John Rowe (born January 1941) is a British actor.
After reading English at Oxford he worked as a teacher before training at the Birmingham School of Speech and Drama.1 After some years in repertory theatre he joined the BBC Radio Drama Company at Broadcasting House and has been a prolific radio actor ever since, notably as Professor Jim Lloyd in The Archers.2 He has also played numerous character roles on television and film and his extensive stage work includes touring with the Old Vic in Europe, China, the Middle East and Australia.341
Filmography
Film
- The Chain (1984)
- Clockwise (1986)
- The Heart of Me (2001)
- Lagaan (2001)
- The Lost Prince (2003)
- Victoria & Abdul (2017)5
TV
- BBC Television Shakespeare - Henry VIII (Cromwell, 1979)
- BBC Television Shakespeare - Macbeth (Lennox, 1983)
- Juliet Bravo (1980–85)
- When the Boat Comes In (Hector Smith-Jameson, 1981)
- Intimate Contact (Managing Director, 1987)
- Chambers (Judge Riseby, 1990)
- Agatha Christie's Poirot (The Cornish Mystery, 1990)
- Seekers (1992)
- The Final Cut (Sir Clive Watling, 1995)
- Trial & Retribution (2006)
- Law & Order: UK (series 5) (2011)
- Casualty (2013)
- Mr Selfridge (2015)
- BBC Television - Holby City Series 18, Episode 24: Who You Are (Thomas Bell Humphries, 2016)
- Vera (TV series) (2016 - episode: The Moth Catcher)
- The Crown (2016)6
- Anna Lee (TV series 1994) as Commander Martin Brierly; Anna's boss 7
Radio
| Date | Title | Role | Director | Station |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| March 1973 | Henry IV Part 1 by William Shakespeare | Prince Hal | Martin Jenkins (Producer) | BBC Radio 38 |
| April 1984 | An Uncommon Love by Michelene Wandor9 | Arthur Munby | Richard Wortley | BBC Radio 4 |
| 1992 | Inspector Purbright- Charity ends at home by Colin Watson, dramatised by Christopher Denys | Inspector Purbright | BBC Radio 4 | |
| 1997 | The Chimes of Midnight by Nick Fisher | Jonathan Tempray | Marion Nancarrow | BBC Radio 4 Fear on 4 Drama |
| October 1997 | Miss Marple: A Caribbean Mystery by Agatha Christie | Dr Graves | Enyd Williams | BBC Radio 4 Drama |
| 30 July 1999 | Flight to Arras by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry | David Hunter | BBC Radio 4 Afternoon Play | |
| 23 February 2004 – 5 March 2004 | The L-Shaped Room | Alison Hindell | BBC Radio 4 Woman's Hour Drama | |
| 3 May 2004 | Inspector Cadaver | Ned Chaillet | BBC Radio 4 Afternoon Play | |
| 23 January 2006 – 27 January 2006 | To Serve Them All My Days | Howarth | Marc Beeby and Cherry Cookson | BBC Radio 4 Afternoon Play |
| 2007–08, 2009– | The Archers | Jim Lloyd | BBC Radio 4 | |
| 4 September 2007 | The Architects10 | Alan & Policeman | Lu Kemp | BBC Radio 4 Afternoon Play |
| 2008 | The Karla Trilogy - Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy ; The Honourable Schoolboy ; Smiley's People by John Le Carré | Control | adapted by Shaun McKenna | BBC Radio 4 Drama |
| 27 January 2008 – 2 March 2008 | Fortunes of War | Inchcape | Colin Guthrie | BBC Radio 4 Classic Serial |
| 16 June 2008 – 4 July 2008 | The Way We Live Right Now | Anthony Trollope | Jonquil Panting | BBC Radio 4 Woman's Hour Drama |
| 17 June 2008 | The Ring and the Book | The Judge | Abigail le Fleming | BBC Radio 4 Classic Serial |
| 18 June 2008 | Listen to the Words | Clive | Jessica Dromgoole | BBC Radio 4 Afternoon Play |
| 6 July 2008 | Piper Alpha | Toby Swift | BBC Radio 3 Drama on 3 | |
| 11 July 2008 | One Chord Wonders: Parallel Lines | Announcer | Toby Swift | BBC Radio 4 Friday Play |
| 25 July 2008 | One Chord Wonders: Damned, Damned, Damned | Announcer | Toby Swift | BBC Radio 4 Friday Play |
| 8 August 2008 | One Chord Wonders: Television's Over | Voke | Toby Swift | BBC Radio 4 Friday Play |
| 1 September 2008 | Peter Lorre vs Peter Lorre | Judge Burnett Wolfson | Toby Swift | BBC Radio 4 Afternoon Play |
| 23 November 2008 | The Pattern of Painful Adventures | Richard Burbage | Jeremy Mortimer | BBC Radio 3 Drama on 3 |
| 24 November 2008 – 28 November 2008 | Aubrey's Brief Lives | Anthony Wood | Abigail le Fleming | BBC Radio 4 Woman's Hour Drama |
| 16 March 2009 | Where Three Roads Meet | Shepherd | Kirsty Williams | BBC Radio 4 Afternoon Play |
| 11 June 2010 | Philip and Sydney | Hotel Keeper & Drinker | Kirsty Williams | BBC Radio 4 Afternoon Play |
| 22 December 2010 | Alice Through the Looking-Glass11 | The White Knight | Stephen Wyatt | BBC Radio 4 Saturday Drama |
| 3 November 2013 | Sword of Honour12 | Peregrine Crouchback | Tracey Neale | BBC Radio 4 Classic Serial |
| 7 January 2015 | Wants and Desires: the Ferryhill Philosophers13 | Rollo Ironside | Marilyn Imrie | BBC Radio 4 Afternoon Play |
| 14 February 2020 | 24 Kildare Road (episodes 7-10)14 | Joe Kelly | Mary Peate | BBC Radio 4 |
John Rowe has also appeared in two audio dramas published by Big Finish.15
References
References
- "BBC Radio 4 - The Archers - Jim Lloyd". BBC.
- "Living with the Poets podcasts – Bath Spa University". www.bathspa.ac.uk.
- "John Rowe". BFI. Archived from the original on March 1, 2020.
- "John Rowe | Theatricalia". theatricalia.com.
- "John Rowe | Movies and Filmography". AllMovie.
- "John Rowe". www.aveleyman.com.
- "John Rowe: Commander Martin Brierly". Retrieved March 20, 2026.
- "BBC Programme Index". genome.ch.bbc.co.uk. 18 March 1973. Archived from the original on February 15, 2017.
- "BBC Radio 4 Extra - Hidden Treasures, An Uncommon Love by Michelene Wandor". BBC. Retrieved 2025-11-13.
- "BBC Radio 4 - Drama, The Architects". BBC.
- "BBC Radio 4 - Saturday Drama, Lewis Carroll - Alice through the Looking Glass". BBC.
- "BBC Sword of Honour webpage".
- "BBC Radio 4 - Drama, The Ferryhill Philosophers, Wants and Desires". BBC.
- "BBC Radio 4 - Drama, 24 Kildare Road". BBC. Archived from the original on February 11, 2020.
- "Seatch Resilts: John Rowe". Retrieved March 20, 2026.