Jeff Rawle
Rawle in 2011
Born	Jeffrey Alan Rawle (1951-07-20)20 July 1951 (age 74) Birmingham, England
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1973–present
Spouse	Nina Marc ​ (m. 1998)​
Children	2

Jeffrey Alan Rawle (born 20 July 1951) is a British actor. He is known for playing Billy inBilly Liar (1973–1974), and for portraying George Dent in the news-gathering sitcomDrop the Dead Donkey (1990–1998), andSilas Blissett inHollyoaks (2010–2022). Other credits includeMinder (1993),Doc Martin (2004),Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2005),Grantchester (2023), andBeyond Paradise (2024).

Rawle was born on 20 July 1951,^[1] inBirmingham.^[1] His first secondary school wasKing Edward VI School inAston, Birmingham. When he was 15, his family moved toSheffield, and it was atHigh Storrs Grammar School that he first became interested in drama when he appeared in school plays. He worked at theSheffield Playhouse before training atLAMDA.^[2]

Rawle landed his first significant role in 1973 as the protagonist in the television version ofKeith Waterhouse andWillis Hall'sBilly Liar.^[3] He played Billy Fisher for two seasons, 26 episodes from 1973 to 1974.^[3]

In 1979, he appeared withIan McKellen andTom Bell inBent at theCriterion Theatre, London. In 1984, he appeared in the storyFrontios as the character Plantaganet inDoctor Who.^[1] In 1980, he appeared in theHammer House of Horror,^[1] episode "Charlie Boy." In 1981, he appeared in an episode ofJuliet Bravo.^[1] In 1983, He starred as Jeff Harris in three episodes ofAngels and appeared inBergerac (1983).^[4]

In 1989, he starred as W.O. Wilson in the three-part miniseriesVote for Them, which was about allied troops still based in Cairo in 1943.^[5] He appeared inMinder (1993)^[4] andFaith in the Future onITV from 1995 to 1998.^[4] In 2004, Rawle appeared as Roger Fenn in theITV seriesDoc Martin.^[1] The actor made a guest appearance as lawyer Jonathan Blunt in the fourth episode of the fourth series ofNew Tricks (2007).^[4]

In 2005, Rawle portrayedAmos Diggory, father ofCedric Diggory (Robert Pattinson), inHarry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.^[4]

2008 saw Rawle playGilbert Murray in theNational Theatre's production ofTony Harrison's playFram. The following year, he guested inThe Bill and appeared inThe Sarah Jane Adventures onCBBC. During 2010, Rawle joined the cast ofHollyoaks as serial killerSilas Blissett.^[6] He stated that he was delighted to be playing such a sinister character. He has won various awards for his portrayal of Silas.^[7] He initially left the role in 2012, before making guest returns from January to May 2016, and from October 2020 to January 2021. He reprised the role in September 2022, when his grandson, Bobby, finally killed off his character.^[8]

In October 2012, it was announced that Rawle had joined theDoctors' cast as Rory Bishton, a road sweeper with something to hide.^[9] Rawle made his screen debut as Rory in early 2013.^[9] He had previously appeared in the series in 2004.^[9]

Rawle has provided numerous narrations, includingA Bear CalledPaddington, three series of theDuchess of York'sBudgie the Little Helicopter,Stephen Hawking'sUniverse and Tom Fort'sThe Grass is Always Greener forBBC Radio 4. Rawle's writing credits includeThe Young Poisoner's Handbook in 1995 andWho Goes There?

• Jeff Rawle atIMDb

• 1951 births
• Living people
• 20th-century English male actors
• 21st-century English male actors
• Alumni of the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art
• British male film actors
• British male soap opera actors
• English male stage actors
• English male television actors
• English male voice actors
• Male actors from Birmingham, West Midlands
• People educated at King Edward VI Aston School
• People educated at High Storrs Grammar School for Boys
• Politicians from Sheffield

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