| The following article is written from an Out of Universe perspective. |
Don Warrington (born 23 May 1951) played The Keeper in Doctor Who, first appearing in The Other and then playing the role regularly from Lord President of Gallifrey-Return to Earth. He later reprised the role in the Panopticon Series 2 episode The Dice Has Been Cast and later in Doctor Who: Genesis.
Biography
Prior to Doctor Who
Warrington was born in Trinidad, but moved to England with his mother and brother at a young age, while his sister stayed in Trinidad. He was brought up in Newcastle upon Tyne. His father, Basil Kydd, was a Trinidadian politician who died in 1958.
Warrington attended Harris College (now the University of Central Lancashire) and trained as an actor at the Drama Centre London. As there was already an actor called Don Williams when he joined Equity, he took the stage surname "Warrington" after Warrington Road, the street he grew up on. He started acting in repertory theatre at the age of 17.
Warrington is known for playing Philip Smith in Rising Damp, from 1974 to 1978, alongside Leonard Rossiter, Richard Beckinsale, and Frances de la Tour. Warrington also appeared as series regular in the crime drama C.A.T.S. Eyes, as government contact Nigel Beaumont (1985–1987)
In 1993 Warrington played television reporter Graham Gaunt in To Play The King, the second part of the BBC's House of Cardstrilogy.
His film roles included the movie version of Rising Damp (1980), the Kenny Everett horror comedy Bloodbath at the House of Death(1983), The Lion of Africa (1987), Kenneth Branagh's Hamlet (1996), Peter Greenaway's 8½ Women (1999) and the horror film Lighthouse (1999).
Work on Doctor Who
Warrington was cast as The Keeper in the Doctor Who story The Other. He reprised the role for the first movie. The Keeper became a regular character during the first two seasons of the Anthony Head era, his last regular appearance being in Return to Earth.
Four years later Warrington returned to play The Keeper in the Panopticon Series 2 episode The Dice Has Been Cast. He then played the character in the Season 46 story Inquisition.
Warrington made a brief cameo as The Keeper at the start of Doctor Who: Genesis.
After Doctor Who
Warrington's other roles include Impact Earth (2007) playing General Harris; and in New Street Law as Judge Ken Winyard.
In 2008 Warrington competed in the sixth series of Strictly Come Dancing, partnered with the 2005 and 2006 British National Champion in Latin American dance, Lilia Kopylova. After Week 4, Warrington was joint seventh out of the remaining 12 contestants with an average of 24.5 points. In Week 5 he was eliminated, having lost the dance-off against Heather Small, with the first three judges all voting for Small over Warrington.
He joined the show to step out of his comfort zone, and he appreciated the opportunity to learn to dance.
He is one of the interviewees on the BBC 2 series Grumpy Old Men, and he appears in a series of Kenco coffee advertisements in the United Kingdom in which he plays an African coffee plantation owner. He regularly provides voice-overs for both BBC TV and radio.
Warrington played the role of the Hospital Chaplain in Casualty, assuming the role of Trevor. He also starred in the 2010 film It's a Wonderful Afterlife. He also appeared in Grange Hill as Mr Peters, the father of pupil Lauren Peters.
He has provided voiceover links, reading out the various methods of contacting the show on the Chris Evans Breakfast Show on BBC Radio 2, which has been broadcast since 11 January 2010.
Since 2011, Warrington has played Commissioner Selwyn Patterson in the hit BBC show Death in Paradise.
He also appeared as jazz musician Frederick J. Louden in a BBC radio production of The Devil's Music, written by Alan Plater. In 2011, Warrington played the father of a suspected terrorist in the last series of the BBC drama Waking the Dead.
Warrington is an accomplished theatre actor and has performed with the National Theatre, the Royal Shakespeare Company, Bristol Old Vic and the Royal Exchange, Manchester.
In 2012–13 he toured with Gwen Taylor in the new stage version of Driving Miss Daisy.[11]
In 2013 Warrington played the lead role of Joe Keller, in Talawa Theatre Company's all-black revival of Arthur Miller's tragedy All My Sons at the Manchester Royal Exchange, directed by Michael Buffong – a production that The Guardian reviewer called "flawless", giving it a five-star rating.
Warrington won universal acclaim for his performance as King Lear in the 2016 Talawa Theatre Company and Manchester Royal Exchange co-production, with critics describing it as a "heartbreaking tour-de-force", The Stage wrote that "Warrington seizes and owns it with magnetic, majestic power".
Warrington appeared as George in David Mamet's Glengarry Glenn Ross between October 2017 and February 2018 at the Playhouse Theatre alongside Christian Slater, Robert Glenister, Kris Marshall and Daniel Ryan.
He starred as central protagonist Willy Loman in Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman at the Royal Exchange Theatre from October to November 2018.
Personal Life
To be added.
Selected Credits
Doctor WhoAs the Keeper
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PanopticonAs the KeeperMoviesAs the Keeper20032013
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