# Tony Britton
**Tony Britton** (9 June 1924 – 22 December 2019) was an English stage, film, and television actor whose career spanned six decades, taking him from leading juvenile roles at [Stratford-upon-Avon](https://www.edgepedia.org/stratford-upon-avon) and a film contract with British Lion in the 1950s, through West End leads in the 1960s, to television sitcom fame in the 1970s and 1980s with *Robin's Nest* and *Don't Wait Up*[1](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2019/dec/22/tony-britton-obituary).
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Full name | Anthony Edward Lowry Britton[1](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2019/dec/22/tony-britton-obituary) |
| Born | 9 June 1924, in a room above the Trocadero pub, Temple Street, Birmingham[2](https://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/tony-britton-death-age-cause-actor-television-sitcom-theatre-film-a9264166.html) |
| Died | 22 December 2019, England, aged 95[1](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2019/dec/22/tony-britton-obituary) |
| Breakthrough role | Rameses in Christopher Fry's *The Firstborn*, Winter Garden Theatre, London, 1952[1](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2019/dec/22/tony-britton-obituary) |
| Signature films | *The Birthday Present* (1957), *Sunday Bloody Sunday* (1971), *The Day of the Jackal* (1973), *Agatha* (1979)[3](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0110231/bio/) |
| Sitcoms | *Robin's Nest* (1977–81) as James Nicholls; *Don't Wait Up* (1983–90) as Toby Latimer[1](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2019/dec/22/tony-britton-obituary) |
| Children | Cherry (scriptwriter), Fern (television presenter), Jasper (actor)[1](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2019/dec/22/tony-britton-obituary) |
## Early life and war service
Britton was born the son of Doris (nee Jones) and Edward Britton, publicans who ran the Trocadero in Temple Street, Birmingham[1](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2019/dec/22/tony-britton-obituary). He attended Edgbaston Collegiate School, then Thornbury Grammar School in Alveston, Gloucestershire, after the family moved west[1](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2019/dec/22/tony-britton-obituary). In a 1973 *Desert Island Discs* interview he said the ambition to act took hold from seeing local performers on a small stage in the corner of the pub[2](https://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/tony-britton-death-age-cause-actor-television-sitcom-theatre-film-a9264166.html).
After leaving school he worked for an estate agent and then in an aircraft factory while acting with an amateur dramatics group in [Weston-super-Mare](https://www.edgepedia.org/weston-super-mare), Somerset[2](https://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/tony-britton-death-age-cause-actor-television-sitcom-theatre-film-a9264166.html). His professional debut came in 1942, at 18, in Esther McCracken's *Quiet Weekend* at the town's Knightstone Pavilion; wartime service with the [Royal Artillery](https://www.edgepedia.org/royal-artillery) followed, during which he formed a small drama group while in officer training[1](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2019/dec/22/tony-britton-obituary).
## Stage career
Demobilized in 1946, Britton joined the Library Theatre in Manchester, at first as assistant stage manager, then moved to a repertory company in Edinburgh and to the [Bristol Old Vic](https://www.edgepedia.org/bristol-old-vic), making his name in repertory during the 1951 season[1](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2019/dec/22/tony-britton-obituary). His London debut came in *The Rising Wind* at the Embassy Theatre[4](https://www.renownfilms.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/RenownJan2020Newsletter.pdf).
**The 1952 breakthrough** came with the role of the pharaoh Rameses, the juvenile lead in [Christopher Fry](https://www.edgepedia.org/christopher-fry)'s *The Firstborn*, at London's Winter Garden Theatre; the same year he played opposite Cathleen Nesbitt in Christopher Hassall's *The Player King* at the Edinburgh festival[1](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2019/dec/22/tony-britton-obituary). Work with the two leading verse dramatists of the day led to a two-year Shakespeare stint at Stratford-upon-Avon (1953–54) as Bassanio in *The Merchant of Venice*, Lysander in *A Midsummer Night's Dream*, Mercutio in *Romeo and Juliet*, and Cassio opposite [Anthony Quayle](https://www.edgepedia.org/anthony-quayle)'s Othello[1](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2019/dec/22/tony-britton-obituary).
He returned to the West End in *The Night of the Ball* (1955), directed by Joseph Losey, and played the [Louis Jourdan](https://www.edgepedia.org/louis-jourdan) role in *Gigi* (1956) with [Leslie Caron](https://www.edgepedia.org/leslie-caron), directed by Peter Hall[1](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2019/dec/22/tony-britton-obituary). In the 1960s and 1970s he starred in two separate productions of *My Fair Lady* as Professor Henry Higgins, touring the UK and North America and settling at the Adelphi in the West End[5](https://www.whatsonstage.com/news/20-questions-with-tony-britton_28011/). His [Chichester](https://www.edgepedia.org/chichester) work included directing Wilde's *An Ideal Husband* in 1987 and playing Thomas More in *A Man for All Seasons* the same season; in 1994 he returned to Stratford as Chorus in *Henry V* and Sir Toby Belch in *Twelfth Night*[1](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2019/dec/22/tony-britton-obituary). His last West End appearance was in Jeffrey Archer's *The Accused* (2000) at the Haymarket[1](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2019/dec/22/tony-britton-obituary), and as late as 2013 he played the Earl of Gloucester in a Jonathan Miller–directed *King Lear* gala at the Old Vic[6](https://www.whatsonstage.com/news/tony-britton-has-died-aged-95_50619/).
## Films
Britton's first film appearances were uncredited, in *Waterfront* (1950) and *Cage of Gold* (1950)[4](https://www.renownfilms.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/RenownJan2020Newsletter.pdf). Under a British Lion contract he starred as a posh criminal in *The Birthday Present* (1957) opposite [Sylvia Syms](https://www.edgepedia.org/sylvia-syms) and as a surgeon covering a fatal mishap in *Behind the Mask* (1958) with [Michael Redgrave](https://www.edgepedia.org/michael-redgrave)[1](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2019/dec/22/tony-britton-obituary). Later films included *Sunday Bloody Sunday* (1971) and *The Day of the Jackal* (1973), and his last screen film role was in *Agatha* (1979), starring [Dustin Hoffman](https://www.edgepedia.org/dustin-hoffman) and Vanessa Redgrave[3](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0110231/bio/).
In *The Day of the Jackal*, Fred Zinnemann's 1973 thriller, he played Inspector Thomas, the tireless policeman tracking the assassin; a letter to *The Guardian* noted that this was possibly the only major film role in which Britton could use his undiluted working-class [Birmingham](https://www.edgepedia.org/birmingham) accent, rather than the "debonair" image he otherwise projected[7](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2020/jan/21/letter-tony-britton-obituary).
## Television
Television made Britton a household name in two sitcoms. In *Robin's Nest* (1977–81), written by Brian Cooke and Johnnie Mortimer, he played James Nicholls, father of Vicky ([Tessa Wyatt](https://www.edgepedia.org/tessa-wyatt)), who disapproved of her common-law relationship with the chef Robin Tripp ([Richard O'Sullivan](https://www.edgepedia.org/richard-osullivan)) while investing in the couple's Fulham bistro; the series has been described as the first common-law marital sitcom[1](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2019/dec/22/tony-britton-obituary). He had earlier appeared in Arthur Hopcraft's Westminster political comedy *The Nearly Man* (1975)[1](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2019/dec/22/tony-britton-obituary).
In *Don't Wait Up* (1983–90), written by George Layton, he played Toby Latimer, a Harley Street consultant who moves in with his idealistic NHS GP son Tom (Nigel Havers) after both leave their wives; the pair argue over medicine, politics, and "going private" across six series[1](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2019/dec/22/tony-britton-obituary) • [2](https://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/tony-britton-death-age-cause-actor-television-sitcom-theatre-film-a9264166.html). A similar later premise, *Don't Tell Father* (1992) with Caroline Quentin, was described by his *Independent* obituarist as a rare miss[2](https://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/tony-britton-death-age-cause-actor-television-sitcom-theatre-film-a9264166.html).
## Personal life and death
Britton married Ruth Hawkins in 1948; they divorced, and in 1962 he married the Danish portrait sculptor Eva Birkefeldt, who died in 2008[1](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2019/dec/22/tony-britton-obituary). His three children all entered the entertainment field: Cherry, a scriptwriter, Fern, a television presenter, and Jasper, an actor[1](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2019/dec/22/tony-britton-obituary).
His death on 22 December 2019 was announced by Fern Britton on Twitter: "Our father, Tony Britton, died early this morning. Great actor, director and charmer"[8](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2019/dec/22/tony-britton-british-actor-dies-aged-95). Fellow actors including Peter Egan and Sanjeev Bhaskar paid tribute[8](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2019/dec/22/tony-britton-british-actor-dies-aged-95).
## References
1. [Tony Britton obituary (Michael Coveney), The Guardian, 22 December 2019](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2019/dec/22/tony-britton-obituary)
2. [Tony Britton: Actor who became a familiar face of TV sitcoms (Anthony Hayward), The Independent, 11 January 2020](https://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/tony-britton-death-age-cause-actor-television-sitcom-theatre-film-a9264166.html)
3. [Tony Britton – Biography, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0110231/bio/)
4. [Spotlight on Tony Britton, Renown Films Newsletter, January 2020](https://www.renownfilms.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/RenownJan2020Newsletter.pdf)
5. [20 Questions With… Tony Britton, What's On Stage, 18 February 2002](https://www.whatsonstage.com/news/20-questions-with-tony-britton_28011/)
6. [Tony Britton has died aged 95, What's On Stage, 22 December 2019](https://www.whatsonstage.com/news/tony-britton-has-died-aged-95_50619/)
7. [Letter: Tony Britton obituary (Quentin Falk), The Guardian, 21 January 2020](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2020/jan/21/letter-tony-britton-obituary)
8. [British actor Tony Britton dies aged 95 (Haroon Siddique), The Guardian, 22 December 2019](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2019/dec/22/tony-britton-british-actor-dies-aged-95)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Screen people and creators › Screen actors of the Anglosphere and Europe › English actors: 1940s to 1960s › Surnames A to E*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
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