Donald Douglas, 1933-2026
Sorry to hear that actor Donald Douglas has died, aged 92, following what is described as a short illness.
You may not have heard of him because although he appeared in Poldark (the original version), Doctor Who, Monarch of the Glen, and many other TV programmes and films (including Goldeneye and the first three Bridget Jones’ movies), he was usually in a small or supporting role. Nevertheless I always noticed his appearances because, for 18 months in the mid Eighties, I was his tenant and he was my landlord.
What happened was this. From 1982 to the summer of 1985 I shared a two-bedroom flat in West Kensington with a succession of flatmates. The owner, who had been working in Hong Kong, then announced he was returning to the UK and we were given notice to move out.
We had a month to find somewhere else to live, but I was 26 and liked the idea of living on my own at last, so when I saw an ad in the Evening Standard for a single person to rent a studio flat near Ravenscourt Park (between Hammersmith and Chiswick), I replied at once and got it following a brief ‘interview’ with Donald Douglas and his wife Angela who lived in the house above with their three daughters. (If I remember correctly, the rent was £90 a month, which would be £350 in today’s money.)
The basement flat had its own front door and inside there was a single bed-sitting room with a tiny galley-style kitchenette and a small bathroom. It was basic and very small but I loved it, and to this day I have never forgotten the thrill of opening the front door for the first time knowing that no-one else would be there.
To be honest, even though they were living directly above me, I didn’t see very much of the Douglas family. Early on I remember being invited to dinner, which is when I learned a little more about them. Donald was an established actor, and Angela had been an actor as well (which is how they met), but in the mid Eighties she was writing, if I remember, for one or two magazines. I recall too that their circle of friends included the likes of Julian Barnes, the well-known author.
My flat was very cosy but it was quite dark, even on a sunny day, and there was another problem with being in the basement - potential burglars. I liked to keep the sash windows slightly open at night to get some fresh air, and one night I was asleep when I was woken up by someone trying to climb in through the window. I’m not sure who got the bigger surprise, but when I bellowed “Fuck off!” as loudly as I could the intruder was so startled he fell off the window ledge and ran off into the night.
In truth, the flat was so small that after a year or so it did feel a bit claustrophobic, especially as I was working from home at that time. But then something happened that took the decision to stay or leave out of my hands. In December 2006 I hosted a pre-Christmas lunch for half a dozen friends. Due to the lack of space, I sent them to the nearest pub for a pre-lunch drink before wandering over to join them.
Thirty or 40 minutes later I returned to the flat to find it filled with thick black smoke. Without thinking, I had left the Christmas pudding simmering on the stove and the pan had burned dry. Long story short, both the pan and the Christmas pudding were ruined (the pan had a huge hole in the bottom) and every wall and surface in the flat were covered in thick black particles of soot. Thankfully, the turkey, which was still cooking in the oven, was absolutely fine and when the smoke finally cleared we went ahead with lunch as if nothing had happened.
Unfortunately, a few days into the new year, I was asked - very politely - to leave. Donald Douglas was very good about it. If he was annoyed with me (which I’m sure he was) he hid it very well. Instead he explained that the flat had to be redecorated (the insurance company had agreed to pay), and after that they were going to turn it into a granny flat. That, he said, had always been their intention (which I’m not sure I believed), but it was all very amicable and there were no hard feelings on my part.
Strangely enough we didn’t keep in touch but decades later I read that he had moved to France and was living near his friend Robin Ellis, who played Captain Ross Poldark in the original TV series. They shared a love of cooking and Donald’s interests also included painting, drawing and sculpting. It sounded idyllic but there was no mention of Angela. Instead he was living with his ‘long-term partner Emma’.
Last week Robin Ellis’ wife Meredith Wheeler posted a rather lovely tribute - with a reel of photographs - on Facebook. It’s also on YouTube. Describing their friend as a ‘wonderful actor and Renaissance man’, she added:
We loved him dearly and will miss him greatly - as will the Anglophone community in the Tarn where he founded an English language theatre near Cordes in which he performed, directed and produced for many years, bringing an array of talented British actors to the region.
How lovely is that?
Donald Douglas, left, with Robin Ellis.
Screenshot: Meredith Wheeler/Facebook
