Who is Derek Fowlds?
Derek Fowlds was an English actor who is best remembered for playing Bernard Woolley in the British television comedies Yes Minister and Yes Prime Minister. He is also known as Oscar Blaketon in the long-running ITV police drama Heartbeat which is a role he ha played for 18 years.
He attended Ashlyns School, a former Secondary Modern School in the historic town of Berkhamsted in Hertfordshire.
After his amateur acting, he trained at RADA and made his debut on the West End stage in The Miracle Worker. He also appeared in various film roles, including Tamahine (1963), East of Sudan (1964), Hotel Paradiso (1966), Frankenstein Created Woman (1967), The Smashing Bird I Used to Know (1969), Tower of Evil (1972) and Mistress Pamela (1974). All this was before he became familiar to British television viewers as ‘Mr. Derek’ in the children’s series The Basil Brush Show, replacing Rodney Bewes as a presenter.
He also played the role of Lord Randolph Churchill in the ATV series Edward the Seventh (1975). Fowlds has played Bernard Woolley in Yes Minister and its sequel Yes, Prime Minister. She appeared alongside Paul Eddington and Nigel Hawthorne.
He then played the lead role in the sitcom Affairs of the Heart from 1983 to 1985. Fowlds then featured in a more sinister role in the 1990 political thriller Die Kinder. In the long-running ITV police drama nostalgia series Heartbeat, Fowlds played Oscar Blaketon for its whole run.
Derek Fowlds Age
Fowlds was aged 82 at the time of his death. He was born on 2nd September 1937 in Wandsworth, London, England.
Derek Fowlds Family
Fowlds was born to Ketha Muriel (née Treacher) and James Witney Fowlds, a salesman.
Derek Fowlds Wife
Fowlds got married to Wendy Tory in 1963 and the couple divorced in 1973. In 1974, he got married to Blue Peter presenter and dancer Lesley Judd. Derek and Judd were married until 1978 when they divorced.
Derek Fowlds Children
Fowlds has two children including the actor, Jeremy Fowlds and Jamie.
Derek Fowlds Cause Of Death
Fowlds died on 17th January 2020 in Bath, Somerset, England. His family released a statement that stated that the Heartbeat actor had died at the Royal United Hospitals Bath in the early hours of the morning after he suffered from pneumonia that leads to heart failure caused by sepsis.
Derek Fowlds Net Worth
Though Fowlds has earned greatly from his acting career, his net worth is not yet disclosed.
Derek Fowlds Movies
- 1964 – Gideon’s Way Episode 26: “The Nightlifers” as Tim Coles
- 1967 – The Solarnauts Pilot: “Cloud of Death” as Tempo
- 1969–1973 – The Basil Brush Show as Mr Derek
- 1975 – Edward the Seventh as Lord Randolph Churchill
- 1978 – Robin’s Nest Series 2 Eps 2 “The Candidate” as Ricky Hart
- 1980–1984 – Yes Minister as Bernard Woolley
- 1982 – Minder as Meadhurst
- 1983–1985- Affairs of the Heart as Peter Bonamy
- 1986–1988 – Yes, Prime Minister as Bernard Woolley
- 1988 – The Settling of the Sun as Kurt Friedman/Michael Robson
- 1990 – Die Kinder as Crombie
- 1992–2010 – Heartbeat as Sgt. Oscar Blaketon
- 1992–1994 – Firm Friends as John Gutteridge
- 2001 – Lily Savage’s Blankety Blank as Himself
