Editing Ray Winstone (section)

== 1970–1988 ==
In 1975, Winstone landed his first professional role in ''[[What a Crazy World]]'' at the [[Theatre Royal Stratford East|Theatre Royal]], [[Stratford, London|Stratford]] in London.<ref name="crazy">{{cite web |title= What a Crazy World |url=http://www.copperlily.com/AboutRayWinstone/crazyworld.html |work= copperlily.com |date=1975 |access-date= 23 November 2003}}</ref> One of his first TV appearances came in the 1976 "Loving Arms" episode of the popular police series ''[[The Sweeney]]'',<ref name="tv">{{cite web |title= Ray Winstone Credits |url=https://www.tvguide.com/celebrities/ray-winstone/credits/3000189033/ |work= tvguide.com |access-date= 16 March 2024}}</ref> where he was credited as "Raymond Winstone" (as he was in ''What a Crazy World''<ref name="crazy"/>) and played a minor part as an unnamed young thug. 

Winstone auditioned for [[Alan Clarke]]'s BBC play ''[[Scum (film)|Scum]]'' (1979). Because Clarke liked Winstone's cocky, aggressive boxer's walk,<ref name="bio"/> he got the part, though it had been written for a [[Glasgow dialect|Glaswegian]].<ref name="lunatic"/> The play, written by [[Roy Minton]] and directed by Clarke, was a brutal depiction of a young offender's institution. Winstone was cast in the leading role of Carlin, a young offender who struggles against both his captors and his fellow cons to become the "Daddy" of the institution. Hard hitting and often violent, the play was judged unsuitable for broadcast by the BBC, and was not shown until 1991. The banned television play was entirely refilmed in 1979 for cinematic release with many of the original actors playing the same roles, including Winstone. In a commentary for the ''Scum'' DVD, Winstone cites Clarke as a major influence on his career and laments the director's death in 1990 from cancer.<ref>{{cite web |title=Scum – Indicator Blu-Ray Review |url=http://blueprintreview.co.uk/2019/06/scum/ |date=18 June 2019}}</ref>

After a short run in the TV series ''[[Fox (TV series)|Fox]]'' (1980), and a role in ''[[Ladies and Gentlemen, The Fabulous Stains]]'' (1982),<ref name="tv"/> alongside [[Diane Lane]] and [[Laura Dern]]. He starred in the opening episode of the third season of ''[[Bergerac (TV series)|Bergerac]]'' (1983), as [[Will Scarlet]] in ''[[Robin of Sherwood]]''.<ref name="lunatic"/> He again teamed up with [[Jason Connery]] in a film which also featured [[Amanda Donohoe]] and [[Maria Whittaker]], in ''[[Tank Malling]]'' (1984).<ref name="tv"/>