Ben Keaton

Benjamin J. Burke-Kennedy (3 May 1956 – 20 March 2026), known by the stage name Ben Keaton, was an Irish actor who appeared in Emmerdale as Jeff Brannigan and in Casualty as Spencer between 1999 and 2002. He also appeared as Father Austin Purcell in "Think Fast, Father Ted", an episode of the Channel 4 sitcom Father Ted.

Life and career Benjamin J. Burke-Kennedy was born in Dublin on 3 May 1956, to Bernard Ernest Burke-Kennedy, an accountant, and Esther Nagle, who had married in Cork in 1938.

Under his stage name Ben Keaton, he became a theatre actor. He appeared at the Royal Exchange Theatre in Manchester in Animal Crackers, American Buffalo, Harvey, and Cyrano de Bergerac, and played the role of David Bliss in Noël Coward's Hay Fever. Keaton also worked as a comedian, and had won the Perrier Comedy Award at the 1986 Edinburgh Festival, two Manchester Evening News Best Actor Awards and a Laurence Olivier Nomination. He was a regular guest member with the Comedy Store Players, Keaton also set up a Twitter page for the character, and a website where fans can purchase customised Father Austin Purcell video greetings.

In 2015, he set up Lincoln Comedy Academy with Paul Mutagejja to teach performing and writing comedy for stage and screen.

His documentary series The I Am Project records the lives of children who are moving from primary to secondary school and from secondary to further education, and has taken place in a variety of schools since 2008. The series has been admitted into the Media Archive of Central England.

In 2017, he and his son, Waldo Fox Kennedy, set up Bracket Energy Media Production which produces video for business and specialises in online content.

Keaton lived in Alford in Lincolnshire. He died in Lincoln County Hospital in Lincoln, on 20 March 2026, at the age of 69.

Filmography Year Programme Role Notes 1989 The Bill Harry Episode: "Powers of Exclusion" 1995 Father Ted Father Austin Purcell Episode: "Think Fast, Father Ted" 1996 Episodes: "Paranormal Researchers" and "Writers" 1997–2000 Hububb Mr Tight / Priest / Mayor / Patrick /Ralph / Inventor 1 / Hung Lo Pants Writer – 47 episodes 1999 East Is East Priest 1999–2002 Casualty Spencer 51 episodes 2002 Balamory Writer – episode: "The Boat" 2002 Doctors John Hampton Episode: "Unfinished Business" 2007 The Bill Ed Abraham Episode: "Killing Me Softly" 2007 Double Time Eddie TV film 2012 Love Bite Father John 2015 Cook Like a Priest Father Austin Purcell Web series – also writer