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Nigel Allan Havers (born 6 November 1951), styled The Hon. Nigel Havers, is a British actor, known mainly for his television work in the 1970s and 1980s. Havers' father was a barrister, famous for successfully defending Mick Jagger and Keith Richards on drug charges in 1967 and being chief-prosecutor of Peter Sutcliffe in 1981. His brother Phil pursued a career in the legal profession.

Early Acting Life and Romance

Havers' first acting job was in the radio series Mrs Dale's Diary and he subsequently went onto working for the Prospect Theatre Company initially 'carrying a spear and making cups of tea' as he puts it in his autobiography. From an early age Havers had an eye for the ladies and 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.'

After his theatre work, Havers slid into a period of acting unemployment, during which time he worked for a wine merchant. He was rescued from this by an advertisement in Private Eye which led to a stint nude-modelling for the photographer Tuppy Owens. He ended this career when his girlfriend, who later became his first wife, Carolyn Cox, suggested they move in together in 1974. In 1975 Havers' career began to pick up with an appearance in Upstairs, Downstairs (though his affection for leading lady Lesley-Anne Down went unreciprocated).

In the mid-eighties Havers began an affair with the sister of his friend Simon Williams, Polly Williams. News broke as he was appearing in TV series The Charmer and consolidated his public reputation as somewhat of a cad. Havers has written of the depression he experienced trying to choose between his marriage and their young daughter Kate, born in 1977, and his mistress. During this time he consulted a psychiatrist at the Devonshire Hospital in London. Things were resolved in his mind when he took a part in the TV film Naked Under Capricorn which was filmed in Alice Springs, Australia. He described in his autobiography wrangling a herd of cattle and catching sight of a figure in the distance who turned out to be Williams. The following year they were married. Unfortunately Williams died of cancer in 2004.

Controversy

Havers was recently recipient of some notoriety for attacking cyclists as reported in the British press.The article, while couched as a critique of cyclists who refuse to obey the rules of the road, soon moves to stereotyping all cyclists as "maniacs" that routinely break the law:

"[T]oday's pedal-pushers... appear to think they are above the law... [and are a] new army of Lycra-clad maniacs... I am heartily sick of the lot of them." -- "On yer bikes!", article in the Daily Mail, June 13, 2006

"I was asked what annoys me most. I said cyclists, because they are all bastards, and since then it just hasn’t stopped." -- "Me and my motors", article in The Times, June 25, 2006

These comments provoked outrage in various online cycling fora such as Cycling Plus.

Family links

The elder son of the Lord Havers, a former Lord Chancellor, he was born in London and educated at the Arts Educational School. His paternal aunt, the Baroness Butler-Sloss, was the first woman to be elevated to the Court of Appeal and subsequently the first woman appointed to head the Family Division of the High Court. His grandfather Sir Cecil Havers was also a High Court judge.

Trivia

Havers will appear as Captain Hook in the pantomime "Peter Pan" at the Wycombe Swan, High Wycombe, UK in December 2006 to mid-January 2007.

Havers' autobiography, "Playing with Fire", is due for publication in 2006.

Filmography

His first film appearance was a small part in Pope Joan (1972), but his first major success came with the leading role in a BBC dramatisation of Nicholas Nickleby (1977), closely followed by another BBC drama serial, A Horseman Riding By. By the time he appeared in Chariots of Fire (1981), he was a familiar face on television. Despite appearing in films such as Empire of the Sun (1987) and A Passage to India (1984), he never made a name as a film star, but has notched up a succession of starring roles on television. He co-starred for several years in the 1980s BBC sitcom, Don't Wait Up, alongside Tony Britton.

Television

• Little Britain (2004)
• Manchild (2002-2003)
• A Perfect Hero (1991)
• Sleepers (1991)
• The Charmer (1987)
• A Little Princess (1986)
• Don't Wait Up (1984)
• Birth of the Beatles (1979)
• Pennies From Heaven (1978)
• A Horseman Riding By (1977)
• Nicholas Nickleby (1977) - title role

Cinema

• Farewell to the King (1989)
• Empire of the Sun (1987)
• A Passage to India (1984)
• Chariots of Fire (1981)
• Pope Joan (1972)

Audio books

• Tales from Watership Down (Richard Adams) (1996)

Notes

External links

• The Nigel Havers Alliance - A mock political party

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