Kevin Whately OBE (born 6 February 1951) is an English actor. He is best known for his roles as Neville "Nev" Hope in the comedy drama Auf Wiedersehen, Pet; Robert "Robbie" Lewis in the British crime dramas Inspector Morse (1987–2000) and Lewis (2006–2015); and Jack Kerruish in the drama series Peak Practice (1993–1995). He has appeared in numerous other roles.
Early life
Whately is from Brampton, near Carlisle, Cumberland. The family later moved to North Tynemouth when he was four years old. His mother, Mary (née Pickering), was a teacher and his father, Richard, was a Commander in the Royal Navy. His maternal grandmother, Doris Phillips, The BBC documentary Who Do You Think You Are?, broadcast in 2009, revealed that Whately is a descendant of Thomas Whately of Nonsuch Park (father of Thomas Whately), a leading London merchant, politician and writer who became a director of the Bank of England, and of Major Robert Thompson, a Parliamentarian during the English Commonwealth and later a tobacco plantation owner in Virginia. and went on to study accounting and finance at Newcastle Polytechnic, graduating in 1969. He then trained as an actor at the Central School of Speech and Drama, graduating in 1975 after having partly supported himself by working for the National Theatre at The Old Vic. Before going professional, Whately was an amateur actor at the People's Theatre in Newcastle upon Tyne during the 1970s. His brother, Frank, is a lecturer at Kingston University in London. In 2013, the Live Theatre of Newcastle upon Tyne produced a series of performances of the unique, acclaimed one-person play, White Rabbit, Red Rabbit, which is enacted as a cold reading with no sets or costumes by a different performer each night. Whately was the actor for the sold-out performance of 10 March 2013. Following the end of the ninth and final series of Lewis, Whately announced he had no intention of returning to the role of "Lewis", a character he had played over a span of 28 years.
Whately was the patron of the Central School of Speech and Drama Full House Theatre Company for 2011.
Personal life
Whately lives in Woburn Sands near Milton Keynes with his wife, actress Madelaine Newton, who starred in the 1970s BBC drama When the Boat Comes In. Madelaine starred as Morse's love interest in the Inspector Morse episode entitled "Masonic Mysteries" (1990; series 4, episode 4). Their daughter Kitty Whately is a classical operatic mezzo-soprano, whose career includes performances with the Edinburgh International Festival, the Royal Opera, and English National Opera.
Whately enjoys rock music and plays the guitar; he has cited Pink Floyd and Dire Straits as bands he has particularly enjoyed. on the football field, but says that he prefers rugby league,
Whately was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2025 New Year Honours for services to drama and to charity.
Filmography
Film
{| class="wikitable"
!Year
!Title
!Role
!Notes
|-
|1980
|Hawk the Slayer
|
|
{| class="wikitable sortable"
!Year
!Title
!Role
!Theatre
! class="unsortable" |Notes
|-
|
|Whistling Milestones
|
|Edinburgh Festival Fringe
|
|-
|
|Tunes of Glory
|
|Royal Lyceum Theatre / Scottish Tour
|
|-
|
|The Foursome
|Harry
|Warehouse Theatre
|
|-
|
|Raffles
|Charles Lamb
|Far Eastern Tour
|
|-
|
|Accounts
|Andy Mawson
|Edinburgh / Riverside Studios
|
|-
|
|Operation Elvis
|Elvis
|Tricycle Theatre
|
|-
|
|Bad Language
|Phil
|Hampstead Theatre
|
|-
|
|Henry IV
|Prince Hal
|Tyne Theatre
|
|-
|
|Billy Liar
|Title Role
|National Tour
|
|-
|
|She Stoops to Conquer
|Tony Lumpkin
|Oxford Playhouse
|
|-
|
|Three Piece Suite
|Keith Bishop
|Queen's Theatre
|
|-
|
|The Crucible
|John Proctor
|Leicester Haymarket
|
|-
|
|Our Own Kind
|Daines
|Bush Theatre
|
|-
|1989
|The Widowing of Mrs Holroyd
|Blackmore
|Leicester Haymarket
|
|-
|1996
|Twelve Angry Men
|Juror 8
|Bristol Old Vic / Comedy Theatre
|
|-
|1997
|Snake in the Grass
|Ray Lucas
|Old Vic Theatre
|
|-
|1998
|How I Learned to Drive
|Uncle Peck
|Donmar Warehouse
|
|-
|2013
|White Rabbit Red Rabbit
|
|Live Theatre
|
|-
| rowspan="2" |2015
|Gypsy
|Herbie
|Chichester Festival Theatre
|
|-
|Arthur
|Arthur
|Theatre Royal Haymarket
|
|}