Background
Bates was born in Bristol, England, of French ancestry (he was the great-great-nephew of French scientist Louis Pasteur) and educated at Trinity College Dublin.
Bates was born in Bristol, England, of French ancestry (he was the great-great-nephew of French scientist Louis Pasteur) and educated at Trinity College Dublin.
The course completed, Bates returned to Ireland to make his stage debut in Shaw"s You Never Can Tell at The Gate Theatre, Dublin, in 1963.
He read French there, before winning a scholarship to Yale Drama School. A career in repertory theatre soon followed and the young actor gained experience in productions ranging from Hedda Gabler to raucous comedies. He portrayed Caligula in the series The Caesars and alongside Cyd Hayman in a passionate French tale of murder and mystery - Crime of Passion series.
After playing Thomas Culpeper in an episode of The Six Wives of Henry VIII (1970), he went on to star in the British Broadcasting Corporation drama series, Moonbase 3 (1973) and the long-running Poldark, in which he played villainous George Warleggan.
The series ran for 29 episodes, starting in 1975. He also played communist Paul Vercors in the final season of the drama series Secret Army.
Because of his French ancestry and dark looks, he was often chosen to play a Frenchman on television, as for instance in a second series episode of Independent Television comedy drama Turtle"s Progress. Bates also appeared in the television movie Minder on the Orient Express, again as a Frenchman.
Dear John (1986-1987), in which he realistically played the part of a divorcé returning to single life, lasted for two series, and around the same time he appeared in the Independent Television Yorkshire Television sitcom Farrington of the Field Officer (1986) with Angela Thorne and Joan Sims.
Bates became ill and was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, and died in London at age 51 from the disease.