Dennis Waterman: A cunning natural in three great British TV series

DEnnis Waterman, who has died aged 74, was an actor whose gruff charm and grave tone were especially effective as criminals or crime fighters who walked a fine line between danger and humor and could cross from one side to the other in unexpected moments. .

While some television stars are indelibly associated with a famous role, Waterman landed leading roles in three long-running independent primetime features that are among the most beloved series on television.

In The Sweeney (ITV, 1974-78), he was DS George Carter, a tough, sexist and corruptible detective, who meets violence with violence, in the Metropolitan Police’s “flying squad”, underling of DI Jack Regan of John Thaw. Almost as soon as the show came to an end, ITV placed him on (just) the other side of the law in Minder (ITV, 1979-89) as Terry McCann, an ex-convict who, upon release from prison, may find he works only as an assistant and bodyguard to George Cole’s Dickensian petty thief, Arthur Daley. Those two roles secured Waterman’s place in television history, but his professional tenacity and rapport with the public brought him another long career as Gerry Standing, one of a group of retired detectives brought back to run a case unit. unsolved in New Tricks, which aired on the BBC. One from 2003-15.

In the working-class south London culture in which Waterman grew up, there was often a sense that it was a matter of luck whether some men became cops or robbers, and Waterman shrewdly used this ambiguity to menacing effect in The Sweeney, comedy on Minder, and somewhere in between on New Tricks.

Unlike actors who prefer a clear top billboard and the most lines in the script, Waterman was always better as a co-star, pulling off formidable double acts with Thaw and Cole, resulting in close friendships and deep mourning over their deaths. . This loyalty and generosity also influenced New Tricks, where he was part of an all-star rotating ensemble with Amanda Redman, Alun Armstrong, James Bolam, Denis Lawson and Nicholas Lyndhurst.

Care is needed in reading an actor’s life into his performances, but it seems reasonable to feel that Waterman’s portrayals of opportunists and con men may have been inspired by a nervousness he personally possessed. He had four marriages, of which actress Rula Lenska’s ended due to Waterman’s admitted violent behavior. Those incidents, and subsequent attempts to downplay his actions in an interview with Piers Morgan, would likely have ended a career by now, but the actor benefited from a greater willingness at the time to condone so-called “bad boy” behavior in men. prominent.

A viewer who only saw The Sweeney, Minder and New Tricks might raise questions about his acting range: DCI Standing could have been the slightly mild-mannered older DS Carter and Terry McCann the nephew of either. But in fact, throughout his career, Waterman was versatile. A natural performer, he was an actor for most of his life, making his film debut at age 11, playing a kidnapped insulin-dependent boy (can the police find him before he needs his medicine?) in the 1960 British film Night Train. Inverness. Drama school and the Children’s Film Foundation provided him with multiple roles in his youth, including as the lovable criminal William Brown in a BBC production of Just William (1962).

Also skilled as a singer and dancer, Waterman appeared in West End musicals, including My Fair Lady and Windy City, and, unusually, specialized in singing the theme songs for his television shows, humming the credits of Minder, New Tricks and two minors. hits, On the Up and Stay Lucky.

This characteristic gift was lampooned in sketches for the comedy series Little Britain, in which David Walliams played a caricature of Waterman who angered his agent by refusing roles unless he was allowed to sing the title number. Displaying an ability to laugh at himself by no means universal to show business, Waterman subsequently made a cameo appearance in a stage version of Little Britain, with Walliams and Matt Lucas.

However, he will be most remembered and reproduced in a subgenre of 1970s and 1980s London street drama created by Thames Television, and its greatest achievements, The Sweeney and Minder.