This article is from the source 'guardian' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.guardian.co.uk/tv-and-radio/2013/may/14/arnold-peters
The article has changed 3 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 0 | Version 1 |
|---|---|
| Arnold Peters obituary | Arnold Peters obituary |
| (about 21 hours later) | |
| Shortly after Jack Woolley was diagnosed with Alzheimer's in The Archers, the actor Arnold Peters, who played the character for 31 years, was told he was suffering from the same condition. That was back in 2006. Two years later, Peters, like Woolley, was admitted to a care home. He continued to play the much-loved if increasingly absent-minded self-made Midlands entrepreneur until 2011, after which he became one of Ambridge's famous silent characters. | Shortly after Jack Woolley was diagnosed with Alzheimer's in The Archers, the actor Arnold Peters, who played the character for 31 years, was told he was suffering from the same condition. That was back in 2006. Two years later, Peters, like Woolley, was admitted to a care home. He continued to play the much-loved if increasingly absent-minded self-made Midlands entrepreneur until 2011, after which he became one of Ambridge's famous silent characters. |
| In July that year, two days before Peters's last appearance in what was once Radio 4's "everyday story of country folk", but these days "contemporary drama in a rural setting", a BBC production team went to the actor's Nottinghamshire care home to record it. Fully aware who they – and Woolley – were, he spoke his lines perfectly. He has now died, at the age of 87. | In July that year, two days before Peters's last appearance in what was once Radio 4's "everyday story of country folk", but these days "contemporary drama in a rural setting", a BBC production team went to the actor's Nottinghamshire care home to record it. Fully aware who they – and Woolley – were, he spoke his lines perfectly. He has now died, at the age of 87. |
| The occasion in the storyline was Jack's birthday, his 92nd, though of course he couldn't remember that. His wife, the redoubtable Peggy, calls him Jeck. The vowel changed in 1991 when she stopped running the village pub and married the wealthy owner of the Grey Gables country house hotel and spa, Ambridge's answer to Gleneagles. "What a lot of cards you've got, Jeck. So many good friends who still remember your birthday. Aren't you lucky?" she says. And in a conciliatory voice so different from the aggressive Brummie bray of his prime – for the first 18 years until 1980, the role was played by Philip Garston-Jones – Mr Woolley, as I and most of Ambridge always think of him, replies: "Yes. Aren't I lucky." | The occasion in the storyline was Jack's birthday, his 92nd, though of course he couldn't remember that. His wife, the redoubtable Peggy, calls him Jeck. The vowel changed in 1991 when she stopped running the village pub and married the wealthy owner of the Grey Gables country house hotel and spa, Ambridge's answer to Gleneagles. "What a lot of cards you've got, Jeck. So many good friends who still remember your birthday. Aren't you lucky?" she says. And in a conciliatory voice so different from the aggressive Brummie bray of his prime – for the first 18 years until 1980, the role was played by Philip Garston-Jones – Mr Woolley, as I and most of Ambridge always think of him, replies: "Yes. Aren't I lucky." |
| Indeed, life and art appear to have fused smoothly and relatively painlessly for Peters. Few actors have the luck to be not just in regular work in their 80s, but with the added bonus of playing such a challenging role. | Indeed, life and art appear to have fused smoothly and relatively painlessly for Peters. Few actors have the luck to be not just in regular work in their 80s, but with the added bonus of playing such a challenging role. |
| He knew the score. His brother suffered from dementia, and June Spencer, who has played Peggy since 1953, cared for her real-life husband when he too was diagnosed with Alzheimer's. Peters talked of how he grew into his new thought-disordered role. "We have had some poignant scenes. The most hard-hitting for me was when Jack got lost and was found wet and cold sitting on the village green. It does not upset you, but you think about it." | He knew the score. His brother suffered from dementia, and June Spencer, who has played Peggy since 1953, cared for her real-life husband when he too was diagnosed with Alzheimer's. Peters talked of how he grew into his new thought-disordered role. "We have had some poignant scenes. The most hard-hitting for me was when Jack got lost and was found wet and cold sitting on the village green. It does not upset you, but you think about it." |
| Peters was born Peter Reginald Gadd in Hendon, north-west London, and grew up in Northamptonshire. His father, a local government officer, wanted him to be a solicitor, but having failed to get into the RAF, Peters joined his local repertory theatre, where he met his future wife, Beryl, a dancer, when they were both appearing in pantomime. | |
| In 1953 he joined the in-house BBC drama rep and got the first of his three Archers roles. For 13 years he played Len Thomas, a Welsh farmhand at Brookfield, home of the original Archer dynasts, Dan and Doris. When Len went back to Wales, Peters switched to the part of the Rev David Latimer, one of Ambridge's many Anglican vicars, who was killed off after five years. | In 1953 he joined the in-house BBC drama rep and got the first of his three Archers roles. For 13 years he played Len Thomas, a Welsh farmhand at Brookfield, home of the original Archer dynasts, Dan and Doris. When Len went back to Wales, Peters switched to the part of the Rev David Latimer, one of Ambridge's many Anglican vicars, who was killed off after five years. |
| Peters made one-off appearances in many of the soaps and sitcoms of the 1970s, and continued on TV till 2000. Nonetheless, he was drawn back to BBC radio in Birmingham for his best part. A straw poll at one Earls Court Ideal Home exhibition visited by stars from the world's longest-running soap voted Woolley its third most popular character after Walter Gabriel and Clarrie Grundy. | Peters made one-off appearances in many of the soaps and sitcoms of the 1970s, and continued on TV till 2000. Nonetheless, he was drawn back to BBC radio in Birmingham for his best part. A straw poll at one Earls Court Ideal Home exhibition visited by stars from the world's longest-running soap voted Woolley its third most popular character after Walter Gabriel and Clarrie Grundy. |
| The Archers has always relished tackling serious social issues: badger culling, gay marriage, IVF for single women, Kathy Perks's rape, Ruth Archer's mastectomy. The Alzheimer's Society praised its accurate and sensitive portrayal of the devastating impact the condition can have on people's lives. In 2007 the programme won a Mental Health Media award for its handling of the dementia storyline. A quiet, genial man, a professional to the core, Peters did much, even once silent, to enlighten his audience through this particular blurring of life and art. | The Archers has always relished tackling serious social issues: badger culling, gay marriage, IVF for single women, Kathy Perks's rape, Ruth Archer's mastectomy. The Alzheimer's Society praised its accurate and sensitive portrayal of the devastating impact the condition can have on people's lives. In 2007 the programme won a Mental Health Media award for its handling of the dementia storyline. A quiet, genial man, a professional to the core, Peters did much, even once silent, to enlighten his audience through this particular blurring of life and art. |
| He is survived by Beryl and his daughter, Caroline. | He is survived by Beryl and his daughter, Caroline. |
| • Arnold Peters (Peter Reginald Gadd), actor, born 3 June 1925; died 11 May 2013 | |
| • This article was amended on 15 May 2013. Arnold Peters's birthname was corrected to Peter. |