{{BLP sources|date=November 2024}} {{Short description|English actor (born 1964)}} {{about||the makeup and special effects designer|Tony Gardner (designer)|the Canadian cricketer|Tony Gardner (cricketer)|the former Labour MP for Rushcliffe|Antony Gardner}} {{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}} {{Infobox person | image = Tony Gardner.jpg | landscape = yes | caption = Gardner onstage at 100 Club, 2010 | name = Tony Gardner | birth_name = Tony Gardner | birth_date = {{birth date and age|df=yes|1964|1|10}} | birth_place = Ashton-under-Lyne, Lancashire, England | othername = | occupation = {{hlist|Actor|doctor|comedian}} | television = My Parents are Aliens | website = | children = 2 }}
'''Tony Gardner''' (born 10 January 1964) is an English actor, comedian and doctor. He sits on the national governing body of the actors' trade union Equity.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.equity.org.uk/about/the-council-equitys-governing-body/ |title=The Council - Equity's governing body |publisher=Equity |access-date=February 17, 2022}}</ref>
==Early life and education== He attended St Augustine's Catholic College in Trowbridge, Wiltshire.<ref>{{Cite news |date=27 June 2007 |title=TV actor to attend school reunion |url=https://www.wiltshiretimes.co.uk/news/1501812.tv-actor-to-attend-school-reunion/ |work=Wiltshire Times}}</ref>
==Career== Gardner qualified as a physician at Guy's Hospital in 1987, then as a general practitioner in 1993{{fact|date=November 2024}}. He combined medicine and comedy during the 1990s as half of the award-winning comedy duo ''Struck Off and Die'' with Phil Hammond.
===Acting career=== Gardner eventually left medicine to become an actor, starring in a number of TV commercials, including that for the Renault Mégane. He reached prominence playing Brian Johnson in CITV's ''My Parents Are Aliens'' (episodes of which he also wrote) and Michael, the café owner in Jack Dee's BBC sitcom ''Lead Balloon''. In 2009–10 he starred in three plays directed by Sir Peter Hall. In 2011 he played Professor Tony Shales in the Channel 4 series ''Fresh Meat''.
Between 2012 and 2020, he played John in five series of the critically acclaimed romantic drama series ''Last Tango in Halifax''. The programme attracted impressive ratings for BBC One, with the third series posting an average of 7.8 million viewers.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.express.co.uk/showbiz/tv-radio/632750/Last-Tango-In-Halifax-series-four-delay-Sally-Wainwright |title=Last Tango In Halifax series four delay as Sally Wainwright pens 'final' run |date=8 January 2016 |publisher=Daily Express}}</ref>
Between 2013 and 2015, he appeared as Lieutenant Colonel Phillip Smith in three series of the wartime comedy ''Bluestone 42'', about a British bomb disposal detachment in Afghanistan during Operation Herrick. He appeared as Dan Miller MP in the BBC political comedy ''The Thick of It''. He was a main character of the music video "Giant Peach" by Wolf Alice.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g6vEE3Plk48 |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211221/g6vEE3Plk48 |archive-date=2021-12-21 |url-status=live|title=Wolf Alice - Giant Peach - YouTube|website=YouTube |date=12 March 2015 }}{{cbignore}}</ref> He appeared in a variety of roles in ''Tracey Ullman's Show'' from 2016. He also appeared in an episode of the Netflix show, ''Lovesick'', portraying Dylan’s father at surprise wedding anniversary party.
In January 2021, Gardner appeared in S11E1 of ''Not Going Out'' as a neighbour to Lee and Lucy.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt13715184/?ref_=ttep_ep1 |title=Not Going Out - Small Package S11 E1 IMDb |date=9 January 2021 |publisher=Imdb}}</ref> He then appeared again in S12E4 in 2022.
==Filmography== {| class="wikitable" |- |+ Filmography |- !Year !! Title !! Role !! Notes |- |1994 || ''Joking Apart'' || || |- |1995 || ''Now What?'' || || Writer |- |1995 || ''You Bet!'' || Sherlock Holmes || Series 8, Episode 6 |- |1997 || ''Sunnyside Farm'' || Justin || |- |1997 || ''Grown Ups'' || || |- |1997 || ''Armstrong and Miller'' || || Writer |- |1999–2006 || ''My Parents Are Aliens'' ||Brian Johnson || Writer and Cast Member |- |2000–2006 || ''Absolute Power'' || || |- |2001 || ''So What Now?'' || Dan || Episode: Swinger |- |2001 || ''Lenny Henry in Pieces'' || || |- |2001 || ''The Armando Iannucci Shows'' || || |- |2004 || ''The Lenny Henry Show'' || || |- |2005–2012 || ''The Thick of It'' || Dan Miller || |- |2006 || ''Bremner, Bird and Fortune'' || || |- |2006–2011 || ''Lead Balloon'' || Michael || Series regular |- |2007 || ''Jekyll'' || David || Series 1, Episode 4 |- |2007 || ''Dumped'' || Narrator || Voice |- |2007 || ''His Master's Voice'' || || |- |2008 || ''Love Soup'' || Matthew || Episode: Ragged Claws |- |2009 || ''May Contain Nuts'' || Philip Russell || TV movie |- |2009 || ''Moving Wallpaper'' || George || Series 2, Episode 4 |- |2010 || ''M.I. High'' || Prime Minister || episode: Vote Skul |- |2011–2016 || ''Fresh Meat'' || Professor Tony Shales || 13 episodes |- |2012–2020 || ''Last Tango in Halifax'' || John Elliot || Series regular |- |2012 || ''Cockneys vs Zombies'' || Clive || |- |2012 || ''New Tricks'' || Lucas Graves || episode: Old School Ties |- |2012 || ''Gates'' || Aiden || |- |2013 || ''The Escape Artist'' || Trevor Harris || TV-Mini Series |- |2013 || ''Big Bad World'' || Dr. Tim || Series 1, Episode 6 |- |2013–2015 || ''Bluestone 42'' || Lieutenant Colonel Smith || |- |2014 || ''Plebs'' || Philo || Series 2, Episode 6 |- |2014 || ''Law & Order: UK'' || Douglas Stone || Episode: Repeat to Fade |- |2016 || ''Young Hyacinth'' || Claude || TV |- |2016 || ''Stella'' || Ivan Schloss || |- |2016–2017 || ''Tracey Ullman's Show'' || Various || |- |2017–2018 || ''Tracey Breaks the News'' || Various || |- |2017 || ''Doctor Who'' || Douglas || "The Pyramid at the End of the World" (Series 10, Episode 7) |- |2017 || ''Death in Paradise'' || Ian Matlock || 1 episode |- |2017 || ''Unforgotten'' || James Moray || 3 episodes |- |2017 || ''Back'' || Nick Molloy || Series 1, Episode 1 |- |2018 || Death on the Tyne || Justin || |- |2018 || ''Lovesick'' || Julian || |- | 2018 || ''Innocent'' || Detective Superintendent Hillman ||ITV mini-series in four parts |- | 2019 || ''Midsomer Murders'' || Russell Grundy || "The Ghost of Causton Abbey" (Series 20, Episode 1) |- |2019 || ''Horrible Histories: The Movie'' || Antonius || |- | 2021–2022 ||''Not Going Out'' || Stuart || Lee and Lucy's neighbour |- |2026 || ''Silent Witness'' || Ron Hill || "The Disappearance of Alice Hill" (Series 29, Episodes 1 and 2) |}
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== *{{IMDb name|0307122}} *[https://web.archive.org/web/20060221193617/http://www.sueterryvoices.co.uk/profile/tony-gardner/ Profile]
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Gardner, Tony}} Category:English male film actors Category:English male television actors Category:Living people Category:1964 births Category:20th-century English medical doctors Category:Male actors from Ashton-under-Lyne Category:Alumni of King's College London Category:British general practitioners Category:English male comedians Category:Comedians from Lancashire