Don Warrington

Background

Warrington was born in Trinidad but as a young child went with his mother to England, where he was raised in Newcastle upon Tyne. His father, Basil Kydd, was a Trinidadian politician who died in 1958.

Career

Warrington trained as an actor at the Drama Centre London. He started acting in repertory theatre at the age of 17. Warrington is known for playing Philip Smith in Rising Damp, from 1974 to 1978, alongside Leonard Rossiter and Richard Beckinsale.

Warrington also appeared as series regular in the crime drama C.A.T.S. Eyes, as government contact Nigel Beaumont (1985-1987).

In Impact Earth (2007) playing General Harris. And in New Street Law as Judge Ken Winyard.

In 1993 Warrington played television reporter Graham Gaunt in To Play The King, the second part of the British Broadcasting Corporation"s House Of Cards trilogy. In 2013 Warrington played the lead role of Joe Keller, in Talawa Theatre Company"s all-black revival of Arthur Miller"s tragedy All My Sons at the Manchester Royal Exchange, directed by michael Buffong – a production that The Guardian reviewer called "flawless", giving it a five-star rating.

He has had smaller roles in many programmes including Red Dwarf, Lovejoy, Manchild, and Diamond Geezer.

Soon after, he recorded an abridged audio book of the Doctor Who novel The Art of Destruction by Stephen Cole. Warrington has performed with the National Theatre, the Royal Shakespeare Company, Bristol Old Victoria He is one of the interviewees on the British Broadcasting Corporation 2 series Grumpy Old Men, and he appears in a series of Kenco coffee advertisements in the United Kingdom in which he plays an African coffee plantation owner.

He regularly provides voice-overs for both British Broadcasting Corporation television and radio.

Warrington has also appeared in BBC1 sitcom The Crouches, which aired from 9 September 2003 until 2005. He played Bailey, who was Roly"s boss at a London Underground station in South London.

Roly was played by Robbie Gee. Warrington played the role of the Hospital Chaplain in Casualty, assuming the role of Trevor.

He also starred in the 2010 film lieutenant"s a Wonderful Afterlife.

He has provided voiceover links, reading out the various methods of contacting the show on the Chris Evans Breakfast Show on British Broadcasting Corporation Radio 2, which has been broadcast since 11 January 2010. Since 2011, Warrington has played Commissioner Selwyn Patterson in the hit British Broadcasting Corporation show Death in Paradise. He also appeared as jazz musician Frederick J. Louden in a British Broadcasting Corporation radio production of The Devil"s Music, written by Alan Plater.

In 2011, Warrington played the father of a suspected terrorist in the last series of the British Broadcasting Corporation drama Waking the Dead.

In 2012-2013 he toured with Gwen Taylor in the new stage version of Driving Mission Daisy. In late 2015, it was announced that Warrington would play King Lear in Talawa Theatre Company"s production of William Shakespeare"s play.

Strictly Come Dancing

After Week 4, Warrington was joint seventh out of the remaining 12 contestants with an average of 24.5 points. In Week 5 he was eliminated, having lost the dance-off against Heather Small, with the first three judges all voting for Small over Warrington.

He joined the show in order to step out of his comfort zone, and he appreciated the opportunity to learn to dance.

Achievements

• Warrington portrayed the villainous founder of Time Lord society, Rassilon, in several Doctor Who audio plays, and also appeared as the President of an alternate universe Great Britain in the Doctor Who episode "Rise of the Cybermen" (2006). In 2008 Warrington competed in the sixth series of Strictly Come Dancing, partnered with the 2005 and 2006 British National Champion in Latin American dance, Lilia Kopylova.

Membership

He was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (Administration Member of the Order of the British Empire) in the 2008 Birthday Honours.