Mark Heap

Mark Heap (born 13 May 1957)<ref name="hello">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> is a British actor and comedian. Television credits include Ghost Train (1991), Smith & Jones (1997–1998), Brass Eye (1997–2001), Kiss Me Kate (1998), The Zig and Zag Show (1998), How Do You Want Me? (1998–1999), Stressed Eric (1998–2000), Green Wing (2004–2007), Spaced (1999–2001), The Strangerers (2000), Jam (2000), Doc Martin (2000), Happiness (2001–2003), Lark Rise to Candleford (2008–2011), Desperate Romantics (2009), Friday Night Dinner (2011–2020), Upstart Crow (2016–2018), and Benidorm (2017–2018).

Film credits include About a Boy (2002), Stardust (2007), The World's End (2013), Time Travel is Dangerous (2024).

Early life

Heap was born in Kodaikanal, Tamil Nadu, India,<ref name="tv">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> to an English father and American mother, the youngest of four boys.<ref name="hello"/> When the family moved to the United Kingdom, they lived in Wales. He stayed there until he moved to northern England, where he lives now. He began acting in the 1970s as a member of the Medieval Players,<ref name="madness"/> a touring company performing medieval and early modern theatre, and featuring stilt-walking, juggling and puppetry.<ref name="madness"/> His brother Carl Heap, who is also an actor, was the artistic director of the company.<ref name="madness">Template:Cite news</ref> After its demise, he became part of the street theatre duo The Two Marks (with Mark Saban).<ref name="zany">Template:Cite news</ref>

Career

Television

Heap starred in the BBC sketch show Big Train, where he performed a barefoot gymnastics routine and other sketches between 1998 and 2002, alongside other burgeoning comedy stars Simon Pegg, Julia Davis, Kevin Eldon, Catherine Tate, Amelia Bullmore, Rebecca Front, Nick Frost and Tracy-Ann Oberman.<ref name="train">Template:Cite news</ref> He appeared as struggling artist Brian Topp in Spaced (1999–2001),<ref name="hello2"/> and the pompous Dr. Alan Statham in Green Wing (2004–07).<ref name="hello2">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Heap worked with Chris Morris, in Blue Jam, radio predecessor to Jam,<ref name="tv"/> and the documentary parody series Brass Eye.<ref name="hello"/> He voiced the lead character of Eric Feeble in the animated comedy Stressed Eric. Other recurring roles included: Terry Roche in Paul Whitehouse's comedy-drama Happiness and Derek Few in How Do You Want Me?.<ref name="hello"/> He played Harry in the short-lived Rob Grant TV series The Strangerers, in 2000.<ref name="tv"/> He also guested in the second series of the BBC comedy Look Around You as Leonard Hatred.<ref name="tv"/>

He appeared as an unsuccessful businessman who became a bellboy, in the 2007 BBC One drama Hotel Babylon.<ref name="tv"/> Between 2008 and 2010, he appeared as head postman Thomas Brown, in 32 episodes of the BBC period drama Lark Rise to Candleford.<ref name="hello"/> He was the super villain Lightkiller, in an episode of the sitcom No Heroics.<ref name="tv"/> He also appeared as the father of Chris Miles in the Channel 4 programme Skins.<ref name="tv"/> Heap played the love interest of the main character in the second series of the BBC comedy Love Soup.<ref name="tv"/> He played the role of Charles Dickens in the 2009 BBC Two drama Desperate Romantics.<ref name="tv"/> He also played Jessica Hynes' husband in the one-off comedy written by Hynes and Julia Davis: Lizzie & Sarah.<ref name="tv"/>

In 2010, Heap appeared as Bob Stevens, the leader of a rambling group in the BBC Four series The Great Outdoors.<ref name="tv"/> He also appeared as a psychiatrist in Miranda Hart's BBC2 comedy Miranda.<ref name="tv"/> In October 2010, he appeared as Robin in the four-part BBC drama Single Father.<ref name="tv"/> From 2011 to 2020, Heap played eccentric neighbour Jim Bell in the Channel 4 sitcom Friday Night Dinner, alongside Simon Bird, Paul Ritter, Tom Rosenthal and Tamsin Greig.<ref name="hello2"/> He also played Andrew Thorogood in the BBC Four comedy Holy Flying Circus,<ref name="tv"/> and Jonas in the eighth episode of E4's sci-fi comedy-drama Misfits in Series 3.<ref name="tv"/> He appeared as a misguided church minister during an outbreak of smallpox in the BBC series The Indian Doctor.<ref name="tv"/> In 2012, he joined the cast of the Sky1 original series Spy,<ref name="tv"/> for its second series commencing in October 2012, replacing Tom Goodman-Hill as Philip Quil, Judith's partner and Marcus' headteacher.<ref name="tv"/>

He appeared in the spin-off episode of Outnumbered,<ref name="tv"/> the Christmas special episode, aired on 24 December 2012 in which he portrayed Norris, for this single episode.<ref name="tv"/> He played the owner of a pet crematorium in Sue Perkins's 2013 comedy Heading Out.<ref name="tv"/> He had a leading role in BBC Radio 4's adaptation of Gogol's Dead Souls.<ref name="tv"/> He appeared as Robert Greene in three series of Upstart Crow (2016–18),<ref name="tv"/> a BBC Two sitcom about Shakespeare, written by Ben Elton.<ref name="hello"/> He also appeared as Dr. John Hall in the stage show based on the programme.<ref name="hello"/>

From 2017 to 2018, Heap also appeared in the sitcom Benidorm,<ref name="hello"/> playing the character Malcolm Barrett, the controlling and manipulative boyfriend of Pauline Maltby.<ref name="hello"/> In 2019, he appeared in Acorn TV's Queens of Mystery alongside Olivia Vinall.<ref name="tv"/>

In 2020, Heap appeared in Intelligence,<ref name="tv"/> and played headmaster and husband in ITV's The Trouble with Maggie Cole.<ref name="tv"/>

Film

In 1983, Heap made a brief appearance as a torch-juggler in the James Bond film Octopussy. He played Duncan, Rik Mayall's hapless personal assistant, in Bring Me the Head of Mavis Davis (1997).<ref name="tv"/> He played a school teacher in the 2002 film About a Boy.<ref name="tv"/> He made a cameo appearance with Kevin Eldon in Tim Burton's 2005 Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.<ref name="tv"/> He played supporting roles in Confetti (2006), Tunnel of Love (2004), Stardust (2007).<ref name="tv"/> In 2008, he co-starred in the surreal sci-fi B-movie spoof Captain Eager and the Mark of Voth, and was a publican in The World's End.<ref name="tv"/>

Other acting

In 1993, Heap played a villain, Hans Schultze, in an episode of Crimewatch File, “Double Identity”. Schultze was the German alter ego of an Englishman, John Calton. Schultze/Calton led a gang of kidnappers who robbed banks and a Tesco branch, holding families hostage.

In 2008, Heap played the role of Widmerpool in a Radio 4 serialisation of Anthony Powell's A Dance to the Music of Time. He played Eliza's husband in 2006 Radio 4 play The Eliza Stories and appeared as Marmite the Dwarf in the short-lived Radio 4 sitcom The Sofa of Time. He starred in the music video for Four Tet's single "Smile Around the Face" in 2005, contributed a multitude of character voices in the audiobook "Do Ants Have Arseholes?". In 2012, he starred as Martin in the Radio 4 play Cordite for Breakfast, a comedy about Napoleonic-era battle re-enactments.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> In March 2013, he appeared as Rincewind in a 4-part Radio 4 adaptation of Terry Pratchett's Eric. He also played the angel Aziraphale in the 2014 BBC radio adaption of Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett's Good Omens.<ref>Template:Cite press release</ref> He also was the lead in a series of radio advertisements for telecommunications company TalkTalk.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Filmography

Key

Template:Dagger

Denotes works that have not yet been released

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1983	Octopussy	Fire Juggler	Uncredited role
1997	Bring Me the Head of Mavis Davis	Duncan
2002	About a Boy	Maths Teacher
	Ant Muzak	Tannoy Voice	Short films
2004	Out of Time	Charlie
	The Calcium Kid	Sebastian Gore-Brown
2005	Charlie and the Chocolate Factory	Man with Dog
	Blake's Junction 7	Avon	Short film
	Animal	Hugo Getner
2006	Confetti	Registrar
	Scoop	M.C.
	Alpha Male	Darwen
2007	Stardust	Prince Tertius
2008	Captain Eager and the Mark of Voth	Scrutty Baker
	The Pro		Short films
2011	Muso Soup	Shash (voice)
2012	20,000 Leagues Under the Sea
	Is This a Joke?	Doctor
2013	All Stars	Simon Tarrington
	The World's End	Publican 7
2015	The Last Post	The Reverend Brian Pile	Short film
2016	The Comedian's Guide to Survival	Pick Up Driver
2018	Killer Weekend	Gerald
2022	The House	Mr. Thomas (voice)	Segment 'I'
	The School for Good and Evil	Professor Bilious Manley
	Your Christmas or Mine?	Johnson
2024	Time Travel is Dangerous	The Regency Dandy
Template:TableTBA	The Magic Faraway Tree Template:Dagger	Mr. Oom Boom Boom	Post-production

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1983	Martin Luther, Heretic	Medieval Player	Television film
1987	Get Fresh	The Two Marks	Series 2; Episode 7
	The Les Dennis Laughter Show		Series 1; Episode 2
1988		Various characters	Series 2; 7 episodes
1990	Up Yer News	Film Assistant	Episode dated 28 June 1990
1991	Ghost Train	Mafia's Man / The Two Marks	Series 3; 3 episodes
1992	Packing Them In	Fire-eating Stilt-walker	2nd series of Packet of Three; Episode 1
1993	Viva Cabaret	The Two Marks	Series 1; Episode 6
	Crimewatch File	Hans Schultze	Series 6; Episode 2: "Double Identity"
1994	The Bill	Chris Boxer	Series 10; Episode 119: "Blackout"
	Seaforth	Capt. Karl Von Berner	Also known as How High the Moon. Mini-series; Episodes 1–3
	What's Up Doc?	Mark the Security Guard	Series 2; Episode 25
1995		Alfred the Butler	Series 3; Episode 25
	The World of Lee Evans	Platform Guard	Episode 2: "Off the Rails"
1997	Hospital!	Dr. Ralph Crosby	Television film
	An Unsuitable Job for a Woman	DS Maskell	Series 1; Episode 1: "Sacrifice". Uncredited role
1997–1998	Smith & Jones	Various characters	Series 9; Episode 3: "Massage.", and Series 10; Episode 5: "New T.V."
1997–2001	Brass Eye	Various characters	Series 1 & 2; 7 episodes
1998	Kiss Me Kate	Peter	Series 1; Episodes 2–6
	The Zig and Zag Show	Various characters	Episodes 8, 12 & 13
1998–1999	How Do You Want Me?	Derek Few	Series 1 & 2; 8 episodes
1998–2000	Stressed Eric	Eric Feeble (voice)	Series 1 & 2; 13 episodes
1998–2002	Big Train	Various characters	Series 1 & 2; 12 episodes
1999	All Along the Watchtower	Mr. Carter	Episode 3: "Keeping the Peace"
	People Like Us	Graham Atkinson	Series 1; Episode 6: "The Head Teacher"
1999–2001	Spaced	Brian Topp	Series 1 & 2; 14 episodes
2000	The Strangerers	Harry	Episodes 1–9
	Jam	Various characters	Mini-series; Episodes 1–6
2001	Doc Martin	Mitch	Television film (First prequel to Saving Grace)
2001–2003	Happiness	Terry Roche	Series 1 & 2; 12 episodes
2003	Doc Martin and the Legend of the Cloutie	Mitch	Television film (Second prequel to Saving Grace)
	Spine Chillers	Balfus	Episode 5: "Goths"
2004	Dalziel and Pascoe	Julian Finch	Series 8; Episode 2: "The Price of Fame"
	Swiss Toni	Terry Fragment	Series 2; Episode 8: "Fothergill 2000"
	Tunnel of Love	Gibson	Television film
2004–2007	Green Wing	Dr. Alan Statham	Series 1 & 2; 18 episodes & 2 short specials
2005	Look Around You	Leonard Hatred	Series 2; Episodes 1 & 6: "Music" and "Live Final"
	Casanova	Doctor Gozzi	Mini-series; Episode 1
2007	Hotel Babylon	Robert Kane	Series 2; Episode 4
	Agatha Christie's Marple	Mr. Humfries	Series 3; Episode 1: At Bertram's Hotel
2007–2008	Singles Files	Jeff	Mini-series; Episodes 1–5
2008	Skins	Graham Miles	Series 2; Episode 10: "Everyone"
	Love Soup	Douglas McVitie	Series 2; Episodes 7–11
	No Heroics	Lightkiller	Episode 4: "Back Issues"
2008–2011	Lark Rise to Candleford	Thomas Brown	Series 1–4; 37 episodes
2009	Desperate Romantics	Charles Dickens	Mini-series; Episodes 1–5
	Cast Offs	Darren	Episode 6: "Carrie"
2010	Lizzie and Sarah	Michael	Television film
	The Great Outdoors	Bob	Episodes 1–3
	Single Father	Robin	Mini-series; Episodes 1–4
2010, 2015	Miranda	Anthony	Series 2; Episode 5: "Just Act Normal" and final episode: "The Final Curtain"
2011	Holy Flying Circus	Andrew Thorogood	Television film
	Misfits	Jonas	Series 3; Episode 8
2011–2020	Friday Night Dinner	Jim Bell	Series 1–6; 37 episodes
2012	The Indian Doctor	Rev. Herbert Todd	Series 2; Episodes 1–5
	A Moody Christmas	Heathrow Passenger	Mini-series; Episode 1: "Separate Seats"
	Outnumbered	Norris	Series 4; Episode 8: "Christmas Special 2012"
	Spy	Philip	Series 2; Episodes 1–11
2012–2016	The Increasingly Poor Decisions of Todd Margaret	Lord Mountford	Series 2 & 3; 4 episodes
2013	Heading Out	Brian	Episode 1
	Midsomer Murders	Simon Fergus-Johnson	Series 16; Episode 1: "The Christmas Haunting"
2014	Death in Paradise	Alec Burton	Series 3; Episode 6: "The Early Bird"
	Comedy Playhouse	Brother Francis	Series 16; Episode 3: "Monks"
2015	The Art of Foley	Jeremy	Mini-series; Episodes 1 & 2: "Earrings" and "Crow"
	Undercover	DCI Langdon	Episode 4
	We're Doomed! The Dad's Army Story	Clive Dunn	Television film
2016	Endeavour	Felix Lorimer	Series 3; Episode 4: "Coda"
	Digby Dragon	Mungo	Series 1 & 2; 27 episodes
2016–2017	Maigret	Dr. Moers	Series 1 & 2; 4 episodes
2016–2018	Upstart Crow	Robert Greene	Series 1–3; 19 episodes
2017	Murder on the Blackpool Express	Graham	Television film
2017–2018	Benidorm	Denis Walker (Malcolm Barrett)	Series 9; Episodes 7 & 8, and Series 10, Episode 7
2018	The Team	Albert	Series 2; Episodes 1–8
	Zapped <ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>	Florian	Series 3; Episode 6: "Amulet"
	The Midnight Gang	Sir Quentin Strillers	Television film
2019	Queens of Mystery	Kurt Lee	Series 1; Episodes 3 & 4: "Death by Vinyl: First & Final Chapters"
	Urban Myths	Ken Burrows	Series 3; Episode 3: "The Trial of Joan Collins"
2020	Intelligence	Barnaby Bailer	Series 1; Episode 4
	The Trouble with Maggie Cole	Peter Cole	Episodes 1–6
2022	Live at the Moth Club	George	Episodes 1–5
	Sky Comedy Shorts	Colin	Mini-series; Episode 4: "Silo"
2023	Ant & Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway	Butler	Series 19; 4 episodes
	Significant Other	Ray	Episode 3
2024	Renegade Nell	Newspaper Editor	Episodes 6 & 7: "Snatched by Strollers" and "Stop Printing This Muck"
	The Completely Made-Up Adventures of Dick Turpin	John Turpin	Series 1; Episodes 1–6
	Sister Boniface Mysteries	Kirk Fabricant	Series 3; Episode 4: "Professor Y"
	Piglets	Superintendent Bob Weekes	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
	Beyond Paradise	Bob Holland	Series 3; Episode: "Christmas Special"
Template:TableTBA	Can You Keep a Secret?	William Fenton	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Video Games

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2004	Wings of War	General Allied / Enemy General #2 (voice)
2010	Fable III	Brian (voice)

External links

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