Editing Nigel Havers (section)

==Professional life and career==
Havers is most known for "playing the quintessential, old school Englishman with his dashing good looks, cut-glass accent and thoroughly charming manner".<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/tv_and_radio/2779605.stm|title=Havers makes smooth TV return|date=20 February 2003|work=BBC News|access-date=3 July 2016}}</ref> Havers's first acting job was in the radio series ''[[Mrs Dale's Diary]]'' and he subsequently went on to working for the [[Prospect Theatre Company]] initially "carrying a spear and making cups of tea" as he puts it in his autobiography.

In the 1970s he was a researcher for nine years on the [[Jimmy Young (broadcaster)|Jimmy Young]] radio show, particularly responsible for enticing politicians due to his father's contacts, including helping obtain [[Margaret Thatcher]]'s first radio interview.{{citation needed|date=March 2025}}

From an early age Havers had an eye for the ladies; [[Kenneth More]], a friend of his father, advised a young Havers that "If you are charming, you don't have to ask them to go to bed, they ask you".{{citation needed|date=March 2025}} He describes his experiences with an early leading lady, [[Maxine Audley]] thus: "I was in her dressing room doing whatever she asked me to, and I mean anything and everything. One afternoon I sauntered into her dressing room, still in my officer's kit, only to find a similarly clad new member of the cast rehearsing what I had perfected over the past few months. My time was up. She blew me a kiss and I slid away. Actually, I was rather relieved, I needed a rest."{{citation needed|date=March 2025}}

After his theatre work, Havers slid into a period of acting [[unemployment]], during which time he worked for a [[wine merchant]]. He ended this part of his career when his girlfriend, who later became his first wife, Carolyn Cox, suggested they move in together in 1974.{{citation needed|date=March 2025}}

In 1975, Havers's career began to pick up with an appearance in ''[[Upstairs, Downstairs (1971 TV series)|Upstairs, Downstairs]],'' appearing in one of the series' last episodes, "Joke Over" as Peter Dinmont, one of Georgina's ([[Lesley-Anne Down]]) ''[[Roaring Twenties]]'' "party" friends. Dinmont is in the Rolls-Royce when Georgina accidentally kills a farmer on a bicycle. Dinmont refuses to testify on Georgina's behalf at a preliminary trial, as he was passed out drunk in the back seat and did not witness the accident.

It was also in 1975 that Havers appeared in the [[Granada Television]] daytime series ''[[Crown Court (TV series)|Crown Court]],'' in which he played a  hapless [[heroin addict]], Patrick Mills, who stands trial on a series of drug offences.

His first film appearance was a small part in ''[[Pope Joan (1972 film)|Pope Joan]]'' (1972) and he was a character in ''[[The Glittering Prizes]]'' (1976), but his first major success came with the leading role in a [[BBC]] dramatisation of ''[[Nicholas Nickleby (1977 TV series)|Nicholas Nickleby]]'' (1977), closely followed by another BBC drama serial, ''A Horseman Riding By'' (1978). By the time he appeared in the film ''[[Chariots of Fire]]'' (1981), he had become a familiar face on British television. Despite his work in such films as ''[[A Passage to India (film)|A Passage to India]]'' (1984), ''[[Empire of the Sun (film)|Empire of the Sun]]'' (1987) and ''[[Farewell to the King]]'' (1989), he never became a film star, but has continued in a succession of starring roles on television. He co-starred for several years in the 1980s [[BBC]] sitcom ''[[Don't Wait Up (TV series)|Don't Wait Up]]'' (1983–1990) alongside [[Dinah Sheridan]] and [[Tony Britton]]. He also starred in ''The Little Princess'' (1986) with [[Maureen Lipman]].

Havers co-starred with [[Warren Clarke]] in the 1991 BBC comedic mini-series [[Sleepers (TV series)|''Sleepers'']]. Havers and Clarke played former [[KGB]] spies who had assimilated into English life in the 1960s and were "lost" for 25 years. Successfully and happily living as Englishmen, their worlds are turned upside-down when they discover that the KGB is looking for them.  As they resist going back to Russia, the ex-spies lead the KGB, [[CIA]], and [[MI5]] on a madcap chase through England.{{citation needed|date=March 2025}}

Havers appeared on ''[[This Is Your Life (British TV series)|This Is Your Life]]'' in 1992, having been surprised by host [[Michael Aspel]] at Twickenham Film Studios.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://thetvdb.com/series/this-is-your-life/episodes/5701055 |title=Nigel Havers |author=<!--Not stated--> |date=n.d. |website=TheTVDB |publisher=Whip Media |access-date=2023-01-05 }}</ref> He later wrote an [[autobiography]], titled ''Playing with Fire'', which was published in October 2006 by Headline Publishing Group.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://www.headline.co.uk/titles/nigel-havers/playing-with-fire/9780755314614/ |title=Playing With Fire by Nigel Havers |author=<!--Not stated--> |date=n.d. |website=headline.co.uk |publisher=Headline Publishing Group Limited |isbn=978-0-7553-1461-4 |access-date=2023-01-05}}</ref>

In 2009, Havers appeared in the U.S. television drama ''[[Brothers & Sisters (2006 TV series)|Brothers & Sisters]]'', and the ''[[Doctor Who]]'' spin-off ''[[The Sarah Jane Adventures]]''. On 18 December 2009, he first appeared in the British soap (broadcast on the [[ITV (TV network)|ITV]] network) ''[[Coronation Street]]'' playing the charming [[male prostitution|escort]] [[Lewis Archer]], who woos [[Audrey Roberts]]. He left on 13 August 2010. He returned to the role on 17 February 2012 and left again on 1 February 2013. He returned again on 1 June 2018 and remained in ''Coronation Street'' until the character's death on 1 January 2019.

In November 2010, Havers became a contestant on the [[I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here! (British TV series) series 10|tenth series]] of ''[[I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here! (British TV series)|I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here!]]'', which started on 14 November 2010. On 21 November, Havers left the show after vehemently objecting to a challenge called Kangaroo Court in which contestants who lost the challenge would be subjected to an electric shock.<ref>[http://celebrity.itv.com/2010/TheCelebrities/nigel-havers-1199 I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here! – Nigel Havers] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101113044840/http://celebrity.itv.com/2010/TheCelebrities/nigel-havers-1199 |date=13 November 2010 }} ITV, November 2010</ref>

As a guest star in the 2011 Christmas Special episode of television show ''[[Downton Abbey]]'', Havers portrayed Lord Hepworth, a charming and hopeful suitor of wealthy [[List of Downton Abbey characters#Lady Rosamund Painswick|Lady Rosamund Painswick]], the widowed sister of the [[List of Downton Abbey characters#Robert Crawley, 7th Earl of Grantham|Earl of Grantham]] played by [[Samantha Bond]].<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/tvandradio/downton-abbey/8908374/Will-Downton-Abbey-love-rivals-battle-it-out-on-hunt.html|title=Will Downton Abbey love rivals battle it out on hunt?|last=Singh|first=Anita|newspaper=The Daily Telegraph|date=2011-11-22|access-date=2019-08-30|language=en-GB|issn=0307-1235}}</ref>  In the episode, Hepworth is discovered having an affair with Lady Rosamund's maid and outed as a "fortune hunter." Series creator [[Julian Fellowes]] remarked in his book of [[teleplay]]s for the second series of ''Downton Abbey'' that "no one in [[Equity (British trade union)|Equity]] is better" than Havers "at playing a cad."

In July 2012, Havers presented a programme on [[ITV (TV network)|ITV]] called ''The Real Chariots of Fire'', a documentary about the runners who inspired the film ''Chariots of Fire''.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.thejc.com/culture/features/television-chariots-of-fire-and-the-real-harold-abrahams-story-1.34257|title=Television: Chariots of Fire and the real Harold Abrahams story|last=Round|first=Simon|date=6 July 2012|website=The Jewish Chronicle|access-date=2019-08-30}}</ref>  In 2014, he played Tony Pebble in ''[[The Life of Rock with Brian Pern]]'', a [[BBC Four]] comedy which parodied the life and career of former [[Genesis (band)|Genesis]] singer, [[Peter Gabriel]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.radiotimes.com/episode/cssfr9/the-life-of-rock-with-brian-pern--series-1---1-birth-of-rock|title=The Life of Rock with Brian Pern|work=Radio Times|access-date=20 July 2014}}</ref>  On 25 January 2015, Havers took part in celebrity talent show ''[[Get Your Act Together]]''.

Havers appeared in the ninth series of the sitcom ''[[Benidorm (British TV series)|Benidorm]],'' in 2017,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.independent.ie/style/celebrity/celebrity-news/nigel-havers-gets-his-teeth-in-benidorm-guest-role-35494587.html|title=Nigel Havers gets his teeth in Benidorm guest role|date=1 March 2017|website=Independent.ie|language=en|access-date=2019-08-30}}</ref> returning as the same character for the tenth series in 2018. He also joined fellow celebrities [[Simon Callow]], [[Lorraine Chase]], and [[Debbie McGee]] on the Channel 5 (UK) show, ''Celebrity Carry On Barging'',  later that year.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2017/feb/11/celebrity-carry-on-barging-review|title=Celebrity Carry On Barging review – these stars could use a touch more sauce|last=Wollaston|first=Sam|date=2017-02-11|newspaper=[[The Guardian]]|access-date=2019-08-30|language=en-GB|issn=0261-3077}}</ref>

In 2024 he was the narrator of a new [[Channel 4]] series ''Help! We Bought a Hotel''.{{citation needed|date=March 2025}}

In March 2025, Havers appeared in the four-part ITV series ''[[A Cruel Love: The Ruth Ellis Story]]'' as his own grandfather the judge Sir [[Cecil Havers]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.radiotimes.com/tv/drama/cruel-love-ruth-ellis-story-cast/|title=A Cruel Love: The Ruth Ellis Story cast and their real-life counterparts |work=Radio Times}}</ref>