Peter Cellier

Peter Cellier (born 12 July 1928)[1] is an English actor who has appeared in film, stage and television. He is known for his role as Sir Frank Gordon in Yes Minister and then Yes, Prime Minister in the 1980s.

Peter Cellier
Peter Cellier (2007)
Born	Peter F. Cellier 12 July 1928 Hendon, Middlesex, England
Nationality	British
Occupation	Actor
Known for	Yes Minister Yes, Prime Minister
Parent(s)	Frank Cellier Phyllis Shannaw

Early life

Cellier was born in Hendon, Middlesex into a family of actors including his father Frank, his mother Phyllis Shannaw, and his half-sister Antoinette. His grandfather was the Gilbert and Sullivan conductor François Cellier.[2][3]

Career

Theatre

Cellier started his career at the Leatherhead Theatre in 1953. His theatre work has included seasons at Stratford-on-Avon, The Old Vic and the Chichester Festival Theatre, and he was a founder-member of the National Theatre. Shakespeare plays in which Cellier has appeared include Hamlet, The Merchant of Venice, Othello, Love's Labour's Lost, Measure for Measure, As You Like It, King John, Julius Caesar, Cymbeline and Henry V, as the Dauphin. Other roles include Pinchard in Georges Feydeau's An Absolute Turkey, Tommy Devon in Aunt Edwina, The Dean of Archeo in Body and Soul, Eric Shelding in The Case in Question, Danforth in The Crucible, Duke Francis in The Dark Horse, Dr. Finache in Jacques Charon's National Theatre production of Feydeau's A Flea in her Ear, Charles Blutham in Juno and the Paycock, Dr. Herdal in The Master Builder, Sir John Tremaine in Me And My Girl, The Chaplain in Mother Courage, Christopher in A Private Matter, Captain Brazen in The Recruiting Officer (replacing Laurence Olivier), Polonius in Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead Higgins in Ross, Miguel Estete in The Royal Hunt of the Sun and Desmond in The Winslow Boy.[4]

Television

On television, Cellier has appeared in a wide range of programmes since 1955, including detective series such as Softly, Softly and Bergerac, adventure series such as Doctor Who, historical dramas such as The Six Wives of Henry VIII, Upstairs, Downstairs and The Duchess of Duke Street, and is perhaps best known for his work in two John Mortimer series, Rumpole of the Bailey (in which he played the role of Sir Frank Fawcett, Permanent Secretary for Defence), Paradise Postponed. He also appeared in the sitcoms It Ain't Half Hot Mum, Yes Minister and its sequel Yes, Prime Minister (1981–87) and Keeping Up Appearances, as the Major (1990–91),[4] among others. In the two Minister series, he played Sir Frank Gordon, the Permanent Secretary to HM Treasury, urbanely contending with Nigel Hawthorne's Sir Humphrey Appleby for supremacy within the civil service.[4] He played Roy Difford in the Casualty episode "The Silence of Friends".[5] and the Judge in BBC Four's Canoe Man (2010), which recounted the John Darwin disappearance case.

Films

Cellier's film work includes Morgan! (1966), as Second Counsel; Young Winston (1972), as Captain 35th Sikhs; Luther (1973), as the Prior; Don't Just Lie There, Say Something! (1973), as the Attorney General; Man About the House (1974), as Morris Pluthero; Man Friday (1975), as Carey; Barry Lyndon (1975), as Sir Richard; Sister Dora (1977), as Actor; Jabberwocky (1977), as First merchant; Crossed Swords (1977), as Mean Man; Holocaust 2000 (1977), as Sheckley; The Pumaman (1980), as Martin; Breaking Glass (1980), as Garage Customer; Chariots of Fire (1981), as Head Waiter, as Savoy; And the Ship Sails On (1983), as Sir Reginald J. Dongby; The Last Days of Pompeii (1984), as Calenus; A Room with a View (1985), as Sir Harry Otway, a landlord; Clockwise (1986), as Headmaster; Out of Order (1987), as Home Secretary; Personal Services (1987), as Mr. Marples; Howards End (1992), as Colonel Fussell; Bhaji on the Beach (1993), as Ambrose Waddington; The Remains of the Day (1993), as Sir Leonard Bax; Stanley's Dragon (1994), as Mr. Johnson; Mrs Dalloway (1997), as Lord Lezham; and Ladies in Lavender (2004), as BBC Announcer.

Cellier played W. S. Gilbert in the 1983 film The Best of Gilbert and Sullivan, in which Gilbert and Sullivan reunite to watch a performance of their greatest songs at the Royal Albert Hall.[6][7]

Filmography

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1960	Sink the Bismarck!	First Lieutenant on Destroyers	Uncredited
1966	Morgan – A Suitable Case for Treatment	Second Counsel
1970	The Six Wives of Henry VIII	Sir Christopher Hales	Episode: Anne Boleyn
1971	The Rivals of Sherlock Holmes	Duke of Wiltshire	Episode: The Duchess of Wiltshire's Diamonds
1972	Young Winston	Captain
1972-1975	Play for Today	Various	3 episodes
1973	Upstairs, Downstairs	Henry Pritchett	Episode: Word of Honour
1974	Luther	Prior
1974	Don't Just Lie There, Say Something!	Attorney General
1974	Man About the House	Morris Pluthero
1975	Flame	Salesman In Car Showroom	Uncredited
1975	Man Friday	Carey
1975	Barry Lyndon	Sir Richard
1976	The Duchess of Duke Street	Mr Mather	Episode: The Bargain
1977	Jabberwocky	1st Merchant
1977	The Prince and the Pauper	Mean Man
1977-1982	Crown Court	Judge Robinson	4 episodes
1977	Holocaust 2000	Sheckley
1978	Pennies from Heaven	Bank Manager	TV mini-series, Episode: The Sweetest Thing
1980	The Pumaman	Museum Curator
1980	Breaking Glass	Garage Customer
1981	Yes Minister	Sir Frank Gordon	Episode: The Quality of Life
1981	Chariots of Fire	Head Waiter-Savoy
1982	Doctor Who	Andrews	Episode: Time-Flight (Part 1)
1983	And the Ship Sails On	Sir Reginald J. Dongby
1985	A Room with a View	Sir Harry Otway, a landlord
1986	Clockwise	Headmaster #4
1986-1987	Yes Prime Minister	Sir Frank Gordon	4 episodes
1987	Personal Services	Mr. Marples
1987	Out of Order	Home Secretary
1988	Don't Wait Up	Patient Richard Balfour	Series 5 Episode 7: Golf
1990-1991	Keeping Up Appearances	The Major	3 episodes
1992	Howards End	Colonel Fussell
1993	Bhaji on the Beach	Ambrose Waddington
1993	The Remains of the Day	Sir Leonard Bax
1993	Goodnight Sweetheart	The Spiv	Episode: Is Your Journey Really Necessary?
1994	Stanley's Dragon	Mr. Johnson
1997	Mrs Dalloway	Lord Lezham
2003	Midsomer Murders	Peregrine Slade	Episode: A Talent for Life
2004	Ladies in Lavender	BBC Announcer
2005-2010	Doctors	David Padkin / Stanley Hill	2 episodes
2007	Casualty	Roy Difford	Episode: The Silence of Friends

References

1. "Peter Cellier". Internet Movie Database. Retrieved 23 July 2018.
2. McFarlane, Brian; Slide, Anthony (1 January 2013). The Encyclopedia of British Film: Fourth Edition. Manchester University Press. ISBN 9780719091391.
3. Sandra Brennan. "Peter Cellier - Biography, Movie Highlights and Photos - AllMovie". AllMovie.
4. Programme note for Globe Theatre production of An Absolute Turkey, 1994
5. "The Silence of Friends" episode of Casualty (2007) at the IMDB database
6. The Best of Gilbert and Sullivan (1983) at the IMDB database
7. Shepherd, Marc. "Gilbert & Sullivan's Greatest Hits (Video, 1983)", Archived 11 February 2009 at the Wayback Machine A Gilbert and Sullivan Discography, accessed 3 June 2009

External links

• Peter Cellier at IMDb
• Curriculum vitae