# Tony Pitts
**Tony Pitts** (birth name Anthony Pitts; born 1962 in [Sheffield](https://www.edgepedia.org/sheffield), South Yorkshire) is an English actor and writer best known for ten years as Archie Brooks in the ITV soap opera *Emmerdale* and for later roles as Sergeant Moss in *Peaky Blinders*, DCS Les Hargreaves in *Line of Duty*, and Richard Alderson in *All Creatures Great and Small*.[1](https://emmerdale.fandom.com/wiki/Tony_Pitts) • [2](https://www.tvrage.com/person/id-44797/Tony_Pitts/)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born | 1962, Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England[1](https://emmerdale.fandom.com/wiki/Tony_Pitts) |
| Breakout role | Archie Brooks in *Emmerdale*, 1983 to 30 December 1993, ending in the plane-crash episode[1](https://emmerdale.fandom.com/wiki/Tony_Pitts) • [3](https://www.archytele.com/person/tony-pitts) |
| Episode count | Emmerdale Wiki lists 599 appearances for Archie Brooks; IMDb's full cast list credits 493 episodes[4](https://emmerdale.fandom.com/wiki/List_of_appearances) • [5](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0068069/fullcredits/) |
| Signature later roles | Sergeant Moss in *Peaky Blinders* (series 1–4, 2013–2017); Edgar Massinger in *Jamestown* (2017–2018); Hargreaves in *Line of Duty* (2014, 2017, 2019)[6](https://www.sensacine.com/actores/actor-2607/filmografia/) |
| Feature films | *Looks and Smiles* (1981), *War Horse* (2011), *Hyena* (2014), *Rogue One: A Star Wars Story* (2016), *Triple 9* (2016), *Journeyman* (2017), *Funny Cow* (2017)[7](https://www.independenttalent.com/actors/tony-pitts/) |
| Current recurring role | Richard Alderson, Helen's father, in *All Creatures Great and Small* since 2020[1](https://emmerdale.fandom.com/wiki/Tony_Pitts) |
| Writing | Screenwriter and playwright; credits include *Johnny Vegas: Who's Ready For Ice Cream?*, *Night Class*, *Shedtown*, and *The Gemma Factor*[1](https://emmerdale.fandom.com/wiki/Tony_Pitts) |
## Early life and start in acting
Pitts grew up in Sheffield, the son of a carpenter and a midwife.[8](https://www.famousbirthdays.com/people/tony-pitts.html) He initially planned a career in medicine but worked as a car mechanic before attending Stannington College, where the writer Barry Hines recruited him as an extra for the drama *Looks and Smiles*; he was then given a larger part, playing Alan Wright in [Ken Loach](https://www.edgepedia.org/ken-loach)'s 1981 film, and committed to acting as a profession.[3](https://www.archytele.com/person/tony-pitts) • [7](https://www.independenttalent.com/actors/tony-pitts/) A different account holds that he made his television debut after being discovered in a stage play version of *Nicholas Nickleby* by [Emmerdale](https://www.edgepedia.org/emmerdale) creator Kevin Laffan.[8](https://www.famousbirthdays.com/people/tony-pitts.html)
## Emmerdale, 1983–1993
In 1983 Pitts auditioned for the role of Terry Duckworth in *Coronation Street* but lost out to Nigel Pavaro, then auditioned for and won the part of Archie Brooks in *Emmerdale*.[1](https://emmerdale.fandom.com/wiki/Tony_Pitts) He played Archie from November 1983 until the character was killed off in the program's plane-crash episode broadcast on 30 December 1993.[1](https://emmerdale.fandom.com/wiki/Tony_Pitts) • [3](https://www.archytele.com/person/tony-pitts) The character's appearance count is given as 599 by the show's fan wiki[4](https://emmerdale.fandom.com/wiki/List_of_appearances) and as 493 episodes by IMDb's cast listing.[5](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0068069/fullcredits/)
## Television career after Emmerdale
After leaving the soap, Pitts built a career of guest and recurring parts across British television. He appeared in *Casualty*, *EastEnders*, *Heartbeat*, *The Royal*, *The Bill*, and *Sherlock* (as a Chief Superintendent in the 2012 series 2 finale).[1](https://emmerdale.fandom.com/wiki/Tony_Pitts) • [6](https://www.sensacine.com/actores/actor-2607/filmografia/) He played Adrian Scott, husband of lead character Janet Scott, in the crime drama *Scott & Bailey* across series 1 to 3.[1](https://emmerdale.fandom.com/wiki/Tony_Pitts) • [7](https://www.independenttalent.com/actors/tony-pitts/)
**Recurring crime and drama roles.** In the BBC crime drama *Peaky Blinders* he played Sergeant Moss from the first series in 2013 through series 4 in 2017.[6](https://www.sensacine.com/actores/actor-2607/filmografia/) In *Line of Duty* he appeared as Detective Chief Superintendent Les Hargreaves in the 2014 second series, in the series 4 finale in 2017, and in series 5 in 2019.[1](https://emmerdale.fandom.com/wiki/Tony_Pitts) He played Edgar Massinger in two seasons of *Jamestown* from 2017, Keith Metcalfe in ITV's *Wild Bill* in 2019, and Lennox in *MotherFatherSon* the same year.[1](https://emmerdale.fandom.com/wiki/Tony_Pitts) • [6](https://www.sensacine.com/actores/actor-2607/filmografia/) Other credits include Danny 'Croc' Hammer in the second season of *[Lilyhammer](https://www.edgepedia.org/lilyhammer)* (2013), Chloe's Dad in *[My Mad Fat Diary](https://www.edgepedia.org/my-mad-fat-diary)*, and Mick 'the Mouth' Murray in *Roadkill* (2020).[6](https://www.sensacine.com/actores/actor-2607/filmografia/) • [9](https://www.metacritic.com/person/tony-pitts/)
Since 2020 he has played Richard Alderson, the father of Helen Herriot, in *All Creatures Great and Small*, a role he continued through the show's sixth and seventh seasons.[1](https://emmerdale.fandom.com/wiki/Tony_Pitts) • [10](https://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/arts-and-culture/film-and-tv/the-world-is-changing-but-the-dales-will-always-offer-perfect-escapism-all-creatures-great-and-small-series-7-first-look-photos-and-new-cast-member-8945591)
## Film work
Pitts's film credits run from *Looks and Smiles* (1981) to *War Horse* as Sgt Martin in [Steven Spielberg](https://www.edgepedia.org/steven-spielberg)'s 2011 film, *Hyena* (2014) as Keith, *Rogue One: A Star Wars Story* (2016) as Captain Pterro, *Triple 9* (2016) as a Major Crimes Detective, Paddy Considine's *Journeyman* (2017) as Richie, and *Funny Cow* (2017) as Bob opposite [Maxine Peake](https://www.edgepedia.org/maxine-peake).[7](https://www.independenttalent.com/actors/tony-pitts/) *Journeyman* and *Funny Cow* both played the London Film Festival.[7](https://www.independenttalent.com/actors/tony-pitts/) Later films include *The Colour Room* (2021) as Jack Walker and *Sweet Sue* (2023) as Ron.[11](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/tony-pitts/)
## Writing and other work
Pitts is also a screenwriter and playwright; his writing credits include *Johnny Vegas: Who's Ready For Ice Cream?*, *Night Class*, *Shedtown*, and *The Gemma Factor*, the last starring the Emmerdale cast member [Claire King](https://www.edgepedia.org/claire-king).[1](https://emmerdale.fandom.com/wiki/Tony_Pitts) He hosted the podcast *Three Little Words*, with episodes featuring guests including [John Cleese](https://www.edgepedia.org/john-cleese), Rob Brydon, Shobna Gulati, and [Rachel Shenton](https://www.edgepedia.org/rachel-shenton).[12](https://snapshot.apple.com/us/person/6621220921)
## References
1. [Tony Pitts, Emmerdale Wiki](https://emmerdale.fandom.com/wiki/Tony_Pitts)
2. [Tony Pitts, TVRage](https://www.tvrage.com/person/id-44797/Tony_Pitts/)
3. [Tony Pitts: Movies, TV Shows & Biography, Archytele](https://www.archytele.com/person/tony-pitts)
4. [List of appearances, Emmerdale Wiki](https://emmerdale.fandom.com/wiki/List_of_appearances)
5. [Emmerdale Farm full cast & crew, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0068069/fullcredits/)
6. [Tony Pitts: Filmografía, SensaCine](https://www.sensacine.com/actores/actor-2607/filmografia/)
7. [Tony Pitts, Independent Talent](https://www.independenttalent.com/actors/tony-pitts/)
8. [Tony Pitts, Famous Birthdays](https://www.famousbirthdays.com/people/tony-pitts.html)
9. [Tony Pitts, Metacritic](https://www.metacritic.com/person/tony-pitts/)
10. [All Creatures Great and Small Series 7 first look, The Yorkshire Post](https://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/arts-and-culture/film-and-tv/the-world-is-changing-but-the-dales-will-always-offer-perfect-escapism-all-creatures-great-and-small-series-7-first-look-photos-and-new-cast-member-8945591)
11. [Tony Pitts, TV Insider](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/tony-pitts/)
12. [Tony Pitts, Apple Snapshot](https://snapshot.apple.com/us/person/6621220921)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Series and fictional screen worlds › Soap operas and continuing serials › British and Australasian soaps and characters › Emmerdale*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 17, 2026; Sep 19, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 12, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license