Tim Bentinck, 12th Earl of Portland

Timothy Charles Robert Noel Bentinck, 12th Earl of Portland, Count Bentinck of Waldeck Limpurg, (born 1 June 1953), commonly known as Tim Bentinck, is an English actor and writer, known for his long-running role as David Archer in the BBC Radio 4 series, The Archers. He was a member of the House of Lords from 1997 to 1999. He is also Count Bentinck in the peerage of the Holy Roman Empire. Early life The son of the non-conformist intellectual Henry Bentinck, Portland was born on a sheep station in Barton, Tasmania, Australia, but moved with his family to Berkhamsted in England at the age of two. He was educated at a prep school, then Harrow School, and finally at the University of East Anglia, where he spent much of his time on productions of its drama society, before receiving a BA degree in the History of Art. After graduation, he trained in acting at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School. Career Bentinck has been an actor since 1978 and is known for the roles of David Archer in the BBC Radio 4 series The Archers and Tom Lacey in the BBC TV drama series By the Sword Divided (1983–85). He is also a voice-over artist, having provided the voice of James Bond for the video-game The World Is Not Enough (Nintendo 64 and PlayStation version), and the voice of Roger Radcliffe in 101 Dalmatians II: Patch's London Adventure. Between 1990 and 2006 he was also the voice of "Mind The Gap" on the London Underground Piccadilly line. Bentinck has a long list of theatre, television and film credits. He appeared in The Thick of It in 2005 and 2007 and starred with David Jason in The Royal Bodyguard in 2012.