John Spurley Challis (16 August 1942 – 17 September 2021) was an English actor. He had an extensive theatre and television career but is best known for portraying Terrance Aubrey "Boycie" Boyce in the long-running BBC Television sitcom Only Fools and Horses (1981–2003) and its sequel/spin-off The Green Green Grass (2005–2009), as well as Monty Staines from the seventh series onwards in the ITV sitcom Benidorm (2015–2018). Challis was an established stage actor, making appearances for companies including the Royal Shakespeare Company and the National Theatre.
Early life
John Spurley Challis was born on 16 August 1942 at St Andrews Nursing Home Clifton, Bristol, England. his family moved to southeast London when he was a year old. He grew up in Epsom, after the family moved to Tadworth in Surrey. Challis attended the state boarding Ottershaw School near Woking, Surrey. His father, Alec, was a civil servant at the Admiralty; his mother, Joan (née Harden), was a drama teacher and keen participant in amateur dramatics. before he "ran away with the Argyle Theatre for Youth".
Career
Television and radio
At the outset of his television career, the tall Challis was often typecast in authority roles. In 1971, he played the part of photographer Jim Wright in the highly popular tv soap Crossroads.
The sitcom Bloomers (1979), starring Richard Beckinsale, was written about Challis's experience working at a garden centre while taking a break from acting.
A role in the John Sullivan sitcom Citizen Smith led to Challis being cast as Herman Aubrey "Boycie" Boyce in Only Fools and Horses (1981—2003), which became his best-known role. Sullivan also created a spin-off for Challis, The Green Green Grass (2005—2009). The outdoor scenes of The Green Green Grass were filmed at his then-home at Wigmore Abbey, surrounding fields and local villages.
thumb|right|200px|Challis in November 2013, with crew from [[HMS Talent (S92)|HMS Talent]]
His other television appearances include Dixon of Dock Green, Thriller, The Sweeney, Doctor Who (The Seeds of Doom), Dracula, Beau Geste, Juliet Bravo, Bloomers, Ever Decreasing Circles, Doctor Snuggles, Chance in a Million, The Bill, One Foot in the Grave, Open All Hours, The New Statesman, Don't Wait Up, Soldier Soldier, Brass Eye, My Family, In Sickness and in Health, Benidorm, the end of which he felt spelt the end of his television career, and Heartbeat. During his appearance in a 1997 Channel 4 mockumentary Brass Eye television episode "Decline", he was tricked into believing Clive Anderson had been shot by Noel Edmonds. In 2006 he took a cameo role in BBC's The Impressionists as the stationmaster at the Gare Saint Lazare. In the 2008 episode "Is Jeremy Quite Safe?" of Last of the Summer Wine he guest-starred as a retired jewel thief with fanciful stories of his past exploits in the South of France. In 2012, he narrated the National Geographic Channel series Strippers: Cars for Cash.
On BBC radio, he played an interrogator in the play Rules of Asylum by James Follett, broadcast by BBC Radio 4 in 1973. He also played Dibden Purlew in Getting Nowhere Fast from 2001 to 2004.
He became an honorary citizen of Serbia, where Only Fools and Horses remains popular. In 2020, Challis made the documentary Boycie in Belgrade, exploring why the show was so beloved in Serbia.
Theatre
Challis performed many stage roles, including with the Royal Shakespeare Company in the 1960s and the National Theatre. His first performance in London's West End was in Portrait of a Queen in 1965 at the Vaudeville Theatre. In 1977 he played a leading role at the Orange Tree Theatre in Richmond, in Sam Walters' production of Václav Havel's play The Memorandum.
In 1979 he toured the US with Tom Stoppard's play Cahoot's Macbeth.
He was also featured regularly in pantomime productions in which he usually played the roguish or wicked roles, such as for example, Captain Hook in Peter Pan at the Plaza Theatre, Stockport, a role he reprised in 2018 at the Theatre Royal, Nottingham. He also appeared in pantomime at Weston Playhouse in winter 2011–12 playing Ebenezer in Aladdin and as King Rat in Dick Whittington at the Plaza over Christmas 2013 and New Year 2014.
In 2013, Challis occasionally contributed to the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy Live Tour as the narrator. In 2014, he began a theatre tour of his one-man show titled Only Fools and Boycie, which charted his life before, during and after his time as Boycie.
Personal life
thumb|right|200px|Challis in 2007
Challis was married four times. His first wife, Carol Robertson (1934–2023), was a stage manager and actress. He had no children.
Challis was a patron of the British Hedgehog Preservation Society. He was an avid Arsenal supporter and the club paid tribute to him following his death. Challis wrote two volumes of autobiography, Being Boycie and Boycie & Beyond. In 2016, he wrote Wigmore Abbey: The Treasure of Mortimer about the renovation of his house's gardens.
Through Twitter, Challis became friends with American actor and musician Ice-T, with the pair exchanging gifts although never meeting in person.
Death
Challis died of cancer in his sleep on 17 September 2021, aged 79. His death was reported two days later. He had been diagnosed with the disease in 2019.
Tributes were paid by a number of fellow actors and entertainers including his Only Fools and Horses co-stars Sir David Jason and Sue Holderness, as well as Ice-T, Paul Chuckle, Piers Morgan and Sheila Ferguson.
Filmography
Film
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Year
! Title
! Role
! Notes
! class=unsortable|
|-
|1964 || Where Has Poor Mickey Gone? || Tim || ||
|-
|1981 || Burning an Illusion || Man in Car || ||
|-
|2000 || Five Seconds to Spare || Shopping Centre Manager || ||
|-
|rowspan=2|2001 || Dream || Toby || ||
|-
|| Subterrain || || ||
|-
|2015|| Tea for Two || Jim || Short film ||
|-
|2020|| Boycie in Belgrade || Himself || Documentary film ||
|}
Television
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Year
! Title
! Role
! Notes
! class=unsortable|
|-
|1967 || The Newcomers || Harry Kapper || 5 episodes ||
|-
|1967-1975
| Z-Cars || Detective Constable Armitage/Sgt. Culshaw || 14 episodes ||
|-
| Virgin of the Secret Service || Captain Kirby || Episode: "The Rajah and the Suffragette" ||
|-
| Mr. Rose || Detective Constable Jackson || Episode: "The Frozen Swede" ||
|-
| rowspan="5" |1969 || Big Breadwinner Hog || First Operative || Episode: "Self-Discipline Is Its Own Reward" ||
|-
| Dixon of Dock Green || Ray || Episode: "Obsession" ||
|-
| Canterbury Tales || Farmhand || Episode: "The Shipman's Tale" ||
|-
| Strange Report || Soldier || Episode: "Report 7931: Sniper – When Is Your Cousin Not?" ||
<!-- |-
|1970 || The Misfit || Lofty || Episode: "On Not Being Lost" || <!- only IMDb available. Please restore when refs better than IMDb are available. Thanks. -->
|-
| rowspan="2" |1971 || Brett || Riordan || Episode: "All the King's Horses..." ||
|-
| Crossroads || Jim Wright || 9 episodes ||
|-
|1972 || ITV Sunday Night Theatre || Factory Guard || Episode: "The Last Journey" ||
|-
| rowspan="3" |1974 || Who Killed Lamb? || Casson || rowspan="2" | TV film ||
<!-- |-
|1974 || Whodunnit? || Private Rhodes || Episode: "Goodbye Sarge" || <!- only IMDb available. Please restore when refs better than IMDb are available. Thanks. -->
|-
| Crown Court || Detective Inspector Stoddard || Episode: "The Messenger Boy" ||
<!-- |-
|1978 || The Law Centre || DS Sharp || Episode: "Millstone" || <!- only IMDb available. Please restore when refs better than IMDb are available. Thanks. -->
|-
| rowspan="2" |1979 || Doctor Snuggles || Various || Voice; All 13 episodes ||
|-
|1982 || Beau Geste || Corporal Dupré || 4 episodes (part 4–7) ||
|-
| Juliet Bravo || Taylor || Episode: "Hostage to Fortune" ||
|-
| Strike It Rich! || Big John || Episode: "Suspicions" ||
|-
| Roland Rat: The Series || Policeman || Episode: #1.6 ||
|-
| Lenny Henry Tonite || Various || Episode: "Gronk Zillman" ||
|-
| Alas Smith and Jones || Mexican Hotel Receptionist || Episode: #4.4 ||
|-
| Ever Decreasing Circles || Maintenance Man || Episode: "Half an Office" ||
|-
| rowspan="5" |1988 || 40 Minutes || General cast || Episode: "Scarfe's Follies" ||
|-
| The Bill || Ian Gore || Episode: "Runaround" ||
|-
| Casualty || Harry || Episode: "Living Memories" ||
|-
| rowspan="4" |1992 || Sitting Pretty || Boris || Voice; Episode: "Anniversary Waltz" ||
|-
| The New Statesman || General Giray || Episode: "A Bigger Splash" ||
|-
| Sitting Pretty || The Trainer || Voice; Episode: "Happy Birthdays" ||
|-
| rowspan="2" |1997 || Wing and a Prayer || DS Doughty || Episode: "The Ties That Bind" ||
|-
|1998 || Heartbeat || Stan Fraser || Episode: "Where There's a Will" ||
<!-- |-
|2002 || Doctors || James Fletcher || Episode: "Feet of Clay" || <!- only IMDb available. Please restore when refs better than IMDb are available. Thanks. -->
|-
|2005–2009 || The Green Green Grass || Aubrey "Boycie" Boyce || All 32 episodes ||
|-
|2007 || My Family || Jacob Marley || Episode: "Ho Ho No" ||
|-
|2008 || Last of the Summer Wine || Jeremy || Episode: "Is Jeremy Quite Safe?" ||
|-
|2016 || Are You Being Served? || Captain Peacock || TV film ||
|-
|2018 || Sooty || Henry Witham-Smythe || Episode: "Just Desserts" ||
|-
|2020 || Državni posao || Aubrey "Boycie" Boyce || Episode: "Dostavno vozilo" ||
|}
Books
- 2011, Being Boycie, Wigmore Books Ltd.,
- 2012, Boycie & Beyond, Wigmore Books Ltd.,