Please Rewind Talent Wall

Anthony Valentine

Anthony Valentine built a career around poise, precision and a knack for making charm feel just a little dangerous. Born in Blackburn on 17 August 1939, he moved with his family to Chiswick in West London at the age of six. His route to acting began unusually early: after being spotted tap-dancing in a stage production of Robin Hood at Ealing Town Hall, he made his professional screen debut at ten in No Way Back (1949). At twelve, he played a boy sleuth in The Girl on the Pier (1953). Valentine worked regularly for the BBC as a child actor, first appearing as Lord Mauleverer and later taking over the role of Harry Wharton in the 1950s television adaptation of Billy Bunter of Greyfriars School. By 1958, he was appearing alongside Laurence Olivier and Irene Worth in an ITV production of Ibsen's John Gabriel Borkman. His stage career developed in parallel, with early appearances in the premieres of Arnold Wesker's Chicken Soup with Barley and John Osborne's Epitaph for George Dillon at the Royal Court Theatre. He later joined the original production of Half a Sixpence and continued working in the theatre throughout his career, including productions of Sleuth, 'Art' and The White Devil. Television provided Valentine with his most recognisable roles. He played the ruthless Toby Meres in Callan, Luftwaffe officer Major Horst Mohn in Colditz and the gentleman thief A. J. Raffles in Yorkshire Television's Raffles. Later, he brought the same polished edge to George Webster, the suave criminal in The Knock. Valentine also worked extensively with his voice, narrating documentaries and television adverts, and appearing as Dr. X on Queensrÿche's 1988 album Operation: Mindcrime. In 1998, he made his debut as a writer and director with The Waiting Game at The Mill at Sonning, where he subsequently directed productions including Separate Tables, The Odd Couple and California Suite. Across stage, screen and sound, his work was marked by control, authority and an instinct for characters whose good manners could conceal sharper intentions.