Peter McEnery

McEnery was born in Walsall, Staffordshire, to Charles and Ada Mary (née Brinson) McEnery. He was educated at Ellesmere College, Shropshire.

His younger brothers are actor John and the photographer David.

McEnery appeared in Victim, a 1961 British neo-noir suspense film directed by Basil Dearden in which McEnery plays Barrett, a young working-class gay man who falls prey to blackmailers after he and the titular character are photographed in an intimate embrace. McEnery also starred alongside Hayley Mills in the 1964 film The Moon-Spinners.^[2] In 1966, he took the lead in the Disney adventure film The Fighting Prince of Donegal.^[3] He had the lead role in the expensive 1970 adventure film The Adventures of Gerard, which flopped.^[4]

He played Edwin Clayhanger in the television dramatisation of the novels by Arnold Bennett with support from Janet Suzman, Harry Andrews and Clive Swift.^[5] He played Mr Sloane in Entertaining Mr Sloane (1970).

As an actor for the Royal Shakespeare Company, he played the title role in Ron Daniel's 1979 production of Pericles, Prince of Tyre at The Other Place, and played several roles in the 1982 epic production of Nicholas Nickleby for the same company. In 1981, he played Oberon in the BBC Television Shakespeare production of A Midsummer Night's Dream. Another stage role is that of the surgeon Treves in the National Theatre's 1980 production of The Elephant Man.^[6]

McEnery married Julie Peasgood in 1978. They met in 1975 when she played a maid called Ada in the Clayhanger television series in which McEnery starred. Their daughter Kate was born in 1981. They later divorced. In 2007, he married actress Julia St John.^[7]