Bill Treacher

Bill Treacher
Treacher as Arthur Fowler in EastEnders
Born	William Charles Treacher (1930-06-04)4 June 1930 Dagenham, Essex, England
Died	5 November 2022(2022-11-05) (aged 92) Ipswich, Suffolk, England
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1960–2012
Television	EastEnders (1985–1996)
Spouse	Katherine Kessey ​ (m. 1971)​
Children	2

William Charles Treacher (4 June 1930 – 5 November 2022) was an English actor. He was best known for portraying the role of Arthur Fowler in the BBC One soap opera EastEnders from 1985 to 1996, having been the first person to be cast for the show.

Early life

Treacher was born in Dagenham, one of eight children (six boys and two girls) of roofer and tiler William Perks Treacher and Minnie (née Chappell). He grew up in Hackney, Bethnal Green, Mile End, and Waltham Cross, and was evacuated to Gloucestershire during the Second World War. He attended Kings Road JMI School in Waltham Cross and worked as a porter at Waltham Cross station. After his national service in the Royal Air Force, he worked for four years as a steward with P&O, where he saved enough money to attend drama school.

Career

Theatre

After graduating from the Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art, he made his West End debut in 1963 with the comedy Shout for Life at The Vaudeville Theatre. Several successful West End roles followed.

Television

Treacher then moved into television drama, making appearances in a number of classic series of the 1970s including Grange Hill, Bless This House, Minder, The Professionals, Dixon of Dock Green, Z-Cars and The Agatha Christie Hour.

Treacher appeared in bit-part television roles several times during the 1970s, including in the police drama The Sweeney episode "Selected Target", as a sailor in the Dad's Army episode "Menace from the Deep" and in 1975 as Arnold in an episode of the comedy series Bless This House entitled "The Phantom Pools Winner".

In 2006, Treacher had a guest-starring role in the ITV police drama The Bill. He also appeared as a security guard in an episode of Casualty in December 2007.

EastEnders

In late 1984, Treacher was the first actor to be cast in the BBC soap opera EastEnders, appearing in the first episode on 19 February 1985, as Arthur Fowler, a role he played for the next eleven years. The co-creators, Tony Holland and Julia Smith, had scripted the character with Treacher in mind. Treacher said in 2015 that he was initially reluctant to sign up for the show as it meant long hours and a sizeable commute from his family home in Suffolk, but that he relented due to the chance of a steady income. He received much critical acclaim for the role, especially for his portrayal of his character's mental decline and subsequent nervous breakdown. The character also endured a succession of misfortunes, which included two short spells in prison, a persistent struggle with unemployment, his daughter Michelle's (Susan Tully) pregnancy at the age of 16, his son Mark's (Todd Carty) diagnosis with HIV, and a midlife crisis where he had an affair with Christine Hewitt (Elizabeth Power) which almost broke up his marriage to Pauline (Wendy Richard).

By 1995, Treacher had requested to be written out of the series, stating: "By the time I finished, even the sound of the theme music was making me feel ill. I felt depressed." He also stated in a 2003 BBC documentary interviewing past stars of the show that he felt "compelled" to leave with advancing age. He said the stress of a gruelling schedule working long hours on the show was affecting his health and that doctors told him that if he did not leave the job soon and relax, it would kill him.

Films

Treacher appeared in several films, most notably Pop Pirates (1984), The Musketeer (2001), Tale of the Mummy (1998), and George and the Dragon (2004).

Radio

Treacher was also an accomplished radio actor and appeared in a BBC Radio 4 play of the day, Bringing Eddie Home by John Peacock, based on a true story of the fight by East End couple Edna and Jack Wallace to get their son's body brought home from Aden, and the ensuing fight for the rights of British service personnel. Treacher played the role of the older Jack Wallace and the play also included other ex EastEnders actors Tilly Vosburgh, Edna Doré, Todd Carty and Joe Absolom.

Advertisements

In 1973, Treacher appeared in a British television commercial for the Austin Allegro motor car. In 1983, he later appeared in another British television commercial this time for Colgate toothpaste where he played a grocer. In 1984, he was a Beefeater in the Tower of London to Paul Hogan's tourist in a British television commercial for Foster's Lager.

Personal life, illness and death

Treacher was married to the Australian actress Katherine Kessey; they had two children: Jamie, who is also an actor, and Sophie, a production assistant. They lived in Suffolk.

In 2015, Treacher told the press that he suffered from ataxia, a degenerative disease that involves poor muscle control, hindering his balance and ability to walk. Treacher said that as a result of this he had fully retired and he sometimes had to rely on a wheelchair for mobility. He also said that he no longer watched EastEnders, calling it "a load of old rubbish these days".

Treacher died from COVID-19 and pneumonia in hospital in Ipswich, Suffolk, on 5 November 2022, aged 92. In a statement announcing his death, his family confirmed that Treacher's health had been deteriorating for some time. His former EastEnders co-stars Gillian Taylforth, Adam Woodyatt and Letitia Dean paid tribute to him.

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1984	Pop Pirates	Mr. Carpenter
1998	Tale of the Mummy	Stuart
2001	The Musketeer	Mr. Bonacieux
2002	Heaven Must Wait	Malcolm Slee
2004	George and the Dragon	Elmendorf
2009	Coming Home	Father Alistaor	Television film

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1960	Paul of Tarsus	Saul's Companion	Recurring role; 2 episodes
1961	ITV Television Playhouse	Doorman	Episode: "The Gentle Shade"
1962	Compact	Photographer	Episode: "A Day of Problems"
	ITV Television Playhouse	Dr. Cunningham	Episode: "Linda Came Today"
	ITV Play of the Week'	Youth	Episode: "Murder in Shorthand"
		Card Player	Episode: "The Week-Enders"
	No Hiding Place	Guard	Episode: "Corpse for the Cup"
1973	ITV Television Playhouse	Barman	Episode: "To Bury Caesar"
	The Plane Makers	Joe	Episode: "Lover Come Back"
	Boyd Q.C.	Arnold	Episode: "Thread of Evidence"
1964	Bold as Brass	Harry Parker	Recurring role; 2 episodes
	The Four Seasons of Rosie Carr	Harry	Episode: "Autumn Near the Angel"
	Redcap	Corporal	Episode: "Epitaph for a Sweat"
1964–1965	Sykes and a...		Recurring role; 4 episodes
1964–1976	Dixon of Dock Green	Various	Recurring role; 15 episodes
1965	Public Eye	Porter	Episode: "A Harsh World for Zealots"
	Undermind	Workman	Episode: "Flowers of Havoc"
	Comedy Playhouse		Episode: "Murray and Me"
	Out of the Unknown	Harris	Episode: "No Place Like Earth"
1966	Marriage Lines	Carpet Delivery Man	Episode: "First House"
1967	The Brian Rix Theatre of Laughter	Fred Thompson	Episode: "Is Your Honeymoon Really Necessary?"
		Cyril Thrippleton	Episode: "Money for Jam"
1968	Brian Rix Presents...	Usher to the Court	Episode: "Keep Your Wig On"
		Cyril Thrippleton	Episode: "A Bit on the Side"
1969		Gustav	Episode: "Sitting Ducks"
	Dad's Army	First Sailor	Episode: "Menace from the Deep"
1970	Brian Rix Presents..."	Willie	Episode: "Let Sleeping Wives Lie"
		Colonol Wazir	Episode: "Stand by Your Bedouin!"
	Codename	Taxi Driver	Episode: "Opening Gambit"
	The Black Tulip	Second Heckler	Episode: "Episode 2"
1971	Brian Rix Presents...	Medical Orderly	Episode: "Reluctant Heroes"
1972	Z-Cars	Trimble	Episode: "Forget It: Part 2"
1973	Spy Trap	Pub Landlord	Episode: "Anything Legal Considered"
	New Scotland Yard	Jack Rooney	Episode: "Where's Harry?"
	Crown Court	Sergeant Barnet	Episode: "The Age of Leo Trotsky"
1973–1975	The Dick Emery Show	Various	Recurring role; 4 episodes
1974	The Aweful Mr. Goodall	Dispatch Rider	Episode: "A Good English Breakfast"
	The Tomorrow People	Doomsday Man	Recurring role; 2 episodes
	My Name Is Harry Worth	Walters	Episode: "High-Pitched Buzzing"
	The Brothers	Williams	Episode: "The Guilt Beneath the Gingerbread"
1975	Spy Trap	Joe Ruckley	Episode: "April Sixty-Seven"
	Centre Play	Removal Man	Episode: "Gambitt's Move"
	Down the 'Gate	Bert	Episode: "Survival of the Fittest"
1976	Warship	Pat	Episode: "They Also Serve"
	Bless This House	Arnold	Episode: "The Phantom Pools Winner"
	Angels	Mr. Carter	Episode: "Vocation"
	The Many Wives of Patrick	Mr. Travers	Episode: "Come in Number Six"
	The Sweeney	Tom	Episode: "Selected Target"
	Softly, Softly: Task Force	Hotel Porter	Episode: "The Visitor"
1978	Play for Today	Benham's Cornerman	Episode: "Dinner at the Sporting Club"
1979	Grange Hill	Mr. McMahon	Episode: "Series 2, Episode 17"
	Maggie and Her	Mr. Bush	Episode: "The Good Old Days"
	The Professionals	Dave	Episode: "The Purging of CI5"
1980	Bernie		Episode: "Series 2, Episode 5"
	The Enigma Files	Cyril	Episode: "Why Don't They Tell You These Things?"
	Spooner's Patch	Car Owner	Episode: "Psycho on the Roof"
	The Jim Davidson Show		Recurring role; 2 episodes
	The Dick Emery Show	Dudley	Episode: "For Whom the Jingle Bells Toll"
1981	The Chinese Detective	Bus Driver	Episode: "Income Tax"
	Till Death...	Man	Episode: "Eastbourne"
	Fanny by Gaslight	Cabbie	Episode: "Episode 2"
	Bergerac	Security Guard	Episode: "Last Chance for a Loser"
1982	County Hall	Jack Taggart	Episode: "Episode 5"
	The Agatha Christie Hour	Station Porter	Episode: "The Girl in the Train"
	The Further Adventures of Lucky Jim	Steward	Episode: "The Big Smoke"
1983	The Lady Is a Tramp	Ginger Jack	Episode: "Episode 2"
	Sweet Sixteen	Jack Barber	Episode: "Episode 5"
1984	The Other 'Arf	Builder	Episode: "The Music Room"
	Minder	Punter	Episode: "Goodbye Sailor"
1985	Who, Sir? Me, Sir?	Mr. McTavish	Recurring role; 3 episodes
	The Bright Side	Mr. Chadwick	Recurring role; 5 episodes
1985–1996	EastEnders	Arthur Fowler	Series regular; 979 episodes
1993	Noel's House Party		Episode: "Series 2, Episode 13"
2006	The Bill	Morris Leatherhead	Recurring role; 4 episodes
2007	Casualty	Howard Boylan	Episode: "Inheritance"

External links

• Bill Treacher at IMDb
• Bill Treacher at the British Film Institute