George Layton (born George Michael William Rafael Löwy; 2 March 1942) is a British actor, director, and television comedy writer best known for three television roles: junior doctor Paul Collier in the comedy series Doctor in the House and its sequels Doctor at Large, Doctor in Charge, and Doctor at the Top; bombardier 'Solly' Solomons in the first two series of It Ain't Half Hot Mum; and Des the mechanic in early episodes of Minder. His TV writing credits include several "Doctor" series episodes as well as some in Robin's Nest, Don't Wait Up, and Executive Stress.
Early life Layton was born George Michael William Rafael Löwy in Bradford, West Riding of Yorkshire, EnglandGeorge Layton at the British Film Institute to Fritz and Edith Löwy (née Hecht), the second of three children (an older brother, Peter and a younger sister, Viv). Both of Layton's parents were Austrian Jews who fled their native Vienna to England just before the outbreak of the Second World War. His grandfather, Victor Hecht, fled to England with his wife and sent the letter to George's parents that led them to moving to the UK. When they arrived, they could not speak English, and worked as a butler and maid.
The family moved to Surrey before settling in Bradford where Layton was born in Bradford Royal Infirmary. They lived in a house in Manningham, Bradford, where they shared a house with another family of refugees Layton's father had met (in total four adults and six children). Layton attended Lilly Croft Primary School in 1947 and played Puck in a school production of A Midsummer Night's Dream, which got him into acting. He was educated at Belle Vue Boys' Grammar School in Bradford. During his teenage years, he earned seven shillings and a sixpence every Saturday delivering groceries on a bike.
In January 1957 Layton and his best friend Roger Selby were at Selby's aunt and uncle's house in Edinburgh during the summer holidays; they went to different schools and Layton's school's holidays ended early, so he called in sick so he could stay in Scotland, and with Selby climbed the Arthur's Seat mountainous hill, by the time they got up to the top it was dark so they took a shortcut which led them to the edge of a cliff overhanging a 60-foot drop; unable to go up or down they yelled for help until the police came and attempted to rescue them however they also got stuck. After the fire brigade were called, they were successfully brought back down. According to Selby, the incident was "splashed all over the national press" including Bradford's Telegraph & Argus, which got Layton in trouble as the school's headmaster, believing he was sick, had read the paper.
Career In an interview for Talking Pictures TV in April 2020, he mentioned his work on the BBC's Children's Hour at the former BBC Studios at Piccadilly, Manchester, where he came under the influence and guidance of Trevor Hill, Violet Carson and Doris Gamble. He then studied acting at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, studying in the same class as Mike Leigh, Martin Jarvis and Ian McShane, where he won the Emile Littler award for most promising actor and The Denys Blakelock Award for an outstanding performance in a minor role. He graduated in 1962. After graduating, he joined Belgrade Theatre. Layton auditioned for the role of Terry Collier in The Likely Lads, however the producers deemed that he was not a household name and the role was given to James Bolam.
He went on to leading parts at Coventry and Nottingham and in 1963 appeared on Broadway in Chips with Everything, the production lasted for six months but according to Layton the assassination of John F. Kennedy forced the show to be stopped. Layton's big break came in 1969 with the show Doctor in the House, in which he played Paul Collier. He would later reprise this role many times for other Doctor-related series' such as the 1971 show Doctor at Large, the 1972—73 show Doctor in Charge and the 1991 sitcom Doctor at the Top. His other television writing credits during this time with Jonathan Lynn include episodes of On the Buses, Nearest and Dearest, Romany Jones and My Name Is Harry Worth. Layton wrote for the first series of Doctor at Large under the pseudonym "Oliver Fry". and contributed scripts under his own name to subsequent series in the "Doctor" franchise. Layton was part of the team that wrote most of the episodes of series 4-6 of Robin's Nest and was the creator and primary writer of Don't Wait Up (1983–90) and Executive Stress (1986–88) respectively.
Layton was cast as Bombardier "Solly" Solomons in It Ain't Half Hot Mum. He appeared in sixteen episodes of the first two series before he left the show after the second series when he felt that his character was not developing enough, which led to show co-creator David Croft telling him "if you're not happy, you can leave". Solomons was written out of the show and in the first episode of the third series it was mentioned that he was demobbed. Despite leaving, Layton remained friends with Croft and Jimmy Perry. Layton also appeared in an Australian production called Funny Peculiar in 1977 and later took over the role of Fagin from Roy Hudd in 1979 in the first London revival of Oliver! at the Albery Theatre. He also appeared in two episodes of The Sweeney and made a few early appearances as himself on the light entertainment BBC1 consumer show That's Life!.
In the 1980s, he played the recurring character Des in the hit comedy-drama Minder. In a 2021 interview with Paul Stenning, Layton described how he left Minder temporarily as he had committed to a pantomime and regretted he lost his role in the show. From 1999 to 2000, he appeared in all fourteen episodes of the show Sunburn, starring Michelle Collins. In 1999, he was the subject of an episode of This is Your Life. In 2011, he played a love interest to Pat Butcher on EastEnders. Layton has written three books of short stories, entitled The Fib and Other Stories, The Swap and Other Stories and The Trick and Other Stories. The tales describe family life in the North of England after the Second World War. The books have been part of the National Curriculum in British schools, and film versions are being planned. Myles McDowell quotes Layton's The Balaclava Story as an example of how adults are often mostly absent from children's fiction.
Personal life Layton lives in north London with his second wife, Moya Smylie, who he met in 1974 and married three years later. He married his first wife, Vera Hodges, in 1968 but they later divorced. He has four children, two with Vera and two with Moya. From his first marriage, he has Tristan, who works for charity and Claudie, who is a producer. From his second marriage, he has Danny, a former musical director for Endemol and Hannah, a comedy agent.
Layton's older brother Peter is an artist in studio glass.
Layton is a supporter of Bradford City.
Filmography Film Year Title Role Notes1968 Here We Go Round the Mulberry Bush Gordon 1969 Mosquito Squadron Pilot Officer uncredited1975 Carry On Behind Doctor 1976 Confessions of a Driving Instructor Tony Bender 1977 Stand Up, Virgin Soldiers Pvt. Jacobs 1999 Don't Go Breaking My Heart Max 2013 One Candle One Man GKO
Television Year Title Role Notes1961 BBC Sunday-Night Play Workman Episode: "Wet Fish"1964 ITV Play of the Week Pvt. Root Episode: "The Other Man" Swizzlewick Eustace Madden 18 episodes1965 The Likely Lads Mario 2 episodes Emergency-Ward 10 Gordon Hurst 2 episodes Theatre 625 Alan Episode: "Enter Solly Gold"1965–1966 United! Jimmy Stokes 85 episodes1966 Thirty-Minute Theatre Herbert Wallwork Episode: "The Spoken Word"1967 Sir Arthur Conan Doyle Rudge Episode: "The Black Doctor"1968 Len and the River Mob Len Tanner All 10 episodes Detective Mervans Episode: "Deaths on the Champs Elysees"1969 The Wednesday Play Pete Episode: "Sling Your Hook" Doctor Who Technician Penn Episode: "The Space Pirates" Dixon of Dock Green Billy Tate Episode: "Whose Turn Next" The Root of All Evil? Thomas Episode: "What's in It for Me?" Z-Cars Grady 2 episodes1969, 1971 The Liver Birds Joe 2 episodes1969–1970 Doctor in the House Junior Dr Paul Collier Main role1970 ITV Sunday Night Theatre Corporal May Episode: "Lay Down Your Arms" Z-Cars Todd Episode: "The Little Woman: Part 2"1971 Coronation Street Barney Shelton 2 episodes It's Awfully Bad for Your Eyes, Darling Gus Episode: "The Flat to Ourselves" Doctor at Large Junior Dr Paul Collier Recurring role1973 Doctor in Charge1974–1975 It Ain't Half Hot Mum Bombardier 'Solly' Solomons 16 episodes1975 Comedy Premiere Richard Bunting Episode: "For Richer for Poorer" The Sweeney Ray Stackpole 2 episodes1975–1976 My Brother's Keeper Brian Booth All 13 episodes1979–1981 Robin's Nest Vernon Potter 3 episodes1979–1982 Minder Des 6 episodes1980 Keep It in the Family Freddy Episode: "Smoke Without Fire"1981 Pigeon Street Narrator Voice1982 Kelly Monteith Various 2 episodes1986 The Kenny Everett Television Show Various 4 episodes1987 French and Saunders The Doctor Unaired Doctor Who sketch1988, 1989 The Les Dennis Laughter Show Various 2 episodes1991 Josie Smith Narrator Voice Joshua Jones Narrator, Joshua Jones, Additional voices Voice 1992 Doctor at the Top Junior Dr Paul Collier Main role1994 All Night Long Larry Morse Episode: #1.6 Dig & Dug with Daisy Narrator Voice; all episodes1999–2000 Sunburn Alan Brooks All 14 episodes2000 Metropolis Mr. Jacobs 2 episodes2004 Holby City Howard Martin Episode: "Baptism of Fire"2005 Nova Emilie's Father Episode: "E=mc²: Einstein's Big Idea"2006 Heartbeat Graham Simpson Episode: "Hearts and Flowers"2007 The Bill Dr. Michael Sanderson Episode: "Back from the Dead"2008 Doctors Ashish Mountjoy Episode: "The Universe Provides"2011–2012 EastEnders Norman Simmonds 24 episodes2012 Doctors George Simpson Episode: "Walter"2014 Boomers Dennis Episode: "The Sixties Weekender"2015 Doctors Rod Buckwell Episode: "Mods and Rockers" Casualty Clive Jones Episode: "A Moment of Clarity" Vicious Andrew Episode: "Stag Do"2018 Casualty Geordie McDale Episode: #32.402023 The Madame Blanc Mysteries Martin Harris Episode: "Christmas Special"
Selected theatre As actor: Billy Liar as Geoffrey Fisher (King's Head, Islington) The Caucasian Chalk Circle as Lavrenti (Belgrade Theatre, Coventry) Chicago as Amos Hart (Adelphi Theatre, London) Chips With Everything as First Corporal (Royal Court and Broadway) How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying as Ponty (New Theatre, Bromley) More Lies About Jerzy as Jerzy Kosinski (New End Theatre, Hampstead) The Odd Couple as Felix (Theatre Royal, Windsor) Oliver! as Fagin Albery Theatre 1978/9 then at the(London Palladium) Twelfth Night as Feste (Belgrade Theatre, Coventry)
As director: Barefoot in the Park (Cambridge Theatre Company) Dangerous Corner (Cambridge Theatre Company) Aladdin (Theatre Royal, Bath) Dick Whittington (Shaw Theatre)
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