Product Code Database
David Nicholas Yip (p=Yè Xīyuán; born 4 June 1951) is a British actor and playwright. He gained prominence through his role in the BBC series The Chinese Detective (1981–1982) as the first Chinese lead on British television.
His films include A View to a Kill (1985), Ping Pong (1986), and Break (2020). Yip wrote and starred in the play Gold Mountain. On television, he appeared in the Channel 4 soap opera Brookside (1989–1990), the CBBC series Spirit Warriors (2010), and the Sky Atlantic thriller Fortitude (2017–2018). He is also known for his voice work.
Yip has given talks and presented documentaries on the Chinese community in his hometown of Liverpool. In 2022, he was awarded honorary doctorates by the University of Essex and Edge Hill University.
After leaving school at 16, Yip worked as a shipping clerk for British Rail for 2 years. At 18, he was offered a job as an assistant stage manager by Teresa Collard at the Neptune Theatre. He participated in local youth productions while working at the Everyman, including one under the direction of Barry Kyle when he was visiting the Liverpool Playhouse. Yip's peers encouraged him to audition for drama school. He got into East 15 Acting School and went on to complete his training in 1973.
From 1981 to 1982, Yip starred as the titular detective John Ho in the BBC police procedural The Chinese Detective, making him the first East Asian lead on British television. In a 2022 retrospective of 100 BBC gamechangers, the British Film Institute called Yip's performance "pensive and affecting". After watching him in the series, director Steven Spielberg cast Yip in the opening scene of Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom as the Jones' past companion Wu Han, marking Yip's feature film debut. This was followed by a supporting role as CIA liaison agent Chuck Lee in the 1985 James Bond film A View to a Kill and a lead role as Mike Wong in the 1986 mystery comedy film Ping Pong.
Yip played Michael Choì in the Channel 4 soap opera Brookside from 1989 to 1990. In 1990, he appeared as a contestant on Cluedo, facing off against comedian Tony Slattery. He starred in the 1993 BBC sitcom Every Silver Lining and appeared in the television adaptation of Wilde Justice. This was followed by small roles in the films Goodbye Hong Kong (1994), Hamlet (1996), Fast Food (1998), and Entrapment (1999). He played Assad in the two-parter Arabian Nights, Merv in the film My Kingdom (2001), and Dr Pang in the CBBC series Oscar Charlie.
Yip starred alongside Chipo Chung and Gemma Chan in a production of Turandot. Yip wrote a play entitled Gold Mountain, based on his father's life. It was intended for the Liverpool Capital of Culture 2008 event, but was delayed due to writing problems. It premiered on 6 October 2010, at the Unity Theatre, Liverpool, and was performed again in 2012.
Also in 2010, Yip played Ding-Xiang in the CBBC series Spirit Warriors. In 2013, Yip joined the cast of feature film All That Remains which was released on 5 May 2016. He reunited with Gemma Chan from Turandot in the play Yellow Face at the Park Theatre and then National Theatre.
From 2017 to 2018, Yip returned to the National Theatre for The Great Wave, led the play Eastern Star at the Tara Theatre, and played Hong Mankyo in the Sky Atlantic psychological thriller Fortitude. He also had a voice role on the ABC Kids animated series Luo Bao Bei. He starred in the 2020 thriller film Break.
Yip only adopted his Chinese name, coined by friends, as an adult whilst working on a movie in Hong Kong.
| 1984 | Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom | Wu Han | |
| 1985 | A View to a Kill | Chuck Lee | |
| 1986 | Ping Pong | Mike Wong | |
| 1987 | Out of Order | Policeman | |
| 1990 | Blue Funnel | Daniel | Short film |
| 1994 | Goodbye Hong Kong | Peter Ma | |
| 1996 | Hamlet | Sailor One | |
| 1999 | Fast Food | Mr Fortune | |
| Entrapment | Chief of Police | ||
| 2000 | Chinese Whispers | Director, writer Short film | |
| 2001 | My Kingdom | Merv | |
| 2005 | Zoltan the Great | Dak | Short film |
| 2008 | Act of Grace | Kai | |
| 2009 | The School That Roared | Winnie's Dad | |
| 2011 | Re-Evolution | Councillor | |
| 2016 | The Sea, the God, the Man | God | Short film |
| All That Remains | Noburu Nagai | ||
| 2017 | Dystopian: Lovesong | Ian Dystop | Short film |
| Emper | Zhang | ||
| 2018 | Dim Sum | Mr Chen | Short film |
| 2020 | Break | Vincent Qiang | |
| TBA | Sigh of the Sea | ||
| Dream Hacker | Wang Lei | ||
| 1975 | Whodunnit? | Ray Hunt | Episode: "Portrait in Black" |
| 1978 | Savages | Kumai | Television film |
| It Ain't Half Hot Mum | Bandit | Episode: "The Great Payroll Snatch" | |
| 1979 | Doctor Who | Veldan | Destiny of the Daleks; 2 episodes |
| Quatermass | Frank Chen | 2 episodes | |
| The Quatermass Conclusion | Television film | ||
| 1980 | Spy! | Ito Ritsui | Episode: "The Tokyo Ring" |
| The Cuckoo Waltz | Mr Ling | Episode: "The Neighbour" | |
| The Mystery of the Disappearing Schoolgirls | Quintus | Television film | |
| 1981 | Armchair Thriller | Denny | Episode: "The Chelsea Murders" |
| 1981–1982 | The Chinese Detective | Detective Sergeant John Ho | Lead role |
| 1982 | The Professionals | Editor | Episode: "Discovered in a Graveyard" |
| 1983 | Jackanory | Storyteller | 5 episodes |
| 1985 | The Caucasian Chalk Circle | Simon | Television film |
| 1988 | King and Castle | Tony Chen | Episode: "Dim Sums" |
| 1989 | Murder by Moonlight | Chang | Television film |
| 1989–1991 | Making Out | Mr. Kim | 3 episodes |
| 1989–1990 | Brookside | Michael Choi | 17 episodes |
| 1991 | Tatort | Chow Hap-man | Episode: "Die chinesische Methode" |
| 1992 | Rear Window | Brilliant Chang / Narrator | Episode: "White Girls on Dope" |
| 1993 | Every Silver Lining | Leonard | 6 episodes |
| 1994 | Wild Justice | Wong | Television film |
| 1995 | Rich Deceiver | Ricky Ramon | Television film |
| 1996 | Thief Takers | Jimmy Mak | 2 episodes |
| Bugs | Chaku | Episode: "...Must Come Down " | |
| 2000 | Arabian Nights | Assad | Miniseries |
| 2002 | Oscar Charlie | Dr Pang | 6 episodes |
| 2003 | The Bill | Li Chen | Episode: "100: Under the Thumb" |
| 2006 | Casualty | Jiang Guang | Episode: "No Way Back" |
| 2008 | ChuckleVision | Chives the Butler | Episode: "The Mystery of Little-Under-Standing" |
| 2010 | Spirit Warriors | Ding-Xiang | 6 episodes |
| 2013 | Holby City | Raymond Lo | 2 episodes |
| 2014 | President Wei | 2 episodes | |
| 2017–2018 | Fortitude | Hong Mankyo | 6 episodes (series 2–3) |
| 2018 | Lucky Man | Tai Jing | Episode: "The Sins of the Father" |
| Luo Bao Bei | Grandpa | Voice role; 26 episodes | |
| 2019 | Porters | Dalai Lama | Episode: "Wedding & Perfume" |
| 2021 | Midsomer Murders | Fergus Rooney | Episode: "Scarecrow Murders" |
| 2022 | The Capture | Xian Xiaodong | Episode: "Made in China" |
| Pennyworth | Zeya Khin | 2 episodes | |
| 2025 | Wolf King | Huth, Hamwell | Voice |
| 1999 | Silver | Cagen | |
| 2001 | |||
| 2003 | Ko'vash | ||
| 2010 | Just Cause 2 | ||
| 2012 | Brink | Additional voices | |
| 2013 | Lego City Undercover | Henrik Kowalski | |
| 2017 | The Lego Ninjago Movie Video Game | Master Wu | |
| 2018 | Pugnacius | English version | |
| 1973 | Decameron '73 | Storyteller | Roundhouse, London / Manchester Opera House, Manchester |
| The Man From The East | Boy | Europe tour | |
| 1974 | Jack and the Beanstalk | Citizens Theatre, Glasgow | |
| 1975 | Jingo | Soldier | Aldwych Theatre, London |
| Raindog | Monk / Narrator | Roundhouse, London | |
| 1976 | Noah | Shem | Chichester Festival Theatre, Chichester |
| Twelfth Night | Sailor / Attendant | ||
| Antony and Cleopatra | Alexas | Young Vic, London | |
| 1977 | Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead | Tragedian / Ambassador | |
| Romeo and Juliet | Benvolio | ||
| Tobias and the Angel | Tobias | ||
| Follow the Star | Angel Gabriel | Chichester Festival Theatre, Chichester / Westminster Theatre | |
| 1978 | Measure for Measure | Lucio | Avon Touring Theatre Company |
| 1983 | Sinbad the Sailor | Sinbad | Theatre Royal Stratford East |
| Buried Treasure | Toby Wong | Tricycle Theatre, London | |
| 1983–1984 | Peter Pan | Peter Pan | Darlington Civic Theatre, Darlington |
| 1984 | The Knack | Tour | |
| 1985 | The Wizard of Oz | Straw Man | Kings Theatre, Portsmouth |
| 1986 | Made in Bangkok | Net | Aldwych Theatre, London |
| 1987 | Julius Caesar | Various | Bristol Old Vic, Bristol |
| 1988 | Don't Go Away Mad | Donmar Warehouse, London | |
| Ear, Nose and Throat | Tour | ||
| 1990 | Frauds | Johnny Sun | Abbey Theatre, Dublin |
| 1991 | The King and I | The King | Manchester Opera House, Manchester |
| Mother Goose | Mother Goose | Shaw Theatre, London | |
| 1992 | White Woman Street | Yeshov | Bush Theatre, London / Abbey Theatre, Dublin |
| 1993 | Three Japanese Women | Mr Tanaka | Cockpit Theatre, London |
| 1994 | The Life of the World to Come | Dr Ken Makoto | Almeida Theatre, London |
| Aladdin | Aladdin | Theatre Royal, Brighton | |
| 1997 | Hamlet | Claudius | Singapore Repertory Theatre, Singapore |
| 2006 | King Lear | Albany / Gloucester | Royal Shakespeare Company / Yellow Earth Theatre international tour |
| 2008 | Turandot | Fi Jeh | Hampstead Theatre, London |
| 2009 | The King and I | The Kralahome | Royal Albert Hall, London |
| Chun Yi: The Legend of Kung Fu | Older Chun Yi | London Coliseum | |
| 2010 | Gold Mountain | Yee Lui | Co-writer Unity Theatre, Liverpool |
| 2011 | Fit and Proper People | Frankie Wong | Soho Theatre, London |
| 2012 | The Bomb: A Partial History | Various | Tricycle Theatre, London |
| 2013–2014 | Yellow Face | HYH | Park Theatre and National Theatre, London |
| 2017 | The Great Wave | Takishi / Jiro | National Theatre, London |
| 2018 | Eastern Star | U Nay Min | Tara Theatre, London |
| 2004 | The Inventor of Fireworks | BBC Radio 3 | |
| 2007 | Dalek Empire: The Fearless | Kennedy | Big Finish Productions |
| Doctor Who: The Girl Who Never Was | Curly / Tourist / Inspector Yew | ||
| 2013 | Gallifrey | Hector | |
|
|
