Paul Clayton (actor)
English actor
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Career
Clayton played Ian Chapman in Channel 4 sitcom Peep Show.[1] for five series. In 2011, Clayton portrayed Sam Foster, father of Frank Foster in Coronation Street. Clayton also appears in the BBC Three sitcom Him & Her where he plays Graham. In 2013 and 2014, he played Superintendent Marlow in Hollyoaks, until his character was murdered on 21 April.
Clayton has made other notable television appearances in Doctor Who, My Family, Doctors and Wire in the Blood, as well as films such as Ali G Indahouse. He also features in the British crime thriller The Rise.[2]
Clayton filmed "Danny Boy" for Expectation films in November 2020. He appeared in the film Greed released in February 2020 and in Sky One original Breeders He also appears in an episode of Cursed for Netflix as Ladislas. He has also directed Joe Orton's The Ruffian on the Stair at The Hope Theatre in January 2019 featuring Lucy Benjamin, Gary Webster and Adam Buchanan. Clayton was seen in "Outrageous Fortune", the opening episode of Series two of Shakespeare & Hathaway: Private Investigators, alongside Alan Partridge in This Time with Alan Partridge, and in the acclaimed Black Earth Rising. He also appeared in season 2 of The Crown on Netflix as Bob Boothby. He also filmed Delicious with Dawn French for Sky One. Clayton made his first stage appearance for ten years in Brimstone and Treacle at the Hope Theatre in 2017 for which he was nominated for an Off West End award for Best Actor. In May 2018, Clayton appeared in major roles in Holby City and The Split on BBC One. He also shot the short horror picture Service directed by Theo Watkins.
Clayton plays Mr Colchester in Torchwood for Big Finish Productions.[3]
In 2021 Clayton recorded "The Red List," a new adventure for Big Finish.[4]
On stage, Clayton was a member of the Royal Shakespeare Company where he appeared alongside actors including Judi Dench and Zoe Wanamaker.[5] In the West End, Clayton played the leading role of Tony in the improvised comedy whodunnit Scissor Happy at the Duchess Theatre[6] alongside The Comedy Store Players.
Clayton's directing credits include Privates on Parade at the Greenwich Theatre, starring Tony Slattery, The Comedy of Errors at Nottingham Playhouse starring Robert Bathurst, Paula Wilcox and Janet Dibley, The Pocket Dream at York Theatre Royal starring Lucy Benjamin[7] and seven productions at the Watermill Theatre, Newbury.
Clayton was Chairman of the Actors' Centre in Covent Garden for ten years, stepping down in January 2018 and a former member and associate artist of the National Youth Theatre.[8] He is a regular columnist for The Stage newspaper[9] and patron of The Hope Theatre in Islington.[10] He is also a patron of children's literacy charity, Grimm & Co, based in his home town of Rotherham.[11]
Clayton's most recent appearances inlucde Drew Peacock in BBC One's Eastenders,[12] Sir William Kingsley in Wolf Hall The Mirror and the Light,[13] and more Torchwood adventures for Big Finish.[14]
He played Bernard Ingham in Channel 4's Brian and Maggie in 2025.[15]
Filmography
Film & Television
| Year | Title | Role | Episode |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Brian and Maggie | Bernard Ingham | 2 episodes |
| 2024 | EastEnders | Drew Peacock | Guest |
| 2023 | The Full Monty | Dennis | 8 episodes |
| 2022–2026 | House of the Dragon | Lord Merryweather | 2 episodes |
| 2020 | Danny Boy | Sir Thayne Forbes | Film |
| Holby City | Roger Ffoulkes | 1 episode | |
| Breeders | Jeweller | 1 episode | |
| 2019 | Cursed | Ladislas | 1 episode |
| Shakespeare & Hathaway: Private Investigators | Leonard Baxter | 1 episode | |
| This Time with Alan Partridge | Dr Harding | 1 episode | |
| Holby City | Roger Ffoulkes | 1 episode | |
| 2018 | Greed | Headmaster | Film |
| Holby City | Roger Ffoulkes | 1 episode | |
| 2017 | The Split | Stanley Brining | 1 episode |
| The Forgiving Earth | Jack Markham | 1 episode | |
| The Crown | Bob Boothby | 3 episodes | |
| 2016 | Man in an Orange Shirt | Registrar | 1 episode |
| Drifters | Uncle Gerald | 1 episode | |
| Delicious | Guy Trevelyan | 1 episode | |
| The Frankenstein Chronicles | Confectioner | 2 episodes | |
| 2015 | Wolf Hall | Sir William Kingston | 2 episodes |
| Mr Selfridge | Auctioneer | Episode 3.3 | |
| 2013–14 | Hollyoaks | Supt. Marlow | 9 episodes |
| 2012–13 | Him & Her | Graham | 5 episodes |
| 2013 | Vera | Hotel Manager | Prodigal Son |
| 2012 | Gambit | Sweaty Man | Film |
| The Secret of Crickley Hall | Ted Mason | Episode 1 | |
| The Rise | Albert Rendell | Film | |
| VIP | The Daily Mail | 1 episode | |
| 2011 | Coronation Street | Sam Foster | 3 episodes |
| Sugartown | Panel Member 1 | Episode 2 | |
| Law & Order: UK | Kenny | Crush | |
| 2010 | Doctors | Rowly Calderone | 5 episodes |
| 2009 | The Queen | Bernard Ingham | Episode: "The Rivals" |
| Monday Monday | William Campbell | Episode No. 1.6 | |
| My Family | Peter | A Difficult Undertaking | |
| 2008 | Wire in the Blood | Governor Williams | 3 episodes |
| Affinity | Mr. Vincy | TV film | |
| Doctor Who | Mr Bartle | Planet of the Ood | |
| He Kills Coppers | Tweed Suit | 1 episode | |
| Doctors | Eddie Martindale | Holding Back | |
| 2007–2015 | Peep Show | Ian Chapman | 6 episodes |
| 2007 | Doctor Who: The Infinite Quest | Mergrass (voice) | 3 episodes |
| Hotel Babylon | Businessman | Episode No. 2.4 | |
| Rich Man, Poor Man: Ben Dover Straightens Up | Himself – Acting Coach | Documentary | |
| 2006 | The Amazing Mrs Pritchard | John Hughes MP | Episode No. 1.1 |
| The Bad Food Guide | Raymond Postgate | Drama documentary | |
| Save Lullingstone Castle | Himself – Narrator | Six Part documentary | |
| 2005 | Coronation Street | Mal Quillan | Episode No. 1.6108 |
| 55 Degrees North | Charles Bellows | Episode No. 2.4 | |
| 2004 | Fakers | Henry Price | Film |
| 2003 | Georgian Underworld | Ordinary | Invitation to a Hanging |
| 2002 | My Family | Director | The Second Greatest Story Ever Told |
| Ali G Indahouse | Alan Swan | Film | |
| 2001 | Doctors | John Lanson | Coming Home |
| 2000 | One Foot in the Grave | Mitch Werner | The Futility of the Fly |
| The Man Who Cried | Second Official | Film | |
| 1999 | Kiss Me Kate | Client | Money Matters |
| Tabs Tales | Various | Multiple Episodes | |
| 1996 | Drop the Dead Donkey | Mike | Luck |
| 1989 | Forever Green | Commentator 2 | Episode No. 1.2 |
| 1988 | Salome's Last Dance | 1st Nazarean | Film |
| 1982/83 | Jigsaw | Himself – Presenter | Multiple Episodes |
| 1981 | Brideshead Revisited | Tom Markham | Orphans of the Storm |
| 1980 | All Creatures Great and Small | Brian Weeting | If Wishes Were Horses |
| 1979 | Screenplay | Major Von Richter (Barricade Major) | Gossip from the Forest |
| Mersey Pirate | Himself – Presenter | Multiple episodes |
Audio drama
| Year | Title | Role | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | Torchwood: Special Releases | A Christmas Card from Mr Colchester | Mr Colchester | A bonus audio released alongside "Reflect" |
| Torchwood Monthly Range | Reflect | |||
| Torchwood: Special Releases | Another Postcard from Mr Colchester | A bonus audio released alongside "Sabotage" | ||
| Torchwood Monthly Range | Sabotage | |||
| 2023 | Torchwood: The Story Continues | Among Us | ||
| 2022 | Torchwood: Special Releases | A Postcard from Mr Colchester | A bonus audio released alongside "Death in Venice" | |
| Torchwood Monthly Range | Death in Venice | |||
| 2021 | The Red List | |||
| Doctor Who: Time Lord Victorious | Echoes of Extinction | Edwards | ||
| 2020 | The Lives of Captain Jack Volume 03 | Episode: "Crush" | Driver | |
| 2019 | The War Master: Rage of the Time Lords | Episode: "The Survivor" | Hale | |
| Torchwood: The Story Continues | God Among Us | Mr Colchester | ||
| 2018 | ||||
| Cicero Series 01 | Sulla | |||
| Torchwood: The Story Continues | Aliens Among Us | Mr Colchester | ||
| 2017 | ||||
| 2016 | Torchwood: Special Releases | The Torchwood Archive | ||
| 2014 | Big Finish Special Releases | The Night of the Triffids | Bill Masen / General Fielding | Based on John Wyndham’s The Day of the Triffids |
| 2013 | The Confessions of Dorian Gray | The Prime of Deacon Brodie | William Wright | |
| 2005 | Bernice Summerfield | The Kingdom of the Blind | Forty Four | |
| 2003 | Doctor Who: The Monthly Adventures | The Wormery | Henry | |
| 2000AD | Judge Dredd: War Planet | Glomi | ||