David Lloyd (actor)

For other people named David Lloyd, see David Lloyd.

David Lloyd (born 17 May 1955) is an English actor and screenwriter, perhaps best known from his role in Maid Marian and her Merry Men, where he played Graeme, one of the two guards (alongside Mark Billingham's Gary).

Biography

David Lloyd was born on 17 May 1955 in Wallasey, Cheshire, England, and is, according to the IMDb, 6' 1" tall.[1] Lloyd studied drama at Manchester University between 1978 and 1981, where he met and worked closely with Ben Elton, later one of Britain's foremost comedians and a key figure in Alternative comedy.

Sitcoms

Lloyd's friendship with Elton led to him appearing in minor roles in the landmark 1980s (and Elton-written) sitcom The Young Ones, as well as that series' less-well-received semi-sequel Filthy Rich & Catflap. Bitparts (usually in uniform) followed in other sitcoms: Lloyd was a postman in Making Out, a recurring German guard in 'Allo 'Allo and a policeman in The New Statesman, with Young Ones star Rik Mayall. Lloyd also featured in an episode of Mayall and Edmonson's 1991 sitcom Bottom.

Maid Marian

Lloyd is best known, however, for his role as Graeme in the 1989 BBC Children's Television series Maid Marian and her Merry Men. Alongside Mark Billingham's Gary, the two guards were ostensibly part of 'ye baddies', but were really very sympathetic, (if slightly dim-witted) comedic sidekicks and foils to Tony Robinson's Sheriff of Nottingham. Initially, this semi-musical pseudo-Children's comedy programme was written solely by Mr Robinson, but by the third series, both Lloyd and Billingham were helping out with storylines and scripts, both ultimately gaining on-screen credits as co-writers. The three remain friends, and can be seen discussing writing Maid Marian on the DVD release of Series 3.[2]

Other children's TV

Lloyd (and Billingham)'s work on Maid Marian with Tony Robinson gave them a grounding in comedy scriptwriting, and spurred them to write more. Between 1993 and 1996, the two collaborated on the writing of another children's comedy programme: Harry's Mad, based on the novel by British children's author Dick King-Smith. The programme featured an intelligent talking parrot ("Madison"), inherited by his owner, Harry, upon the death of his uncle. The parrot's abilities were only known by a select few, but would be heard at inopportune moments, causing considerable trouble for Harry.[3][4] The show ran for four series, and also featured Lloyd, Billingham and Maid Marian co-star Howard Lew Lewis in various small roles.

Soon after (1996 to 1998), Lloyd was back in front of the cameras, playing Mr Bill Hunter, the husband of Tessa Peake-Jones's character, who adopt the main character of Dinah Glass in the BBC series The Demon Headmaster (based on the books by Gillian Cross). Although rarely seen during the first series, Lloyd's character played a larger role in the second and third. (A fourth series was reputedly planned, but ultimately scrapped, and never filmed.)

In March 2009 he made a guest appearance as Mr Marvelloso in the BBC children's series 'Grandpa in my Pocket'.

Screenwriting

While taking minor roles in such programmes as Casualty, The Bill and Waking the Dead, Mr Lloyd has turned his skill and experience from Maid Marian and Harry's Mad into a symbiotic career as an accomplished screenwriter of non-Children's programmes, having produced scripts for Casualty (2004) and EastEnders (2003–06).

In 2001, he began writing for the daytime BBC medical soap/drama Doctors, and has rapidly become one of the most prolific writers on that show having written over 40 episodes. His 2002-penned episode "It Shouldn't Happen to a Doctor" (in which Tony Robinson guest-starred) received a "Most Spectacular Scene" nomination at the British Soap Awards for its final scene.[5]

Non TV

David Lloyd is the match-day announcer for Bristol City football club, and is also a keen cricketer with Backwell Flax Bourton Cricket Club for whom he is second team captain and Youth Organiser. He also provides match reports on the web.

He is a regular newspaper reviewer on BBC Radio Bristol's breakfast show and owns a 50% share in a cider press.

You can follow him on Twitter: @dave_backwell

Select screenography

Actor

Writer

References

  1. ↑ David Lloyd at the Internet Movie Database. Accessed 9 February 2008
  2. ↑ Maid Marian and her Merry Men Series 3 (Tony Robinson, Mark Billingham and David Lloyd on 'creative writing'). David Bell. UK: Eureka. 2006. EKA40224.
  3. ↑ Memorable TV: Harry's Mad. Accessed 9 February 2008
  4. ↑ Harry's Mad at Answers.com. Accessed 9 February 2008
  5. ↑ Doctors: "It Shouldn't Happen to a Doctor". Accessed 9 February 2008

External links

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