#Geography, often known informally as Bosnia, is a country at the crossroads of Southern Europe, south and southeast Euro ...

. He and his wife Myra adopted their Bosnian dog Tidus from this dog rescue. He continues to give support to stray street dogs of Sarajevo and their lone rescuer Milena Malesevic. Egan is an active ambassador for the

Animals Asia Foundation Animals Asia Foundation (AAF) is a Hong Kong-based charity that seeks to end cruelty to animals in Asia. Founding The AAF was founded in 1998 by Jill Robinson, who felt compelled to create the organisation after learning of the plight of the As ...

, which is a charity that works to end cruelty to animals in Asia. He is also patron of "All Dogs Matter", a dog rescue and rehoming charity in and around London and Norfolk. In May 2015, Egan became Patron of Chaldon Animal Sanctuary, a charity that offers homes for life for dogs and cats. Egan personally took one of the Bosnian dogs now named Crusoe to the sanctuary in May. Three months later, Egan was announced as patron of the science-based campaign For Life On Earth (FLOE), which fights against animal testing in the field of human medical research. In January 2016, Egan participated in Veganuary, and has remained vegan. In 2018 Peter Egan joined Animal Equality UK inside a foie gras farm in France to document the process of force-feeding. Since then, he has supported the animal protection organisation on its campaign to ban the import of

foie gras Foie gras (, ; ) is a specialty food product made of the liver of a duck or goose. According to French law, foie gras is defined as the liver of a duck or goose fattened by gavage (force feeding). Foie gras is a popular and well-known delica ...

made by force-feeding in the UK.

Personal life

Egan was married to former actress

Myra Frances Myra Frances (13 April 1942 – 30 March 2021) was a British actress known for her role in the drama series '' Survivors'' and in ''Doctor Who''. Career In the 1974 ''Second City Firsts'' episode "Girl", Frances and Alison Steadman performed th ...

for 49 years until her death from

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal b ...

on 30 March 2021. His stepdaughter is

Rebecca Egan Rebecca Egan is a British actress known mostly for the role of Marilyn Tanner in the ''Second Sight'' series, and has been seen in the guest role of Kendra Hills-Smythe in the soap opera ''EastEnders''. The daughter of Myra Frances (1943–2 ...

Filmography

References

External links

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Peter Egan Interview
{{DEFAULTSORT:Egan, Peter 1946 births 20th-century English male actors 21st-century English male actors Alumni of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art BAFTA Most Promising Newcomer to Leading Film Roles winners English animal rights activists English male film actors English male television actors English people of Irish descent Living people Male actors from London People from Hampstead