Jeff Rawle

Jeffrey Alan Rawle (born 20 July 1951) is an English actor. He is known for portraying George Dent in the news-gathering sitcom Drop the Dead Donkey. He also portrayed Silas Blissett in Hollyoaks from December 2010 until 2012. Rawle returned to Hollyoaks in 2016, 2020 and 2022. Rawle was born on 20 July 1951 in Birmingham, West Midlands, England. His first secondary school was King Edward VI School in Aston, Birmingham. When he was 15 his family moved to Sheffield, and it was at High Storrs Grammar School that he first became interested in drama when he appeared in school plays. He worked at the Sheffield Playhouse before training at LAMDA. Rawle landed his first major role in 1973 as Billy in the television version of Keith Waterhouse and Willis Hall's Billy Liar. In 1979, he appeared with Ian McKellen and Tom Bell in Bent at the Criterion Theatre, London. In 1984, he appeared in the Doctor Who story Frontios as the character Plantaganet. He appeared in Faith in the Future on ITV from 1995 to 1998. In 2004, Rawle began appearing in the ITV series Doc Martin as Roger Fenn. The actor went on to make a guest appearance in the fourth episode of the fourth series of New Tricks as lawyer Jonathan Blunt. The following year, he starred in the fourth series of Spooks as the Home Secretary. He also appeared in Ultimate Force – "Never Go Back" alongside Ross Kemp.