Simon Williams (actor)
Encyclopedia
Simon Williams is an English actor known for playing James Bellamy
in the period drama Upstairs, Downstairs
. Frequently playing upper-class roles, he is also known for playing Dr. Charles Cartwright in the sitcom Don't Wait Up
and Sir Charles Merrick in medical drama Holby City
.
, in 1946 and his parents were the actor Hugh Williams
and his wife Margaret Vyner
. Simon Williams's brother is the poet Hugo Williams
, and his sister Polly married his Don't Wait Up co-star and friend Nigel Havers
. He and his first wife, actress Belinda Carroll
, had two children, Tam and Amy, both actors, before divorcing. He married secondly, in 1986, the actress Lucy Fleming
. Williams trained in rep
at Worthing
, Birmingham
and Bath, and later joined the Theatre Workshop
. Throughout his career, Simon Williams has appeared on stage in many productions, and has also directed a number of plays.
, and in 1969 played the lead role in Slim John
. He got his big break in 1971 when he made his first appearance as James Bellamy
in the Upstairs, Downstairs
episode "Board Wages". Williams would go on to appear in 37 episodes until the penultimate episode "All the King's Horses
" in 1975. Following this, he appeared in Wodehouse Playhouse
, the films The Incredible Sarah
, Jabberwocky
and the TV series The Prisoner of Zenda
. From 1979 to 1981, he played Laurence Lucas in Agony
, a role he reprised in 1995 in Agony Again
.
In 1981, he played Buddo in the TV series Kinvig. In 1985, Williams replaced Richard Heffer
to play Dr. Charles Cartwright in the sitcom Don't Wait Up
, a role Williams continued for three series until 1990. In the meantime, he had also appeared in Juliet Bravo
, the Doctor Who
serial "Remembrance of the Daleks
" as Group Captain Gilmore, Minder
, and the pilot of The Alleyn Mysteries, in which he played Roderick Alleyn
. He also was a guest star on the TV series Cluedo
where he played murder victim, Mr. Chapman.
Simon also played Captain Hastings
in several BBC Radio 4
adaptations of Agatha Christie
novels, starring John Moffatt
as Hercule Poirot
.
,
Dangerfield
, dinnerladies
, The Scarlet Pimpernel
, Dalziel and Pascoe
, Bad Girls
, The Inspector Lynley Mysteries
, Starhunter 2300
, Cutting It
, Heartbeat, Family Affairs
, Doctors
, The Bill
and Diamond Geezer 2
. In 1992 Williams starred in the series The Mixer, his co-star was Jeremy Clyde
of Chad & Jeremy fame. Williams has also had recurring roles as Gerald Trigg in Law and Disorder
in 1994 and Sir Charles Merrick in Holby City
from 2000 to 2003. In 2000, he appeared on BBC Radio's Just a Minute
. In 2002 he appeared in the film The Gathering Storm
, and has also appeared in the Doctor Who audio drama Nekromanteia
. In 2008, he appeared in an episode of the BBC spy series Spooks
as bank owner Sir Francis Denham. In 2009, Williams returned to the fictional world of Holby
to make a one-off appearance in Casualty
as Professor de Silva, the father of junior doctor Toby de Silva. In 2010, he appeared as Lord Godwyn in the television series Merlin
in the episode "The Changeling".
In 2010 he contributed to the CD We Will Remember Them, published by The Royal British Legion
, where he read three of the poems.
Williams has also written two novels, Talking Oscars and Kill the Lights, and has written several plays. In early November 2007, Simon Williams performed in Curtain up! Lights up! Cock up! at the Jermyn Street Theatre
near Piccadilly Circus
in London
.
Simon ('Sam') Williams has loyally served the Actors' Charitable Trust and Denville Hall for more than 30 years, including 15 years as joint Chairman with Angela Thorne
. He also donates his time and expertise to the Sir Terence Rattigan Charitable Trust, the King George V Fund for Actors and Actresses, and several other charities.
Simon will make a guest appearance in the fourth season of the Canadian series Murdoch Mysteries
, in 2011, which will be called, "Upstairs, Downstairs", in honour of the actor's famous role.
James Bellamy
Major The Honourable James Rupert Bellamy MC is a fictional character in the ITV period drama Upstairs, Downstairs, that was originally broadcast for five series from 1971 to 1975...
in the period drama Upstairs, Downstairs
Upstairs, Downstairs
Upstairs, Downstairs is a British drama television series originally produced by London Weekend Television and revived by the BBC. It ran on ITV in 68 episodes divided into five series from 1971 to 1975, and a sixth series shown on the BBC on three consecutive nights, 26–28 December 2010.Set in a...
. Frequently playing upper-class roles, he is also known for playing Dr. Charles Cartwright in the sitcom Don't Wait Up
Don't Wait Up
Don't Wait Up is a British sitcom that aired for six series from 1983 to 1990 on BBC1. It starred Nigel Havers, Tony Britton and Dinah Sheridan, and was written by George Layton...
and Sir Charles Merrick in medical drama Holby City
Holby City
Holby City, stylised as Holby Ci+y, is a British medical drama television series that airs weekly on BBC One.The series was created by Tony McHale and Mal Young as a spin-off from the established BBC medical drama Casualty, and premiered on 12 January 1999...
.
Early life
Simon Williams was born in Windsor, BerkshireWindsor, Berkshire
Windsor is an affluent suburban town and unparished area in the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead in Berkshire, England. It is widely known as the site of Windsor Castle, one of the official residences of the British Royal Family....
, in 1946 and his parents were the actor Hugh Williams
Hugh Williams
Hugh Williams was an English actor and dramatist of Welsh descent.-Personal life:...
and his wife Margaret Vyner
Margaret Vyner
Margaret Vyner was an Australian-born film actress who appeared in British films. She was married to the film director Hugh Williams.-Selected filmography:* Sensation * Sailing Along * This Man Is Dangerous...
. Simon Williams's brother is the poet Hugo Williams
Hugo Williams
Hugo Williams is a British poet, journalist and travel writer. His full name is Hugh Mordaunt Vyner Williams He is the son of actor Hugh Williams and the model and actress Margaret Vyner, who co-wrote some upper-middle-class comedies in the late 1950s...
, and his sister Polly married his Don't Wait Up co-star and friend Nigel Havers
Nigel Havers
Nigel Allan Havers is an English actor. He is probably best known for his BAFTA-nominated role as Lord Andrew Lindsay in the 1981 British film Chariots of Fire, and for his role as Dr. Tom Latimer in the British TV comedy series Don't Wait Up...
. He and his first wife, actress Belinda Carroll
Belinda Carroll
Belinda Carroll is a British stage and television actress.-Background and early career:Carroll's parents were John F. Carroll, a flying instructor with the Royal Air Force, and actress Hazel Bainbridge...
, had two children, Tam and Amy, both actors, before divorcing. He married secondly, in 1986, the actress Lucy Fleming
Lucy Fleming
Lucy Fleming is a British actress.She is the daughter of the actress Celia Johnson and writer Peter Fleming, as well as the niece of James Bond author Ian Fleming...
. Williams trained in rep
Repertory
Repertory or rep, also called stock in the United States, is a term used in Western theatre and opera.A repertory theatre can be a theatre in which a resident company presents works from a specified repertoire, usually in alternation or rotation...
at Worthing
Worthing
Worthing is a large seaside town with borough status in West Sussex, within the historic County of Sussex, forming part of the Brighton/Worthing/Littlehampton conurbation. It is situated at the foot of the South Downs, west of Brighton, and east of the county town of Chichester...
, Birmingham
Birmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
and Bath, and later joined the Theatre Workshop
Theatre Workshop
Theatre Workshop is a theatre group noted for their director, Joan Littlewood. Many actors of the 1950s and 1960s received their training and first exposure with the company...
. Throughout his career, Simon Williams has appeared on stage in many productions, and has also directed a number of plays.
Television fame
Williams first appeared on television in 1967 in Man in a SuitcaseMan in a Suitcase
Man in a Suitcase is a 1967 television series produced by Lew Grade's ITC Entertainment.-Origins and overview:Man in a Suitcase was effectively a replacement for Danger Man, whose production had been curtailed when its star Patrick McGoohan had decided to create his own series, The Prisoner...
, and in 1969 played the lead role in Slim John
Slim John
Slim John was a 1969 BBC English Language Instruction serial made for overseas broadcast. The program was a series of scifi adventure of twenty-six episodes in black and white. It involved android robots from outer space planning to take over the Earth, starting with London. They worked following...
. He got his big break in 1971 when he made his first appearance as James Bellamy
James Bellamy
Major The Honourable James Rupert Bellamy MC is a fictional character in the ITV period drama Upstairs, Downstairs, that was originally broadcast for five series from 1971 to 1975...
in the Upstairs, Downstairs
Upstairs, Downstairs
Upstairs, Downstairs is a British drama television series originally produced by London Weekend Television and revived by the BBC. It ran on ITV in 68 episodes divided into five series from 1971 to 1975, and a sixth series shown on the BBC on three consecutive nights, 26–28 December 2010.Set in a...
episode "Board Wages". Williams would go on to appear in 37 episodes until the penultimate episode "All the King's Horses
All the King's Horses (Upstairs, Downstairs)
All the King's Horses is the fifteenth episode of the fifth and final series of the period drama Upstairs, Downstairs. It first aired on 14 December 1975 on ITV.-Background:...
" in 1975. Following this, he appeared in Wodehouse Playhouse
Wodehouse Playhouse
Wodehouse Playhouse is a British television comedy series based on the short stories of P. G. Wodehouse. From 1975 to 1978, three series were made, with twenty half-hour episodes altogether in the entire series.-Overview:P. G...
, the films The Incredible Sarah
The Incredible Sarah
The Incredible Sarah is a 1976 British drama film directed by Richard Fleischer and starring Glenda Jackson. It presents dramatization of the acting career of Sarah Bernhardt.-Cast:* Glenda Jackson - Sarah Bernhardt* Daniel Massey - Victorien Sardou...
, Jabberwocky
Jabberwocky (film)
Jabberwocky is a 1977 British fantasy black comedy film directed by Terry Gilliam. It stars Michael Palin as a young cooper who is forced through clumsy, often slapstick misfortunes to hunt a terrible dragon after the death of his father...
and the TV series The Prisoner of Zenda
The Prisoner of Zenda (1979 film)
The Prisoner of Zenda is a 1979 American comedy film directed by Richard Quine and adapted from the adventure novel by Anthony Hope, first published in 1894...
. From 1979 to 1981, he played Laurence Lucas in Agony
Agony (TV series)
Agony is a British sitcom that aired on ITV from 1979 to 1981. Starring Maureen Lipman, it was written by Len Richmond, Anna Raeburn, Stan Hey and Andrew Nickolds. It was made for the ITV network by LWT...
, a role he reprised in 1995 in Agony Again
Agony Again
Agony Again is a British sitcom that aired on BBC1 in 1995. Starring Maureen Lipman, it is the sequel to Agony, an ITV sitcom that aired from 1979 to 1981...
.
In 1981, he played Buddo in the TV series Kinvig. In 1985, Williams replaced Richard Heffer
Richard Heffer
Richard Heffer is a British actor, best known for his roles on television in the 1970s and 1980s, when he became a very familiar face....
to play Dr. Charles Cartwright in the sitcom Don't Wait Up
Don't Wait Up
Don't Wait Up is a British sitcom that aired for six series from 1983 to 1990 on BBC1. It starred Nigel Havers, Tony Britton and Dinah Sheridan, and was written by George Layton...
, a role Williams continued for three series until 1990. In the meantime, he had also appeared in Juliet Bravo
Juliet Bravo
Juliet Bravo is a British television series, which ran on BBC1 between 1980 and 1985. The theme of the series concerned a female police inspector who took over control of a police station in the fictional town of Hartley in Lancashire.-Programme name:...
, 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 "Remembrance of the Daleks
Remembrance of the Daleks
Remembrance of the Daleks is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in four weekly parts from 5 October to 26 October 1988....
" as Group Captain Gilmore, 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...
, and the pilot of The Alleyn Mysteries, in which he played Roderick Alleyn
Roderick Alleyn
Roderick Alleyn is a fictional character who first appeared in 1934. He is the policeman hero of the 32 detective novels of Ngaio Marsh. Marsh and her gentleman detective belong firmly in the Golden Age of Detective Fiction, although the last Alleyn novel, Light Thickens, was published as late as...
. He also was a guest star on the TV series Cluedo
Cluedo
Cluedo is a popular murder/mystery-themed deduction board game originally published by Waddingtons in Leeds, England in 1949. It was devised by Anthony E. Pratt, a solicitor's clerk from Birmingham, England. It is now published by the United States game and toy company Hasbro, which acquired its U.S...
where he played murder victim, Mr. Chapman.
Simon also played Captain Hastings
Arthur Hastings
Captain Arthur Hastings, OBE, is a fictional character, the amateur sleuthing partner and best friend of Agatha Christie's Belgian detective, Hercule Poirot...
in several BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4 is a British domestic radio station, operated and owned by the BBC, that broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history. It replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. The station controller is currently Gwyneth Williams, and the...
adaptations of Agatha Christie
Agatha Christie
Dame Agatha Christie DBE was a British crime writer of novels, short stories, and plays. She also wrote romances under the name Mary Westmacott, but she is best remembered for her 66 detective novels and 14 short story collections , and her successful West End plays.According to...
novels, starring John Moffatt
John Moffatt (actor)
John Moffatt is an English actor and playwright, perhaps best known for his portrayal of Hercule Poirot on BBC Radio....
as Hercule Poirot
Hercule Poirot
Hercule Poirot is a fictional Belgian detective created by Agatha Christie. Along with Miss Marple, Poirot is one of Christie's most famous and long-lived characters, appearing in 33 novels and 51 short stories published between 1920 and 1975 and set in the same era.Poirot has been portrayed on...
.
Since 1990
Simon Williams since 1990 has appeared in episodes of BergeracBergerac (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...
,
Dangerfield
Dangerfield (TV series)
Dangerfield is a British drama series about a small town doctor / police surgeon, which ran for 6 series, between 1995 and 1999. Originally Nigel Le Vaillant played the central role , but this character later left the series, the focus switching to his replacement, played by Nigel Havers.The BBC...
, dinnerladies
Dinnerladies
Dinnerladies is a British sitcom written, co-produced by and starring Victoria Wood. It ran on BBC One for 16 episodes from 1998 to 2000.-Plot:...
, The Scarlet Pimpernel
The Scarlet Pimpernel (TV Series)
The Scarlet Pimpernel is a series of television drama programmes loosely based on Baroness Emmuska Orczy's series of novels, set during the French Revolution....
, Dalziel and Pascoe
Dalziel and Pascoe (BBC TV series)
Dalziel and Pascoe is a popular British television crime drama based on the Dalziel and Pascoe books by Reginald Hill, which was first broadcast in March 1996. It is set in Yorkshire, and is about two detectives...
, Bad Girls
Bad Girls (TV series)
Bad Girls is an award-winning British television drama series that was broadcast on ITV from 1999 to 2006. It is produced by Shed Productions, the company which later produced Footballers' Wives and Waterloo Road...
, The Inspector Lynley Mysteries
The Inspector Lynley Mysteries
The Inspector Lynley Mysteries is a series of BBC television programmes about Detective Inspector Thomas "Tommy" Lynley, 8th Earl of Asherton of Scotland Yard and Detective Sergeant Barbara Havers...
, Starhunter 2300
Starhunter
Starhunter is a Canadian science fiction television series that aired for two seasons. The series was produced in Canada by The Danforth Studios Ltd. in association with Alliance Atlantis with some photography in the United Kingdom. Grosvenor Park Productions UK Ltd...
, Cutting It
Cutting It
Cutting It was a popular BBC television programme set in Manchester, England, which ran for four series between 2002 and 2005.- Series 1 :...
, Heartbeat, Family Affairs
Family Affairs
Family Affairs was a British soap opera broadcast on Five, from 1997 to 2005. It was the second programme to be broadcast on the channel on 30 March 1997, the channel's launch night...
, 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...
, 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...
and Diamond Geezer 2
Diamond Geezer 2
Diamond Geezer 2 is a sequel to the first Diamond Geezer airing on ITV, starring David Jason.-Episode One – A Royal Affair:...
. In 1992 Williams starred in the series The Mixer, his co-star was Jeremy Clyde
Jeremy Clyde
Michael Thomas Jeremy Clyde is an English actor and musician. The son of Lady Elizabeth Wellesley, he made his first public appearance as a pageboy at the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom in 1953...
of Chad & Jeremy fame. Williams has also had recurring roles as Gerald Trigg in Law and Disorder
Law and Disorder (TV series)
Law and Disorder is a British sitcom that aired on ITV in 1994. Starring Penelope Keith, it was written by Alex Shearer, who had also written No Job for a Lady, which Keith appears in. It was directed and produced by John Howard Davies...
in 1994 and Sir Charles Merrick in Holby City
Holby City
Holby City, stylised as Holby Ci+y, is a British medical drama television series that airs weekly on BBC One.The series was created by Tony McHale and Mal Young as a spin-off from the established BBC medical drama Casualty, and premiered on 12 January 1999...
from 2000 to 2003. In 2000, he appeared on BBC Radio's Just a Minute
Just a Minute
Just a Minute is a BBC Radio 4 radio comedy panel game chaired by Nicholas Parsons. Its first transmission on Radio 4 was on 22 December 1967, three months after the station's launch. The Radio 4 programme won a Gold Sony Radio Academy Award in 2003....
. In 2002 he appeared in the film The Gathering Storm
The Gathering Storm (2002 film)
The Gathering Storm is a BBC–HBO co-produced television biographical film about Winston Churchill in the years just prior to World War II...
, and has also appeared in the Doctor Who audio drama Nekromanteia
Nekromanteia (Doctor Who audio)
Nekromanteia is a Big Finish Productions audio drama based on the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who.-Cast:*The Doctor — Peter Davison*Peri — Nicola Bryant*Erimem — Caroline Morris*Tallis — Kate Brown...
. In 2008, he appeared in an episode of the BBC spy series Spooks
Spooks
Spooks is a British television drama series that originally aired on BBC One from 13 May 2002 – 23 October 2011, consisting of 10 series. The title is a popular colloquialism for spies, as the series follows the work of a group of MI5 officers based at the service's Thames House headquarters, in a...
as bank owner Sir Francis Denham. In 2009, Williams returned to the fictional world of Holby
Holby
Holby is a fictional city in the United Kingdom, in which BBC medical dramas Casualty and Holby City, and police drama HolbyBlue are set. It is based upon the city of Bristol, and is located in the fictional county of Wyvern in the South-West of England, not far from the Welsh border...
to make a one-off appearance in 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...
as Professor de Silva, the father of junior doctor Toby de Silva. In 2010, he appeared as Lord Godwyn in the television series Merlin
Merlin (TV series)
Merlin is a British fantasy-adventure television programme by Julian Jones, Jake Michie, Julian Murphy and Johnny Capps. It began broadcasting on BBC One on 20 September 2008. The show is based on the Arthurian legends of the wizard Merlin and his relationship with Prince Arthur but differs from...
in the episode "The Changeling".
In 2010 he contributed to the CD We Will Remember Them, published by The Royal British Legion
The Royal British Legion
The Royal British Legion , sometimes referred to as simply The Legion, is the United Kingdom's leading charity providing financial, social and emotional support to those who have served or who are currently serving in the British Armed Forces, and their dependants.-History:The British Legion was...
, where he read three of the poems.
Williams has also written two novels, Talking Oscars and Kill the Lights, and has written several plays. In early November 2007, Simon Williams performed in Curtain up! Lights up! Cock up! at the Jermyn Street Theatre
Jermyn Street Theatre
Jermyn Street Theatre is a performance venue situated in Jermyn Street, London.Formerly a restaurant, under the leadership of Howard Jameson, it was transformed into a 70-seat studio theatre right in the heart of London's West End...
near Piccadilly Circus
Piccadilly Circus
Piccadilly Circus is a road junction and public space of London's West End in the City of Westminster, built in 1819 to connect Regent Street with the major shopping street of Piccadilly...
in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
.
Simon ('Sam') Williams has loyally served the Actors' Charitable Trust and Denville Hall for more than 30 years, including 15 years as joint Chairman with Angela Thorne
Angela Thorne
Angela Thorne is an English actress who is best known for her roles in To the Manor Born and Anyone for Denis?-Early life:Angela Thorne was born in Karachi, British India, , in 1939...
. He also donates his time and expertise to the Sir Terence Rattigan Charitable Trust, the King George V Fund for Actors and Actresses, and several other charities.
Simon will make a guest appearance in the fourth season of the Canadian series Murdoch Mysteries
Murdoch Mysteries
Murdoch Mysteries is a Canadian drama television series that airs on Citytv, featuring Yannick Bisson as William Murdoch, a police detective working in Toronto, Ontario in the 1890s. The television series is based on the Detective Murdoch series of novels by Maureen Jennings. The fifth season was...
, in 2011, which will be called, "Upstairs, Downstairs", in honour of the actor's famous role.