Bill Maynard
Birth name	Walter Frederick George Williams
Born	(1928-10-08)8 October 1928 Heath End, Surrey, England
Died	30 March 2018(2018-03-30) (aged 89) Leicestershire, England[1]
Medium	Actor, comedian
Years active	1953–2018
Genres	Comedy, television
Spouse	Muriel Linnett ​ ​ (m. 1949; died 1983)​ Tonia Bern ​ ​ (m. 1989; div. 1998)​ [2][3]
Children	2; includingMaynard Williams
Notable works and roles	See below

Walter Frederick George Williams (8 October 1928 – 30 March 2018),^[4] better known by his stage nameBill Maynard, was an English comedian and actor.^[5] He began working in television in the 1950s, notably starring alongsideTerry Scott inGreat Scott – It's Maynard! (1955–56). In the 1970s and 1980s, he starred in the successful British sitcomsOh No It's Selwyn Froggitt andThe Gaffer and appeared in five films in theCarry On series. After a hiatus from television work in the late 1980s, Maynard starred as Claude Jeremiah Greengrass in the long-running television seriesHeartbeat from 1992 to 2000, reprising the character in the spin-offThe Royal in 2003.

Walter Williams began as a variety performer in the 1950s, under the stage name of Bill Maynard  – the surname was inspired from seeing a billboard for the popular British confectionery,Maynard's Wine Gums, when he was to do performances for theBBC.^[6] Maynard progressed to repertory theatre, touring army camps withJon Pertwee. Maynard's first television broadcast was on 12 September 1953 onHenry Hall'sFace the Music. For much of his career until the 1970s, his work was mostly towards performances: he entered and placed fourth in theBritish heat of the 1957 Eurovision Song Contest; he worked alongsideTerry Scott for the TV seriesGreat Scott – It's Maynard!, after they worked together atButlinsHoliday Camp inSkegness;^[2] and he served as part of the news team on theOne O'Clock Show forTyne Tees Television inNewcastle (1959–64). He also served forBBC Radio Leicester during the 1960s, until his departure in 1968.

In 1971, Maynard entered into acting, securing a role onDennis Potter's television playPaper Roses, which was about the last day in the life of a reporter, and then securing another role forColin Welland's television play,Kisses at Fifty in 1973. Around the same year, he worked with television actor and comedianRonnie Barker in the (original) "Football Blues", which aired as "Spanners Eleven", and was part of a series calledSeven of One. In 1974, Maynard became a subject ofThis Is Your Life, when he was surprised byEamonn Andrews.^[7] Around the same time, Maynard went to work forYorkshire Television, starring in a pilot episode for a new sitcom. In 1975, he published his autobiography,The Yo-Yo Man, withLeicester's Golden Eagle books.^[8] Also in 1975 he appeared inThe Sweeney episodeSupersnout in which he played Detective Chief Inspector Stephen Quirk of theMetropolitan Police'sFlying Squad being the subject of a conspiracy by Joey Stickley, a dirty and weasleyinformant who attempts to ruin his reputation. After a pilot episode in 1974, Maynard took on the lead role in the sitcomOh No It's Selwyn Froggitt for three series, followed by its sequelSelwyn for one series, between 1976 and 1978. The Selwyn Froggitt role made Maynard a nationwide household name. In 1980, Maynard appeared in three episodes ofWorzel Gummidge as Sergeant Beetroot, alongside long-time friend Jon Pertwee.

In 1981, Maynard starred in three series of the ITV sitcomThe Gaffer until its conclusion two years later in 1983. InThe Gaffer, Maynard played Fred Moffat, a downbeat, cynical and cunning character focused on survival who runs a struggling engineering firm, and who is constantly trying to avoid his creditors, the tax man, the bank manager, trade unionists at his engineering firm, and indeed seeking to avoid anyone who might want him to pay for something. The character of Fred Moffat was in contrast to the high profile, upbeat, good hearted, bumbling, casual labourer Selwyn Froggitt from his earlier sitcom, with the contrasts between the two even going as far as Fred Moffat having a beard and Selwyn Froggitt being clean shaven.

During the 1970s, Maynard secured roles in a number of films: he starred in five of theCarry On films, includingCarry On Matron (1972) andCarry On Dick (1974).^[9] He starred as Mr. Lea alongsideAnthony Booth,Robin Askwith andDoris Hare in all four films in theConfessions series ofsex comedies and appeared in the 1976 filmIt Shouldn't Happen to a Vet.

In April 1992, he returned to Yorkshire Television aslovable rogue Claude Jeremiah Greengrass inHeartbeat, a new ITV drama series set in the 1960s. It was a major success, consistently drawing over 10 million viewers.^[10] Maynard published a new book,Stand Up...And Be Counted, in 1997 with Breedon Books.^[11] He remained withHeartbeat until December 2000, when he decided to retire from the programme following a series ofstrokes.^[2] Despite this, he returned to acting in 2002 to reprise his character in spin off seriesThe Royal until 2003.^[2] Maynard made a comeback to radio in March of that year onBBC Radio Leicester. His programmeBill of Fare aired every Sunday from 2pm to 4pm for nearly five years, until he was dismissed without notice on 5 February 2008.^[2]

In October 2009, he made a return to the stage when he appeared as the main guest of honour at the Pride ofBridlington Awards held in theEast Riding of Yorkshire.^[12] By then, his career slowly wound down due to his age and impaired mobility from his strokes, whereupon his final television appearance was made on 14 April 2018 for an episode ofPointless Celebrities; filming took place prior to his death, while the episode aired 15 days after his death.

Maynard was born inFarnham,Surrey, whereupon his family moved north toLeicestershire. He was educated atKibworth Beauchamp Grammar School. Maynard lived inSapcote, Leicestershire, during the latter part of his life.

He married Muriel Linnett on 5 November 1949, and they had two children. She died in June 1983.^[2] Maynard was a vegetarian. His son is musicianMartin Maynard Williams.

Maynard was a supporter of theLabour Party, but in March 1984 Maynard stood againstTony Benn in theby-election at Chesterfield as anIndependent Labour candidate, after objecting to the way that Benn became the official Labour Party candidate in a safe seat. Maynard took fourth place in the by-election.^[13]

On 4 September 1989, Maynard married actress and singer Tonia Bern, the widow ofDonald Campbell, atHinckley Registry Office. They divorced in 1998. Bern died on 14 June 2021.

In later life, having suffered multiple strokes which resulted in a reduction in his mobility, he used a scooter or wheelchair. He died in hospital on 30 March 2018, not long after falling and breaking his hip.^[1]

• Bill Maynard atIMDb
• Bill Maynard atBritish Comedy Guide
• Bill Maynard's "Stock Car Racing is Magic" lyrics
• Bill Maynard's "Stock Car Racing is Magic" recording
• Bill Maynard (Aveleyman)

• 1928 births
• 2018 deaths
• Accidental deaths from falls
• Comedians from Leicester
• English male comedians
• English male film actors
• English male soap opera actors
• English radio personalities
• Independent British political candidates
• People from Farnham
• Male actors from Leicester

• Articles with short description
• Short description matches Wikidata
• Use British English from September 2013
• Use dmy dates from February 2024