Tim Whitnall

Last updated

Tim Whitnall
Tim Whitnall.jpg
Whitnall at BFI London in 2013
Born
Timothy Charles Whitnall

(1961-06-27) 27 June 1961 (age 62)
Canvey Island, Essex, England
NationalityEnglish
Occupation(s)Actor, playwright, screenwriter
Years active1977–present

Timothy Charles Whitnall (born 27 June 1961) is an English actor, playwright and screenwriter. He is known for playing Angelo in the long-running CITV series Mike and Angelo and narrating the BBC children's TV programme Teletubbies from 1997 to 2001. [1] As a writer, he has won a BAFTA and an Olivier Award for his work on TV movie Best Possible Taste: The Kenny Everett Story and play Morecambe . He is also a voice actor, providing voices on characters from television shows such as Fifi and the Flowertots , Roary the Racing Car , and Thomas & Friends .

Contents

Career

Whitnall began his career in West End musical Elvis in 1977 after winning the role in an open call audition. [2] He has starred in many West End musicals including Grease , The Rocky Horror Show , and Good Rockin' Tonight. [3]

After making TV appearances for the musicals he was involved in, he began a career in television - presenting (and writing for) the BBC Schools series, "The Music Arcade" (with Lucie Skeaping), "Music Time", "Time and Tune", "Music Workshop", and "Let's Sing". [4] He also began making appearances as an actor, playing Jake in ITV children's drama The All Electric Amusement Arcade and Paul in Play for Today episode Not for the Likes of Us.

Whitnall is also known for providing many voice-overs and vocals for TV commercials, animations, and jingles. From the late 1980s to the channel's demise in 2000, he was an announcer on The Children's Channel, also providing the voice to the station's early 1990s mascot Link Anchorman. [5] He was also the voice for Woolworths mascot Keith the Alien in 1998. [6]

In 1990, he succeeded Tyler Butterworth in the role of alien Angelo in Children's sci-fi sitcom Mike and Angelo. He portrayed the character for ten series, until the show's end in 2000. [7]

Whitnall's theatre play The Sociable Plover, first performed at Old Red Lion Theatre in 2005, [8] was made into a feature film by Poisson Rouge Pictures and Solution Films (re-titled as The Hide) and received its UK première on Film4 in February 2009. [9] Following its screen release at the ICA Cinema, London, the film was released on DVD in January 2010. For this work, Whitnall was nominated for Best First Feature Length Screenplay category in the 2010 Writer's Guild of Great Britain Awards.[ citation needed ]

Whitnall's next play Morecambe – a tribute to the late comedian Eric Morecambe – won a Fringe First Award [10] for 'innovation and excellence in new writing' at the 2009 Edinburgh Festival Fringe. The show opened at London's Duchess Theatre the following December and toured the UK through 2010. The piece was nominated in two separate categories in the 2010 Laurence Olivier Awards [11] and won the 'Best Entertainment' category. [12]

In 2012, BBC Four screened Whitnall's 90-minute drama Best Possible Taste: The Kenny Everett Story, [13] which examined and celebrated the life of Kenny Everett. It was directed by James Strong, produced by Paul Frift and starred Oliver Lansley and Katherine Kelly. For it, Whitnall won the Breakthrough Talent Award in the 2013 BAFTA Television Craft Awards. [14]

During 2014, Whitnall joined the cast of the CGI version of the British TV series Thomas & Friends , providing the voices of the characters Timothy, Reg, Mike, Jerome, Oliver the Excavator and the UK version of Max.

Personal life

Whitnall lives in Richmond, London [ citation needed ] with his partner, Anna Murphy, with whom he has a production company, Feather Productions Ltd. [15]

Filmography

Actor

Television

YearTitleRoleNotes
1980 Play for Today PaulEpisode: "Not for the Likes of Us"
1982The Music ArcadePresenter
Sunny Side UpPresenter, various characters
1983 The All Electric Amusement Arcade JakeMain cast
1986 C.A.T.S. Eyes JackEpisode: "Freezeheat"
1989 The Bill RodgersEpisode: "Found Offending"
Bergerac Desk ConstableEpisode: "A True Detective"
1989–2000 Mike and Angelo AngeloMain cast
1993BackchatLink AnchormanVoice over
Link's Shorts
1994Link Looks Into Cartoons
1994 KTV Dr. Hunk, FredSegments: General Accident, Arthur Square
1997–2001 Teletubbies NarratorUK version
1998Tom and VickyTom, Dickie, Flash
2003–2004MechaNickAll male characters
2005-10 Fifi and the Flowertots Aunt Tulip, Stingo and HornettoUK
2006 Underground Ernie Hammersmith, Jubilee, Paris, and OsakaVoice over
2007 The Beeps Sleepy Beep
2007–10 Roary the Racing Car Plugger, Mr. Carburettor and Farmer GreenUK
2008 Britain's Got The Pop Factor Performer in Eye-patch
2008–09 The Mr. Men Show Mr. Lazy and Mr. NervousUK version, Voice over
2010Muddle EarthNorbert BensonMain cast
2012–15 Tree Fu Tom Zigzoo, Stink, Squirmtum, Chezz, and Rickety McGlumanMain cast, Voice over
2013 Henry Hugglemonster Various charactersVoice over
2014–2021 Thomas & Friends Max
Timothy, Reg, Mike, Jerome, Oliver (Excavator) and The Deputy Minister
UK Version
Recurring roles, Voice over
2021DinoCityDadMain cast, Voice over

Stage

YearTitleRoleVenue
1977 Elvis Young ElvisLondon Astoria
1979 Grease Doody
1981 Godspell JesusYoung Vic Theatre
Spring AwakeningMelchiorYoung Vic Studio, London
1983Yakety YakDannyUK Tour
1985The LambustersThe Bloomsbury Theatre, London
1988Be Bop a LulaEddie CochranThe Playhouse, Liverpool; UK tour
1991 The Rocky Horror Show Riff-RaffPicadilly Theatre, London
1992; 1993Good Rockin' ToniteEddie Cochran, Cliff RichardMetropolitan, London; Liverpool Empire, Liverpool
1996-1997Elvis (revival)Middle ElvisUK Tour
1998-1999Four Steps to HeavenElvis, Eddie Cochran
2005The Sociable PloverDaveOld Red Lion, Inner London

Film

YearTitleRoleNotes
1986 Billy the Kid and the Green Baize Vampire Member of Billy the Kid's entourage
1996 Famous Fred Additional Vocals
1999 Animal Farm
2000Teletubbies: Christmas in the SnowNarratorDirect-to-video
2005Renart the FoxRenart (English dub)
2008Like Other People DoRich ManShort
2010 Rainbow Magic: Return to Rainspell Island Edison, King Oberon, Snow Beast and Bitten
Devil's Playground News Anchor
2014 Thomas & Friends: Tale of the Brave Timothy and RegVoice; Direct-to-video
2015 Thomas & Friends: The Adventure Begins Jerome
Sodor's Legend of the Lost Treasure Oliver the Excavator and MikeVoice
2016 Thomas & Friends: The Great Race Timothy and Mike
2018Thomas & Friends: Big World Big Adventures!Bill, Timothy and a Moai Head

Video games

YearTitleRole(s)Notes
1998 Play with the Teletubbies NarratorUK
2000 The World Is Not Enough Charles Robinson

Screenwriter

Film

YearTitleNotes
2008 The Hide Based on his play "The Sociable Plover"
2018Mr SunshineShort, Based on his play "Morecambe"

Television

YearTitleNotes
1985–86 And There's More
2010Best Possible Taste: The Kenny Everett StoryTV movie
2013 Agatha Christie's Marple Episode: "Greenshaw's Folly"
2021 The Mallorca Files Episode: "The Blue Feather"

Stage

YearTitleVenue
1999Harry's WebTheatre Royal, Windsor
2005, 2010The Sociable PloverOld Red Lion, Inner London; UK Tour
2006The FabulistOld Red Lion, Inner London
2008, 2014 Morecambe Assembly Rooms, Edinburgh; UK Tour
2018Once Seen on Blue PeterChiswick Playhouse, London; Assembly Rooms, Edinburgh
2022, 2023 Lena The Beacon Arts Centre, Greenock; Assembly George Square (Gordon Aikman Lecture Theatre), Edinburgh
2023 Notes from a Small Island The Watermill Theatre, Newbury

Discography

Awards and nominations

YearAwardCategoryResult
2009"The Scotsman" Fringe First AwardInnovation and outstanding new writing Morecambe Won
2010 Laurence Olivier Awards Best EntertainmentWon
Writers' Guild of Great Britain Award Best First Feature-Length Film Screenplay The Hide Nominated
2013 British Academy Television Craft Award Breakthrough TalentBest Possible Taste: The Kenny Everett StoryWon
2013 Broadcasting Press Guild Award Best Single Drama
Shared with Paul Frift and James Strong
Nominated

Related Research Articles

<i>Teletubbies</i> British childrens television series

Teletubbies is a British children's television series created by Anne Wood and Andrew Davenport for the BBC. The programme focuses on four differently coloured characters known as the Teletubbies, named after the television screens on their bellies. Recognised throughout popular culture for the uniquely shaped antenna protruding from the head of each character, the Teletubbies communicate through gibberish and were designed to bear resemblance to toddlers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Zoë Wanamaker</span> American-British actress (born 1949)

Zoë Wanamaker is an American-British actress who has worked extensively with the Royal Shakespeare Company and the National Theatre. Wanamaker was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 2001 by Queen Elizabeth II. She has received numerous accolades including a Laurence Olivier Award and nominations for three BAFTA Awards, and four Tony Awards.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thora Hird</span> English actress, comedian, and writer (1911–2003)

Dame Thora Hird was an English actress and comedian, presenter and writer. In a career spanning over 70 years, she appeared in more than 100 films, as well as many television roles, becoming a household name and a British institution.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Penelope Keith</span> British actress (born 1940)

Dame Penelope Anne Constance Keith, is an English actress and presenter, active in film, radio, stage and television and primarily known for her roles in the British sitcoms The Good Life and To the Manor Born. She succeeded Lord Olivier as president of the Actors' Benevolent Fund after his death in 1989, and was appointed Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE) in the 2014 New Year Honours for services to the arts and to charity.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kenny Everett</span> British radio DJ and entertainer (1944–1995)

Kenny Everett was an English radio DJ and television entertainer. After spells on pirate radio and Radio Luxembourg in the mid-1960s, he was one of the first DJs to join BBC Radio's newly created BBC Radio 1 in 1967. It was here he developed his trademark voices and comical characters which he later adapted for television.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Michael Sheen</span> Welsh actor

Michael Christopher Sheen is a Welsh actor. After training at London's Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA), he worked mainly in theatre throughout the 1990s with stage roles in Romeo and Juliet (1992), Don't Fool with Love (1993), Peer Gynt (1994), The Seagull (1995), The Homecoming (1997), and Henry V (1997). His performances in Amadeus at the Old Vic and Look Back in Anger at the National Theatre were nominated for Olivier Awards in 1998 and 1999, respectively. In 2003, he was nominated for a third Olivier Award for his performance in Caligula at the Donmar Warehouse.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rupert Everett</span> English actor (born 1959)

Rupert James Hector Everett is an English actor. He first came to public attention in 1981 when he was cast in Julian Mitchell's play and subsequent film Another Country (1984) as a gay pupil at an English public school in the 1930s; the role earned him his first BAFTA Award nomination. He received a second BAFTA nomination and his first Golden Globe Award nomination for his role in My Best Friend's Wedding (1997), followed by a second Golden Globe nomination for An Ideal Husband (1999).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Andrew Scott (actor)</span> Irish actor (born c. 1976)

Andrew Scott is an Irish actor. Known for his roles on stage and screen, he has received numerous accolades, including a BAFTA Television Award and two Laurence Olivier Awards, along with nominations for a Primetime Emmy Award and two Golden Globe Awards.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Frank Finlay</span> English actor (1926–2016)

Francis Finlay, was an English actor. He earned an Academy Award nomination for his performance as Iago in Othello (1965). In 1983, he was directed by Italian filmmaker Tinto Brass in the erotic classic The Key, with Stefania Sandrelli. His first leading television role came in 1971 in Casanova. This led to appearances on The Morecambe and Wise Show. He also appeared in the drama Bouquet of Barbed Wire.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paddy Considine</span> English actor, director, screenwriter and singer (born 1973)

Patrick George Considine is an English actor, director, and screenwriter. He is known for playing antiheros in independent film. He has received two British Academy Film Awards, three Evening Standard British Film Awards, British Independent Film Awards and a Silver Lion for Best Short Film at the 2007 Venice Film Festival.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anna Chancellor</span> English actress

Anna Theodora Chancellor is an English actress who has appeared widely on TV, film and in the theatre. She received a nomination for BAFTA TV Award for Best Supporting Actress for her role as Lix Storm in The Hour (2011–2012), and has twice been nominated for Olivier Awards, in 1997 for her performances in Stanley at the National Theatre, and again in 2014 for Private Lives at the Gielgud Theatre. She was also nominated for an award at the Monte-Carlo TV Festival in 2007 and for one at the Broadcasting Press Guild Awards in 2013.

<i>Eric and Ernie</i> 2011 British television film by Jonny Campbell

Eric and Ernie is a 2011 British television drama film based on the early career of the British comic double-act Morecambe and Wise. The film was produced by BBC Wales, completed in 2010, and premiered on BBC Two on 1 January 2011. It was watched by 6.65 million viewers. Since then, it has been repeated several times on Gold.

Tim Firth is an English dramatist, screenwriter and songwriter.

Andrew Davenport is an English writer, puppeteer, producer, composer, and actor, specialising in creating television, music, and books for young children. He is known as co-creator and writer of Teletubbies and writer, voice artist and puppeteer of "Tiny" on Tots TV. He is also the creator, writer, and composer of both In the Night Garden... and Moon and Me.

Bob Golding is an English actor and voice artist. He is best known for the voices of Milo and Max in the CBeebies show Tweenies.

<i>Morecambe</i> (play)

Morecambe is a play by Tim Whitnall which celebrates the life of Eric Morecambe and is based on his life in the entertainment industry.

Daniel Rigby is an English actor and comedian. He received a BAFTA TV Award for his leading role as Eric Morecambe in the 2011 BBC television film Eric and Ernie.

Anna Murphy is a Scottish film producer.

Paul Clifford Hendy is a British script-writer, novelist, director, producer and filmmaker. In his early career, he was a TV presenter hosting the BAFTA nominated Dear Mr Barker (BBC), Don’t Try This at Home (ITV), The Disney Club (ITV), and the final series of Wheel of Fortune (ITV). He was a regular reporter on ITV’s This Morning and hosted Stash the Cash.

The Triple Crown or the Grand Slam are terms used in the entertainment industry to describe individuals who have won the three highest accolades recognised in British film, television, and theatre: a British Academy Film Award, a British Academy Television Award, and a Laurence Olivier Award respectively.

References

  1. Young, Graham (18 August 2009). "Say eh-oh again to Teletubbies; TOUR: Hit children's TV stars back with nationwide dance dates". Birmingham Mail. Archived from the original on 11 June 2014. Retrieved 11 March 2014 via HighBeam Research.
  2. "Elvis 77". Keith Strachan. Retrieved 24 July 2021.
  3. "Tim Whitnall". Ovrtur. Retrieved 24 July 2021.
  4. "Radiophonic Workshop - Music Arcade". BBC. Retrieved 24 July 2021.
  5. "Television". Bonner Animation. Retrieved 24 July 2021.
  6. "Tim's a Teletubby - The Bury Free Press". British Newspaper Archive. Retrieved 20 November 2021.
  7. "Mike & Angelo". Glad You Remember. Retrieved 24 July 2021.
  8. Taggart, Bronagh (2005). "The Sociable Plover". British Theatre Guide. Retrieved 11 March 2014.
  9. "Film4 Search results for the Hide". www.film4.com. Archived from the original on 24 March 2012. Retrieved 17 January 2022.
  10. "The Times | UK News, World News and Opinion". entertainment.timesonline.co.uk. Archived from the original on 13 July 2012. Retrieved 3 February 2022.
  11. "Olivier awards nominations". The Guardian. 8 February 2010. Retrieved 24 July 2021.
  12. "From a play without a venue to a first for the Olivier Awards" . The Independent . 22 March 2010. Archived from the original on 7 May 2022. Retrieved 11 March 2014.
  13. Frost, Vicky (3 April 2012). "BBC to celebrate Kenny Everett". The Guardian . Retrieved 11 March 2014.
  14. "Television Craft - Breakthrough Talent in 2013". BAFTA. 2013. Retrieved 11 March 2014.
  15. "Feather Productions". Featherproductions.com. Retrieved 18 August 2020.