John Frederick Joseph Savident (26 September 1937
Early life
Savident was born 26 September 1937 in Saint Peter Port,
Guernsey,
and still lived there at the time of the German occupation of the island in 1940. He and his family escaped to Britain in a fishing boat and settled in Ashton-under-Lyne. His acting career started when he joined Ashton Repertory.
Savident was educated at the town's grammar school and in 1955 joined the Manchester City Police, serving as a police officer before turning to acting as his profession.
Career
Savident created the role of Monsieur Firmin in the original production of
Phantom of the Opera, which opened on 9 October 1986 at Her Majesty's Theatre in Haymarket, London.
He appeared as the renegade scientist Egrorian in a 1981 episode of the cult science fiction TV series
Blake's 7.
He also had other television appearances in
Danger Man,
The Saint,
Callan and
Doctor Who.
He played Doctor Meredith in
The Remains of the Day.
Coronation Street
Despite his many film and television roles, including civil servant Sir Frederick Stewart in
Yes Minister,
and a part in
A Clockwork Orange (1971),
it was only when Savident joined the cast of
Coronation Street as the bellicose but romantic butcher
Fred Elliott during the 1990s that he became a household name.
He made his first appearance on the show in 1994 and his character quickly became popular with viewers.
In December 2005, Savident announced that he was to leave Coronation Street citing undisclosed "personal reasons". His character died of a stroke nine months later, in October 2006. He later revealed that he had retired from the show "because he wanted to spend more time with his family in Hertfordshire".
Later work
Savident was one of the readers on the BBC's online Advent Calendar in December 2006. That year, he appeared in the
pantomime Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs as the
henchman at Manchester Opera House, alongside his former
Coronation Street co-star
Suranne Jones, as well as
Justin Moorhouse and an all-star seven dwarves including
Warwick Davis.
In 2007, he was touring as the lead in a production of Hobson's Choice.
He guest-starred in the Christmas special episode of Holby City in 2012, playing patient Rupert Pool.
Personal life and death
Savident married Rona Hopkinson in 1961; they had two children.
In the early hours of 1 December 2000, Savident was stabbed in the neck at his flat in Manchester by Michael Smith. He had met Smith at a gay bar that evening. Smith was jailed for seven years for the attack.
Savident died on 21 February 2024, aged 86.
Filmography
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Robbery (1967) – Policeman with Dog (uncredited)
-
The White Bus (1967) – Supporter
-
Armchair Theatre: Compensation Alice (1967) – Cecil
-
The Saint (1968) – Frank Lomax
-
The Avengers (1968) – Henry Winthrop
-
Inadmissible Evidence (1968) – Mr. Watson
-
Department S (1968) - Captain Svenoski
-
Nearest and Dearest(1969) – Landlord
-
Otley (1969) – Businessman
-
Before Winter Comes (1969) – British Corporal
-
Battle of Britain (1969) – RAF Officer (uncredited)
-
Waterloo (1970) – Muffling
-
A Family at War (1970-1972, TV Series) – George Askew
-
Man of Straw (1972, TV series) – Von Wulchow
-
The Raging Moon (1971) – Fete Guest
-
A Clockwork Orange (1971) – Conspirator Dolin
-
Tightrope (1972) – Forrester
-
Penny Gold (1973) – Sir Robert Hampton
-
(1973) – Hewel
-
Diamonds on Wheels (1974) – Steward
-
Butley (1974) – James (uncredited)
-
QB VII (1974) – Anaesthetist
-
Galileo (1974) – Second Senator
-
Looking For Clancy (1975) – Sir John Kernan
-
Trial by Combat (1976) – Oliver Griggs – Police Commissioner
-
Raffles (1976) (plus TV series The Manhunt) Mr. Justice Raffles – Daniel Brigstock (1 episode)
-
Just William (1977 TV series) (1977) – Mr. Bumbleby (Series 2 - Episode 14 - William and the Tramp)
-
Rachel and the Beelzebub Bombardiers (1977) – Captain Verney, MP
-
1990 (1977) – Dan Mellor
-
The Professionals (1978) – Robert Plumb (1 episode)
-
Blake's 7 (1979) – Samor
-
Yes Minister (1980) – Sir Frederick 'Jumbo' Stewart
-
Blake's 7 (1981) – Egrorian
-
Doctor Who: The Visitation (1982) – The Squire (1 episode)
-
Gandhi (1982) – Manager of the Mine
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Blackadder (pilot) (1982) – King of England
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Oliver Twist (1982, TV Movie) – Mr. Fang
-
The Wicked Lady (1983) – Squire Thornton
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The Crystal Cube (1983) – The Bishop of Horley
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The Cleopatras (1983) – Pythagoras
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Never the Twain (1984) – Series 3 Episode 2, Mr Wilde
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The Bill (1984, TV Series) – Video shop owner
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Little Dorrit (1987) – Tite Barnacle
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A Summer Story (1988) – A Bank Clerk
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Camping (1990) – English camper
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Mountains of the Moon (1990) – Lord Murchison
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Impromptu (1991) – Buloz
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Hudson Hawk (1991) – Auctioneer
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Mr. Bean Takes an Exam (1991) – examination invigilator
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Jeeves and Wooster (1992) (TV Series) Series 3, Episode 2 – Edgar Gascoyne Bickersteth, 8th Duke of Chiswick
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Brain Donors (1992) – Edmund Lazlo
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Mrs 'Arris Goes to Paris (1992) – Mr Armont
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The Remains of the Day (1993) – Doctor Meredith
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Tom & Viv (1994) – Sir Frederick Lamb
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Coronation Street (1994–2006) – Fred Elliott (1,065 episodes)
-
Middlemarch (1994) – Raffles
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Othello (1995) – 2nd Senator
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Loch Ness (1996) – Dr. Binns
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Sharpe – Sharpe's Regiment (1996) – Maj. Gen. Sir Barstan Maxwell
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Hotel Babylon (2009) – Tristam Calder
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The Phantom of the Opera at the Royal Albert Hall (2011) – Monsieur Firmin
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Holby City (2012) – Rupert Pool
Notes
External links
