Actor Kevin Whately has spoken about his decision to take a break from the popular ITV series Lewis, Sign up for free to get the latest Northumberland news and updates delivered straight to your inbox. In a recent telephone interview, Whately said he became involved with Inspector Morse after colleagues urged him to portray Inspector Lewis, a younger man on television than he was in the Colin Dexter novels on which the series was based. I mean originally, I think, in 1988 after Id done two years in Morse and I thought, Ah! "I only really like to watch things like Time Team. Gone. Having made his name playing fresh-faced characters - from Geordie bricklayer Neville Hope in Auf Wiedersehen, Pet to Sergeant Robbie Lewis in Inspector Morse - Whately is back on our screens as a lead character with emotional baggage. Quite a few people came out of retirement to do this series; theres one continuity lady whos been working with me on Morse and Lewis for 28 years. CLIP: Find out about new shows, get updates on your favorite dramas and mysteries, enjoy exclusive content and more! I was enjoying semi-retirement, being at home and helping to look after my granddaughter but my wife said, I cant cope with you at home. So I said Id do some more.. Acting was more fun in the old days, he says. 'My son Kieran was about three at the time, and he just slipped from our grasp and headed off. Supposing he had just retired and gone to live in Lyme Regis. Thats time to quit. John Thaw was a quiet, private man. CLIP: Jackie Collins taught me everything I know. I was told, Theres no future in acting, son. We knew where wed hired it from the first time, and he managed to find it in amongst all the junk at the back. "What puzzles me is that I'm much older than John was when he started filming Morse, but I still don't feel grown up. Isnt that strange? I was enjoying the retirement, he sighs. Theres a fabulous atmosphere on the set. This left him with a slight limp that is noticeable in some scenes of the Inspector Morse series. An executive on Morsetook me out to lunch, said if you do one and its a failure, we will leave you alone. It's all reality TV, which as an actor I detest. I wake up fresh and stay fresh till the end of the day. But the producers of Morse took me out to lunch and said, Were not going to leave you alone; youd better have a go at it and if its laughed out of court we wont bother you again. Lewis was first screened in 2006 and attracted record ratings. 'Well, he was a great friend and, as an actor, unique and, it seems, pretty much irreplaceable. But at least we can share the problems and understand the pressures and the demands it makes on you. Sheila and I have had our ups and downs. There was a, I think, a Korean Airlines being checked in behind us well they were certainly from somewhere that didnt see the program anyway so they werent really interested in the feelings, so we got to film it without too many people, what we call, rubbernecking the camera and what have you butYeah. I didnt have any big plans I just wanted a year off to play golf and be with my children and granddaughter, adds the father-of-two his daughter Kitty, 31, is an opera singer and mother of his adored seven-year-old granddaughter Evie, while his son Kieran, 29, works in a bakery near their Woburn home. Morse was so important to me, I didnt want to go beyond that number, he said. He is Vice President of the People's Theatre in Newcastle and has an Honorary Doctorate from Newcastle University. Subscribing to this website can be done in two ways. He said he would like to pick and choose more. During the progression of Alzheimer's disease, plaques of protein start to form around bran cells. How? I like doing it as a job, but Im not driven to play Hamlet or King Lear any more.. Drama series about an ex-policeman, who now uses his detective skills while working for insurance companies. But the new series focuses more on Lewis and his sidekick Hathaway, but inevitably refers to one of Britain's most cherished characters. Kevin Whately: We just wanted a year of to do other things really and and have a summer at home (laughs), but I think that this time, definitely, weve finished, yeah. He smiles. I cant remember. The hardest thing and Laurence and I both feel this is that the guest actors do all the acting, he says. Jace: Now, their farewell scene is so understated. He said that in the early part of this century, he was again asked to portray Lewis in a spin-off series, opposite CS James, the character portrayed by Laurence Fox. Daughter joanna born 1973 with Sheila Hancock. We have the most geriatric crew on British TV, he laughs. Jace: Looking back, how has Robbie Lewis evolved since you first started playing him 30 years ago? Jace: Do you think that those changes making him a younger Geordie cop is one reason why his and Morses partnership worked so well on television? Since the diagnosis, Kevin and his brother and sisters have watched helplessly as the disease has taken its cruel toll. Awards include C.B.E., a B.A.F.T.A Fellowship and in 1998 a Special Recognition Award. We were sharing a caravan. Jace: This week we are joined by Kevin Whately. The actor has - on and. Im really sorry. He would needle away until he found your Achilles Heel and then play on that with with 30 or 40 people at once. What were your reservations about stepping back into Robbies shoes? Kevin: I think he was afraid of being put on the scrap heap, that if he went he would never get back into the job; they would never use him as a consultant again, which they probably wouldnt actually, but he obviously came to realize that the relationship with Laura was much more important. I was about seventeen or eighteen and I thought I'd have to survive for twenty years before I started making a living. What are the challenges of playing Robbie for 3 decades, and is there any trepidation about having that sort of longevity in a role? Acclaimed actor Kevin Whately, who starred in 'Auf Wiedersehen, Pet' and 'Lewis' , says his mum Mary, who died with dementia in 2009, aged, 83, began displaying symptoms at least two years. Jace: And it was his decision that you two share a caravan to sort of initiate that bonding process, correct? Were coming at it from a different angle now; Lewis is retired and Hathaways been promoted to Inspector. Healthy mother-of-two, 32, collapsed and died from brain bleed while she led fitness bounce class. First it felt like a betrayal, but no. Find where to watch Kevin Whately's latest movies and tv shows Kevin smiles ruefully. I had no idea. Now, she is settled and calm, although she understands little of what goes on around her. MASTERPIECEStudio is hosted by me, Jace Lacob and produced by Rachel Aronoff. "And he looks extraordinarily good on camera. Drinking was very much a way of life. Explore a escala global da Getty Images, os insights baseados em dados e uma rede de mais de 340.000 criadores para criar contedo exclusivo para a sua marca. So in that sense we are not always together. As always you can unsubscribe at any time. Sometimes she thinks I am my dad or even her dad. The eighth and final season of Inspector Lewis begins tonight on PBS MASTERPIECE MYSTERY!, with three episodes airing through August 21. My career has always been important to me and still is. 'The writer, Lucy Gannon, has the knack of writing about subjects that people are talking about, in this case the pain inflicted on children when parents break up. Once the pilot took off I thought we might get another couple of seasons out of it. After a Christmas in London four years ago, when Mrs Whately attempted to walk home, forgetting she was 300 miles from her beloved Northumberland, her deterioration became apparent. But then, as times gone on, theyve come to appreciate us again, I think. My first wife was nothing to do with the profession and I think it was difficult for her to understand when I came home shattered at the end of a day's filming or rehearsing. You would be surprised how many people don't drink now. "And I found that moment very moving", Celeb obsessed? He first decided to leave the Lewis character in 1997 when he was the junior partner to Inspector Morse, played by John Thaw, and he was offered the lead role in a new show called The Brokers Man. 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But when he left school a careers advisor laughed at his plan to become an actor. Kevin: I thought the the whole thing it couldve become a bit soapy so in the end I said, Look weve done enough of this Will they? Kevin said he thought they would film more in 2014 and there are the remaining episodes of the current series to enjoy. 'A bit of a lad': Kevin Whately stars as a philandering headteacher in ITV drama The Children. You had a drink, someone might drop by and offer you a voiceover. In 1980 he met his wife when they were performing in a production of 'A Nightingale in Berkley Square'. That's one reason why I'm happy to be doing a series. He is Vice President of the People's Theatre in Newcastle and has an Honorary Doctorate from Newcastle University. His first stage role was at Green End Junior School in Manchester, England as Uncle Joseph, the leading part in "Where the Rainbow Ends" (1953). If you ain't got your health, you ain't got anything. I'd rather be out walking the dog. I did one as a pilot and it took off immediately. We both wanted to see what was going on in the rest of the world, says Kevin. "He always seemed grown up to me. But away from the hit ITV series, it looks like the pair are really the best of pals. "We'll have to get her in a Lewis episode as some academic or other.". 'It was, unquestionably, one of the most terrifying experiences of my life. Terms of Use: PBS is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization. Whately urges the Government to increase funding both for research into Alzheimer's, the main type of dementia, as well as treatment of the disease and care for sufferers. (Photo by Gareth Davies/Getty Images). Lewis stars Laurence Fox and Kevin Whately reunited last night. "Endeavour was Morse's first name," he says softly. Kevin Whately in Lewis and his current co-star Laurence Fox . In the pilot episode, Morse's ghost was everywhere - his car, his old case notes, even references to his secret first name, Endeavour (A Quaker virtue name). With one marriage ended and another relationship under threat from his philandering, Cameron's personal circumstances are in sharp contrast to those of the actor who plays him. It fitted the bill and Laurence was great. Proud of all that great energy but you couldn't have Regan now; he wouldn't be entertained at all. After. It has become the 'in' thing to kick alcohol. . John Thaw portrayed Inspector Morse. Kevin: I think hes pretty much the same character. And the fact that it is a university town like Boston with all its universities means that you have these weird and wonderful academic characters, and you can get away with all sorts of outrageous stories (laughs) as a result, with these big-brained people. The marriage also survived a reported affair in the Nineties, between Kevin and Amanda Burton, when they filmed the ITV medical drama Peak Practice together in Derbyshire. 'And Anna (Madeley) was a screen virgin who obviously felt nervous about her first ever sex scene on TV. This means that we may include adverts from us and third parties based on our knowledge of you. 'I think you will find few actors who actually look forward to filming scenes like that. My agent had sent me to a library to to read one of Colin Dexters books, and the Lewis character was this 60 year old detective who ate egg and chips. When do the clocks change in 2023? Kevin: Yeah, I think thats right. I've earned my spurs. Madelaine Newton is a British actress best known for her portrayal of Dolly in 1970s BBC television drama When the Boat Comes In. At various times in my life I've been a heavy drinker, there's no question about that. When he died at the age of 60, the BBC website was inundated with tributes from the viewing public. What was he afraid of? Who Is Kevin Whately's Wife? And and what have you learned from each of them? She was always great fun on set as well, and made a real character out of Laura and a believable one. I learned everything from John. Kevin: We were, yeah. I discovered this information, from when you posted on your website, two or three years ago, the audio track, of Kevin Whately's time on Desert Island Discs, in 1996. And I didnt know John at all, so I was getting used to working with John, who was much more experienced than me. "We were so ill-disciplined, and TV is all about discipline now," he says. 'And, in this case, I was working with actresses who had reason to be anxious. Im just turning over the page on a new chapter. When he died at the age of 60, the BBC website was inundated with tributes from the viewing public. His wife. [1] [2] Since 1984 she has been married to actor Kevin Whately, known for his role as Robert "Robbie" Lewis in both Inspector Morse and its spin-off Lewis. He said: "He insisted we share a dressing room. I mean when we began Lewis, I was slightly concerned that they wanted to turn him into another Morse; they killed off his wife and made him a bit of a lonely, glum character. I hope that in 20 years time people will still be watching the Lewis films as well. Hed had this huge success with a series called The Sweeney, a different cop thing, very high energy thing, and had a partnership with Dennis Waterman. "The pub after work was a job information exchange. Its a special sort of birthday. Im pretty sure they wont spin Hathaway off; I hope theyll find something totally different for Laurence to do in his own series, but well see what happens. Kevin: It was. But less important than is used to be. Wont they? 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