{{Short description|British actor (1940–2021)}} {{Use dmy dates|date=November 2021}} {{Use British English|date=August 2016}} {{Infobox person | name = Bernard Holley | image = | caption = | birth_name = Bernard John Holley | birth_date = {{Birth date|1940|8|9|df=y}} | birth_place = Eastcote, Middlesex, England | death_date = {{Death date and age|2021|11|22|1940|8|9|df=y}} | death_place = | alma_mater = Rose Bruford College | known_for = {{hlist|The Tomb of the Cybermen|Please Sir!|The Gentle Touch|Z-Cars|The Claws of Axos|Birds of a Feather}} | occupation = Actor | years_active = 1960–2021 | spouse = Jean Holley | children = 1 }}
'''Bernard John Holley''' (9 August 1940 – 22 November 2021) was a British actor whose career spanned more than six decades.
==Life and career== Holley was born in Eastcote, Middlesex. He attended Kilburn Grammar School and the Rose Bruford Drama School, and made his first professional stage appearance at the Theatre Royal, Lincoln, in 1963.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Hadoke |first=Toby |date=2021-12-01 |title=Bernard Holley obituary |language=en-GB |work=The Guardian |url=https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2021/dec/01/bernard-holley-obituary |access-date=2023-07-06 |issn=0261-3077}}</ref>
Holley came to notice in the long-running UK police drama series ''Z-Cars'' as PC Newcombe,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.radiotimes.com/tv/sci-fi/doctor-who-guide/the-claws-of-axos/|title=The Claws of Axos ★★★★|website=Radio Times}}</ref> a character he played for four years. He also appeared in ''Doctor Who'', first as Peter Haydon in ''The Tomb of the Cybermen'' (1967), starring Patrick Troughton as the Doctor, and later as the Axon Man in ''The Claws of Axos'' (1971), starring Jon Pertwee.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/1sqft7bPDr4TzLt8mpGnGmd/the-fourth-dimension|title=BBC One - Doctor Who, Season 8, The Claws of Axos - The Fourth Dimension|website=BBC}}</ref> Holley reprised his role as Axos in a new Doctor Who audio drama, ''The Feast of Axos'', opposite Colin Baker, which was released on CD in February 2011.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.gallifreyannewsroom.com/?p=2001|title=DOCTOR WHO: THE FEAST OF AXOS|first=The Gallifreyan|last=Newsroom|date=11 February 2016 |publisher=}}</ref> Holley played Mr Hurst in eight episodes of the popular ITV sitcom Please Sir! (1971-2). Other regular roles included Detective Inspector Mike Turnbull in ''The Gentle Touch'' (1982–84), a character he also played in an episode of the follow-up series ''C.A.T.S. Eyes'' in 1985.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.screenonline.org.uk/tv/id/976412/credits.html|title=BFI Screenonline: Gentle Touch, The (1980-84) Credits|website=www.screenonline.org.uk}}</ref> He later played Richard in two seasons of ''Birds of a Feather'' in 1998. He also appeared as the Chief Constable in the popular drama series ''A Touch of Frost'', in 1999 and returned to play the role in 2003. His later television appearances included roles in ''Hollyoaks'', ''EastEnders'', ''Doctors'' and ''Holby City''.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.aveleyman.com/ActorCredit.aspx?ActorID=8123|title=Bernard Holley|website=www.aveleyman.com}}</ref>
Holley also voiced hundreds of television commercials, including the campaign for the PlayStation 3 game ''LittleBigPlanet'', and presented many corporate videos.
His film roles included appearances in ''Travels with My Aunt'' (1972) and the film ''The Deadly Females'' (1976).<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b9f0944d0|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190227060720/https://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b9f0944d0|url-status=dead|archive-date=27 February 2019|title=Bernard Holley|website=BFI}}</ref>
Holley also worked consistently on the stage in theatres across the UK, including Farnham, Brighton, Manchester, Edinburgh, Derby and Norwich. One of his last stage roles was in Allan Monkhouse's ''Mary Broome'' at the Orange Tree Theatre, Richmond, in 2011.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.curtainup.com/marybroomelon.html|title=Mary Broome, a Curtain Up London review|website=www.curtainup.com}}</ref>
Holley died after a long illness on 22 November 2021, at the age of 81. He was survived by his wife, Jean and their son, Michael.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://metro.co.uk/2021/11/22/bernard-holley-dead-doctor-who-actor-dies-aged-81-15644076/|title=Doctor Who star Bernard Holley dies aged 81 following long-term illness|first=Cydney|last=Yeates|date=22 November 2021}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news | url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/obituaries/2021/11/23/bernard-holley-reliable-supporting-actor-best-remembered-long/ | title=Bernard Holley, reliable supporting actor best remembered for a long spell as a copper in Z Cars and for Doctor Who – obituary | newspaper=The Telegraph | date=23 November 2021 }}</ref>
==References== {{Reflist}}
== External links == *Bernard Holley's Showreel - [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dgPjMm8OKY4 - YouTube] * {{IMDb name|0390994}} * {{Discogs artist|Bernard Holley}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Holley, Bernard}} Category:1940 births Category:2021 deaths Category:English male stage actors Category:English male television actors Category:People educated at Kilburn Grammar School Category:People from Eastcote Category:20th-century English male actors Category:21st-century English male actors Category:Actors from the London Borough of Hillingdon