Roger Lloyd-Pack, the actor best known for playing Trigger in the BBC situation comedy Only Fools and Horses, died last night at home surrounded by his family. He had been diagnosed as having pancreatic cancer.
The actor, who was 69, came from a theatrical background since his father; Charles Lloyd-Pack (1902 – 1983) was also an actor of considerable merit. Roger’s daughter Emily Lloyd-Pack has similarly pursued an acting career, marking three generations of the family in the profession.
After an early career in British television, in which he appeared in classic serials such as The Avengers, Survivors, Jason King and The Protectors, Lloyd-Pack carved out a successful career in comedy, utilising his lugubrious mannerisms and saturnine face to great effect with deadpan delivery timed to perfection.
His supporting role as Trigger in Only Fools and Horses saw the running joke in which he always referred to Nicholas Lyndhurst’s character Rodney as ‘Dave’. Despite the enormous success of the series, Lloyd-Pack was able to match it by playing Owen Newitt in the Vicar of Dibley between 1994 and 2007. Whilst similarly dim-witted, Newitt was also smutty, frequently turning his lascivious attention on Dawn French’s titular vicar.
Outside of his success in sitcoms, Roger Lloyd-Pack managed to notch up more appearances in cult favourites, including a baddie alongside the Cybermen facing David Tennant’s Doctor Who. Young fans will know him as Barty Crouch Sr in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. In more recent times he took a role in the critically-lauded film adaptation of John le Carré’s classic espionage thriller Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy.
Whilst the tributes come pouring in, his fellow professionals have added their voices to those mourning his demise, with actor Clive Merrison one of the first to Tweet the sad news.
