Eric Allan

{{Short description|British actor (1940–2026)}} {{distinguish|text=American football cornerback [[Eric Allen]]. For other people with similar names, see [[Eric Allen (disambiguation)]]}} {{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}} {{Infobox person | name = Eric Allan | image = Eric Allan, Actor.jpg | caption = | birth_name = David Eric Allan | birth_date = {{birth date|1940|3|8|df=y}} | birth_place = [[Tidworth]], [[Wiltshire]], England | death_date = {{death date and age|2026|2|8|1940|3|8|df=y}} | death_place = | death_cause = | occupation = Actor | spouse = | children = }}

'''David Eric Allan''' (8 March 1940 – 8 February 2026) was a British actor.

==Life and career== David Eric Allan was born in [[Tidworth]], [[Wiltshire]], England on 8 March 1940.<ref name="guardian">{{cite news |last1=Hayward |first1=Anthony |title=Eric Allan obituary |url=https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2026/mar/13/eric-allan-obituary |access-date=13 March 2026 |publisher=The Guardian |date=13 March 2026}}</ref> When he was 15, his family moved to Canada, but, set to become an actor, he returned to the Britain at 18.<ref name=Eric/>

His first film role was in [[Peter Brook]]'s 1968 film ''[[Tell Me Lies (film)|Tell Me Lies]]'',<ref name="Institute1997">{{cite book|author=American Film Institute|title=The American Film Institute Catalog of Motion Pictures Produced in the United States|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZHqQQf4pFHQC&pg=PA11|accessdate=24 July 2015|year=1997|publisher=University of California Press|isbn=978-0-520-20970-1|page=11}}</ref> based on the play ''[[US (play)|US]]'' in which Allan had appeared the previous year.{{Cn|date=March 2026}}

For 24 years, from 1997 to 2021, he played the part of farm worker Bert Fry in the long-running [[BBC]] Radio soap opera [[The Archers]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/21QBp5NJ1XzQMCsKRYKQ8Bw/farewell-to-bert-fry|title=Farewell to Bert Fry|publisher=BBC|date=25 October 2021|access-date=27 October 2021}}.</ref>

Allan died on 8 February 2026, at the age of 85.<ref name=Eric>{{cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/obituaries/2026/03/02/eric-allan-actor-voiced-farm-worker-bert-fry-in-the-archers/|title=Eric Allan, long-serving actor in The Archers who voiced the poetic farm worker Bert Fry|website=The Telegraph|date=2 March 2026|access-date=2 March 2026}}.</ref><ref name="guardian"/>

==Selected filmography== {{Refimprove|section|date=March 2026}} * ''[[Tell Me Lies (film)|Tell Me Lies]]'' (1968) * ''[[The McKenzie Break]]'' (1970) * ''[[Bleak Moments]]'' (1971) * ''[[I.D. (1995 film)|I.D.]]'' (1995)

==Selected television== {{Refimprove|section|date=March 2026}} * ''[[Emmerdale]]'' (1972–1974) as Frank Blakey (regular role) * ''[[Nuts in May (Play for Today)|Nuts in May]]'' (1976) as The Quarryman ([[Play for Today]] Episode) * ''[[Hold the Back Page]]'' (1985–1986) as Reg * ''[[Bergerac (TV series)|Bergerac]]'' (1988) as Peter Retford in "Private Flight"

==Selected theatre== * ''[[US (play)|US]]'' (1966){{Cn|date=March 2026}}

==References== {{Reflist}}

==External links== * {{IMDb name|0019924}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Allan, Eric}} [[Category:1940 births]] [[Category:2026 deaths]] [[Category:British male film actors]] [[Category:British male television actors]] [[Category:20th-century British male actors]]