Anthony Pitts (born 10 October 1962) is an English actor, most notable for playing Archie Brooks in the long-running British soap Emmerdale Farm between 1983 and 1993.Stuart Golland obituary – The Independent, 9 October 2003
Early life Pitts was born in Sheffield, England. His family was working-class, his parents worked as a joiner and a midwife. Pitts originally intended to become a physician but ended up working as a car mechanic in his early career. He wrote a letter to the college to get out of college classes to become an actor. His family were livid at this. During his time at Stannington College, Sheffield Barry Hines paid a visit looking for extras for his upcoming drama Looks and Smiles. Pitts was cast and soon upgraded to a bigger role in the production. He decided to follow his ambition to become an actor in 1983.
Emmerdale In 1983, Pitts was selected for the role of Archie Brooks in the British soap opera Emmerdale. Pitts was chosen for the role by Kevin Laffan, who watched Pitts portray the title character in a theatrical adaptation of Nicholas Nickleby, and believed that Pitts' versatile acting ability and his strong Yorkshire accent, meant that he was well suited for the role. The role was Pitts' first role in a television series, and he first appeared on the show on 18 November 1983, and remained in the show for ten years, and his character was involved in storylines that included his prison sentence in 1989 for setting fire to Seth Armstrong's property, becoming a suspect of whether or not he was the father of Elsa Feldmann's child in 1990, and his relationship with lesbian Zoe Tate in 1993.
In 1993, Pitts' character Archie was killed in the Emmerdale plane crash. Pitts' last appearance on the show was on 30 December 1993.
Other work Apart from Emmerdale, Pitts had guest appearances in shows including Casualty as Aidan Phillips in 1996, EastEnders as Cliff in 1996, The Bill as Chris Riley in 1999, The Royal as Alec Glazer in 2004 and Unforgiven in 2009 as Adam Boothroyd. Tony was the original choice for Terry Duckworth in Coronation Street, but Nigel Pivaro ended up playing the role instead. Pitts starred in Lilyhammer as Danny Croc Hammer, the brother of Duncan Hammer.
Pitts has appeared in the police drama Heartbeat on two occasions, the first time in 1998 as Carl Southall and the second time in 2005 as Brian Gilbert. In 2002, he appeared as DI Healey in the miniseries In Deep alongside Nick Berry and Stephen Tompkinson.
He has also worked as a screenwriter, as well as an actor.– "Diary: Wicked bad girl" – Manchester Evening News, 16 June 2009
Pitts appeared in Scott & Bailey on ITV1/ITV1HD as Adrian Scott (the husband of Lesley Sharp's character, DC Janet Scott). He also had a small role in the 2012 film War Horse. In 2012 he appeared in the third episode of Dirk Gently as Robbie Glover. In 2012 he also appeared as the Chief Superintendent in the Sherlock episode "The Reichenbach Falls". In 2013 he appeared as Sergeant Moss in the BBC drama series Peaky Blinders. Pitts played Captain Patero in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story in 2016. He also appeared as Detective Chief Superintendent Lester Hargreaves in the 2014 second series of BBC's Line of Duty. His character returned for the season finale of series four in 2017. He also appeared in season five in 2019. From 2017 he appeared in two seasons of the series Jamestown as Edgar Massinger. Pitts also appeared in Wild Bill on ITV in 2019. Since 2020, Pitts has played the recurring role of Richard Alderson in All Creatures Great and Small.
Filmography Film Year Title Role Notes1981 Looks and Smiles Alan Wright 2003Johnny Vegas: Who's Ready For Ice CreamParamount2011 Powder Roger 2011 War Horse Sgt. Martin 2012 When the Lights Went Out Hilary Barnes 2014 Hyena Keith 2016 Triple 9 Major Crimes Detective 2016 Away Col 2016 Rogue One Captain Pterro 2017 Funny Cow Bob 2017 Journeyman Richie 2023 Sweet Sue Ron
Television
Year Title Role Notes 1983–1993 Emmerdale Archie Brooks Series regular 1996 Casualty Aidan Phillips 1996 EastEnders Cliff 1998Heartbeat Carl Southall 1999 The Bill Chris Riley 2001 Red Riding John Nolan 2002 In Deep DI Healey 2004 The Royal Alec Glazer 2005Heartbeat Brian Gilbert 2009 Unforgiven Adam Boothroyd 2011–2013 Scott & Bailey Adrian Scott Series 1-3 2012 Dirk Gently Robbie Glover Episode 3 2012 Sherlock Chief Superintendent Episode: "The Reichenbach Falls"2013-2017 Peaky Blinders Sergeant Moss 2014–2015 My Mad Fat Diary Chloe's Dad Series 2, 32014–2019 Line of Duty DCS Lester Hargreaves Series 2, 4, 52017–2018 Jamestown Edgar Massinger 2019 Wild Bill Keith Metcalfe2020 Roadkill Mick 'the Mouth' Murray 2020- All Creatures Great and Small Richard Alderson Recurring role2021 The North Water Geoffrey Turner 2025 In Flight Anton Marquis
Writing/Directing Credits YearTitleCompany and FormatRoleCastNominations/Wins2002Night ClassRadio 4
Comedy Series
6x30 mins episodesCreator & Co-writerJohnny Vegas, Rebecca Front, Nicola Stephenson, Tony Pitts, Tony Burgess, Lyndsey Marshal, Gwyneth Powell, Christian Knowles2003Johnny Vegas: Who’s Ready For Ice Cream?Paramount Video WriterJohnny Vegas, Tony Pitts, Tony Burgess, Adrian Manfred
Director - Stewart Lee 200518 Stone of IdiotChannel 4
6hrs Entertainment Writer
& PerformerGuest Include: Elvis Costello, Ray Winstone, Kathy Burke, Rhys Ifans, David Soul, Huey Morgan NOMINATED- Golden Rose of Montreal 2009The Gemma FactorBBC
6x30min episode sitcomWriter/ActorGwyneth Powell, Angus Barnett, Philip McGinley, Ross Adams, Claire King, Tony Pitts2012Shedtown - Series 1Radio 4
Comedy Series
6x35 minsWriter/DirectorTony Pitts, Kevin Eldon, Johnny Vegas, Suranne Jones, Shaun Dooley, Ronni Ancona, Emma Fryer, Adrian Manfredi, Caron May Carly, Jessica Knappett, James Quinn, Warren Brown2012On ItRadio 4 Afternoon playWriter/DirectorTony Pitts, Adam Gillen, Maxine Peake, Joanne Mitchell, Gwyneth PowellWON - BBC Best Audio Drama (Single Play) 2013
WON - Sony Gold at the Sony Awards 2012 (Best Radio Drama)2013Shedtown - Series 2Radio 4 Comedy Series
6x35 minsWriter/DirectorTony Pitts, Stephen Mangan, Ronni Ancona, Johnny Vegas, Emma Fryer, Adrian Manfredi, Rosina Carbone, Shaun Dooley, James Quinn, Warren Brown, Eleanor Samson, Maxine Peake2013Shedtown - Series 3Radio 4
Comedy Series
6x35 minsWriter/DirectorStephen Mangan, Tony Pitts, Warren Brown, James Quinn, Shaun Keaveny, Rosina Carbone, Debra Stephenson, Seymour Mace, Emma Fryer, Neil Maskell, Juliet Oldfield, Maxine Peake2014PactRadio 4
Afternoon PlayWriter/DirectorRichard Hawley, Tony Pitts, Maxine Peake, Gwyneth Powell, Dominic Brunt, Polly MaberlyWON - Bronze
BBC Audio Drama Awards 20142015MonsterRadio 4
Afternoon PlayWriter/DirectorNeil Maskell, Sean Dooley, Richard HawleyNominated - BBC Audio Awards 2016, Best Audio Drama, Single Play 2018Funny CowFeature FilmWriter/Producer/ActorMaxine Peake, Stephen Graham, Paddy Considine, Tony Pitts Nominated - BIFA Best Actress and Best Music 20182019A BadgeRadio 4
Afternoon PlayWriter/DirectorKatherine Kelly (actress), Corinne Bailey Rae, Warren Brown, Kate Hardie, Isaac Whitmore, Tony Pitts, Caleb Potter WilliamsNominated - BBC Audio Awards 2020, Best Actress (Katherine Kelly)2022Curl Up And D.IPodcast
6 episodes Scripted Comedy Writer/DirectorVic Reeves, Morgana Robinson, Mark Benton, Katherine Kelly (actress), Burn Gorman, Nancy Sorrell, Jennifer Saayeng2022Let Her GoShort FilmWriter/DirectorKatherine Kelly (actress), Lisa Allen, Gracie Kelly 2021-CurrentThree Little WordsPodcast, BiographicalCreator &
Co-Presenter With John Bishop and many special guests including Ian McKellen, Robbie Williams 2024Classic
(In development) Feature FilmCreator Writer/Director/Producer Sally Philips, David Morrissey, Leigh Francis, Robbie Williams, Mark Benton, Morgana Robinson, Burn Gorman
References
External links