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John Ringham

Published Tuesday 11 November 2008 at 11:40 by Patrick Newley

Character actor John Ringham appeared in more than 100 television dramas and sitcoms. He was often cast in upper-class or military roles, notably as Captain Bailey in the first series of Dad’s Army and as Major Dalby in Colditz. He also played numerous policemen, including Inspector Lennor in several episodes of The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes and he was Superintendent Blake in the detective series Juliet Bravo.

Comedy roles included Major Fawcett in the seventies sitcom Terry and June, opposite Terry Scott and June Whitfield, and he won acclaim for his comic performance as Norman Warrender, the uptight father, in Just Good Friends. On children’s TV he was headmaster Mr Blocker in Woof and Major Andrew Maxwell in The Piglet Files.

Born in Cheltenham on February 10, 1928, Ringham began acting with local drama groups as a teenager. During the war he served in the army and was posted to Palestine and, on being demobbed, he joined the Compass Players, a touring fit-up company.

He then went into repertory at the Bristol Old Vic, Northampton Repertory and the Library Theatre in Manchester. He began acting on television in the late fifties, often working live in TV dramas which were broadcast from Alexandra Palace.

From the sixties onwards he was one of television’s busiest character actors. He appeared in three seasons of Doctor Who, notably as the evil villain priest Tlotoxl in Doctor Who and the Aztecs. His other credits included Bergerac, Pennies from Heaven, Flambards, The Pallisers and he was Lord Rochester in The First Churchills.

He made several films, the latest of which was V For Vendetta, starring John Hurt and Stephen Fry.

He had been ill recently, but appeared in an episode of Doctors, the medical soap, earlier this year.

He died on October 20 and is survived by Fee, his wife of 46 years, and their four children.

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