James Bolam
One of the UK's most loved actors.
James Bolam was born in 1938 in Sunderland, then part of County Durham but became part of Tyne and Wear in the early 70’s
One of Britain’s most enduring actors, with a career stretching from the early 60’s to the present. Beginning with appearances in the TV cop series Z-Cars and then in films such as A Kind of Loving and The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner. With comedy roles in such TV series as The Likely Lads and Only When I Laugh and straight roles such as Jack Ford in the series When The Boat Comes In James Bolam has shown that he is equally at home in comedy and straight roles.
Our James has been staring in TV programmes and films for so long that many generations will remember him for different things. He first found fame in the 1960’s with appearances in Z-Cars and films such as A Kind of Loving and The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner. He became a huge star when he teamed up with Rodney Bewes in the hit TV comedy series The Likely Lads. It only ran from 1964 to 1966 but made the pair into household names and put the north east firmly on the map.
They did bring the lads back in 1973 for “Whatever Happened To The Likely Lads”. Which only lasted for two series, and an xmas special, but it was a huge success and is still repeated to this day. As is the spin off film entitled “The Likely Lads”
Between the two “likely Lads” series he appeared with John Thaw in the series Inheritance.
In 1976 he returned to straight acting to play Jack Ford in When The Boat Comes In. Which is, in my opinion, the best TV Series ever made. With Jack Ford as my greatest TV hero ever. There were four series and they ran until 1981.
James Bolam returned to comedy in the classic TV comedy series “Only When I Laugh” which ran from 1979 to 1982.
In the mid 1980’s he stared as the Geordie woodwork teach Trevor Chaplin, who also liked jazz music, in the trio of short series The Beiderbecke Affair, The Beiderbecke Tapes and The Beiderbecke Connection.
In 1988 he stared as Andy Capp in the TV series of the same name. Sadly it only ran for the one series.
James Bolam has also made appearances in Second Thoughts (as Bill Macgregor), Midsomer Murders, Pay and Display, Dalziel and Pascoe, Born and Bred (as Dr. Arthur Gilder).
In 2002, he played the notorious Harold Shipman in the ITV adaptation of Prescription for Murder.
He portrayed the Prime Minister in the 2006 BBC documentary The Plot Against Harold Wilson.
Currently he is staring alongside Dennis Waterman, Alun Armstrong and Amanda Redman in the brilliant TV serial New Tricks. His wife, Susan Jameson also co-stars in the series as Alun Armstrong's wife.