Gordon Kennedy (actor)

Gordon Gilbert Kennedy (born 22 February 1958) is a Scottish actor, presenter and narrator. He starred in the Channel 4 sketch show Absolutely, and appeared in BBC drama series Robin Hood and Red Cap.

Gordon Kennedy
Born	Gordon Gilbert Kennedy (1958-02-22) 22 February 1958 (age 65) Glasgow, Scotland
Nationality	Scottish
Occupation(s)	Actor, presenter and narrator
Years active	1986–present
Known for	Robin Hood, Red Cap, Absolutely

Biography

Kennedy grew up in Tranent, East Lothian, and attended George Watson's College in Edinburgh.^[1] He then studied at the Scottish School of PE at Jordanhill College (now part of the University of Strathclyde).^[2] In 2015 he was announced as the first patron of The Fraser Centre Community Trust in Tranent.^[3] He also studied for one year at Scott Sutherland School of Architecture, Garthdee, Aberdeen around 1984.

Career

He first rose to prominence in the sketch show Absolutely and "progressed downwards to co-host"^[4] the 'original' National Lottery show, alongside Anthea Turner, as well as appearing as himself in a Punt and Dennis spoof of Bugs entitled Plugs as the antagonist who rigs the lottery results to win £100 million on an eight-week rollover. He has appeared in several dramas, including the role of Sergeant Bruce Hornsby in the BBC drama, Red Cap. He has also appeared in the BBC Scotland soap River City.

From 2006 to 2009 he starred as Little John in all three series of the BBC production of Robin Hood.

From 2010 to 2012, Kennedy narrated the British edition of Kitchen Nightmares encompassing 26 episodes, replacing the US narrators J.V. Martin and Arthur Smith for the UK.

Sports

Alongside his acting career, Kennedy is a rugby coach with London Wasps.^[5][6] He has also appeared many times on Test Match Sofa. His elder brother Euan Kennedy played rugby union for Scotland winning 4 caps between 1983 and 1984.

Filmography

Film

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1992	Just Like a Woman	C.J.
1999	With or Without You	Ormonde
2000	The Announcement	Frank
2009	Mad Sad & Bad	Harry
2013	The Borderlands	Deacon
2013	Tank 432	Smith
2017	T2 Trainspotting	Tulloch

Television

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1986	The Kenny Everett Television Show		Episode 4.1
1986	The Russ Abbot Show	Various characters	8 episodes
1988	Inspector Morse	Dewar's Detective	"The Settling of the Sun"
1988	This is David Lander	Angler
1989–1993	Absolutely	Various characters	Series regular 28 episodes
1989	Red Dwarf	Hudzen	"The Last Day"
1991	The Outsiders	Presenter	Broadcast in Scotland only.
1994	Tales of Para Handy	Constable MacLeod	"A Night Alarm"
1994	Jolly a Man for All Seasons	Charlie Chalmers	Television film
1995	Atletico Partick	Jack Roan	Main cast
1998	The Morwenna Banks Show	Various characters
1998	Norman Ormal: A Very Political Turtle	Yob Chairman	Television film
1999	Bostock's Cup	Edgar Pendulo	Television film
1999	The Big Knights	Count Vampire/Ogre	Voice
2000	Glasgow Kiss	Ewan Sommerville	Main role
2000	Stressed Eric	Various	Voice 13 episodes
2001	Love or Money	Michael	Television film
2001	Baddiel's Syndrome	Mr Deronda	"Dream Home"
2003	The Deal	John Brown	Television film
2003–2004	Red Cap	Sgt. Bruce Hornsby^[7]	Main cast 13 episodes
2005	Where the Heart Is	Alistair Pope	"Brief Encounters"
2005	River City	Graeme Macdonald	Episode dated 6 December 2005
2005	The Man-Eating Wolves of Gysinge	Thore Petre	Television film
2006-2009	Robin Hood	Little John	Main cast 38 episodes^[8]
2007	You Can Choose Your Friends	Pete Arden	Television film
2008	The Bill	Jim Lawson	"City Slickers" & "R.I.P P.I."
2010–2012	Kitchen Nightmares	Narrator	26 episodes
2010	Doctors	Thomas Brucker	"Gentle Giant"
2011	Skins	Alan Precopp	"Franky"
2011	Red Faction: Origins	Corvallis	Television film
2011	Combat Hospital	Captain Fitz	"Triage"
2012	Sherlock	Gary	"The Hounds of Baskerville"
2012	Doctors	Russ Moss	"A River in Egypt"
2013	Casualty	Steven/Steve Green	"Rabbits in Headlights" & "Gone in Sixty Seconds"
2013	Common Ground	Gino	"Eleanor"
2013	Being Human	Brendan	"The Last Broadcast"
2014	Endeavour	Alderman Gerald Wintergreen	"Neverland"
2015	A Long Long Crime Ago	Judge Hatter	Main cast
2016	Casualty	Steve Bonhomme	"A Clear Conscience"
2016	Tales From The Serengeti	Various	Voice
2016	The Windsors	Alec	3 episodes
2017	The Halcyon	Robbie	Main cast
2019	Vera	Eddie	"Cold River"
2019	Harlots	Arthur Chadwick	4 episodes

Theatre

• Rocky Horror Show (1990/91) – Eddie/Dr Scott.^[9]
• Full House (2002) - Tim.^[10][11]
• The Hairless Diva (2002) - Mr Smith.^[12][13]
• The Corstorphine Road Nativity (2009) – Narrator.^[14]
• The James Plays (2014) – Murdac Stewart/Livingston/John
• The Audience (2015) - Gordon Brown^[15]

Radio

• The Absolutely Radio Show.^[16]
• Mordrin McDonald: 21st-Century Wizard.^[17]
• Mrs Sidhu Investigates - Mrs Sidhu's Deadly Highland Game.^[18]

Awards and nominations

Year	Work	Award	Category	Result	Ref.
2017	The Gun Man	Birmingham Film Festival	Best Actor	Nominated

References

1. "Every One A Watsonian". George Watson's College.
2. "Playing it Absolutely straight". The Scotsman.
3. "GORDON KENNEDY JOINS THE FRASER CENTRE!". The Fraser Centre. 17 June 2015.
4. Lewis, Jon E.; Stempel, Penny (1998). Cult TV: The Comedies: The Ultimate Critical Guide. Great Eastern Ward Parkgate Road, London: Pavilion Books Limited. p. 13. ISBN 1-86205-245-X.
5. . Archived from the original on 22 April 2012. Retrieved 10 October 2011.
6. "Sports News". Channelonline.tv.
7. "Redcap". BBC.
8. "Robin Hood: Episode Guide". bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 31 January 2020.
9. "The Rocky Horror Show". Theatricalia.
10. "The Kennedy Conspiracy". Oxford Mail.
11. "Full House". UK Theatre Web.
12. "The Kennedy Conspiracy". Oxford Mail.
13. "The Hairless Diva". UK Theatre Web.
14. "The Corstorphine Road Nativity". UK Theatre Web.
15. "The Audience". UK Theatre Web.
16. "The Absolutely Radio Show". BBC Radio 4.
17. "Mordrin McDonald: 21st-Century Wizard". British Comedy Guide.
18. "Mrs Sidhu Investigates". British Comedy Guide.

External links

• Gordon Kennedy at IMDb
• Gordon Kennedy Interview at the BBC website
• on Absolutely.biz
• The Gun Man at IMDb
• Gordon Kennedy on Twitter