Terrence Hardiman

Terrence Hardiman, who died in early May, was a well known British character actor, who had great talent. He was born in Forest Gate, East London, in 1937. His father was a policeman. He went to college, where he took up acting. He learned his craft and worked on stage, and screen for all his working life. He was in some films, including Ghandhi, but most of his work was stage and TV. He was tall and slim and was often cast as a professional soldier. Some of his best known work was in the wartime drama, Secret Army where he played a sympathetic German officer. He was in another wartime series, Colditz, and a third called Wish Me Luck. He often played German officers, because he had a talent for making difficult characters sympathetic and complex. He played judges, barristers and doctors as well. He had a small comic role in an episode of the comedy, Goodnight Sweetheart, where he played a bank clerk who resembled John Le Mesurier's portrayal of Wilson in Dad's Army. It showed his versatility as an actor. He had a long list of character roles on TV, including a doctor in Minder, a judge in the Bill, an army officer in When the Boat comes in, and a barrister in The Brittas Empire. One of his roles in later life was Abbot Radulphus, in the medieval mystery series Cadfael, and he was in a later Dr Who. Another good part was as an insurance investigator in The Charmer, where he worked with Bernard Hepton who was in Secret Army. Terrence's character was a dour shrewd man who was suspicious of Ralph Gorse's claim that it was an accidental fire which killed his wife. He also played a sinister headmaster in the children's series, the Demon Headmaster, which made him very popular in his later years, especially with children. He also did a lot of reading books on audio tapes. He was married to Rowena Cooper, who was also a well known and talented actor.