John Alderton

John Alderton (born 27 November 1940) is an English actor. He is best known for his roles in Upstairs, Downstairs, Thomas & Sarah, Wodehouse Playhouse, Little Miss (original television series), Please Sir!, No, Honestly and Fireman Sam (the original series). Alderton has often starred alongside his wife, Pauline Collins. Early life Alderton was born on 27 November 1940 in Gainsborough, Lincolnshire, the son of Ivy (née Handley) and Gordon John Alderton. He grew up in Hull where he attended Kingston High School. Career He graduated from the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in 1961 and appeared in their production of The Doctor and The Devils by Dylan Thomas. Alderton first became familiar to television viewers in 1962, when he played Dr Moone in the ITV soap opera, Emergency – Ward 10. After an uncredited role in Cleopatra (1963), and appearing in British films such as The System (1964), Assignment K (1968), Duffy (1968) and Hannibal Brooks (1969), he played the lead in the comedy series Please Sir!, as hapless teacher Mr Hedges, which later resulted in him also playing the character in the 1971 feature film of the same name. He was cast by Richard Lester in the title role of a film version of Flashman but the project was abandoned. In 1972, he appeared with Hannah Gordon in the BBC comedy series My Wife Next Door which ran for 13 episodes, and for which he won a Jacob's Award in 1975. He then transferred to another top-rated ITV series when he played Thomas Watkins, the chauffeur, in Upstairs, Downstairs, opposite his wife, Pauline Collins. They had a daughter (the actress Kate Alderton) and two sons and also acted together in spin-off series, Thomas & Sarah, and another sitcom, No, Honestly, as well as in Wodehouse Playhouse (1975–78), a series that featured adaptations of short stories by P. G. Wodehouse (primarily the Mr. Mulliner stories.) In the meantime, he appeared on the big screen against-type as 'Friend' in John Boorman's cult sci-fi film Zardoz (1974), before returning to more familiar territory, as 1930s Yorkshire vet James Herriot in the 1976 film, It Shouldn't Happen to a Vet. He was a subject of the television programme This Is Your Life in 1974 when he was surprised by Eamonn Andrews.