British actor and voice artist (born 1946)
Derek Griffiths |
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Born | (1946-07-15) 15 July 1946 (age 77)
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Occupation | Actor |
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Years active | 1964–present |
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Derek Griffiths
MBE (born 15 July 1946) is a British actor, singer and voice artist who appeared in numerous British
children's television series in the 1970s to present and has more recently played parts in television drama.
Career
Griffiths was known in his early years for his
Play School appearances alongside the likes of
Chloe Ashcroft,
Johnny Ball and
Brian Cant. A talented multi-instrumentalist, he voiced over and sang the theme tune to Heads and Tails, a series of short animal films for children produced by
BBC Television, and also sang and played the theme tune to the cartoon
Bod. Another children's TV role was in
Granada Television's early 1980s series Film Fun, in which he played the entire staff of a cinema (the manager, the commissionaire (with the catchphrase "Get on with it!"), the projectionist, the usherette and also himself) while also showing cartoons such as
Bugs Bunny,
Daffy Duck and
Wile E. Coyote and Road Runner. He appeared on
Crown Court (1973) as an accused fraudster Raoul Lapointe, from the
Belgian Congo. In 1975, Griffiths played Ko-Ko in
The Black Mikado at London's
Cambridge Theatre. He also provided the English voice of
SuperTed (the series SuperTed was originally made in
Welsh).
In 1997, Griffiths originated the role of
Lumière in the original
West End production of
Beauty and the Beast at the
Dominion Theatre and played the role of the Child Catcher in the West End run of
Chitty Chitty Bang Bang at the
London Palladium.
In 2014, Griffiths was presented with a
BASCA Gold Badge of Merit award.
[1] This was in acknowledgement of his unique contribution to music.
From 2016, he played
Freddie Smith in
Coronation Street: he left the role in March 2017 to star in a stage production of
Driving Miss Daisy.
[2] In 2021, he joined the London cast of
The Mousetrap.
[3]
Children's television work
-
Play School (1971–81)
-
Play Away (1971)
-
Cabbages and Kings (1972)
- Various
Look and Read stories as singer, including:
-
Bod (1975) where he composed the theme music for each of the main five characters
- Ring-a-Ding! (1975) stories and singer
- Heads and Tails (1978) as voiceover and singer
- Watch It! (1980–83) regular continuity announcer on children's ITV segment for
Yorkshire Television
- Insight (1980) as presenter and various characters in this Yorkshire Television educational series for deaf and hearing-impaired children
- Dinosaurs: Fun, Fact and Fantasy (1982) as the voice of Dil the Crocodile
-
SuperTed (1983–1985) as the voice of SuperTed
-
Muzzy in Gondoland (1986) as the voices of Bob and Corvax
- King Greenfingers (1989) as the narrator
-
The World of Peter Rabbit and Friends (1993) as Simpkin in animated short stories based on the popular book series
-
Christopher Crocodile (1993) as the narrator and all of the characters
-
Dragon Tales (1999–2005) as the narrator for the audiobooks
-
Mio Mao (2005) as the narrator and all of the characters in the UK dub
- Film Fun
-
Little Red Tractor (2004–2007) as the voices of Mr Jones and Walter
-
Animal Antics (1997–2015) as the narrator
[4]
-
Tinga Tinga Tales (2010-2011) as the voices of Cricket and Skunk
-
Sarah & Duck (2014) Series 2 Episode 3: "Cloud Tower" as Cloud Captain
-
Hilda (2020) Series 2 Episode 8: "The Fifty Year Night" as Mr. Ostenfeld
-
The Dumping Ground (2021) as Larry Meadow
Comedy television work
Other television work
Appearances
Advertising work
Griffiths has also frequently appeared in advertising. In the past, he has won the Italian advertising Oscar for a series of comedy commercials about a Christmas cake where he played the role of an entertainer with French accent.
[7]
Film work
Theatre
In the theatre, Griffiths has been particularly associated with the
Royal Exchange, Manchester. His roles include:
[8]
[9]
- Ko-Ko,
The Black Mikado adapted from
Gilbert & Sullivan. Directed by
Braham Murray at the
Cambridge Theatre, London (1975).
-
Dick Whittington by Derek Griffiths. World premiere directed by Derek Griffiths at the
Royal Exchange, Manchester (1977).
- Athos,
The Three Musketeers by
Braham Murray and Derek Griffiths. World premiere directed by Braham Murray at the
Royal Exchange, Manchester (1979).
- Frontignac, Have you anything to declare? by
Maurice Hennequin. British premiere directed by
Braham Murray for the
Royal Exchange, Manchester at
the Roundhouse, London (1980).
- Rick,
The Nerd by
Larry Shue. European premiere directed by
Braham Murray at the
Royal Exchange, Manchester (1982).
- Khlestakov,
The Government Inspector by
Nikolai Gogol. Directed by
Braham Murray at the
Royal Exchange, Manchester (1983).
- The bluebird of unhappiness by
Woody Allen. Directed by
Braham Murray at the
Royal Exchange, Manchester (1987).
- Feste,
Twelfth Night. Directed by
Braham Murray at the
Royal Exchange, Manchester (1988).
- Oscar,
The Odd Couple by
Neil Simon. Directed by
Ronald Harwood at the
Royal Exchange, Manchester (1989).
- Sergeant Kite,
The Recruiting Officer by
George Farquhar. Directed by
Braham Murray at the
Royal Exchange, Manchester (1992).
- Feste,
Twelfth Night at the
Royal Shakespeare Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon (1994) and the
Theatre Royal,
Newcastle upon Tyne (1994).
- Sebastien,
Nude With Violin by
Noël Coward. Directed by
Marianne Elliott at the
Royal Exchange, Manchester (1999).
- Truscott,
Loot by
Joe Orton. Directed by
Braham Murray at the
Royal Exchange, Manchester (2001).
- Harpagon,
The Miser by
Moliere. Directed by
Helena Kaut-Howson at the
Royal Exchange, Manchester (2009).
- Lumiére "Beauty and the Beast" Dominion Theatre (1994)
- Rev. Tooker,
Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (2009).
- The Engineer. Miss Saigon (1990's)
Audio
Honours
Griffiths was appointed
Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the
2020 New Year Honours for services to drama and diversity.
[10]
[11]
References
External links
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