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Christopher Ryan

( 1950 Births )

Early life
Career

''The Young Ones''
Later career

Filmography

Film
Television
Audio drama
Video games
Music videos

Theatre
References
External links

C O N T E N T S

Episode Episodes Ryan Theatre

Rank: 100%

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Christopher Papazoglou (born 25 January 1950), known professionally as Christopher Ryan, is a British actor. He is known for his sitcom roles including Mike The Cool Person in The Young Ones, Dave Hedgehog in Bottom, Edina Monsoon's ex-husband Marshall Turtle in the BBC sitcom Absolutely Fabulous and Tony Driscoll in Only Fools and Horses and its spin-off The Green Green Grass. He has appeared in Doctor Who in the alien roles of Kiv in The Trial of a Time Lord (1986) and Sontaran General Staal (2008, 2010).

Early life

Ryan was born Christopher Papazoglou on 25 January 1950 in Bayswater, London, to an English mother and a Greek father. It is not clear if he spent some time in a children's home in Hutton, Essex, during his childhood. He trained at East 15 Acting School from 1968 to 1971, then began his professional acting career with Glasgow Citizens' Theatre.

Career

The Young Ones

Ryan was the only Young Ones cast member who was not already well known in British comedy circles, the other principal parts being taken by The Comic Strip members Rik Mayall, Adrian Edmondson, Nigel Planer, and Alexei Sayle. He was a last-minute replacement for Peter Richardson, for whom the "straight man" role of "Mike The Cool Person" was originally intended.

In 1986, Ryan reunited with the rest of the cast for the comedic charity single and music video for Cliff Richard's song "Living Doll", with Richard himself, for Comic Relief.

Later career

In 1987, he starred in the short-lived BBC sitcom A Small Problem. He played Lucky in Samuel Beckett's Waiting for Godot at the Sondheim Theatre in the West End in 1991, alongside Mayall and Edmondson.From the programme to the production. He later played Dave Hedgehog in Bottom, and Marshall Turtle, one of Edina's unloved ex-husbands, on Absolutely Fabulous. He has also appeared in two major sitcoms: he played one of the Driscoll brothers in an episode of Only Fools And Horses and spin-off The Green Green Grass, a pair of Twin builders in the One Foot in the Grave episode "Hole in the Sky", and a plumber in the episode "The Valley of Fear". He appeared in Back to School Mr. Bean, My Family and Saxondale. He joined up again with Jennifer Saunders for two episodes of The Life and Times of Vivienne Vyle.

In 1986, he appeared in the science fiction series Doctor Who as the alien creature Lord Kiv in the serial The Trial of a Time Lord, and as one of the rose-painting playing cards in the 1999 TV version of Alice in Wonderland. In 2008, he again guest-starred in Doctor Who in the episodes "The Sontaran Stratagem" and "The Poison Sky", as the Sontaran leader "General Staal", and in the 2010 episode "The Pandorica Opens", playing another Sontaran character, "Commander Stark". In 2012 he appeared in the role of Marshall in Episode 3 "Olympics" of the Absolutely Fabulous 20th-anniversary specials.

Although so far his film appearances have been few, he has played small roles in (1985) playing Vout the elf, and in the film Dirty Weekend (1993), directed by Michael Winner playing a character credited as Small One.

Ryan starred as Baron Hardup in the pantomime of Cinderella at the Theatre Royal, Norwich from 17 December 2013 to 19 January 2014.

Filmography

Film

Direct-to-video

Uncredited

Direct-to-video

Television

Episode: "A Good and Faithful Woman"

Episodes 5.13 & 5.15

Episode: "Deasey"

Episode: "Stick or Twist"

Episode: "Days at the Beach"