Gavin Richards

Gavin Richards
Richards in May 2014
Born	(1946-07-03) 3 July 1946 (age 70) London, England
Alma mater	Bristol Old Vic Theatre School
Occupation	Actor, writer, director
Years active	1966–present
Children	3

Gavin Richards (born 3 July 1946 in London) is an English actor, writer and director.

He is best known for adapting, directing and starring in the West End production of Dario Fo's Accidental Death of an Anarchist. He also played Captain Alberto Bertorelli in the BBC sitcom 'Allo 'Allo! from 1987 to 1989, and Terry Raymond in the BBC soap opera EastEnders between 1996 and 2002.

Gavin was born in Tufnell Park, Islington, north London. His mother was Margaret Richards, who worked for many years as an assistant to Hugh "Binkie" Beaumont, the British theatrical producer at H M Tennent Limited. She went on to become secretary to Roy Strong at the Victoria & Albert Museum and later worked for the Greater London Arts Association. His late father was music critic Denby Richards, who wrote for the Hampstead and Highgate Express, the early British version of Music and Musicians and later became emeritus editor of Britain's oldest classical music magazine, Musical Opinion.

Gavin attended the Burleigh Road School in Tufnell Park and later the Quintin Grammar School in St John's Wood (now the Quintin Kynaston Community Academy). He trained at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School from 1964–66.

He began his professional career with five years in repertory theatres in Leicester, Manchester, Bolton and Liverpool.

Richards has worked as an actor, director and writer in theatre, television and film for over forty years. He is most familiar for his portrayal of Terry Raymond in the BBC TV series EastEnders, appearing in over 300 episodes. He also played Captain Alberto Bertorelli in the TV comedy hit 'Allo 'Allo! in which he appears in over thirty episodes. His television credits also include roles in Coronation Street, Hi-de-Hi! (where he had a minor role in series 4/5 and 7 in the BBC series, as general manager Harold Fox, aka The Smiling Viper), The Bill, Lovejoy, Minder, Inspector Morse, A Touch of Frost, Between the Lines and Pie in the Sky. He co starred with Robert Powell in Hannay, with Leigh Lawson in Kinsey, Michael Kitchen in The Reporters and with Rowan Atkinson in Full Throttle. He also starred in the series Annie's Bar, Driving Ambition, Hardwicke House, Mike & Angelo and many other programmes. He has appeared in films, amongst others, with Robin Williams in Being Human, with Oliver Reed and Glenda Jackson in Michael Apted's Triple Echo, and in the New Zealand film Savage Play.