Bill Thomas (actor)
Bill Thomas, (born 04 August 1952) is an English actor of stage and screen. He ranks amongst the most prolific character actors of his generation with over 400 roles on Stage, Films, Television and commercials. He was Tom Henshall in the BBC series Cutting It and Charles Vance in the classic BBC serial The House of Eliott, had the lead role the feature film Weak at Denise and Syrup (which was nominated for an academy award for best short life action feature in 1994. A recent return to the stage saw him playing Ironside, in An English Tragedy, a new play by Oscar winning playwright Ronald Harwood. A generation of young adults know him as Mr Tucknott the pompous and long suffering bank manager in the classic Bodger and Badger series on BBCTV.
His previous stage work includes the lead role in Dragon in the Olivier Theatre as a member of the Royal National Theatre, a remarkable and inovative production by the accomplished director Ulz, after working together at Nottingham Playhouse. He was Arturo UI in The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui, directed by David Gilmore at the Nuffield Theatre, Southampton and went on to lead roles in repertory for much his early career, having five children in the process with his wife, Pat, who he met at the Victoria Theatre Stoke in his first job out of Rose Bruford College. He was 23 and she was in the sixth form at a local school and worked as a volunteer usherette.
He has also had sculpture exhibited at the Whitechapel Gallery in East London, where he has lived for most of his life. He has a long connection with the Theatre Royal, Stratford, E15, where with Jeff Teare and Patrick Prior he pioneered a series of politcal dramas, developing and performing leading roles in satirical attacks on Margaret Thatchers government. The same team produced pantomimes for many years during the 1980's and 90's which set a standard in British Theatre for integrity and quality.
His recent TV work has included spells in Emmerdale and Doctors (2000 TV series), Heartbeat (TV series) and two films with director Norman Hull based on true life events that revolve around the crimes of unlikely individuals, The Canoe Man and the Antiques Rogueshow.
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