English actor
Peter Benson
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Born
| Peter Henry Benson
(
1943-04-03
)
3 April 1943
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Died
| 6 September 2018
(2018-09-06)
(aged 75)
Liverpool
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Occupation
| Actor
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Years active
| 1961?2013
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Peter Henry Benson
(3 April 1943 ? 6 September 2018)
[1]
[2]
was a British actor, best known for his role as Bernie Scripps in the popular
ITV
television series
Heartbeat
, a police drama set in the fictional
Yorkshire
village of Aidensfield during the 1960s. He also had a number of other film and television roles, often playing weak or vacillating characters.
Television and theatre
[
edit
]
Born in
Wallasey
in
Cheshire
,
[3]
the son of schoolmaster Herbert George Benson (1888?1972), who served as a Special Constable during
World War II
, and Mabel Dorothy (nee Lord, 1902?1979),
[
citation needed
]
Peter Benson was a talented singer and dancer and an accomplished theatre actor.
[4]
His other television and theatre work included the regional premiere of
Stephen Sondheim's
Assassins
. On television his credits include the
Dauphin
in
Shaw's
Saint Joan
, Henry VI in all three parts of
Henry VI
, and
Richard III
for the
BBC Television Shakespeare
Series, Reuben with
Bill Maynard
in
Alan Plater's
Trinity Tales
,
Henry VII
in
The Black Adder
, Bernard in
All Creatures Great and Small
, and Bor in the
Doctor Who
serial
Terminus
. Later roles included the made-for-TV film
Merlin
[5]
and
A Touch of Frost
.
[6]
He also had parts in
Coronation Street
,
The Royal
,
Rumpole of the Bailey
,
Jeeves and Wooster
,
The Bill
,
Peak Practice
,
Casualty
,
Tenko
, and
Lovejoy
, among others.
[6]
Benson played the part of Larry Rigg in Granada's short lived market soap,
Albion Market
, from 1985 to 1986.
He played Bernie Scripps in
Heartbeat
between 1995 and 2010. In the series, Bernard 'Bernie' Scripps ran
Aidensfield
Garage and the local funeral service. He was often involved helping
Claude Greengrass
(
Bill Maynard
), his half-brother Vernon Scripps (
Geoffrey Hughes
), and later Peggy Armstrong (
Gwen Taylor
) with disastrous money-making schemes.
[7]
Film roles
[
edit
]
His film work included roles in
Cry of the Banshee
(1970),
[8]
Michael Crichton's
The First Great Train Robbery
(1978),
[9]
Roman Polanski
's
Tess
(1979),
[10]
and Christian Cantamessa's
Air
(2015).
Death
[
edit
]
Benson died on 6 September 2018 aged 75, following a relatively short illness. He was surrounded by family and close friends.
[1]
Filmography
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
External links
[
edit
]
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International
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National
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Other
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