John Challis

John Spurley Challis (16 August 1942 – 17 September 2021) was an English actor. He had an extensive theatre and television career but is best known for portraying Herman Aubrey "Boycie" Boyce in the long-running BBC Television sitcom Only Fools and Horses (1981–2003) and its sequel/spin-off The Green Green Grass (2005–2009), as well as Monty Staines from the seventh series onwards in the ITV sitcom Benidorm (2015–2018). Challis was an established stage actor, making appearances for companies including the Royal Shakespeare Company and the National Theatre. Early life John Spurley Challis was born on 16 August 1942 at St Andrews Nursing HomeBath Weekly Chronicle and Herald 22 Aug 1942, Sat · Page 11 Clifton, Bristol, England. An only child, his family moved to Southeast London when he was one year old. He grew up in Epsom, after the family moved to Surrey. Challis attended the state boarding Ottershaw School near Woking, Surrey. His father was Alec, a civil servant with the Admiralty who became secretary to the energy minister; he was a strict disciplinarian. His mother was Joan (née Harden), a former ambulance driver who performed in amateur dramatics and taught drama in schools. After leaving school, he worked as a trainee estate agent, before he "ran away with the Argyle Theatre for Youth". Career