Michael Attwell
Encyclopedia
Michael John Attwell was an English
actor
.
He is possibly best known for his role as Kenny Beale in the television soap opera
EastEnders
.
In 1979 and 1980 he played Razor Eddie in two series of the comedy Turtle's Progress
. Although Razor Eddie never appeared in the flesh in the ITV drama serial 'The hanged man', his name and the character was kept alive by being mentioned a few times in passing by Turtle, who was a major character in that series.
In 1985 he played Bill Sikes
in the BBC's Sunday afternoon classic serial Oliver Twist
.
His other TV credits include: Doctor Who
(in the serials The Ice Warriors
and Attack of the Cybermen
), The First Churchills
, Only Fools and Horses
, Minder
, Bergerac
, Wycliffe
, Inspector Morse
, Bugs
, Silent Witness
, Pie in the Sky, Casualty
, The Bill
, Hotel Babylon
, and Are You Being Served?
.
He appeared in the 1987 film Buster
, based on the life of the Great Train Robber
Buster Edwards
.
As well as acting, between 1981 and 1993 Attwell also had a considerable career as a political cartoonist for several British national newspapers including The Sun
, Sunday People and the News of the World
. A self-taught artist, Attwell signed himself as Zoke, an amalgam of the names of his children Zoe and Jake.
His life and work was honoured at the British Academy Television Awards in 2006.
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
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 is possibly best known for his role as Kenny Beale in the television 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,...
EastEnders
EastEnders
EastEnders is a British television soap opera, first broadcast in the United Kingdom on BBC One on 19 February 1985 and continuing to today. EastEnders storylines examine the domestic and professional lives of the people who live and work in the fictional London Borough of Walford in the East End...
.
In 1979 and 1980 he played Razor Eddie in two series of the comedy Turtle's Progress
Turtle's Progress
Turtle's Progress is a British television series broadcast between 1979 and 1980.The series was an ITV ATV Drama, and dealt with a petty criminal named Turtle and his minder, "Razor" Eddie , who by accident come into possession of the proceeds of a major bank robbery...
. Although Razor Eddie never appeared in the flesh in the ITV drama serial 'The hanged man', his name and the character was kept alive by being mentioned a few times in passing by Turtle, who was a major character in that series.
In 1985 he played Bill Sikes
Bill Sikes
William "Bill" Sikes is a fictional character in the novel Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens.He is one of Dickens's most vicious characters and a very strong force in the novel when it comes to having control over somebody or harming others. He is portrayed as a rough and barbaric man. He is a career...
in the BBC's Sunday afternoon classic serial Oliver Twist
Oliver Twist (1985 TV miniseries)
Oliver Twist is a 1985 BBC TV serial. It was directed by Gareth Davies, and adapted by Alexander Baron from the novel by Charles Dickens. It follows the book very closely.- Cast :*Eric Porter - Fagin*Michael Attwell - Bill Sikes...
.
His other TV credits include: 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...
(in the serials The Ice Warriors
The Ice Warriors
The Ice Warriors is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in six weekly parts from November 11 to December 16, 1967...
and Attack of the Cybermen
Attack of the Cybermen
Attack of the Cybermen is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in two weekly parts from 5 January to 12 January 1985. It opened Season 22 of the series...
), The First Churchills
The First Churchills
The First Churchills was a BBC serial from 1969 about the life of John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough and his wife, Sarah Churchill, Duchess of Marlborough...
, Only Fools and Horses
Only Fools and Horses
Only Fools and Horses is a British sitcom, created and written by John Sullivan. Seven series were originally broadcast on BBC One in the United Kingdom between 1981 and 1991, with sporadic Christmas specials until 2003...
, 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...
, Bergerac
Bergerac (TV series)
Bergerac was a British television show set on Jersey. Produced by the BBC in association with the Seven Network, and screened on BBC1, it starred John Nettles as the title character Detective Sergeant Jim Bergerac, a detective in "Le Bureau des Étrangers" Bergerac was a British television show...
, Wycliffe
Wycliffe (TV series)
Wycliffe is a British TV series, based on W. J. Burley's novels about Detective Superintendent Charles Wycliffe . It was produced by HTV and broadcast on the ITV Network, following a pilot episode on 7 August 1993, between 24 July 1994 and 5 July 1998. The series was filmed in Cornwall, with a...
, Inspector Morse
Inspector Morse (TV series)
Inspector Morse is a detective drama based on Colin Dexter's series of Chief Inspector Morse novels. The series starred John Thaw as Chief Inspector Morse and Kevin Whately as Sergeant Lewis. Dexter makes a cameo appearance in all but three of the episodes....
, Bugs
Bugs (TV series)
Bugs was a British television drama series which ran for four series from April 1995 to August 1999. The programme, a mixture of action/adventure and science-fiction, involved a team of specialist independent crime-fighting technology experts, who faced a variety of threats based around computers...
, Silent Witness
Silent Witness
Silent Witness is a BBC crime thriller series focusing on a team of forensic pathology experts and their investigations into various crimes. First broadcast in February 1996, the series is still airing to the present day, with a fifteenth series expected to air in January 2012. The series was...
, Pie in the Sky, Casualty
Casualty (TV series)
Casualty, stylised as Casual+y, is a British weekly television show broadcast on BBC One, and the longest-running emergency medical drama television series in the world. Created by Jeremy Brock and Paul Unwin, it was first broadcast on 6 September 1986, and transmitted in the UK on BBC One. The...
, The Bill
The Bill
The Bill is a police procedural television series that ran from October 1984 to August 2010. It focused on the lives and work of one shift of police officers, rather than on any particular aspect of police work...
, Hotel Babylon
Hotel Babylon
Hotel Babylon was a BBC television drama series based on the book of the same name by Imogen Edwards-Jones, that aired from 19 January 2006 to 14 August 2009, produced by independent production company Carnival Films for BBC One...
, and Are You Being Served?
Are You Being Served?
Are You Being Served? is a British sitcom broadcast from 1972 to 1985. It was set in the ladies' and gentlemen's clothing departments of Grace Brothers, a large, fictional London department store. It was written mainly by Jeremy Lloyd and David Croft, with contributions by Michael Knowles and John...
.
He appeared in the 1987 film Buster
Buster (film)
Buster is a 1988 comedy-drama film starring musician Phil Collins, Julie Walters, Larry Lamb and Sheila Hancock. The soundtrack featured two Phil Collins singles which eventually topped the Billboard 100 singles chart.-Plot:...
, based on the life of the Great Train Robber
Great Train Robbery (1963)
The Great Train Robbery is the name given to a £2.6 million train robbery committed on 8 August 1963 at Bridego Railway Bridge, Ledburn near Mentmore in Buckinghamshire, England. The bulk of the stolen money was not recovered...
Buster Edwards
Buster Edwards
Buster Edwards was a British criminal who was a member of the gang that committed the Great Train Robbery. He had also been a boxer and nightclub owner.-Early and private life:...
.
As well as acting, between 1981 and 1993 Attwell also had a considerable career as a political cartoonist for several British national newspapers including The Sun
The Sun (newspaper)
The Sun is a daily national tabloid newspaper published in the United Kingdom and owned by News Corporation. Sister editions are published in Glasgow and Dublin...
, Sunday People and the News of the World
News of the World
The News of the World was a national red top newspaper published in the United Kingdom from 1843 to 2011. It was at one time the biggest selling English language newspaper in the world, and at closure still had one of the highest English language circulations...
. A self-taught artist, Attwell signed himself as Zoke, an amalgam of the names of his children Zoe and Jake.
His life and work was honoured at the British Academy Television Awards in 2006.