Monday 20 April 2009

like anyone who isn't literally insane in some way

, I love The Archers. Did you know that Timothy Bentinck, who plays David Archer, was born on a sheep station in Tasmania, helped his father set up an organic small-holding in Devon, drove tourists round America and sold Mercedes cars in Morocco before deciding to be an actor? To avoid the dole he got an HGV licence and a job delivering lorry loads of chocolate to South Wales.

His jobs have included dubbing the lead character, Chow Yung Fat, in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, and playing James Bond in the computer game of The World Is Not Enough. He has patented a device called The Hippo which enables a child to be supported on an adult’s hip. He has developed currency-converting software for Psion handhelds, a program that runs the finances for voice-over agencies. His wife is a successful milliner.

Also, he's the Earl of Portland, a Holy Roman Count and he recorded 'Mind the Gap' for the Piccadilly Line.*

*The 'Mind the Gap' thing is the kind of lie to put on Wikipedia to check whether people are doing their research properly, by the way. I would check it before writing it down without making pretty serious caveats. Like these ones.

2 comments:

Marie said...

People who love the Archers are only allowed to love the Archers if they never, ever make sneering comments about television soap operas and the people who watch them. Do you never, ever make sneering comments about television soap operas and the people who watch them? If so, that's OK.

John Finnemore said...

Did you check out his father, Harry? Also a Count and an Earl, naturally, but also at various times a cowboy, soldier, prisoner of war, producer of the Today Programme, smallholder, ad exec, environmentalist, jackaroo and author of the book 'Anyone Can Understand The Atom'.