Norman Eshley

Norman Eshley (born 30 May 1945) is an English actor best known for his television roles.

Norman Eshley
Born	(1945-05-30) 30 May 1945 Bristol, England
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1968–present
Height	6 ft 3 in (191 cm)
Spouses	Millicent Martin ​ ​ (m. 1969; div. 1973)​ Lynette Braid ​ ​ (m. 1980; div. 1981)​ Rachel Spiers ​ (m. 2015)​

Biography

Eshley attended Bristol Grammar School and worked in a bank, before training as an actor at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School. He played many Shakespearean roles on stage. His first screen role was in the 1968 film The Immortal Story, directed by Orson Welles. He played a lead character, Steve, in Blind Terror (1971) and appeared in the Pete Walker horror film House of Mortal Sin in 1975.

In 1969, Eshley appeared alongside Dudley Sutton in two very similar villainous roles: in the Randall & Hopkirk (Deceased) episode "Could You Recognise the Man Again?", and in the Department S episode, "Handicap Dead". However, he is possibly best known for his role in the sitcom George and Mildred (1976–79) as the snobbish, right-wing estate agent Jeffrey Fourmile, the foil to George. In the show's direct predecessor, Man About the House, (1973–76) he had previously featured in several episodes as Robin Tripp's brother Norman, who married Chrissy (Paula Wilcox), and Jeffrey was mentioned in the spin-off show, Robin's Nest in the episode "Love and Marriage" as Robin's best man, who never turned up to the wedding due to having mumps. In an earlier Man About the House episode, "In Praise of Older Men" (1974), Eshley played a sleazy married executive named Ian Cross who tried to seduce Chrissy.

In 1985, Eshley played the Reverend Redwood, a benevolent vicar who runs a social club with a view to rehabilitating ex-convicts in the Minder episode "Give Us This Day Arthur Daley's Bread".

Eshley's other TV credits include: Thriller ("The Colour of Blood"/US title: "The Carnation Killer", 1973) as an escaped serial killer, Warship (1973–74), The Duchess of Duke Street, I, Claudius, The Sweeney (all 1976), Return of the Saint (1978), a former SAS colleague of Bodie in The Professionals' episode "Kickback" (1980), a vicar in Minder (1985), Taggart (1990), Cadfael (1994), One Foot in the Grave (1997), Dangerfield (1998), and The Bill (1999–2000).

In 1988 he appeared in a public information film about road safety called Accident in Park Road. His character is seen driving a Ford Escort, before running over a child who dashes out between cars in front of him. He is questioned by Graham Cole who plays a policeman, a role Cole played as PC Tony Stamp in The Bill.

Along with Douglas Fielding, Eshley provided the narration for the Blind Guardian album Nightfall in Middle-Earth. He had roles in the BBC TV series New Tricks (2007) and A Christmas Campaign (short, 2011). In 2019, he appeared in the documentary The Immortal Orson Welles, directed by Chris Wade.

Personal life

In 1993, Eshley was a passenger in a car which was involved in a crash in the Dordogne in France. He sustained multiple injuries, including head trauma. Eshley now lives with his wife in Tewkesbury, Gloucestershire, England.

Filmography

Film

• The Immortal Story (1968) – Paul, the sailor
• The Lost Continent (1968) – Jonathan, the Prisoner
• Crossplot (1969) – Athol
• See No Evil (1971) – Steve Reding
• House of Mortal Sin (1976) – Father Bernard Cutler
• The Disappearance (1977) – Young Husband
• George and Mildred (1980) – Jeffrey Fourmile
• Empty Mirror (2000) – Oz Riley
• A Christmas Campaign (2011) - Creative Director
• The Immortal Orson Welles (2019) - Himself
• Cold Sun (2021) - Head of Counter Terrorism Commander

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1968	A Most Unfortunate Accident	Roger
1968	A Man of Our Times	Simon
1968	Mystery and Imagination	Jean Lemaistre
1968	City '68	Jeremy
1969	Department S	Red
1969	Thirty-Minute Theatre	Rab
1969	Canterbury Tales	Lover
1970	Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased)	Mike Hales
1970	Parkin's Patch	Vickory
1972	The Regiment	Simon Howarth
1972	A Splinter of Ice	Jude
1972	Play for Today	Dave Osmond
1973	Justice	Nick Adams
1973	Thriller	Arthur Page
1973	Between the Wars	Vincent
1973	Vienna 1900	Alfred Beratoner
1973	Warship	Lieutenant Bob Last
1974	Man About the House	Ian Cross
1974	The Onedin Line	Hon. Hugh Kernan
1974	Zodiac	Paul Deening
1974	The Skin Game	Charles Hornblower
1974	And Mother Makes Five	Mr. Witherspoon
1975	Whodunnit?	Roy Sharp
1976	House of Mortal Sin	Father Bernard Cutler
1976	Man About the House	Norman Tripp
1976	Orde Wingate	Cpl. Thomas
1976–1980	George and Mildred	Jeffrey Fourmile
1976	The Sweeney	Det. Sgt. Robert Hargreaves
1976	The Duchess of Duke Street	Wilson
1976	I, Claudius	Marcus Vinicius
1976	Centre Play	William Wilson
1977	Supernatural	Edward
1977	Yanks Go Home	Lt. Beamish Cooke-Cooke
1977	Secret Army	Sgt. Clifford Howson
1978	1990	Tony Borden
1978	Out	Turpitt
1978	Return of the Saint	Detective Caufield
1978	Return of the Saint	Inspector George
1980	The Professionals	Jimmy Keller
1983	Maybury	Larry Chalmers
1983	The Outsider	Donald Harper
1985	Hilary	Dr. Fenwick
1985	Minder	Reverend Redwood
1985	The Black Tower	Victor Holroyd
1985–1986	Brookside	Alun Jones
1986	Executive Stress	Gascoigne
1987	Late Expectations	Harry
1989	William Tell	Woodsman
1989	After Henry	Philip
1990	Taggart	Commander Gunner
1991	The Ruth Rendell Mysteries	Jon Walsh
1994	Cadfael	Baron Huon de Domville
1994	All Night Long	Roy Morris
1997	The New Adventures of Robin Hood	Baron Royston
1997	Thief Takers	CI Samson
1997	One Foot in the Grave	Detective Inspector Rickles
1998	The Broker's Man	Leigh Dunwell
1998	Get Real	Martin
1998	Dangerfield	Superintendent Studley
1999	Murder Most Horrid	DCI Reed
1999	The Bill	Terry Riley
1999	Harbour Lights	Mayor
1999	Goodnight Sweetheart	Priestley
2000	The Bill	Mr. Gibbs
2007	New Tricks	Billy Pierce
2017	The White Princess	The Abbot

External links

• Norman Eshley at IMDb