John Nettleton (actor)
Encyclopedia
John Nettleton is an English actor.
One of his most notable roles was that of Sir Arnold Robinson, the Cabinet Secretary
in Yes Minister
(1980-1984) and President of the Campaign for Freedom of Information
in the follow-up Yes, Prime Minister (1985–1988). Another political role for Nettleton was a Conservative Party
Member of Parliament
in the sitcom The New Statesman
.
Other roles were in A Man for All Seasons
(1966), a police sergeant in Please Sir!
in 1969, the Brian Clemens
thriller And Soon the Darkness
(1970), Elizabeth R
(1971), Black Beauty
(1971), a Detective Superintendent in Doctor at Large in 1971, Upstairs Downstairs (1972), The Country Wife
(1977), The Flame Trees of Thika
(1981), The Citadel (1983), Martin Luther, Heretic
(1983), Brass
(1983), East of Ipswich
(1987), Reverend Ernest Matthews in the Doctor Who
serial Ghost Light
(1989), Jinnah (1998), Longitude
(2000), Midsomer Murders
(2005), and Kingdom
(2008).
On stage, he has appeared in the Lyttelton Theatre of the Royal National Theatre
in the 2006 productions of Harley Granville Barker's The Voysey Inheritance, directed by Peter Gill. He also voices Grandpa in the PC Game, "The Scruffs".
To a generation who grew up as children in the 1960s and 1970s, who were viewers of the long-running B.B.C. television programme, Blue Peter
, John Nettleton's voice is immediately recognised as the reader of various illustrated stories, often about historical figures, such as Florence Nightingale
.
He is married to actress Deirdre Doone.
One of his most notable roles was that of Sir Arnold Robinson, the Cabinet Secretary
Cabinet Secretary
A Cabinet Secretary is almost always a senior official who provides services and advice to a Cabinet of Ministers. In many countries, the position can have considerably wider functions and powers, including general responsibility for the entire civil service...
in Yes Minister
Yes Minister
Yes Minister is a satirical British sitcom written by Antony Jay and Jonathan Lynn that was first transmitted by BBC Television between 1980–1982 and 1984, split over three seven-episode series. The sequel, Yes, Prime Minister, ran from 1986 to 1988. In total there were 38 episodes—of which all but...
(1980-1984) and President of the Campaign for Freedom of Information
Freedom of information in the United Kingdom
Freedom of information legislation in the United Kingdom is controlled by two Acts of the United Kingdom and Scottish Parliaments respectively, which both came into force on 1 January 2005.* Freedom of Information Act 2000...
in the follow-up Yes, Prime Minister (1985–1988). Another political role for Nettleton was a Conservative Party
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
Member of Parliament
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
in the sitcom The New Statesman
The New Statesman
The New Statesman is an award-winning British sitcom of the late 1980s and early 1990s satirising the Conservative government of the time...
.
Other roles were in A Man for All Seasons
A Man for All Seasons (1966 film)
A Man for All Seasons is a 1966 film based on Robert Bolt's play A Man for All Seasons about Sir Thomas More. It was released on December 12, 1966. Paul Scofield, who had played More in the West End stage premiere, also took the role in the film. It was directed by Fred Zinnemann, who had...
(1966), a police sergeant in Please Sir!
Please Sir!
Please Sir! was a London Weekend Television produced situation comedy, created by writers John Esmonde and Bob Larbey and featured the actors John Alderton, Deryck Guyler, Joan Sanderson, Noel Howlett, Erik Chitty and Richard Davies...
in 1969, the Brian Clemens
Brian Clemens
Brian Horace Clemens OBE is a British screenwriter and television producer, possibly best known for his work on The Avengers and The Professionals...
thriller And Soon the Darkness
And Soon the Darkness
And Soon the Darkness is a 1970 British thriller film. Starring Pamela Franklin, Michele Dotrice and Sandor Elès, it tells the story of two young English women on a cycling holiday in France, who run into difficulties.-Plot:...
(1970), Elizabeth R
Elizabeth R
Elizabeth R is a BBC television drama serial of six 85-minute plays starring Glenda Jackson in the title role. It was first broadcast on BBC2 from February to March 1971, through the Australian Broadcasting Corporation in Australia and broadcast in America on PBS's Masterpiece Theatre.- Episodes...
(1971), Black Beauty
Black Beauty (1971 film)
Black Beauty is a 1971 British drama film, based on the Anna Sewell novel of the same name. This movie is the fourth feature film adaptation of Anna Sewell's story....
(1971), a Detective Superintendent in Doctor at Large in 1971, Upstairs Downstairs (1972), The Country Wife
The Country Wife
The Country Wife is a Restoration comedy written in 1675 by William Wycherley. A product of the tolerant early Restoration period, the play reflects an aristocratic and anti-Puritan ideology, and was controversial for its sexual explicitness even in its own time. The title itself contains a lewd pun...
(1977), The Flame Trees of Thika
The Flame Trees of Thika
The Flame Trees of Thikais a British television mini-series of seven 50-minute episodes made by Euston Films for Thames Television in 1981. It was adapted by John Hawkesworth from the 1959 book of the same title by Elspeth Huxley, and is set in and around the town of Thika in Kenya's Central Province...
(1981), The Citadel (1983), Martin Luther, Heretic
Martin Luther, Heretic (1983 film)
Martin Luther, Heretic was a film made in 1983 to commemorate the 500th anniversary of the birth of Martin Luther. It was released on November 8, 1983 in the United Kingdom, two days before the 500th jubilee on November 10. It starred Jonathan Pryce as Martin Luther. Maurice Denham reprised his...
(1983), Brass
Brass (TV series)
Brass was a British television Comedy-Drama, made by Granada Television for ITV.Set mostly in Utterley, a fictional Lancashire mining town in the 1930s, Brass was a comedy satirising the working-class period dramas of the 1970s and the American supersoaps such as Dallas and Dynasty...
(1983), East of Ipswich
East of Ipswich
East of Ipswich was a BBC television drama from 1987 written by Michael Palin, based on his own memories of dreary holidays in English coastal towns in the 1950s....
(1987), Reverend Ernest Matthews 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...
serial Ghost Light
Ghost Light (Doctor Who)
-Pre-production:Working titles for this story included The Bestiary and Life-Cycle. As revealed in the production notes for the DVD release, the story was renamed Das Haus der tausend Schrecken upon translation into German.The story evolved out of an earlier, rejected script entitled Lungbarrow...
(1989), Jinnah (1998), Longitude
Longitude (TV serial)
Longitude is a 2000 TV drama produced by Granada Productions and the A&E Network for Channel 4, first broadcast in 2000 in the UK on Channel 4 and the US on A&E. It is an adaptation of the 1997 book of the same title by Dava Sobel...
(2000), Midsomer Murders
Midsomer Murders
Midsomer Murders is a British television detective drama that has aired on ITV since 1997. The show is based on the books by Caroline Graham, as originally adapted by Anthony Horowitz. The lead character is DCI Tom Barnaby who works for Causton CID. When Nettles left the show in 2011 he was...
(2005), and Kingdom
Kingdom (TV series)
Kingdom is a British television series produced by Parallel Film and Television Productions for the ITV network. It was created by Simon Wheeler and stars Stephen Fry as Peter Kingdom, a Norfolk solicitor who is coping with family, colleagues, and the strange locals who come to him for legal...
(2008).
On stage, he has appeared in the Lyttelton Theatre of the Royal National Theatre
Royal National Theatre
The Royal National Theatre in London is one of the United Kingdom's two most prominent publicly funded theatre companies, alongside the Royal Shakespeare Company...
in the 2006 productions of Harley Granville Barker's The Voysey Inheritance, directed by Peter Gill. He also voices Grandpa in the PC Game, "The Scruffs".
To a generation who grew up as children in the 1960s and 1970s, who were viewers of the long-running B.B.C. television programme, Blue Peter
Blue Peter
Blue Peter is the world's longest-running children's television show, having first aired in 1958. It is shown on CBBC, both in its BBC One programming block and on the CBBC channel. During its history there have been many presenters, often consisting of two women and two men at a time...
, John Nettleton's voice is immediately recognised as the reader of various illustrated stories, often about historical figures, such as Florence Nightingale
Florence Nightingale
Florence Nightingale OM, RRC was a celebrated English nurse, writer and statistician. She came to prominence for her pioneering work in nursing during the Crimean War, where she tended to wounded soldiers. She was dubbed "The Lady with the Lamp" after her habit of making rounds at night...
.
He is married to actress Deirdre Doone.
Selected filmography
- Anyone for Denis? (1982, TV version)
- Martin Luther, HereticMartin Luther, Heretic (1983 film)Martin Luther, Heretic was a film made in 1983 to commemorate the 500th anniversary of the birth of Martin Luther. It was released on November 8, 1983 in the United Kingdom, two days before the 500th jubilee on November 10. It starred Jonathan Pryce as Martin Luther. Maurice Denham reprised his...
(1983)