John Alderton

Alderton was born in Gainsborough, Lincolnshire, the son of Ivy (née Handley) and Gordon John Alderton.[1] He grew up in Hull where he attended Kingston High School.[2]

Alderton first became familiar to television viewers in 1962, when he played Dr Moone in the ITV soap opera, Emergency – Ward 10. He married his co-star, Jill Browne, but they later divorced. 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.[3]

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.

During the 1980s and 1990s, Alderton had few roles. He narrated BBC One's children's original animated series Little Miss in 1983 (with his wife Pauline Collins) and, from 1987 to 1994, narrated and voiced all the characters in the original series of Fireman Sam. In 1988, he starred as Surgeon Robert Sandy in Tales of the Unexpected, in the episode The Surgeon, and from 1989 to 1992 he starred in the series Forever Green as the character Jack Boult. he also appeared in the film Clockwork Mice in 1995.

Alderton played opposite his wife Pauline in Mrs Caldicot's Cabbage War in 2002 and made something of a comeback in the 2003 film, Calendar Girls. Then, in 2004 he played a role in the BBC series of Anthony Trollope's He Knew He Was Right. Also in 2004, Alderton starred in the first series of ITV 1's Doc Martin in an episode entitled "Of All The Harbours in All The Towns" as sailor John Slater, a friend and former lover of Aunt Joan. He played Christopher Casby in the 2008 BBC adaptation of Charles Dickens' Little Dorrit.

Alderton married actress Jill Browne in 1964, but they later divorced. In 1969, he married actress Pauline Collins and they had three children, a daughter and two sons. Alderton is also the stepfather of Collins' daughter Louise.

• John Alderton at IMDb
• John Alderton (Aveleyman)
• John Alderton's appearance on This Is Your Life