Eric Allan

David Eric Allan was born in Tidworth, Wiltshire, England on 8 March 1940.^[1] When he was 15, his family moved to Canada, but, set to become an actor, he returned to the Britain at 18.^[2]

His first film role was in Peter Brook's 1968 film Tell Me Lies,^[3] based on the play US in which Allan had appeared the previous year.^{[citation needed]}

For 24 years, from 1997 to 2021, he played the part of farm worker Bert Fry in the long-running BBC Radio soap opera The Archers.^[4]

Allan died on 8 February 2026, at the age of 85.^[2][1]

• Tell Me Lies (1968)
• The McKenzie Break (1970)
• Bleak Moments (1971)
• I.D. (1995)

• Emmerdale (1972–1974) as Frank Blakey (regular role)
• Nuts in May (1976) as The Quarryman (Play for Today Episode)
• Hold the Back Page (1985–1986) as Reg
• Bergerac (1988) as Peter Retford in "Private Flight"

• US (1966)^{[citation needed]}