Simon Williams

Simon Williams (born 16 June 1946) is a British actor known for playing James Bellamy in the period drama Upstairs, Downstairs. Frequently playing upper middle class or aristocratic upper class roles, he is also known for playing Charles Cartwright in the sitcom Don't Wait Up and Sir Charles Merrick in medical drama Holby City. Since 2014, he has played the character of Justin Elliott in the long-running BBC Radio 4 series The Archers.

Early life and education Simon Williams was born in Windsor in 1946. His parents were the actor Hugh Williams and the actress and model Margaret Vyner. His sister Polly, an actress, married his Don't Wait Up co-star and friend Nigel Havers. She died in 2004. His brother is the poet Hugo Williams.

Williams was educated at Harrow School. He trained in repertory at Worthing, Birmingham and Bath, and later joined the Theatre Workshop.

Williams also played Captain Hastings in several BBC Radio 4 adaptations of Agatha Christie novels, starring John Moffatt as Hercule Poirot.

In 1990 he appeared in the pilot of The Alleyn Mysteries, in which he played Roderick Alleyn, which was later recast with Patrick Malahide. In 1992 he starred in the series The Mixer, his co-star was Jeremy Clyde of Chad & Jeremy fame. He appeared as Lord Robert St. Simon in The Case-Book of Sherlock Holmes feature-length episode The Eligible Bachelor (1993) and he appeared as Charles Elliot in the 1997 film The Opium War. Williams has also had recurring roles as Gerald Trigg in Law and Disorder in 1994 and Sir Charles Merrick in Holby City from 2000 to 2003.

In 2000, he appeared on BBC Radio's Just a Minute. In 2002 he appeared in the film The Gathering Storm, and has also appeared in the Doctor Who audio drama Nekromanteia. In 2008, he appeared in an episode of the BBC spy series Spooks as bank owner Sir Francis Denham. In 2009, Williams returned to the fictional world of Holby to make a one-off appearance in Casualty as Professor de Silva, the father of junior doctor Toby de Silva. In 2010, he appeared as Lord Godwyn in the television series Merlin in the episode "The Changeling".

Williams has appeared in episodes of Bergerac, Dangerfield, dinnerladies, The Scarlet Pimpernel, Dalziel and Pascoe, Bad Girls, The Inspector Lynley Mysteries, Midsomer Murders, Starhunter 2300, Cutting It, Heartbeat, Family Affairs, Doctors, The Bill, Diamond Geezer 2, Kingdom and First Among Equals.

In 2010, Williams contributed to the CD We Will Remember Them, published by the Royal British Legion, where he read three of the poems. Williams has also written two novels, Talking Oscars and Kill the Lights, and has written several plays.

Williams made a guest appearance in the fourth season of the Canadian series Murdoch Mysteries, in 2011. The episode was entitled "Downstairs, Upstairs" in honour of the actor's famous role. He has also appeared in a stage adaptation of Chariots of Fire (2012), in the BBC television series Father Brown (2015), in BBC One soap EastEnders (2017), in Alan Bennett's play Allelujah (2018), as Stanton in the ghost story Martin's Close for the BBC, in the BBC television series Shakespeare & Hathaway: Private Investigators (2020), and as Joe Biden in the play The 47th by Mike Bartlett (2022).

Selected filmography

Personal life Williams married actress Belinda Carroll, with whom he had two children, Tam and Amy, both actors. In 1986 he married actress Lucy Fleming, the daughter of Peter Fleming and Celia Johnson and the niece of James Bond creator Ian Fleming.

Williams has served the Actors' Children's Trust and Denville Hall for more than 30 years, including 15 years as joint chairman with Angela Thorne. He has donated his time and expertise to the Sir Terence Rattigan Charitable Trust, the King George V Fund for Actors and Actresses, and several other charities.