Brian Capron



Brian John Capron (born February 11, 1947) at Eye in Suffolk, is a British actor, who trained at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art (LAMDA). He is probably best known for his role as serial killer Richard Hillman in the television soap opera Coronation Street from 2001 to 2003. He had previously appeared in the series as the social worker Donald Worthington in 1981-1982.

Early Life
His father was an Algerian pilot, of French descent, who died in a plane crash before Brian was born.

Career
Capron first came to public attention through his role of the teacher, Mr Stuart "Hoppy" Hopwood in Grange Hill in the early 1980s. He also acted in BBC soap opera Eastenders, playing Jerry McKenzie from 1993-1994. He played the guest role of Andrew Donelson in Taggart, in the episode "A Fistful of Chips" in 1999.

He was cast as George Godley in Jack the Ripper (1988), with Barry Foster as Inspector Frederick Abberline, and the two started filming in October 1987. It was later decided to recast with Michael Caine as Abberline and Lewis Collins as Godley in order to attract larger audiences in the United States.

Other notable TV credits include: Z-Cars, Dixon of Dock Green, Angels, The Sweeney, Blake's 7, Tales of the Unexpected, Full House, Shoestring, Bergerac, Minder, Casualty, Birds of a Feather, Murder Most Horrid, The Bill, Taggart, Peak Practice, Judge John Deed, Crocodile Shoes and Where the Heart Is.

In The Bill he played Antionio Mancini, a husband who is always rowing and fighting his wife Joanna. Capron played this role twice, firstly in the Series 4 episode "Trouble & Strife" and later on in the Series 5 episode "Out to Lunch". He also played narrator in The Rocky Horror Show in London's West End, alongside Suzanne Shaw in January 2007. In episode 1 of season 2 of The Graham Norton Show, Brian is found by an audience member in the lobby of ITV during a stunt and eventually brought onto the set, sitting beside Courtney Love and Louis Walsh.

In 2007, Capron played Nathan Detroit on the Guys and Dolls tour, opposite Claire Sweeney. In September 2007, Capron was announced as one of the contestants to take part in the fifth series of Strictly Come Dancing. He was partnered by Karen Hardy, who was Series 4 champion with cricketer Mark Ramprakash. After finishing in last place on the first show, he found himself in the dance off along with Kenny Logan, but the judges voted in favourof saving Logan and Capron left the show. In April 2010, Capron appeared on ITV show This Morning along with fellow cast member of Stepping Out, Anita Harris and they showed presenters Phillip Schofield and Ruth Langsford how to tap dance. Capron appeared in a 2011 production of Aladdin at the Broadway Theatre, Peterborough, playing the role of Abanazar. Capron is currently touring the UK in the 25th Anniversary production of Stepping Out by Richard Harris, playing the only male role of Geoffrey.