Longtime Television Veteran David Andrews Dead at 90

Longtime television veteran David Andrews has died.

The actor and director, known for roles in BBC’s An Age of Kings and 1963’s A Place to Go, passed away at age 90, his daughter, Laurie Andrews, announced to The Guardian on Jan. 27.

Born on Oct. 22, 1935, in Sanderstead, Surrey, England, Andrews studied in Croydon at Whitgift school, which was evacuated to Devon during World War II. After national service with the RAF as a radio operator, Andrews shifted to acting, ultimately training at the Central School of Speech and Drama in London. In 1955, he graduated with the school’s gold medal.

Andrews made his on-screen acting debut in episodes of Theatre Night and ITV Television Playhouse in 1959. Throughout the early ‘60s, he also appeared in An Age of Kings, The Money, A Chance of Thunder, Suspense, Some People, Z Cars, A Place to Go, BBC Sunday-Night Play, and Drama 61-67. By 1965, Andrews turned his passion to the technical side of production. He retrained on the BBC directors’ course and worked for the Central Office of Information, directing recruitment films for the armed forces.

While he did shift to directing, Andrews did a handful of roles throughout the late ‘60s and early ‘70s, also appearing in Legend of Death, No Hiding Place, Dracula A.D. 1972, and Sherlock Holmes. His final acting role was in an episode of The Adventures of Black Beauty in 1972. On the directing side, Andrews made his television directorial debut in 1965 with an episode of the drama series Six.

Over the course of his career, David Andrews directed episodes of ITV Playhouse, Dr. Finlay’s Casebook, Stookie, Dramarama, First Sight, Jupiter Moon, EastEnders, Strathblair, The Biz, and Grange Hill. He most notably directed more than 100 episodes of the soap opera Hollyoaks, and 64 episodes of fellow soap Take the High Road between 1980 and 1990, according to IMDb.

In 1979, Andrews became a senior director at STV. After 10 years, he began working as a freelancer before moving to Mersey Television, where he directed Hollyoaks. While he had retired, in 2005, he started taking on cameo roles in television and other voice parts. Aside from acting and directing, Andrews formed a folk band, Hazy Days (and Nights!), which performed in pubs in Glasgow.

Andrews was married and divorced twice. He is survived by two children from his first marriage to Tamara Hinchco, Bronwen and Rowan; three children from his second marriage to Anne Vels, James, Katherine, and Laurie; and 11 grandchildren.