Arnold Yarrow (born Arnold Stein; 17 April 1920 – 9 December 2024) was a British actor, screenwriter and novelist best known for his brief role as bricklayer Benny Bloom in television soap opera EastEnders. Like the character, he was Jewish. Yarrow's other scriptwriting work included episodes of Crown Court, Warship and Softly, Softly: Task Force.
Early life Arnold Stein was born on 17 April 1920 in Mile End, London, to furrier father Jack Stein and mother Leah (née Montlake). His father died in 1928 and his mother subsequently married Philip Yarrow, a doctor. After the marriage, Arnold, along with his three brothers and sister, changed their surname to Yarrow. The family lived in East London, and after leaving school aged 14, Yarrow embarked on a career in advertising.
On the outbreak of the Second World War, he served as an infantryman and travelled to India and China, becoming an officer in the Royal Corps of Signals. After the war, Yarrow was posted to Germany, and became the administrator of a small theatre. He directed plays and ran the company as a weekly repertory.
Career Yarrow returned to the UK and enrolled at the Northern Theatre School in Bradford, West Yorkshire, under the direction of Esme Church. He became a professional actor in 1948. He worked with York repertory company and toured Shakespeare with the Dolphin theatre company. Yarrow then joined Bernard Miles' Mermaid theatre in London, in 1953. His roles included Adam in As You Like It and the Porter in Macbeth. In 1955, he spent a year working as an administrator and senior stage manager at the Library theatre, Manchester.
After a brief spell in Manchester, Yarrow moved back to London, winning Tavistock Rep's playwriting competition for his play Ripple in Texas. The production was professionally produced by Oldham Coliseum repertory theatre and later dramatised for the Home Service. In 1958, he made his West End debut with the Repertory Players at the Lyric, Shaftesbury Avenue, London.
In 1959, he won the ATV drama award, winning £500 and the broadcast of his play The Tip-Off, which was broadcast in 1960. In 1968, Yarrow became script editor for the series Softly, Softly. He then wrote episodes of Softly, Softly: Task Force from 1969 to 1976, Barlow at Large in 1971, and then Crown Court in 1974 and Warship in 1976 among others.
In front of the camera, Yarrow was also known to Doctor Who fans for his portrayal of diminutive Exxilon leader Bellal in the 1974 serial Death to the Daleks. He remains the longest lived person associated with the Whoniverse. In 1988, he appeared in EastEnders as Benny Bloom, a retired bricklayer and love interest to Ethel Skinner. Yarrow subsequently wrote ten episodes of the soap opera between 1992 and 1994.
His other television appearances included roles in Crane, Ghost Squad, Coronation Street, Dr. Finlay's Casebook, The Onedin Line and London's Burning, as well as a part in the 1993 film Son of the Pink Panther.
Yarrow also wrote radio plays including After Moscow in 1980 and His Master’s Voice in 1983. In 1984, he was part of a European tour of School for Scandal starring Donald Sinden and Dulcie Gray. For the remainder of the 1980s, Yarrow joined the Royal Shakespeare Company, taking parts such as Justice Shallow in The Merry Wives of Windsor to Verges in Much Ado About Nothing. In 1986, he performed a four-hour recital of all of Shakespeare’s sonnets to secure funding for his own play, Stitch, about an exploitative East End sweatshop.
As well as acting and scriptwriting, Yarrow wrote numerous books such as TV tie–ins like Softly Softly Casebook and Softly Softly Murder Casebook as well as his own novels Death is a Z and The Grease–Paint Monkey.
Personal life and death Yarrow had moved from London to Faversham, Kent by the 1980s. He was involved in the Marlowe theatre, Canterbury, and ran drama classes for the Workers’ Educational Association.
Yarrow subsequently moved to Herne Bay, Kent. He was Jewish. He turned 100 in April 2020, and died in Herne Bay on 9 December 2024, aged 104.
Filmography
As story editor +YearTitleNotes1976Second Verdict6 episodes
As script editor +YearTitleNotes1968–1969Softly Softly37 episodes1969–1971Softly Softly: Task Force42 episodes1971Barlow at Large3 episodes
As writer +YearTitleNotes1960SuspenseSeason 1 Episode 1: "The Tip Off"1962ForræderietTV film1970–1976Softly Softly: Task Force20 episodes1973–1974Barlow at Large3 episodes1974Crown Court3 episodes1976WarshipSeason 3 Episode 10: "The Buccaneer"Second VerdictSeason 1 Episode 3: "The French Bluebeard"1992–1994EastEnders10 episodes
As actor
Film +YearTitleRoleNotes1974MahlerGrandfather1993Son of the Pink PantherUncle IdrisGenghis CohnSynagogue Warden
Television +YearTitleRoleNotes1956Without VisionEmrysTV filmNom–de–PlumeSentrySeason 1 Episode 17: "The Free Air"Over to WilliamMr. CarrowaySeason 1 Episode 8: "William's Lucky Day"1957Television World TheatreLe FerSeason 1 Episode 1: "The Life of Henry V"ITV Television PlayhouseShayk of the LabourersSeason 2 Episode 47: "Desert Patrol"1958MacbethFirst Witch2 episodesDoomsday for DysonScientistTV filmDial 999Sammy WilsonUncredited; Season 1 Episode 12: "The Big Fish"1959The ViseBlakeSeason 6 Episode 21: "Dilemma for Harry"GlencannonTruck DriverSeason 1 Episode 13: "Crocodile Tears"ITV Play of the WeekM. GrevilleSeason 4 Episode 36: "The Age of Juliet"1960ITV Television PlayhouseLuigi BonaseraSeason 5 Episode 22: "The English Captain"Hotel ImperialLittle manSeason 2 Episode 8: "The Leopardess in 424"Man from InterpolMayliSeason 1 Episode 10: "The Doll Maker"The Roving ReasonsUnknownSeason 1 Episode 10: "The Gibbering Gibraltarian"The Haunted HouseMisargyridesSeason 1 Episode 1: "Part 1"Barnaby RudgeTailorSeason 1 Episode 10Armchair TheatreBatesSeason 4 Episode 15: "Rain"1961ManagerSeason 4 Episode 30: "The Hero"Colonel Trumper's Private WarUnknownSeason 1 Episode 1: "Operation Lubenski"1962The Andromeda BreakthroughPresident of Azaran3 episodesITV Play of the WeekBiltonSeason 8 Episode 8: "Major Barbara"1963LuigiSeason 8 Episode 19: "Darkness at Noon"Ghost SquadDr. MalikSeason 2 Episode 5: "Death of a Sportsman"BBC Sunday–Night PlayNikiforSeason 4 Episode 20: "The Fall of Mendel Krick"CraneLouis BarretoSeason 1 Episode 4: "My Deadly Friend"FestivalDoctor of PhilosophySeason 1 Episode 9: "The Fire Raisers"Boyd Q.C.UnknownSeason 6 Episode 13: "Fishy Story"Story BoxTram ConductorEpisode: "Emil and the Detectives"1964BalinEpisode: "Books – The Hobbit"1965Front Page StoryClaude DupuisSeason 1 Episode 14: "Background Only: Not for Publication"Coronation StreetSurveyorSeason 1 Episode 493For Whom the Bell TollsMiguelSeason 1 Episode 4: "The Bridge"1966The Man in the MirrorWaldo6 episodes1967Vacant LotUnknownSeason 1 Episode 7: "Criminal Negligence"Theatre 625StevoSeason 5 Episode 6: "The Single Passion"1968Dr. Finlay's CasebookThe PopeSeason 6 Episode 22: " 'Is there anybody there ?' Said the traveller"Life with CooperVarious RolesSeason 2 Episode 6: "The Second Holiday"The Revenue MenLouie FisherSeason 1 Episode 4: "I'd Rather Be in Philadelphia"1969Armchair TheatreEnricoSeason 9 Episode 3: "What's a mother for ?"1974Doctor WhoBellal3 episodes; serial: Death to the Daleks1980The Onedin LineMishinSeason 8 Episode 2: "Revenge"Wainwrights' LawInspectorSeason 1 Episode 6: "The Party of the First Part"A Little Silver TrumpetMr. HynesSeason 1 Episode 31982The Chinese DetectiveOld manSeason 2 Episode 5: "Bounty Hunter"1983Jemima Shore InvestigatesDr. Otto HahnSeason 1 Episode 5: "Dr. Ziegler's Casebook"1984Cold WarriorGraarudSeason 1 Episode 5: "The Immigrants"1987One by OneDr. BreenSeason 3 Episode 5: "The Monkey in Between"1988–1989EastEndersMr. Bloom16 episodes1989BennySeason 1 Episode 4131993London's BurningShopkeeperSeason 6 Episode 52010The Sarah Jane AdventuresBellalUncredited; archive footage; Series 4 Episode 6: "Death of the Doctor: Part Two"2012Beneath the City of the ExxilonsHimselfShort documentary
References
External links
Arnold Yarrow at Theatricalia HAPPY 100TH BIRTHDAY ARNOLD YARROW – Interviewed by Toby Hadoke