1. Kevin Whately OBE was born on 6 February 1951 and is an English actor.
21 Facts About Kevin Whately
1. 2.
Kevin Whately is best known for his roles as Neville "Nev" Hope in the comedy drama Auf Wiedersehen, Pet; Robert "Robbie" Lewis in the British crime drama Inspector Morse and Lewis ; and Jack Kerruish in the drama series Peak Practice, although he has appeared in numerous other roles.
3.
The family later moved to North Tynemouth when Kevin was 4 years old.
4.
Kevin Whately's mother, Mary, was a teacher and his father, Richard, was a Commander in the Royal Navy.
5.
Kevin Whately's maternal grandmother, Doris Phillips, was a professional concert singer, his paternal grandfather, Herbert Whately, was Archdeacon of Ludlow, and his great-great-grandfather, Richard Whately, was Anglican Archbishop of Dublin.
6.
Kevin Whately was educated at Barnard Castle School, and went on to study accounting and finance at Newcastle Polytechnic, graduating in 1969.
7.
Kevin Whately then trained as an actor at the Central School of Speech and Drama, graduating in 1975 after having partly supported himself by working for the National Theatre at The Old Vic.
8.
Kevin Whately's brother, Frank, is a lecturer at Kingston University in London.
9.
Kevin Whately provided one of the voices for the English-language version of the 1999 claymation Chil television series Hilltop Hospital.
10.
In 1985, Kevin Whately appeared in a 3-part Miss Marple adaptation for the BBC.
11.
Kevin Whately starred opposite the eponymous Inspector Morse, played by John Thaw, in 32 episodes over 13 years in the hugely successful series.
12.
Kevin Whately reprised the role in the spin-off series Lewis, in which Lewis returns to Oxford as a full Inspector.
13.
Kevin Whately was the lead in The Broker's Man, two series of 90 minute self-contained dramas about a former policeman turned insurance fraud investigator.
14.
Richard Marson's book celebrating fifty years of Blue Peter comments that Kevin Whately auditioned as a presenter for the show in 1980 but lost out to Peter Duncan.
15.
In 2010, Kevin Whately played the lead in the television film Joe Maddison's War about strained family and social relations in wartime.
16.
On 4 November 2012, Kevin Whately performed in a radio drama on BBC3 called The Torchbearers, which chronicles the circumstances of several UK citizens whose lives are changed through contact with the Olympic Torch.
17.
Kevin Whately was the actor for the sold-out performance of 10 March 2013.
18.
Kevin Whately was the patron of the Central School of Speech and Drama Full House Theatre Company for 2011.
19.
Kevin Whately enjoys rock music and plays the guitar; he has cited Pink Floyd and Dire Straits as bands he has particularly enjoyed.
20.
Kevin Whately is a fan of Newcastle United on the football field, but says that he prefers rugby league, and as a cricketer admitted to Inspector Morse writer Colin Dexter that he would like to have played cricket professionally for England.
21.
Kevin Whately was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire in the 2025 New Year Honours for services to drama and to charity.