David Simeon
Biography
David John Townsend (born 17 May 1943, Chippenham, Wiltshire), known professionally as David Simeon, is a British actor. David Simeon began his acting career after being accepted into RADA, the Rose Bruford College and the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. Ultimately he chose the latter and completed his training in 1964. After years working in Wiltshire rep and Birmingham rep, Simeon began working extensively in theatre and television from the late 1960s. His first television role was as a murderer in Sexton Blake, which Simeon puts down to his honest face being the reason for his casting.[2] From this point he moved to London and continued working in theatre in between television roles, which by the early 1970s were becoming plentiful. Among these were small parts in the Doctor Who serials Inferno (1970) and The Dæmons (1971), which Simeon now says despite his vast experience, "I’m now known as being in Doctor Who". During the 1970s he secured guest roles in television series such as Paul Temple, Z-Cars, Fawlty Towers, The Pathfinders and The Liver Birds. In 1973 he starred in his first major regular role as Detective Constable Mickey Finn in Hunter's Walk, appearing in 38 episodes until 1976. From 1980 onwards he continued to gain further regular roles in television series End of Part One (1979–80) impersonating television personalities such as Frank Muir and Derek Batey, Vice Versa (1981) as Mr Blinkhorn, Coronation Street (December 1981) as sales rep Bobby Simpson - love interest of Bet Lynch & Mavis Riley, The New Adventures of Lucky Jim (1982) as Philip Lassiter, Jury (1983) as David Farrell. He also appeared in several episodes of the hospital drama Angels. In 1988 he had a role in the hit John Cleese film A Fish Called Wanda. During the 1990s and 2000s he continued extensively in theatre and on television appearing in Coronation Street as Gareth Bird, a hospital consultant in July 1998 , Casualty, EastEnders and The Bill. He also secured another recurring role in Lucy Sullivan Is Getting Married as Ken Kennedy between 1999 and 2000.
Known For & Full Filmography41 Titles
Drama Series - 1963, 16 episodes • as Private Latimer
The adventures of The Doctor, a time-traveling humanoid alien known as a Time Lord. He explores the universe in his TARDIS, a sentient time-traveling spaceship. Its exterior appears as a blue British police box, which was a common sight in Britain in 1963 when the series first aired. Along with a succession of companions, The Doctor faces a variety of foes while working to save civilizations, help ordinary people, and right many wrongs.
Drama Series - 1963, 16 episodes • as Alastair Fergus
The adventures of The Doctor, a time-traveling humanoid alien known as a Time Lord. He explores the universe in his TARDIS, a sentient time-traveling spaceship. Its exterior appears as a blue British police box, which was a common sight in Britain in 1963 when the series first aired. Along with a succession of companions, The Doctor faces a variety of foes while working to save civilizations, help ordinary people, and right many wrongs.
Drama Series - 1986, 16 episodes • as Bob Bates
Drama series about the staff and patients at Holby City Hospital's emergency department, charting the ups and downs in their personal and professional lives.
Drama Series - 1996, 16 episodes • as Priestley
A team of exceptional forensic pathologists and scientists investigate heinous crimes and use their skills to catch the people responsible.
Drama Series - 1979, 16 episodes • as Assistant Manager
Roguish comedy drama following the misadventures of small-time crook Arthur Daley.
Drama Series - 1979, 16 episodes • as Henry
Roguish comedy drama following the misadventures of small-time crook Arthur Daley.
Drama Series - 1984, 16 episodes • Main Cast Role
The daily lives of the men and women at Sun Hill Police Station as they fight crime on the streets of London. From bomb threats to armed robbery and drug raids to the routine demands of policing this ground-breaking series focuses as much on crime as it does on the personal lives of its characters.
Drama Series - 1990, 16 episodes • as The Auctioneer
Hyacinth Bucket (whose name, she insists, is pronounced "Bouquet") is a suburban housewife in the West Midlands. She would be the first to tell you that she is a gracious hostess, a respected citizen, and a well-connected member of high society. If you don't believe that, just ask her best friend Elizabeth, held captive in Hyacinth's kitchen; or the postmen and neighbours who bristle at the sound of her voice; or Richard, her weary and compliant husband. In fact, Hyacinth's reputation could be as perfect as her new lounge set, if not for her senile father's love of running wild in the nip. Oh, and she would prefer it if her brother-in-law was a sharper dresser. And that her husband was more ambitious. And that her sisters were more presentable. And do take your shoes off before you come in the house, dear. Mind that you don't brush against the wallpaper.
Drama Series - 1975, 16 episodes • Main Cast Role
Angels is a BBC medical soap-opera which launched on 1st September 1975 and was the blue print for such medical soaps as Casualty, Holby City, plus daytime soap, Doctors. The medical soap focuses on different departments within Heath Green Hospital and was a highly successful continuing drama.
Drama Series - 1989, 16 episodes • as Roughead
Birds of a Feather is a British sitcom that was broadcast on BBC One from 1989 until 1998 and on ITV from 2013. Starring Pauline Quirke, Linda Robson and Lesley Joseph, it was created by Laurence Marks and Maurice Gran, who also wrote some of the episodes along with many other writers. The first episode sees sisters Tracey Stubbs and Sharon Theodopolopodos brought together when their husbands are sent to prison for armed robbery. Sharon, who lived in an Edmonton council flat, moves into Tracey's expensive house in Chigwell, Essex. Their next-door neighbour, and later friend, Dorien Green is a middle-aged married woman who is constantly having affairs with younger men. In the later series the location is changed to Hainault. The series ended on Christmas Eve 1998 after a 9-year-run.
Drama Series - 1975, 16 episodes • as Mr. Mackenzie
Owner Basil Fawlty, his wife Sybil, a chambermaid Polly, and Spanish waiter Manuel attempt to run their hotel amidst farcical situations and an array of demanding guests.
Drama Series - 1972, 16 episodes • as Richard
Classic sitcom starring Eric Sykes and Hattie Jacques as brother and sister twins who have to tackle the trials and tribulations of suburban life.
Drama Series - 1990, 16 episodes • as Wilding
The Chief is a British crime drama transmitted on ITV from 20 April 1990 to 16 June 1995. Produced by Anglia Television, it centred on the politics at the top of a typical English police force in its continual battle to solve the problems the times, in this case the fictional Eastland of East Anglia.
Drama Series - 1993, 16 episodes • as Nightclub Owner
Gary Sparrow is an ordinary bloke in 1990s Britain, married to the ambitious Yvonne and working as a TV repairman. Then his whole world changes when he stumbles upon a portal to WWII-era London and begins a dual life as an accidental time traveler.
Drama Series - 1991, 16 episodes • as Billington
Two sisters who set up a London fashion house for society of the early 1920s.
Drama Series - 1987, 16 episodes • as PC Austin
The New Statesman is a British sitcom of the late 1980s and early 1990s satirising the Conservative government of the time.
Movie - 1988, 2h 15m • as Court Clerk
While a diamond advocate attempts to steal a collection of diamonds, troubles arise when he realises he’s not the only one after the collection.
Drama Series - 1969, 16 episodes • Main Cast Role
Paul Temple is a British-German television series . It features Francis Matthews as Paul Temple, the fictional detective created by Francis Durbridge, who solves crimes with the assistance of his wife Steve. Paul Temple used overseas locations in France, Malta, Germany and elsewhere.
Drama Series - 1989, 16 episodes • as Priest
Focuses on brothers Frank and Danny Kane. Their mother is the matriarch of a South London criminal gang, assisted by Danny. Frank has become a priest but leaves the church; he inherits The Paradise Club following the death of their mother and returns to London to try and steer Danny away from crime.
Drama Series - 1964, 16 episodes • Main Cast Role
Sherlock Holmes (also known as 'Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes') is a series of Sherlock Holmes adaptations produced by British television company BBC between 1964 and 1968. This was the second screen adaption of Sherlock Holmes for BBC Television.
Drama Series - 2002, 16 episodes • as Middle-Aged Gent
A tempestuous tale of love and life as a naïve girl discovers both romance and pain in the hidden, decadent world of bohemian London in the 1890s. Nan Astley embarks on a voyage of emotional and sexual discovery with Kitty Butler, a music hall male impersonator.
Drama Series - 1997, 16 episodes • as Mr Mackenzie
The Grand is an ITV television drama series created and written by Russell T Davies and starring Rebecca Callard, Tim Healy, Susan Hampshire, Paul Warriner, and Mark McGann. Following WWI, the Bannerman family re-opens the Grand Hotel after a lengthy closure and a costly re-furbishing. The hotel has been in the family for a long time, and John Bannerman and his wife Sarah desperately want to make a go. Their son Stephen has returned from the wars without any physical harm but still suffers from the mental anguish of seeing so many of his comrades-in-arms falling on the battlefield. When they learn that their accountant has squandered what little money they had left, they must turn to John's brother Marcus, a successful businessman who has eschewed any interest in the hotel over the years but now seems ready to plunge into the business with both feet.
Drama Series - 1986, 16 episodes • Main Cast Role
Australian ex-cop Jack Bartholomew goes to Britain when he discovers he's heir to a family title; when he doesn't get on with his new family, he starts working as a private detective.
Drama Series - 1973, 16 episodes • as Det. Con. Mickey Finn
Hunters Walk – devised by Dixon of Dock Green creator Ted Willis – was about crime on a smaller – but no less dramatic – scale, and featured a police force in the fictional Midlands town of Broadstone (the series was actually filmed in Rushden, Northants). Sharing several similarities with the classic 1950s police drama, in particular a small-town settingband storylines encompassing the more human aspects of police work, Hunters Walk offered a contrasting alternative to the 1970s more hard-hitting, action-led urban crime dramas. The small, idiosyncratic team of officers faced a typically broad spectrum of cases, from neighbours’ disputes and hooliganism to suspected murder.
Drama Series - 1972, 16 episodes • as Mechanic
A priceless jewel, originally plundered from a Hindu shrine, is presented to Rachel Verinder on her 18th birthday. The jewel goes missing and suspicion falls over the household, threatening to destroy someone close to Rachel's heart.
Drama Series - 1987, 16 episodes • as Fred Peters
Unsuccessful businessman, Neil Walsh, tries to rebuild his life after being made bankrupt.
Drama Series - 1951, 16 episodes • as Mr. Plackett
Long-running anthology program sponsored by Hallmark Cards. Beginning in 1951 and continuing into 2019, the series received 80 Emmy Awards, 24 Christopher Awards, 11 Peabody Awards, 9 Golden Globes, and 4 Humanitas Prizes. Early seasons were a weekly live drama, eventually transitioning to videotaped and then filmed productions broadcast as occasional specials.
Drama Series - 1972, 16 episodes • as Art Gallery Assistant
It's Murder. But Is It Art? is a 1976 six-part comedy thriller serial written by David Pursall and Jack Seddon, and produced for BBC One. It stars Arthur Lowe, John Gower, Dudley Foster, Arthur Howard, and Anthony Sagar. Eccentric artist-turned-detective called Phineas Drake investigates when beautiful blonde Tina Kent is discovered murdered in the drawing-room of Brigadier Austin Binghop. Insp. Hook is convinced that Binghop is the culprit and takes him into custody. However, Mr Drake thinks otherwise and places himself in considerable personal jeopardy – with the trail leading him to the house of Chelsea socialite Mrs MacPherson. Barring some low-quality, off-air recorded monochrome trailers from the time, the entire series is believed to be lost.
Drama Series - 1993, 16 episodes • as Lineup Inspector
Down-and-out American comedian Johnny Lazar tries to regain his status as an international superstar by embarking on a tour of working men's clubs and universities in England. But on his first night, Johnny is witness to a gangland murder and finds himself having to go on the lam as he becomes the target of hitmen out to eliminate any chance of them being identified.
Movie - 1970, 2h 15m • as Private Latimer
UNIT is providing security cover at an experimental drilling project at Eastchester, designed to penetrate the Earth's crust and release a previously untapped source of energy. Soon, however, the drill head starts to leak an oily green liquid that transforms those who touch it into vicious primeval creatures with a craving for heat. The Doctor is accidentally transported "sideways in time" by the partially repaired TARDIS control console into a parallel universe where the drilling project is at a more advanced stage. Thwarted by his friends' ruthless alter egos, he works to save both universes.
Movie - 1980, 2h 15m • Main Cast Role
William is a dashing and eccentric Scotsman whose charms rapidly overwhelm the sweet and naïve Ann, but she nearly as quickly begins to comprehend that her new beau is anything but a one-woman man. In addition to his two ex-wives, with whom he remains remarkably close, William exhibits a disturbing attraction for nearly any female who crosses his path -- Ann's friends among them.
Movie - 1970, 2h 15m • Main Cast Role
A hard-bitten newspaper reporter is drawn back into the world of sleaze he had hoped to have left behind, and this time it goes right to the top.
Movie - 1970, 2h 15m • as Estate Agent
A street-smart witness to a gangland slaying tries to beat the hit man at his own game.
Movie - 1989, 2h 15m • as Mr. Plackett
After a mild heart attack at 63, Penelope Keeling is not ready to be an invalid yet...despite her children's attempts to take control of her life. She's given them everything she could over the years, but now they want Penelope to sell her most prized possession. Torn between the selfish demands of her children and her desire to hold onto cherished mementos of the past, Penelope must learn what is really important to her. She returns to the seashore, the only place she was ever truly free, in an unforgettable odyssey that will take her back to her home, her heart and another chance for happiness.
Movie - 1987, 2h 15m • as Inspector Carter
When the ailing husband of an adulterous wife is discovered bludgeoned to death and suspicions fall on the older woman's young lover, the newly widowed woman claims that it was she who was solely responsible for the death despite evidence that points to the contrary in this dramatic account of true-life 1935 trial that shocked all of England. Though notable evidence and strong suspicion suggests that the murder may have been of crime of passion perpetrated by the jealous lover only half her age, Alma Rattenbury (Helen Mirren) confesses to the murder of her husband and is soon brought to trial. Despite the fact that Alma is already being deemed guilty by the general public for her adulterous indiscretion alone, her lawyer, star attorney T.J. O'Connor (David Suchet), remains convinced that his client will eventually be cleared of all charges.
Drama Series - 1987, 16 episodes • Main Cast Role
A Small Problem is a British sitcom originally broadcast on BBC2 in 1987. Intended as a satire on prejudice, the show was set in a Britain starring Christopher Ryan who had previously played Mike in The Young Ones, with a form of apartheid based on people's height. Anyone below 5ft tall was forced to live in tower-block ghettos south of the River Thames. However, many viewers appeared not to understand the satirical aspect of the show, and the BBC was flooded with complaints. It was written by comedy writers Tony Millan and Mike Walling. The theme tune was written by Mo Foster and Mike Walling.
Movie - 2007, 2h 15m • as Medium Man 3 (voice)
Mary traces the lives of a woman caught in a scandal of adultery, another rejected and ignored because of her promiscuity, a third shunned because of a shameful condition, and a widow cast out from society, mourning the loss of her only son.
Movie - 1971, 2h 15m • as Alastair Fergus
On the eve of May Day, dark elemental forces begin to disturb the village of Devil's End as the Master summons the demon Azal: unexplained murders, a stone gargoyle come to life, and a nigh-impenetrable infernal energy dome. With the Master fully prepared to destroy the Earth, the Doctor and UNIT - aided by a benevolent practitioner of witchcraft - battle the wicked rites of a secret science wielded by an alien from another world.
Movie - 1970, 2h 15m • as Post Office Clerk
Explores the relationships shared by the residents of a seedy boarding house in London. Based on the play The Cellist, by Marion Hart.
Movie - 1992, 2h 15m • as Rambler
Harry plays hoaxes on gullible tabloid journalists. But when he gets ambitious and tries to sell the faked memoirs of a contract killer to a publisher, things start to go seriously wrong.
Movie - 1975, 2h 15m • as Alan Crich
When a mystery illness infects the pigs of a village farmer and a local boy is also taken ill, the villagers try to convince a veterinarian that it is caused by a curse from a woman they believe to be a witch.