XXXXX Who is Kevin Whately?
Kevin Whately is a British actor best known for his role as Robert Lewis in Inspector Morse and Lewis, as well as Neville Hope in Auf Wiedersehen, Pet.
What is Kevin Whately doing now?
Exciting news for fans of Kevin - you can catch him live this year, hosting the concert series Our Finest Hour - a celebration of Dunkirk featuring the BBC Big Band. It's touring the UK and features music from the 1940s.
Where is Kevin Whately from and how old is he?
Kevin was born in Hexham, Northumberland in February 1951. He had an interesting start to his career, working as a folk singer and training as an accountant before striking it lucky on TV and in theatre.
Does Kevin Whately have a wife?
Yes – he’s married to actress Madelaine Newton, who you might remember from When the Boat Comes In. They married in 1984.
Does Kevin Whately have children?
He has a daughter called Catherine (known as Kitty) and a son called Kieran.
How tall is Kevin Whately?
He’s 5’9.
Kevin in Auf Wiedersehen, Pet
This was the series that made Kevin Whately a household name thanks to its humour and memorable characters. It launched in 1982 and followed British workers thrown together on a German building site. It ran for three series, with Kevin playing bricklayer Neville Hope.
Kevin Whately’s detective roles
His first TV detective role was as Sergeant Fletcher in A Murder is Announced – a three-part adaptation of a Miss Marple novel, back in 1985. His role was actually very similar to Detective Sergeant Lewis, whose boots he would step into just two years later.
Kevin Whately in Inspector Morse and Lewis
Lewis is probably Kevin’s most famous role, and he started in 1987, cast opposite John Thaw’s Inspector Morse. He starred in 32 episodes over 13 years.
The programme led to spin-off series Lewis, which saw the detective return to Oxford as an inspector. He was joined by Laurence Fox’ Sergeant James Hathaway, and the two solved murder mysteries in the hugely popular series, which ran until 2012.
Will Lewis return?
When the show took a break after seven series in 2012, the door was left open for a reprisal, with the lead actors saying they’d like at least a year off. It then returned for a special two-part episode in 2015 called What Lies Tangled, and it’s unlikely to be reprised again, sadly.
Kevin in Peak Practice
During a break from Morse Kevin got his first leading role – and one that was written especially for him – as doctor Jack Kerruish in Peak Practice. The series ran from 1993 to 1995.
Did you know…? If Kevin Whately hadn’t become an actor, he’d like to have been a stained glass restorer!
Kevin Whately Who Do You Think You Are
His episode of Who Do You Think You Are was a particularly interesting one, as it revealed a very mixed heritage including Thomas Whately who was a politician, writer and became head of the Bank of England, and Major Robert Thompson who was a tobacco plantation owner. His more immediate family is just as interesting, and includes a professional concert singer for a grandmother, and the Anglican Archbishop of Dublin for a great-great-grandfather.
Kevin Whately on John Thaw
He’s always had respect for the veteran actor, describing him as ‘as shy man’ who it took a long time to get to know.
What TV shows has Kevin Whately appeared in?
As well as his more famous roles, Kevin has also been in Shoestring, Angels, Juliet Bravo, Coronation Street, Skallagrigg, The Broker’s Man, Murder in Mind, The Children, New Tricks and Silent Cry
Kevin on his dementia campaign
One cause close to his heart is dementia care, after his mother’s battle with Alzheimer’s. He urged hospital managers to be aware of the additional care needed by dementia sufferers, after his mother went for a gallstone operation and contacted MRSA, which conspired to make her dementia worsen.
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