Bernard Holley

Bernard Holley (born 9 August 1940 in Eastcote, Middlesex) is a British actor whose career has spanned more than 50 years. He attended the Rose Bruford Drama School and Kilburn Grammar School, and made his first professional stage appearance at the Theatre Royal, Lincoln in 1963.

Holley first rose to prominence in the long-running UK police drama series Z-Cars as PC Newcombe, a character he played for four years. He is also well known for his appearances in Doctor Who, first as Peter Haydon in The Tomb of the Cybermen (1967), starring Patrick Troughton as the Doctor, and later as the Axon Man in The Claws of Axos (1971), starring Jon Pertwee.[1] Holley reprised his role as Axos in a new Doctor Who audio drama, The Feast of Axos, opposite Colin Baker, which was released on CD in February 2011.[2]

Other regular roles include Detective Inspector Mike Turnbull in The Gentle Touch (1982–84), a character he also played in the follow-up series C.A.T.S. Eyes in 1985.[3] He later played Richard in two seasons of Birds of a Feather in 1998. He also appeared as the Chief Constable in the popular drama series A Touch of Frost, in 1999 and returned to play the role in 2003. His recent television appearances have included roles in Hollyoaks, EastEnders, Doctors and Holby City.[4]

Holley has also voiced hundreds of TV commercials, including the campaign for the PlayStation 3 game LittleBigPlanet, and has presented many corporate videos.

His film roles have included appearances in Travels with My Aunt (1972) and the cult film The Deadly Females (1976).[5]

Holley has also worked consistently on the stage in theatres all over the UK, including the Farnham, Brighton, Manchester, Edinburgh, Derby and Norwich. His most recent stage role was in Allan Monkhouse's Mary Broome at the Orange Tree Theatre, Richmond, in 2011.[6]