Derek Fowlds

Derek Fowlds
Born	2 September 1937 (1937-09-02) (age 74) Wandsworth, London, England, British
Occupation	Actor, Presenter
Years active	1962–present
Spouse	Adrienne Corri (Divorced) Lesley Judd (1974–1978 Divorced)

Derek Fowlds (born 2 September 1937) is an English actor, known for playing Bernard Woolley in popular British television comedies Yes, Minister and Yes, Prime Minister and Oscar Blaketon in the long-running ITV police drama Heartbeat.

Personal life

Fowlds was born in Wandsworth, London, the son of Ketha Muriel (née Treacher) and James Witney Fowlds,^[1] a salesman. He attended a Secondary Modern School in Berkhamsted, Hertfordshire.

Fowlds was previously married to actress Adrienne Corri and Blue Peter presenter and dancer Lesley Judd.

Career

After amateur acting, he trained at RADA and made his debut on the West End stage in The Miracle Worker. He appeared in various film roles, including East of Sudan (1964), Hotel Paradiso (1966), Frankenstein Created Woman (1967) and The Smashing Bird I Used to Know (1969), prior to becoming familiar to British television viewers as 'Mr. Derek' in the children's series The Basil Brush Show, replacing Rodney Bewes as presenter. Perhaps his most famous role was that of Bernard Woolley in Yes Minister and its sequel Yes, Prime Minister alongside Paul Eddington and Nigel Hawthorne.

From 1983–1985 he played the lead role in the sitcom Affairs of the Heart. He featured in a more sinister role in the 1990 political thriller Die Kinder. Fowlds then played Oscar Blaketon in the long running ITV police drama nostalgia series Heartbeat for its entire run. The character first appeared as the local police sergeant, then retired from the force and ran the post office before becoming a publican.

Television roles

Comedy

Year	Title	Role
1969–1973	The Basil Brush Show	Mr Derek
1980–1984	Yes Minister	Bernard Woolley
1982	Minder	Meadhurst
1983–1985	Affairs of the Heart	Peter Bonamy
1986–1988	Yes, Prime Minister	Bernard Woolley
1988	The Settling of the Sun	Kurt Friedman/Michael Robson

Drama

Year	Title	Role
1992–2010	Heartbeat	Oscar Blaketon
1990	Die Kinder	Lomax

References

1. ^ Derek Fowlds Biography (1937–)

External links

• Derek Fowlds at the Internet Movie Database
• Derek Fowlds as Oscar Blaketon in 'Heartbeat'
• Derek Fowlds as 'Tempo' in 'Solarnauts' – an unsold British 1960s SciFi pilot

Persondata
Name	Fowlds, Derek
Alternative names	Fowlds, Derek
Short description	Actor, Presenter
Date of birth	1937-09-02
Place of birth	Balham, London, England, British
Date of death
Place of death