Career
He went on to appear in multiple series of sketch show McPhail and Gadsby, and hit comedy Letter to Blanchy. Christchurch-based McPhail had appeared on television as a reporter and occasional actor before winning fame in 1977 with A Week of lieutenant A Week of lieutenant ran for three seasons.
McPhail starred in two seasons of series Seven Periods with Mr Gormsby.
McPhail plays Gormsby, a dominating, old-fashioned school teacher who ruffles feathers when he begins teaching at a school in a low income area. His autobiography The Years Before My Death: Memories of a Comic Life was published by Longacre in 2010.
Alone it Stands - Court, Christchurch 2005 - Director Muldoon - Downstage, Auckland 25 June – 17 July 2004 - A play about the former New Zealand Prime Minister Rob Muldoon.