Ivor Roberts on Film [2]

After leaving the National Theatre, Ivor had another small part in ‘Personal Services’ a film directed by Terry Jones, of Monty Python fame. Julie Walters stars as suburban brothel Madame, Christine Painter, with some highly unusual clients. Inspired by the real experiences of the legendary Cynthia Payne, the film is a revealing, hilarious and uproarious account of Christine's adventures as she climbs the ladder to fame and notoriety blending those elements with a genuine warmth, and taking a hysterical look at sexual diversity and English reserve. Other leading parts were played by Alec McCowen & Shirley Stelfox.

Ivor Roberts on Film [1]

Prior to joining the National Theatre, Ivor had a small part in ‘Another Country’ a 1984 film by Julian Mitchell adapted from his play of the same title. The film, directed by Marek Kanievska, stars Rupert Everett as Guy Bennett along with Colin Firth as Tommy Judd. Ivor has a small speaking part as the Chief Judge and rubs shoulders, so to speak, with Charles Spencer, 9th Earl Spencer, Diana, Princess of Wales' younger brother who has three scenes in the film as an extra without any dialogue.

Information about the film is at the following Wikipedia link:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Another_Country_(film)

Ivor Roberts in Sitcoms [1]

In 1995, Ivor played Arnold, the dear, old engine driver, in the pilot episode of Oh Doctor Beeching! in the "Comic Asides" series. The pilot, created by David Croft, it was set in a small, rural railway station under threat of closure in the 60's and was followed by two series (1996-97) co-written with Jeremy Spendlove. The programme reunited some of the cast of Hi-de-Hi! and You Rang, M'Lord?, both of which were scripted by Croft and his Dad's Army co-writer Jimmy Perry. An example of the closing credits for the show, featuring a glimpse of Ivor, can be found at the following YouTube link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GSMoUWk7KVo

Previously, Ivor had made an appearance in You Rang, M'Lord? in 1993.

Ivor Roberts and Celebrity [1]

Perhaps Ivor's biggest brush with celebrity was in 1985 when he appeared in a Barbara Striesand pop video 'Emotion' as a dirty old businessman trying to seduce the singer with a string of pearls. The video also featured other celebrities from the world of entertainment, including Mikail Baryshnikov & Roger Daltry. The video may be seen at the following YouTube link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V8itdxN7Kms

'Emotion' was the title track of Striesand's 1985 album which is still available.

Ivor Roberts @ The National Theatre

Undoubtably, one of the stage highlights of Ivor's career was his performances with the new National Theatre group working under the direction of Richard Eyre & David Hare. Ivor was cast in both Pravda & The Government Inspector, two landmark productions of the 1985 season.



In Pravda, written by Howard Brenton & David Hare and directed by David Hare, Ivor [Sir Stamford Foley] played along side Antony Hopkins [Lambert Le Roux] who stole the show with a bravura performance praised by all the critics.



Whilst in The Government Inspector, written by Gogol, translated by Adrian Mitchell and directed by Richard Eyre, Ivor [?] played along side Rik Mayall [Khlestakov] in one of Mayall's acclaimed transitional roles from TV to stage.



It is a little ironic, that Ivor was absent from the group photograph session and is not pictured in the official programmes.

Ivor Roberts on TV [1] 'Enemy at the Door'

Ivor made frequent appearances on TV in one-off dramas and serials. One such serial was 'Enemy at the Door' in which Ivor appeared in the 'War Game' episode. The fan website has an image of Ivor in the “Cast Gallery” at the following link:

http://www.zetaminor.com/cult/enemy/enemy_door_guest.htm

and the website also has lots of information about the TV series which was set in the Channel Islands during WWII.

Ivor Roberts on ITV News

As recorded in Ivor's obituary, his acting career was preceded by his years as a TV continuity announcer. The ITV @ 50 website has a mention of Ivor in a “Memory of ITV” written by Richard Jones at the following link:

http://www.transdiffusion.org/tmc/itv50/memories.php

No doubt further 'memories' are on the internet and will be posted in due course.