Peter Howell

Acting

Peter Howell

Born — Died

1919-10-25 — 2015-04-20

Place of birth

Kensington, London, England, UK

Known for

Acting

Credits

63 titles

Peter Howell was an English actor of stage and screen. Despite his relatively privileged life (he was educated at Winchester and at Christ Church, Oxford, leaving the latter when called up for service as an officer in the Rifle Brigade during WWII) Howell was a lifelong active member of the Labour Party and campaigned for a number of social issues. One of his most remembered roles is that of the governor in Alan Clarke's 1979 film version of Scum, which he took because he wanted to highlight the issues regarding the penal system. He was also a longtime member of the Marylebone Cricket Club, and opposed their planned 1968-69 England cricket tour of apartheid-era South Africa, which was event…

Known for

Doctor Who poster
7.9

The adventures of The Doctor, a time-traveling humanoid alien known as a Time Lord. He explores the universe in his TARDIS, a sentient time-traveling spaceship. Its exterior appears as a blue British police box, which was a common sight in Britain in 1963 when the series first aired. Along with a succession of companions, The Doctor faces a variety of foes while working to save civilizations, help ordinary people, and right many wrongs.

Doctor Who

1963

Agatha Christie's Poirot poster
8.2

From England to Egypt, accompanied by his elegant and trustworthy sidekicks, the intelligent yet eccentrically-refined Belgian detective Hercule Poirot pits his wits against a collection of first class deceptions.

Agatha Christie's Poirot

1989

Tales of the Unexpected poster
6.8

A British television anthology of stories, often with sinister and wryly comedic undertones, and a twist at the end. With early episodes written and presented by Roald Dahl, the series featured a plethora of big name guest stars.

Tales of the Unexpected

1979

ITV Playhouse poster
7.0

ITV Playhouse is a British comedy-drama TV series that ran from 1967 to 1983, which featured contributions from playwrights such as Dennis Potter, Rhys Adrian and Alan Sharp. The series began in black and white, but was later shot in colour and was produced by various companies for the ITV network, a format that would inspire Dramarama. Actors appearing in the series included Leslie Anderson, Gwen Nelson, Ricky Alleyne, Pat Heywood, Michael Elphick, Ian Hendry, Edward Woodward, Margaret Lockwood, Jessie Matthews and Lloyd Peters.

ITV Playhouse

1967

The Professionals poster
7.6

The lives of Bodie and Doyle, top agents for Britain's CI5 (Criminal Intelligence 5), and their controller, George Cowley. The mandate of CI5 was to fight terrorism and similar high-profile crimes. Cowley, a hard ex-MI5 operative, hand-picked each of his men. Bodie is a cynical ex-SAS paratrooper and mercenary whose nature ran to controlled violence, while his partner, Doyle, comes to CI5 from the regular police force, and is more of an open minded liberal. Their relationship is often contentious, but they are the top men in their field, and the ones to whom Cowley always assigned to the toughest cases.

The Professionals

1977

Theatre 625 poster
7.2

Theatre 625 is a British television drama anthology series, produced by the BBC and transmitted on BBC2 from 1964 to 1968. It was one of the first regular programmes in the line-up of the channel, and the title referred to its production and transmission being in the higher-definition 625-line format, which only BBC2 used at the time.

Theatre 625

1964

Film credits

1990s · 4 titles

1980s · 7 titles

Hitler's SS: Portrait in Evil poster
4.9

The two-part TV movie Hitler's SS: Portrait in Evil crystallizes that evil by concentrating on two Berlin brothers. In 1931, Helmut Hoffman a brilliant student and self-styled opportunist, joins Hitler's SS. At the same time, his younger brother Karl, a top athlete and idealist, becomes a chauffeur for the "S.A.".

Hitler's SS: Portrait in Evil

1985

John and Yoko: A Love Story poster
7.0

Details the lives of John Lennon and Yoko Ono, from before their first meeting to their rise to stardom.

John and Yoko: A Love Story

1985

Bellman and True poster
6.7

Hiller, a computer expert, was bribed by group of bank robbers to obtain details of the security system at a newly-built bank. Having obtained the information, he thought he'd seen the last of the robbers. But now they've traced him and his son to London. They hold the son hostage and force Hiller to decode the information about the alarm and then to take part in the robbery.

Bellman and True

1987

John Wycliffe: The Morning Star poster
9.0

This affecting biography chronicles the life and times of prominent European philosopher John Wycliffe, who was the first to translate the Bible into English. The 14th century, Oxford University scholar often found himself caught between opposing theological, political and societal forces: He defended England's autonomy against the pontiff's authority and championed the indigent against the wealthy's abuses.

John Wycliffe: The Morning Star

1984

The Mountain and the Molehill poster
NR

It is May 1944, two weeks before D-day. Britain stands poised for the long-awaited invasion of France - thousands of troops wait anxiously for the orders to come for embarkation. MI5 is horrified to discover the top-secret codewords for the invasion suddenly appearing as clues in the Daily Telegraph crossword. Two agents are immediately dispatched to confront the culprit, the headmaster of a boys' school in southern England.

The Mountain and the Molehill

1989

The Errand poster
7.0

A soldier at an elite military institution is sent on a strange and increasingly nightmarish errand in this full-on fever-dream thriller from long-time Pete Walker collaborator David McGillivray (House of Whipcord).

The Errand

1980

'That Crazy Woman' poster
NR

In 1960, at the age of 56, Dr. Barbara Moore became a national hero by walking from John O'Groats to Land's End. One of the last great English eccentrics, even though she was Russian.

'That Crazy Woman'

1980

1970s · 7 titles

Scum poster
7.1

Carlin is a new reform school inmate with a reputation as a hard case. The authorities encourage gang leader Pongo to humble Carlin, but Carlin overtakes Pongo as Daddy of the ward. The guards institute a reign of terror and neglect, with Carlin emerging as an unlikely leader.

Scum

1979

Brassneck poster
9.0

Through the story of a single family, Brassneck traces a history that parallels the Labour Party's advent to power in 1945 through to the property speculation of the 1960s and the disillusionment with the Labour government in the early 1970s. Like most of the early work of the writers, David Hare and Howard Brenton, committed radical (if not revolutionary) socialists throughout the 1970s, it is a satirical attack on capitalist greed and corruption, full of savage, and often disturbing, humour.

Brassneck

1975

Mr and Mrs Bureaucrat poster
NR

Behind the façade of form-filling at the Department of Something-or-Other, careers fall and rise at the drop of an apostrophe. Will HIB's double negative be accepted, ensuring his pension prospects?

Mr and Mrs Bureaucrat

1978

Dad poster
NR

'Listen Dad, it's me, Tom. I know you recognise me. Why don't you speak? Just say my name. Tom.' Dad's bewildering silence forces the family to face truths they would rather forget.

Dad

1976

Screamer poster
7.2

A young American girl on her way to visit friends in rural England is brutally attacked and raped. After spending the next few months in a mental institution trying to recover from her ordeal, she is released into the care of her friends. The police assure her that they have the man responsible in custody, and she begins to rest easy. That is until she sees her attacker wandering the streets of the town. After planning her revenge she follows the man and kills him. This, she thinks, is the end of her ordeal. That is until the man she thinks she has killed arrives at the house she is staying in.

Screamer

1974

Michael Regan poster
8.0

Under stress, Irish tenant farmer Michael Regan, suddenly snaps one day and locks himself in his home, threatening the lives of his wife and child.

Michael Regan

1971

No artwork available
NR

When a new arrival, a titled lady no less, arrives to shatter the genteel status quo of the St. Elmo Hotel, the entrenched residents are soon sharpening up their knitting needles for battle.

The Winter Ladies

1979

1960s · 7 titles

Tarzan the Magnificent poster
5.9

After the Banton family rob a store is a small village and kill the local police constable, Tarzan captures one of them, Coy Banton. He decides to return him to the authorities so that the dead policeman's family will benefit from the $5000 reward. The head of the clan, Abel Banton and his two sons have no intention of letting Tarzan deliver Coy and burn the river boat they were to use. Several of the passengers are now stranded forcing Tarzan to take them along on a trek through the jungle. Abel Banton trails them intent not only getting his son back but getting rid of Tarzan.

Tarzan the Magnificent

1960

Watch Your Stern poster
5.9

When the details of a secret torpedo are destroyed by an incompetent seaman, the crew of the ship rally round, when the Admiral needs the plans to show to a visiting scientist.

Watch Your Stern

1960

The Hellfire Club poster
5.4

Years after fleeing his ancestral home with his mother, Jason returns home to claim his birthright, only to find his way blocked by his evil cousin Thomas. In order to reclaim his title, Jason must do battle with his cousin, who calls upon the members of the deadly Hellfire Club to stop him.

The Hellfire Club

1961

Incident at Midnight poster
7.0

In a late night chemist a shot bank robber has been taken for treatment, and to rendezvous with the gang leader.

Incident at Midnight

1963

No Kidding poster
6.1

A young couple, David and Catherine Robinson, has to turn their large country house into a money-making proposition. Their solution is to invite the kids of the rich and famous to spend a summer enjoying all the loving care and attention they miss at home. After the youngsters arrive, David quickly realizes what the offensive little punks need is some real discipline, and so the summer begins.

No Kidding

1960

Raising the Wind poster
6.3

'Carry On' director Gerald Thomas helms this comedy caper featuring early appearances by James Robertson Justice, Sid James, Leslie Phillips, Kenneth Williams, Liz Fraser and Eric Barker. The film follows the hi-jinks of a group of music students who move into a shared flat in order to cut costs and have somewhere to practice their instruments. Things get tricky when Mervyn Hughes (Phillips) accidentally sells one of his compositions to an advertising agency and risks losing his scholarship. Can he and his friends find a way to raise the money to buy back the song rights?

Raising the Wind

1961

Two Letter Alibi poster
7.5

Charles Hilary is in love with Kathy Forrester, a beautiful television personality, but is married to Louise, an alcoholic with as many lovers as whisky bottles. His pleas for a divorce are met with threats and abuse. "You'll have to murder me first", Louise tells him and three hours later she is found dead, shot with her husband's pistol. When Charles is arrested, Kathy desperately sets to work to prove his innocence.

Two Letter Alibi

1962

Series credits

Doctor Who poster
7.9

The adventures of The Doctor, a time-traveling humanoid alien known as a Time Lord. He explores the universe in his TARDIS, a sentient time-traveling spaceship. Its exterior appears as a blue British police box, which was a common sight in Britain in 1963 when the series first aired. Along with a succession of companions, The Doctor faces a variety of foes while working to save civilizations, help ordinary people, and right many wrongs.

Doctor Who

1963

Agatha Christie's Poirot poster
8.2

From England to Egypt, accompanied by his elegant and trustworthy sidekicks, the intelligent yet eccentrically-refined Belgian detective Hercule Poirot pits his wits against a collection of first class deceptions.

Agatha Christie's Poirot

1989

Tales of the Unexpected poster
6.8

A British television anthology of stories, often with sinister and wryly comedic undertones, and a twist at the end. With early episodes written and presented by Roald Dahl, the series featured a plethora of big name guest stars.

Tales of the Unexpected

1979

ITV Playhouse poster
7.0

ITV Playhouse is a British comedy-drama TV series that ran from 1967 to 1983, which featured contributions from playwrights such as Dennis Potter, Rhys Adrian and Alan Sharp. The series began in black and white, but was later shot in colour and was produced by various companies for the ITV network, a format that would inspire Dramarama. Actors appearing in the series included Leslie Anderson, Gwen Nelson, Ricky Alleyne, Pat Heywood, Michael Elphick, Ian Hendry, Edward Woodward, Margaret Lockwood, Jessie Matthews and Lloyd Peters.

ITV Playhouse

1967

The Professionals poster
7.6

The lives of Bodie and Doyle, top agents for Britain's CI5 (Criminal Intelligence 5), and their controller, George Cowley. The mandate of CI5 was to fight terrorism and similar high-profile crimes. Cowley, a hard ex-MI5 operative, hand-picked each of his men. Bodie is a cynical ex-SAS paratrooper and mercenary whose nature ran to controlled violence, while his partner, Doyle, comes to CI5 from the regular police force, and is more of an open minded liberal. Their relationship is often contentious, but they are the top men in their field, and the ones to whom Cowley always assigned to the toughest cases.

The Professionals

1977

Theatre 625 poster
7.2

Theatre 625 is a British television drama anthology series, produced by the BBC and transmitted on BBC2 from 1964 to 1968. It was one of the first regular programmes in the line-up of the channel, and the title referred to its production and transmission being in the higher-definition 625-line format, which only BBC2 used at the time.

Theatre 625

1964

Theatre 625 poster
7.2

Theatre 625 is a British television drama anthology series, produced by the BBC and transmitted on BBC2 from 1964 to 1968. It was one of the first regular programmes in the line-up of the channel, and the title referred to its production and transmission being in the higher-definition 625-line format, which only BBC2 used at the time.

Theatre 625

1964

Playhouse poster
7.0

A one-hour anthology television series of one-off contemporary and classic dramas produced by the BBC.

Playhouse

1974

The Sweeney poster
8.1

Jack Regan, an unethical officer of the Flying Squad, uses unorthodox methods to pursue criminals with the help of his partner, George Carter.

The Sweeney

1975

The Champions poster
6.5

After a plane carrying three Agents crashes in the Himalayas, they are rescued by an advanced civilisation secretly living in Tibet who grant them enhanced versions of the ordinary five senses, and intellectual and physical abilities.

The Champions

1968

The Prisoner poster
7.7

After resigning, a secret agent is abducted and taken to what looks like an idyllic village, but is really a bizarre Kafkaesque prison. His warders demand information. He gives them nothing, but only tries to escape.

The Prisoner

1967

Rumpole of the Bailey poster
7.1

Rumpole of the Bailey is a British television series created and written by the British writer and barrister John Mortimer. It stars Leo McKern as Horace Rumpole, an aging London barrister who defends any and all clients, and has been spun off into a series of short stories, novels, and radio programmes.

Rumpole of the Bailey

1975

Dr. Finlay's Casebook poster
6.7

Dr Finlay's Casebook is a BBC television series that was broadcast from 1962 until 1971. Based on A. J. Cronin's novella Country Doctor, the storylines centred on a general medical practice in the fictional Scottish town of Tannochbrae during the late 1920s.

Dr. Finlay's Casebook

1962

Jeeves and Wooster poster
8.1

Jeeves and Wooster is a British comedy-drama series adapted by Clive Exton from P.G. Wodehouse's "Jeeves" stories. It aired on the ITV network from 1990 to 1993, starring Hugh Laurie as Bertie Wooster, a young gentleman with a "distinctive blend of airy nonchalance and refined gormlessness", and Stephen Fry as Jeeves, his improbably well-informed and talented valet. Wooster is a bachelor, a minor aristocrat and member of the idle rich. He and his friends, who are mainly members of The Drones Club, are extricated from all manner of societal misadventures by the indispensable valet, Jeeves. The stories are set in the United Kingdom and the United States in the 1930s.

Jeeves and Wooster

1990

BBC2 Play of the Week poster
7.0

An anthology of plays and novels adapted into feature length TV movies, broadcast on BBC2 from September 1977 to April 1979.

BBC2 Play of the Week

1977

Espionage poster
10.0

Pulled from actual case histories and utilizing newsreel and documented narratives, the activities of spies from various countries are depicted as far back as the American Revolution and as recent as the Cold War.

Espionage

1963

Churchill's People poster
5.0

Churchill's People is a British anthology series based on A History of the English-Speaking Peoples, Winston Churchill's four-volume history of Britain and its former colonies. 26 episodes were produced by the BBC and initially broadcast from 30 December 1974 to 23 June 1975.

Churchill's People

1974

Dalgliesh poster
6.9

Centred on the cases of P. D. James' gentleman detective Adam Dalgliesh. In addition to his career as a policeman, Dalgliesh is also a published poet and an intensely private man.

Dalgliesh

1983

No artwork available
8.0

Story Parade specialized in adaptations of modern novels. It was broadcast on June 5, 1964 and repeated on August 28, 1964. The teleplay was by Terry Nation (who invented "Blake's 7" and the Daleks in Dr. Who), and Elijah Baley was played by the late Peter Cushing. It also starred John Carson John Carson as R. Daneel Olivaw and Kenneth J. Warren. The master tapes of the program were erased, however a few clips from the production have turned up in various documentaries about Isaac Asimov's work.

Story Parade

1964

Reilly: Ace of Spies poster
7.0

Reilly, Ace of Spies is a 1983 television miniseries dramatising the life of Sidney Reilly, a Russian Jew who became one of the greatest spies ever to work for the British. Among his exploits, in the early 20th-century, were the infiltration of the German General Staff in 1917 and a near-overthrow of the Bolsheviks in 1918. His reputation with women was as legendary as his genius for espionage.

Reilly: Ace of Spies

1983

Elizabeth R poster
7.5

This historical mini-series documents the reign of Elizabeth I with each episode focusing on one dramatic period in the lengthy reign of the Virgin Queen, including her ascension to the throne, her various marital intrigues, her problems with her cousin Mary, Queen of Scots, and the threatened invasion of the Spanish Armada.

Elizabeth R

1971

Dickens of London poster
7.3

A 13-episode miniseries from Yorkshire Television, about Charles Dickens, by now an internationally renowned novelist, during an 1869 tour of America, looking back over his life.

Dickens of London

1976

Our Mutual Friend poster
7.8

After his father's will stipulates he must marry Bella Wilfer to inherit his fortune, John Harmon fakes his death to avoid the marriage and the threats on his life. He returns as John Rokesmith and becomes the secretary for the Boffins, who inherit Harmon's estate following his alleged death.

Our Mutual Friend

1998

Our Mutual Friend poster
7.8

After his father's will stipulates he must marry Bella Wilfer to inherit his fortune, John Harmon fakes his death to avoid the marriage and the threats on his life. He returns as John Rokesmith and becomes the secretary for the Boffins, who inherit Harmon's estate following his alleged death.

Our Mutual Friend

1998

Edward the Seventh poster
6.6

Edward the Seventh is a 1975 television drama miniseries produced by ATV. Based on the biography of Edward VII by Philip Magnus, the series features depictions of a vast number of historical figures including, but not limited to, Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, Arthur Balfour, Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, Edward VII, George V, Napoleon III, Nicholas II of Russia, Queen Victoria, Wilhelm I, Wilhelm II, Winston Churchill, Henry John Temple, and Otto von Bismarck.

Edward the Seventh

1975

A.D. poster
5.4

A.D. is a 1985 television drama miniseries created and written by Vincenzo Labella and Anthony Burgess, based on Burgess' historical novel The Kingdom of the Wicked. The five-part serial is considered the third and final part of a trilogy, preceded by Moses the Lawgiver (1974) and Jesus of Nazareth (1977). Set just after Jesus' Crucifixion, the lives and adventures of His disciples are explored, and events in Rome during the reigns of Emperors Tiberius, Caligula, Claudius and Nero.

A.D.

1985

South of the Border poster
10.0

Female private detectives Pearl Parker and Finn Gallagher operate within the bustling multicultural communities of South London.

South of the Border

1988

Bill Brand poster
7.2

Following the death of the sitting Labour Party Member of Parliament, Bill Brand is selected as Labour candidate for a Lancashire textile constituency.

Bill Brand

1976

Pride and Prejudice poster
7.0

In early 19th century England, Mr and Mrs Bennet's five unmarried daughters vie for the affections of rich and eligible Mr Bingley and his status-conscious friend, Mr Darcy, who have moved into their neighbourhood. While Bingley takes an immediate liking to eldest daughter Jane, Darcy has difficulty adapting to local society and repeatedly clashes with second-eldest Elizabeth.

Pride and Prejudice

1980

Hippies poster
7.4

Hippies is a 1999 BBC Two comedy miniseries created by Graham Linehan and Arthur Mathews, and written by Mathews. The six-episode series stars Simon Pegg, Julian Rhind-Tutt, Sally Phillips, and Darren Boyd as four wannabe hippies in 1969 swinging London, who run a counterculture magazine and strive to be as trendy as society will allow... even if they fail at every turn.

Hippies

1999

No artwork available
NR

A half-hour (later 60 minute) drama anthology series based on the works of renowned English author William Somerset Maugham, who appears in the opening and closing of each episode.

Somerset Maugham Hour

1960

Thomas & Sarah poster
6.0

In the aftermath of Upstairs Downstairs, chauffeur Thomas Watkins and housemaid Sarah Moffat have gone their separate ways. But when a near fatal auto accident reunites them, the duo team up to hatch get-rich-quick schemes, pose as wealthy investors, or take on various odd jobs—often at the expense of others.

Thomas & Sarah

1979

No artwork available
NR

An anthology series wherein the ten commandments are interpreted in contemporary scenarios by different writers. It was transmissioned from 30 March to 1 June 1971 on ITV Yorkshire.

The Ten Commandments

1971

No artwork available
6.5

An incompetently managed zoo becomes a metaphor for the state of Britain as a nuclear crisis looms over Europe.

The Old Men at the Zoo

1983

The Mill on the Floss poster
6.7

The Mill on the Floss is a British television drama adaptation of George Eliot's 1860 novel of the same name about the lives of rural 19th century siblings Maggie and Tom Tulliver.

The Mill on the Floss

1978

Death of an Expert Witness poster
6.5

When Dr. Edwin Lorrimer, a forensic scientist working at a private laboratory is found killed, Detective Superintendent Adam Dalgliesh is sent to investigate. Dalgliesh had been in the area a few months previously investigating the murder of a young woman found in an abandoned car. There are several suspects: Lorrimer's subordinate, Clifford Bradley, who despises him; the new head of the laboratory, Maxim Howarth, who is jealous of his sister's relationship with him; a colleague, Paul Middlemass, who had a fight with Lorrimer. There is also a gruff and likely unethical policeman who was on the grounds of the laboratory at the time of the killing and a local pathologist who is raising his two young children after his wife leaves him for another man. When one of the suspects is also murdered, Dalgliesh learns a key piece of information.

Death of an Expert Witness

1983

Perfect Strangers poster
6.7

Daniel Symon comes face to face with his extended family – a cadre of eccentrics, all of whom hiding their own secrets. At a reunion, patriarch Raymond is presented with a copy of the family tree and is enthralled by the complexity of his family ties.

Perfect Strangers

2001

Heil Caesar poster
9.0

The growing ambition of Julius Caesar is a source of major concern to his close friend Brutus. Cassius persuades him to participate in his plot to assassinate Caesar but they have both sorely underestimated Mark Antony.

Heil Caesar

1973