Derek Benfield was a British

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...

 playwright

Playwright

A playwright, also called a dramatist, is a person who writes plays.The term is not a variant spelling of "playwrite", but something quite distinct: the word wright is an archaic English term for a craftsman or builder...

 and actor

Actor

An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...

.

He was born in Bradford

Bradford

Bradford lies at the heart of the City of Bradford, a metropolitan borough of West Yorkshire, in Northern England. It is situated in the foothills of the Pennines, west of Leeds, and northwest of Wakefield. Bradford became a municipal borough in 1847, and received its charter as a city in 1897...

, Yorkshire

Yorkshire

Yorkshire is a historic county of northern England and the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its great size in comparison to other English counties, functions have been increasingly undertaken over time by its subdivisions, which have also been subject to periodic reform...

, and educated at Bingley Grammar School

Bingley Grammar School

Bingley Grammar School is a school for both boys and girls from the ages of 11–18 and is located on the outskirts of Bingley, West Yorkshire, England.-History:...

. He was the author of the stage farce

Farce

In theatre, a farce is a comedy which aims at entertaining the audience by means of unlikely, extravagant, and improbable situations, disguise and mistaken identity, verbal humour of varying degrees of sophistication, which may include word play, and a fast-paced plot whose speed usually increases,...

 Running Riot and the second actor who played Patricia Routledge

Patricia Routledge

Katherine Patricia Routledge, CBE is an English character comedy actress and singer. She is best known for her role as character Hyacinth Bucket in the British television series Keeping Up Appearances and Hetty Wainthropp in the British television series Hetty Wainthropp Investigates...

's character's husband in Hetty Wainthropp Investigates

Hetty Wainthropp Investigates

Hetty Wainthropp Investigates is a genteel British crime–comedy drama television series which aired from 1996 to 1998 on BBC One. The series starred Patricia Routledge as the title character , Derek Benfield as her patient husband Robert, Dominic Monaghan as their lodger Geoffrey Shawcross...

(1996 - 1998). He also appeared with Colin Baker

Colin Baker

Colin Baker is a British actor who is known for playing Paul Merroney in The Brothers from 1974 to 1976 and as the sixth incarnation of the Doctor in the long-running science fiction television series Doctor Who, from 1984 to 1986.- Background:Colin Baker was born in London, but moved north to...

 as John Hallam in the Doctor Who

Doctor Who

Doctor Who is a British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC. The programme depicts the adventures of a time-travelling humanoid alien known as the Doctor who explores the universe in a sentient time machine called the TARDIS that flies through time and space, whose exterior...

audio play Catch-1782

Catch-1782

Catch-1782 is a Big Finish Productions audio drama based on the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who.-Plot:The Sixth Doctor and Mel attend the centenary celebrations for the National Foundation for Scientific Research...

produced by Big Finish Productions

Big Finish Productions

Big Finish Productions is a British company that produces books and audio plays based, primarily, on cult British science fiction properties...

.

Arguably Benfield's best known character portrayal was as transport company foreman Bill Riley in the UK television series The Brothers in the early 1970s. Prior to this, he starred as Frank Skinner in the 1970 cult sci-fi series broadcast on UK 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...

, Timeslip

Timeslip

Timeslip is a British children's science fiction television series made by ATV for the ITV network and broadcast between 1970 and 1971. The series centres around two children, Simon Randall and Liz Skinner who discover the existence of a strange anomaly, known as the “Time Barrier”, that enables...

. Some of his other television roles included Walter Greenhalgh from 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...

(1961-1969), Albert the Clerk from Rumpole of the Bailey

Rumpole of the Bailey

Rumpole of the Bailey is a British television series created and written by the British writer and barrister John Mortimer which starred Leo McKern as Horace Rumpole, an ageing London barrister who defends any and all clients...

(1978-1980), Breakaway (1980) and First of the Summer Wine

First of the Summer Wine

First of the Summer Wine is a sitcom written by Roy Clarke that aired on BBC1. The pilot originally aired on 3 January 1988, and the first series of episodes followed on 4 September 1988. The show ran for two series of six episodes each, with the final episode airing on 8 October 1989. The pilot...

(1988).

His plays included the farce

Farce

In theatre, a farce is a comedy which aims at entertaining the audience by means of unlikely, extravagant, and improbable situations, disguise and mistaken identity, verbal humour of varying degrees of sophistication, which may include word play, and a fast-paced plot whose speed usually increases,...

s Post Horn Gallop and Wild Goose Chase, both following the fictional exploits of the eccentric Lord and Lady Elrood and visitors to their castle.

http://announcements.telegraph.co.uk/deaths/16-Feb-2009/16-Mar-2009/benfield/1/announcement95919.aspx Death announcement

Television roles

Year	Title	Role
1996 to 1998	Hetty Wainthropp Investigates Hetty Wainthropp Investigates Hetty Wainthropp Investigates is a genteel British crime–comedy drama television series which aired from 1996 to 1998 on BBC One. The series starred Patricia Routledge as the title character , Derek Benfield as her patient husband Robert, Dominic Monaghan as their lodger Geoffrey Shawcross...	Robert Wainthropp
1988 to 1989	First of the Summer Wine First of the Summer Wine First of the Summer Wine is a sitcom written by Roy Clarke that aired on BBC1. The pilot originally aired on 3 January 1988, and the first series of episodes followed on 4 September 1988. The show ran for two series of six episodes each, with the final episode airing on 8 October 1989. The pilot...	Mr Scrimshaw
1980	Minder Minder (TV series) Minder is a British comedy-drama about the London criminal underworld. Initially produced by Verity Lambert, it was made by Euston Films, a subsidiary of Thames Television and shown on ITV...	Brown
1972 to 1976	The Brothers	Bill Riley
1970	Timeslip Timeslip Timeslip is a British children's science fiction television series made by ATV for the ITV network and broadcast between 1970 and 1971. The series centres around two children, Simon Randall and Liz Skinner who discover the existence of a strange anomaly, known as the “Time Barrier”, that enables...	Frank Skinner

External links

• Obituary in The Times
• Obituary in The Daily Telegraph
• Obituary in The Guardian
• Obituary in The Independent
• http://www.timeslip.org.uk/whoswho/derekbenfield.php