Philip Franks
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Philip Franks (born 1959 in London) is a British actor and director best known for his roles as tax inspector Cedric "Charley" Charlton in the British sitcom The Darling Buds of May, and Sgt. Raymond Craddock on Heartbeat. He has also made guest appearances in Absolutely Fabulous, Pie in the Sky, Midsomer Murders and Foyle's War. Other appearances include the TV miniseries Bleak House, Martin Chuzzlewit, The Buddha of Suburbia, The Green Man and To Serve Them All My Days. Franks is also a member of the Royal Shakespeare Company. He also makes regular appearances alongside Susie Dent in the 'Dictionary Corner' on the British quiz show Countdown (having applied to be a contestant on the show before becoming famous).
Franks has also directed many plays including "Kafka’s Dick" and "The Kiss of the Spiderwoman" (Nottingham Playhouse), "The Cocktail Party" (Edinburgh Festival), "Rebecca" (Royal Lyceum, Edinburgh), "Hamlet" (Greenwich and tour), "Macbeth" (Sheffield Crucible) and "The Duchess of Malfi" (West Yorkshire Playhouse, Greenwich and West End), "Private Lives" and "The Heiress" (Royal National Theatre), "The White Devil" (Lyric Theatre, Hammersmith); "Nicholas Nickleby" (Chichester Festival Theatre) and "The Tempest" (Liverpool Playhouse).
