Jeffrey Alan Rawle (born 20 July 1951) is a British actor from Birmingham, England. He is known for playing Billy in Billy Liar (1973-1974), and for portraying George Dent in the news-gathering sitcom Drop the Dead Donkey (1990-1998), and Silas Blissett in Hollyoaks (2010-2022). Other credits include Minder (1993), Doc Martin (2004), Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2005), Grantchester (2023), and Beyond Paradise (2024).

Early life

Rawle was born on 20 July 1951, in Birmingham. His first secondary school was King Edward VI School in Aston, Birmingham. When he was 15 his family moved to Sheffield, and it was at High Storrs Grammar School that he first became interested in drama when he appeared in school plays. He worked at the Sheffield Playhouse before training at LAMDA.

Career

Rawle landed his first major role in 1973 as the protagonist in the television version of Keith Waterhouse and Willis Hall's Billy Liar. He played Billy Fisher for two seasons, 26 episodes from 1973 to 1974. In 1979, he appeared with Ian McKellen and Tom Bell in Bent at the Criterion Theatre, London. In 1984, he appeared in the story Frontios as the character Plantaganet in Doctor Who. In 1980, he appeared in Hammer House of Horror, Episode: "Charlie Boy". In 1981, he appeared in an episode of Juliet Bravo. In 1983, He starred as Jeff Harris in 3 episodes of Angels, as well as appearing in Bergerac (1983). In 1989, he starred as W.O. Wilson in the 3-part miniseries Vote for Them, about allied troops still based in Cairo in 1943. He appeared in Minder (1993), and in Faith in the Future on ITV from 1995 to 1998. In 2004, Rawle appeared as Roger Fenn in the ITV series Doc Martin. The actor went on to make a guest appearance as lawyer Jonathan Blunt in the fourth episode of the fourth series of New Tricks (2007). In 2005, Rawle portrayed Amos Diggory, father of Cedric Diggory (Robert Pattinson), in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. 2008 saw Rawle play Gilbert Murray in the National Theatre's production of Tony Harrison's play Fram. The following year, he guested in The Bill and appeared in The Sarah Jane Adventures on CBBC. During 2010, Rawle joined the cast of Hollyoaks in the role of serial killer Silas Blissett. He stated that he was delighted to be playing such a sinister character. He has won various awards for his portrayal of Silas. He initially left the role in 2012 before making guest returns from January to May 2016, October 2020 to January 2021. He reprised the role in September 2022, where his character was finally killed off by his grandson, Bobby. In October 2012, it was announced Rawle had joined the cast of Doctors as Rory Bishton, a road sweeper with something to hide. Rawle made his screen debut as Rory in early 2013. He had previously appeared in the series in 2004. Rawle has provided numerous narrations including A Bear Called Paddington, three series of the Duchess of York's Budgie the Little Helicopter, Stephen Hawking's Universe and Tom Fort's The Grass is Always Greener for BBC Radio 4. Rawle's writing credits include The Young Poisoner's Handbook in 1995 and Who Goes There?

Filmography and television