Brian Capron (born 11 February 1947) is an English actor who trained at the

London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art The London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art (LAMDA) is a drama school located in Hammersmith, London. Founded in 1861, it is the oldest specialist drama school in the British Isles and a founding member of the Federation of Drama Schools. In ...

. He first came to public attention through his role of the teacher Mr Stuart "Hoppy" Hopwood in ''

Grange Hill ''Grange Hill'' is a British Children's television series, children's television drama series, originally produced by the BBC and portraying life in a typical Comprehensive school (England and Wales), comprehensive school. The show began its ru ...

'' from 1980 to 1983. He is best known for his role as

serial killer A serial killer (also called a serial murderer) is a person who murders three or more people,An offender can be anyone: * * * * * (This source only requires two people) with the killings taking place over a significant period of time in separat ...

Richard Hillman Richard Hillman is a fictional character from the British ITV soap opera ''Coronation Street'', played by Brian Capron. He first appeared on 20 June 2001 and became the show's main antagonist until his eventual departure on 14 March 2003. Ric ...

in the long-running ITV

soap opera A soap opera (also called a daytime drama or soap) is a genre of a long-running radio or television Serial (radio and television), serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term ''soap opera'' originat ...

Coronation Street ''Coronation Street'' (colloquially referred to as ''Corrie'') is a British television soap opera created by ITV Granada, Granada Television and shown on ITV (TV network), ITV since 9 December 1960. The programme centres on a cobbled, terraced ...

'' from 2001 to 2003. He had previously appeared in the series as the social worker Donald Worthington in 1981–1982, and 1986. He reprised the role of Richard briefly in 2024 for the exit of Gail Platt (

Helen Worth Helen Worth (born Cathryn Helen Wigglesworth; 7 January 1951) is a British actress. She is best known for portraying the role of Gail Platt in the ITV soap opera ''Coronation Street'' for 50 years from 1974 to 2024. In 2014, she received the ...

). Other notable TV credits include: ''

Z-Cars ''Z-Cars'' or ''Z Cars'' (pronounced "zed cars") is a British television police procedural series centred on the work of mobile uniformed police and CID detectives in the fictional town of Newtown, based on Kirkby, near Liverpool. Produced by ...

'', ''

Dixon of Dock Green ''Dixon of Dock Green'' is a BBC police procedural television series about daily life at a fictional London police station, with the emphasis on petty crime, successfully controlled through common sense and human understanding. It ran from 1955 ...

,'' ''

Angels An angel is a spiritual (without a physical body), heavenly, or supernatural being, usually humanoid with bird-like wings, often depicted as a messenger or intermediary between God (the transcendent) and humanity (the profane) in variou ...

'', ''

The Sweeney ''The Sweeney'' is a British police drama television series focusing on two members of the Flying Squad, a branch of the Metropolitan Police specialising in tackling armed robbery and violent crime in London. It stars John Thaw as Detective ...

'', ''

Blake's 7 ''Blake's 7'' is a British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC. Four series of thirteen 50-minute episodes were broadcast on BBC1 between 1978 and 1981. It was created by Terry Nation, who also wrote the first series, prod ...

'', '' Tales of the Unexpected'', ''

Full House ''Full House'' is an American television sitcom created by Jeff Franklin for American Broadcasting Company, ABC. The show is about the recently widowed father Danny Tanner who enlists his brother-in-law Jesse Katsopolis and childhood best friend ...

'', '' Shoestring'', '' Bergerac'', ''

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 ...

'', '' Birds of a Feather'', '' Murder Most Horrid'', ''

The Bill ''The Bill'' is a British police procedural television series, broadcast on ITV (TV network), ITV from 16 October 1984 until 31 August 2010. The programme originated from a one-off drama, "Woodentop (The Bill), Woodentop" (part of the ''Storyb ...

'', ''

Taggart ''Taggart'' is a Scottish detective fiction television programme created by Glenn Chandler, who wrote many of the episodes, and made by STV Studios for the ITV network. It originally ran as the miniseries ''Killer'' from 6 until 20 Septe ...

'', ''

Peak Practice ''Peak Practice'' is a British drama series about a GP surgery in Cardale — a small fictional town in the Derbyshire Peak District — and the doctors who worked there. It originally starred Kevin Whately as Dr Jack Kerruish, Amanda Burton ...

'', '' Judge John Deed'', '' Crocodile Shoes'', ''

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 ...

'', ''

EastEnders ''EastEnders'' is a British television 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 East End of London, the ...

'', and '' Where the Heart Is'' and '' Emmerdale Farm''.

Career

Capron first came to public attention through his role of the teacher Mr Stuart "Hoppy" Hopwood in ''

'' from 1980 to 1983. In 1984, he appeared as Fred, one of a pair of

confidence trick A scam, or a confidence trick, is an attempt to defraud a person or group after first gaining their trust. Confidence tricks exploit victims using a combination of the victim's credulity, naivety, compassion, vanity, confidence, irrespons ...

sters in the ''

'' episode ''Around the Corner.'' Also that year, he appeared in ''

The Gentle Touch ''The Gentle Touch'' is a British police procedural drama series made by London Weekend Television for ITV which began on 11 April 1980 and ran until 24 November 1984. The series is notable for being the first British series to feature a fema ...

'' episode "Do It Yourself" as lead character Maggie Forbes' gay hairdresser Toby. He also acted in

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

'', playing Jerry McKenzie from 1993 to 1994. He played the guest role of Andrew Donelson in ''

'' in the episode "A Fistful of Chips", in 1999. He was cast as George Godley in ''

Jack the Ripper Jack the Ripper was an unidentified serial killer who was active in and around the impoverished Whitechapel district of London, England, in 1888. In both criminal case files and the contemporaneous journalistic accounts, the killer was also ...

'' (1988), with Barry Foster as Inspector Frederick Abberline, and the two started filming in October 1987. It was later decided to recast with

Michael Caine Sir Michael Caine (born Maurice Joseph Micklewhite, 14 March 1933) is a retired English actor. Known for his distinct Cockney accent, he has appeared in more than 160 films over Michael Caine filmography, a career that spanned eight decades an ...

as Abberline and

Lewis Collins Lewis Collins (27 May 1946 – 27 November 2013)"Happy Birthday Richard Hastilow, 65", ''The Times'', 26 May 2010 was an English actor, best known for his career-defining role playing 'Bodie' in the late 1970s – early 1980s British television ...

as Godley in order to attract larger audiences in the United States. He is best known for his role as

in the long-running ITV

). Other notable TV credits include: ''

'', ''

,'' ''

'', ''

'', '' Tales of the Unexpected'', ''

'', '' Shoestring'', '' Bergerac'', ''

'', '' Birds of a Feather'', '' Murder Most Horrid'', ''

'', ''

'', '' Judge John Deed'', '' Crocodile Shoes'', and '' Where the Heart Is'' and '' Emmerdale Farm''. His feature film appearances have included roles in '' Emma'' (1996), '' 101 Dalmatians'' (1996), '' Still Crazy'' (1998) and ''Ambleton Delight'' (2009). In ''The Bill'' he played Antionio Mancini, a husband who is always rowing and fighting his wife Joanna. Capron played this role twice, firstly in the series 4 episode "Trouble & Strife" and later on in the series 5 episode "Out to Lunch". In the Series 8 episode "Tip off", he played a prisoner, Keith Grounds. He has also played narrator in ''

The Rocky Horror Show ''The Rocky Horror Show'' is a Musical theatre, musical with music, lyrics and book by Richard O'Brien. A humorous tribute to various B movies associated with the Science fiction film, science fiction and Horror film, horror genres from the 193 ...

'' in London's West End, alongside

Suzanne Shaw Suzanne Christine Crowshaw (born 29 September 1981), known as Suzanne Shaw, is an English actress, singer and television personality, who rose to fame after winning the talent contest ''Popstars'' and subsequently being a member of the band Hear' ...

, in January 2007. In 2007, Capron played Nathan Detroit on the ''

Guys and Dolls ''Guys and Dolls'' is a musical theater, musical with music and lyrics by Frank Loesser and book by Jo Swerling and Abe Burrows. It is based on "The Idyll of Miss Sarah Brown" (1933) and "Blood Pressure", which are two short stories by Damon Run ...

'' tour, opposite

Claire Sweeney Claire Jane Sweeney (born 17 April 1971) is an English actress, singer, and television personality. Known for her portrayal of Lindsey Corkhill on Channel 4's '' Brookside'' (1991–2003), she also played Roxie Hart in ''Chicago'' ( West End, ...

. In September 2007, Capron was announced as one of the contestants to take part in the fifth series of ''

Strictly Come Dancing ''Strictly Come Dancing'' (commonly referred to as ''Strictly'') is a British dance contest show in which celebrities partner with professional dancers to compete in mainly Ballroom dance, ballroom and Latin dance, Latin dance. Each couple is ...

''. He was partnered by Karen Hardy, who was Series 4 champion with cricketer

Mark Ramprakash Mark Ravin Ramprakash (born 5 September 1969) is an English former cricketer and cricket coach. Outside of cricket, Ramprakash won the Strictly Come Dancing series 4, fourth series of ''Strictly Come Dancing'' in 2006. He is currently the Pr ...

. After finishing in last place on the first show, he found himself in the dance-off along with Kenny Logan, but the judges voted in favour of saving Logan and Capron was eliminated from the show.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Capron, Brian 1947 births Living people Actors from Mid Suffolk District Alumni of the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art British Soap Award for Best Actor winners English male film actors English male soap opera actors English male stage actors English people of Algerian descent English people of French descent People from Eye, Suffolk Male actors from Suffolk