Creator / Geoffrey Hughes

A lover of beer, bacon butties, and the telly.

"The joy of doing a play as an actor is that you've got that interaction with the audience and you're also your own editor. If I want to make a pause three-quarters of an hour long, I can, whereas on television and film, you've got an editor and if you feel there's a rhythm to a line and you want to say it that way, there's no guarantee it'll stay that way."

Geoffrey William Hughes, DL, (2 February 1944 — 27 July 2012), was a British actor best known for playing Onslow in Keeping Up Appearances and Twiggy in The Royle Family.

His acting career started in repertory theatre in Stoke-on-Trent at the Victoria Theatre. His first West End production was Maggie May, a musical. This was followed by The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, Say Goodnight to Grandma, The Secret Life of Cartoons, and Run for Your Wife.

After appearing in three episodes of Coronation Street, he was cast as Eddie Yeats in 1974 and remained in the role for nine years. He left the series in 1983 and made a brief return in 1987 when Hilda Ogden was written out.

In 1990, he was cast as the slobbish, blokey Onslow in Keeping Up Appearances. Hughes appeared in every episode of all five series. He later reprised the role in two Clip Shows in 1997 and 2008.

In 1998, he began playing the recurring role of Twiggy in The Royle Family. Hughes made eight appearances in the series but had to leave after 2008 due to health issues.

He died of prostate cancer at the age of 68.

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Works on TV Tropes he appeared in:

Film

• Yellow Submarine (1968) — Paul McCartney
• The Blood on Satan's Claw (1971) — Drinking Villager (Uncredited Role)
• Carry On at Your Convenience (1971) — Willie
• Confessions of a Driving Instructor (1976) — Postman

Series

• The Likely Lads, 3 episodes^{show list} "The Razor's Edge", "Love and Marriage", "Goodbye to All That" (1966) — Podge
• Coronation Street, 512 episodes:
  • 3 episodes (1967) — Phil Ferguson
  • 509 episodes (1974-87) — Eddie Yeats
• The Saint, episode "The Power Artists" (1967) — Party Boy (Uncredited Role)
• Z Cars, 5 episodes:
  • "A Hobby, You Might Say: Part 1" (1968) — Billy Garvin
  • 2 episodes^{show list} "Bottoms Up for the Walking Dead: Part 1", "Bottoms Up for the Walking Dead: Part 2" (1968) — Wynne
  • "Escape" (1973) — Bartram
  • "Night Train" (1974) — Mickey
• Please Sir!, episode "They're Off" (1969) — Mr. Turner
• Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased), episode "Somebody Just Walked Over My Grave" (1970) — Harper
• Up Pompeii, episode "Vestal Virgins" (1970) — Piteous
• Play for Today, episode "The Pigeon Fancier" (1971) — Derek
• Dad's Army, episode "Brain Versus Brawn" (1972) — Bridge Corporal
• Doctor Who, 2-episode story "The Ultimate Foe" (1986) — Popplewick Senior
• Screen Two, episode "The Man from the Pru" (1990) — Detective Sergeant Bailey
• Keeping Up Appearances, 46 episodes (1990-2008) — Onslow
• ScreenPlay, episode "Needle" (1990) — Repo Man
• You Rang, M'Lord?, episode "Royal Flush" (1990) — Fred Kendall
• The Royle Family, 8 episodes^{show list} "Bills, Bills, Bills", "Wedding Day", "Sunday Lunch", "Antony's Birthday", "Decorating", "The Christening", "The Queen of Sheba", "The New Sofa" (1998-2008) — Twiggy
• Heartbeat, 88 episodes (2001-07) — Vernon Scripps
• Skins, 4 episodes:
  • "Chris" (2007) — Fat Bastard
  • "Tony and Maxxie" (2008) — Bandy
  • 2 episodes^{show list} "Cook", "Freddie" (2009) — Uncle Kieth
• CASUAL+Y, episode "Brass in Pocket" (2007) — Si Blake

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