Alan Igbon
Encyclopedia
Alan Igbon is a British
actor.
Of West Africa
n and Irish
background, Igbon has been a familiar jobbing actor since his teenage years when he took the background part of inmate Meakin in the 1979 cinematic re-make of the controversial borstal
film Scum
, whose character memorably launched an emotional tirade against senior members of staff after the suicide
of another convict.
Igbon later starred as Loggo in Boys from the Blackstuff
, a BBC
television drama about a group of unemployed men in Liverpool
during the recession
-ravaged early 1980s, written by Alan Bleasdale
. He also took a leading role in the sitcom The Front Line
, playing the dreadlocked Sheldon, alongside Paul Barber as his police officer brother Malcolm, and had a role in the film Water
(1985).
Other staple programmes in which Igbon featured include cop show The Professionals
, Bleasdale drama G.B.H., medical serial Doctors
and Channel 4
soap opera
Brookside
. He had a supporting role in the third series of Auf Wiedersehen, Pet
as a bodyguard and stooge to the programme's main villain (played by Boys From The Blackstuff co-star Michael Angelis
) and then took a temporary role in ITV
soap Coronation Street
, playing the estranged father of regular character Jason Grimshaw
.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
actor.
Of West Africa
West Africa
West Africa or Western Africa is the westernmost region of the African continent. Geopolitically, the UN definition of Western Africa includes the following 16 countries and an area of approximately 5 million square km:-Flags of West Africa:...
n and Irish
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
background, Igbon has been a familiar jobbing actor since his teenage years when he took the background part of inmate Meakin in the 1979 cinematic re-make of the controversial borstal
Borstal
A borstal was a type of youth prison in the United Kingdom, run by the Prison Service and intended to reform seriously delinquent young people. The word is sometimes used loosely to apply to other kinds of youth institution or reformatory, such as Approved Schools and Detention Centres. The court...
film Scum
Scum (film)
Scum is a 1979 British crime drama film directed by Alan Clarke, portraying the brutality of life inside a British borstal. The story was originally made for the BBC's Play for Today strand in 1977, however due to the violence depicted in the film, it was withdrawn from broadcast...
, whose character memorably launched an emotional tirade against senior members of staff after the suicide
Suicide
Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Suicide is often committed out of despair or attributed to some underlying mental disorder, such as depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, alcoholism, or drug abuse...
of another convict.
Igbon later starred as Loggo in Boys from the Blackstuff
Boys from the Blackstuff
Boys from the Blackstuff is a British television drama series of five episodes, originally transmitted from 10 October to 7 November 1982 on BBC2....
, a BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
television drama about a group of unemployed men in Liverpool
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...
during the recession
Recession
In economics, a recession is a business cycle contraction, a general slowdown in economic activity. During recessions, many macroeconomic indicators vary in a similar way...
-ravaged early 1980s, written by Alan Bleasdale
Alan Bleasdale
Alan Bleasdale is an English television dramatist, best known for writing several social realist drama serials based on the lives of ordinary people.The Bleasdales live in prescot,liverpool,wales and london.-Early life:Bleasdale is an only child; his father worked in a food factory and his mother...
. He also took a leading role in the sitcom The Front Line
The Front Line (TV series)
The Front Line was a 1984/1985 BBC sitcom about two half-brothers of West Indian descent who shared a house, one brother a policeman and one a dreadlocked Rastafarian....
, playing the dreadlocked Sheldon, alongside Paul Barber as his police officer brother Malcolm, and had a role in the film Water
Water (1985 film)
Water is a 1985 comedy film scripted by Dick Clement and Ian Le Frenais, directed by Clement, and starring Michael Caine. This HandMade Films production was released in U.S. theatres in April 1986 by Atlantic Releasing.-Plot summary:...
(1985).
Other staple programmes in which Igbon featured include cop show The Professionals
The Professionals (TV series)
The Professionals was a British crime-action television drama series produced by Avengers Mk1 Productions and London Weekend Television that aired on the ITV network from 1977 to 1983. In all, 57 episodes were produced, filmed between 1977 and 1981. It starred Martin Shaw, Lewis Collins and Gordon...
, Bleasdale drama G.B.H., medical serial Doctors
Doctors (BBC Soap Opera)
Doctors is a British daytime television soap opera, set in the fictional Midland town of Letherbridge, defined as being close to the City of Birmingham. It was created by Chris Murray; Mal Young drove its development, and Carson Black was the original producer. The first episode was broadcast on...
and Channel 4
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...
soap opera
Soap opera
A soap opera, sometimes called "soap" for short, is an ongoing, episodic work of dramatic fiction presented in serial format on radio or as television programming. The name soap opera stems from the original dramatic serials broadcast on radio that had soap manufacturers, such as Procter & Gamble,...
Brookside
Brookside
Brookside is a defunct British soap opera set in Liverpool, England. The series began on the launch night of Channel 4 on 2 November 1982, and ran for 21 years until 4 November 2003...
. He had a supporting role in the third series of Auf Wiedersehen, Pet
Auf Wiedersehen, Pet
Auf Wiedersehen, Pet is a British comedy-drama television programme about seven English migrant construction workers. In the first series, the men live and work on a building site in Düsseldorf....
as a bodyguard and stooge to the programme's main villain (played by Boys From The Blackstuff co-star Michael Angelis
Michael Angelis
Michael Angelis is an English actor and voice actor.Michael Angelis was one of the stars of the famous 1982 BBC drama serial Boys from the Black Stuff and another Alan Bleasedale drama G.B.H.. He also starred in comedies such as Luv and The Liver Birds, in which he appeared between series 5 and 9...
) and then took a temporary role in ITV
ITV
ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...
soap Coronation Street
Coronation Street
Coronation Street is a British soap opera set in Weatherfield, a fictional town in Greater Manchester based on Salford. Created by Tony Warren, Coronation Street was first broadcast on 9 December 1960...
, playing the estranged father of regular character Jason Grimshaw
Jason Grimshaw
Jason Grimshaw, is a fictional character in the UK television ITV soap opera, Coronation Street. Portrayed by actor Ryan Thomas, the character first appeared during the episode airing on 25 December 2000, when he comes looking for mother Eileen at the Battersbys' home.Jason is very much the...
.