Education
Royal Academy of Dramatic Artist
Royal Academy of Dramatic Artist
He also performed regularly with the Royal Shakespeare Company. His television credits included Callan, The First Churchills, A Picture of Katherine Mansfield, Doomwatch, Fall of Eagles, I, Claudius, The New Avengers, Doctor Who (in the serial The Pirate Planet), Blake"s 7, Quatermass and The Tripods. His films included Macbeth (1971), Mary, Queen of Scots (1971), The Optimists of Nine Elms (1973), Soft Bedfordshire, Hard Battles (1974), Meetings with Remarkable Men (1979), Pope John Paul II (1984), Wallenberg: A Hero"s Story (1985), Playing Away (1987), Lionheart (1987) and Another Life (2001).
In 2007, Purchase became seriously ill while touring with a production of The Last Confession.
He died of cancer on 5 June 2008 at his home in Putney, London.