Kevin Whately

Kevin Whately (born 6 February 1951) is an English actor. He is best known for his roles as Neville "Nev" Hope in the British comedy drama Auf Wiedersehen, Pet; Robert "Robbie" Lewis in the crime dramas Inspector Morse (1987–2000) and Lewis (2006–2015); and Jack Kerruish in the drama series Peak Practice, although he has appeared in numerous other roles. Early life Whately is from Humshaugh, near Hexham, Northumberland. His mother, Mary (née Pickering), was a teacher and his father, Richard, was a Commander in the Royal Navy. His maternal grandmother, Doris Phillips, was a professional concert singer, his paternal grandfather, Herbert Whately, was Archdeacon of Ludlow, and his great-great-grandfather, Richard Whately, was Anglican Archbishop of Dublin. The BBC documentary Who Do You Think You Are?, broadcast on 2 March 2009, also revealed that Whately is a descendant, on his paternal side, of Thomas Whately of Nonsuch Park (father of Thomas Whately), a leading London merchant, English politician and writer who became a director of the Bank of England, and of Major Robert Thompson, a staunch supporter of the Parliamentarian cause at the time of the English Commonwealth who later settled in Virginia, where he became a pioneer tobacco plantation owner. Whately was educated at Barnard Castle School, and went on to study accounting and finance at Newcastle Polytechnic, graduating in 1969. He then trained as an actor at the Central School of Speech and Drama, graduating in 1975 after having partly supported himself by working for the National Theatre at The Old Vic. Before going professional, Whately was an amateur actor at the People's Theatre in Newcastle upon Tyne during the 1970s. His brother, Frank, is a lecturer at Kingston University in London. Career Before turning to professional acting, Whately began his working life as a folk singer, and still plays the guitar, performing for charity concerts. Along with other Auf Wiedersehen, Pet stars, he makes an appearance at the biennial benefit concert Sunday for Sammy in Newcastle. Before becoming an actor, he started training as an accountant.