Background
Valentine was born in Blackburn, Lancashire, but moved to Chiswick, West London, with his family when he was six years old and he attended Acton County Grammar School.
Valentine was born in Blackburn, Lancashire, but moved to Chiswick, West London, with his family when he was six years old and he attended Acton County Grammar School.
Valentine worked as a child actor for the British Broadcasting Corporation, and appeared at the age of 10 in the film, and aged 12 in. He played Harry Wharton in the 1950s British Broadcasting Corporation children"s adaptation of Billy Bunter (1952-1961), having initially played Lord Mauleverer in earlier episodes. He was best known for his television roles as ruthless Toby Meres in the series Callan (1967-1972), sinister Luftwaffe Officer, Major Horst Mohn in the British Broadcasting Corporation drama, George Webster in 1994 to 1996 in the United Kingdom series The Knock and the eponymous.
Other television appearances included A for Andromeda (1961), Z-Cars (1972), The Avengers (1967, 1968), Softly, Softly (1969), Department South (1970), Budgie (1971), Codename (1970), Space: 1999 (1975), Raffles (1976), Minder (1979, 1980) playing Maurice Michaelson, a professional gambler, Tales of the Unexpected (1980, 1982), (in the first episode as Squadron Leader Dickie Marlowe of the Royal Air Force), Bergerac (1983), Robin of Sherwood (1984, 1985), Boon (1989), Lovejoy (1986, 1991), The House of Eliott (1991), The Bill (1998), The Case-Book of Sherlock Holmes (in The Illustrious Client, 1991), New Tricks and Waking the Dead (2002).
He also narrated the three Wildlife Explorer documentary films and played a South London bookmaker in the film. He was also the voice of "Doctor X" on Queensrÿche"s seminal 1988 album, Operation: Mindcrime.
Further television work included an episode of Agatha Christie"s Poirot (2006), episodes of The Commander (2005, 2006, 2008), in which he played Commissioner Edward Sumpter, and an episode of Heartbeat (2006). Other television roles are as Nuremberg Prison Commandant Colonel Burton C. Andrus in the 2006 British Broadcasting Corporation docudrama Nuremberg: Nazis on Trial, and Jimmy "The Gent" Vincent in Independent Television"s The Last Detective (2007).
In September 2009 he joined the cast of the British soap Coronation Street as George Wilson.
In theatre he appeared in the West End plays Number Sex Please We"re British, Sleuth, Half a Sixpence and "Art", and in the premiere performance of Arnold Wesker"s Chicken Soup with Barley, playing the part of Ronnie. His most recent appearance was in Separate Tables at The Mill at Sonning. He wrote and directed The Waiting Game for the same theatre.
On 12 November 2005 Valentine became a patron of the Thwaites Empire Theatre in his birthplace, Blackburn.
He died on 2 December 2015 at the age of 76, after suffering from Parkinson"s disease for several years.