Barry Evans (actor)

Barry Evans
Barry Evans as Jamie McGregor in Here We Go Round the Mulberry Bush (1968)
Born	Barry Joseph Evans (1943-06-18)18 June 1943 Guildford, Surrey, England
Died	9 February 1997(1997-02-09) (aged 53) Claybrooke Magna, Leicestershire, England
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1964 - 1993

Barry Joseph Evans (18 June 1943 – 9 February 1997) was an English actor best known for his appearances in British sitcoms such as Doctor in the House and Mind Your Language.

Born in Guildford, Surrey, and abandoned as a baby, Evans was educated at the orphanage boarding schools run by the Shaftesbury Homes, first at Fortescue House School in Twickenham and then at Bisley Boys' School in Bisley, Surrey. His acting ability was recognised at an early age and he often played the leading roles in school plays. Evans attended the Italia Conti Academy and later won a John Gielgud Scholarship to study at the Central School of Speech and Drama.

One of his first film credits was the lead role in Clive Donner's film Here We Go Round the Mulberry Bush (1968) where he was cast as Jamie McGregor, a teenager who finds it difficult to lose his virginity. Photoplay magazine called Evans a "bright and exciting new actor", and the Sunday Telegraph described his screen debut as "brilliant".

Here We Go Round the Mulberry Bush represented a breakthrough in a number of technical features: the script, the photography and the filming techniques. Jamie McGregor speaks his thoughts out loud. The soundtrack was also rightly famous, containing mainly songs performed by The Spencer Davis Group and Traffic. The film was listed to compete at the 1968 Cannes Film Festival, but the Festival was cancelled that year. The film saw the beginning of a long-lasting friendship between Barry Evans and the director, Clive Donner, whom Evans regarded as one of his best friends.