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{{Short description|British actor (1947–2022)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2022}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Stephen Churchett
| image =
| caption =
| birth_name = Stephen George Churchett
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1947|04|10|df=yes}}
| birth_place = [[Bromley]], [[Kent]], England
| death_date = 11 January 2022 (aged 74)
| death_place =
| nationality = British
| television = ''[[EastEnders]]'' ''[[The Brittas Empire]]'' ''[[The House of Eliott]]''
| years_active = 1969–2022
| occupation = Actor, writer
| children =
| spouse =
}}

'''Stephen George Churchett''' (10 April 1947 – 11 January 2022) was an English actor and writer.

==Life and career==
One of his most notable roles was as solicitor [[Marcus Christie (EastEnders)|Marcus Christie]] in ''[[EastEnders]]'', on and off from 1990 to 2004.<ref name="write">{{cite news | title = A bit of this and that; Write attitude; Jobbing actor Stephen Churchett tells Ben Dowell why the responsibility of writing for the stage and the small screen is keeping him interested...| pages = 32| publisher = The Stage| date = 11 March 1999}}</ref> He reprised the role in 2014 and again in 2015.

He has also appeared in various television programmes, including ''[[The Brief (ITV)|The Brief]]'', ''[[Together (British television soap opera)|Together]]'', ''[[Minder (TV series)|Minder]]'', ''[[Campion (1989 TV series)|Campion]]'', ''[[Up Pompeii!]]'', ''[[Enemy at the Door]]'', ''[[Specials (TV series)|Specials]]'', ''[[The Professionals (TV series)|The Professionals]]'', ''[[C.A.T.S. Eyes]]'', ''[[Lucan (2013 TV series)|Lucan]]'', ''[[Casualty (TV series)|Casualty]]'', ''[[Moon and Son]]'', ''[[Bugs (TV series)|Bugs]]'', ''[[The House of Elliot]]'', ''[[Peak Practice]]'', ''[[Silent Witness]]'', ''[[Dangerfield (TV series)|Dangerfield]]'', ''[[Pie in the Sky (TV series)|Pie in the Sky]]'', ''[[The Bill]]'', ''[[All Quiet on the Preston Front|Preston Front]]'', ''[[Boon (TV series)|Boon]]'', ''[[Monroe (TV series)|Monroe]]'', ''[[Dalziel and Pascoe (TV series)|Dalziel and Pascoe]]'' and ''[[Porkpie (TV series)|Porkpie]]''. He also appeared in the ''[[Doctor Who]]'' episode titled ''[[Attack of the Cybermen]]'' in 1985.

He voiced Wing Commander Belfridge in the ''[['Allo 'Allo!]]'' episode titled "[['Allo 'Allo! (series 4)#The Sausages in the Trousers|The Sausages in the Trousers]]". He appeared in various episodes of ''[[The Brittas Empire]]'', as Councillor Jack Druggett.

He has written episodes of ''The Bill'', ''[[Kavanagh QC]]'', ''[[Inspector Morse (TV series)|Inspector Morse]]'', ''Dalziel and Pascoe'', ''[[Monsignor Renard]]'' and ''[[Hornblower (TV series)|Hornblower]]'', as well as writing the screenplay for ''[[Lewis (TV series)|Lewis]]'', and appeared in four ''[[Agatha Christie's Marple]]'' television adaptations as the Coroner (''[[The Murder at the Vicarage]]'', ''[[The Moving Finger]]'', ''[[Murder Is Easy]]'', ''[[Endless Night (novel)|Endless Night]]''). In 1984, he appeared in ''[[Miss Marple (TV series)|Miss Marple]]'' as Major Reeve in ''[[The Body in the Library (film)|The Body in the Library]]''.<ref name="write" /><ref>{{cite news | title = Final Morse script handed in to Carlton Productions| publisher = Broadcast| date = 14 January 2000}}</ref> HIs interest in writing about detection was evident from a 1978 letter he wrote to Special Branch enquiring about the conspiracy case against [[Alice Wheeldon]] and her family, and their reply.<ref>Metropolitan Police files "345/57/40 Pt.1"</ref> Anecdotally, he visited Derby with a view to writing a play.

Churchett died on 11 January 2022, at the age of 74.<ref>{{cite web |title=Stephen Churchett |url=https://guide.doctorwhonews.net/person.php?code=3006 |website=Doctor Who Guide |access-date=24 January 2022 |date=18 January 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Stephen Churchett |url=https://www.aveleyman.com/ActorCredit.aspx?ActorID=23437 |website=Aveleyman |access-date=26 January 2022}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/obituaries/2022/03/16/stephen-churchett-actor-played-shifty-lawyer-marcus-christie/|title=Stephen Churchett, actor who played the shifty lawyer Marcus Christie in EastEnders and writer who delivered the last episode of Inspector Morse – obituary|newspaper=The Telegraph|date=16 March 2022}}</ref>

==Partial filmography==

{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Year
! Title
! Role
! class="unsortable"| Notes
|-
| 1971 || ''[[Bleak Moments]]'' || Remedial Trainee ||
|-
| {{dts|format=y|1975-11-25}} || ''[[Play for Today]]'' || History teacher || Episode: "[[Play for Today#After The Solo|After The Solo]]"
|-
| 1976 || ''[[Romeo & Juliet]]'' || Soldier of the Guard || [[List of films based on Romeo and Juliet#Direct adaptations|Thames Television full-text production directed by Joan Kemp-Welch]]
|-
| 1977 || ''{{sortname|A|Bridge Too Far|dab=film}}'' || Soldier ||
|-
| 1977 || ''{{sortname|A|Christmas Carol}}'' || John ||
|-
| {{dts|format=y|1980-2-16}} || ''[[Enemy at the Door]]'' || Feldwebel || Episode: "The Raid"
|-
| {{dts|format=y|1980-11-18}} || ''[[Play for Today]]'' || Dr. Lacey || Episode: "[[Play for Today#Minor Complications|Minor Complications]]"
|-
| {{dts|format=y|1984-2-14}} || ''[[Play for Today]]'' || Mr. Jessop || Episode: "[[Play for Today#Young Shoulders|Young Shoulders]]"
|-
| {{dts|format=y|1985-3-10}} || ''[[Screen Two]]'' || Directorate Official || Episode: "[[Screen Two#In The Secret State|In The Secret State]]"
|-
| 1985 || ''Number One'' || TV Announcer || Television film
|-
| 1985 || ''Florence Nightingale'' || Dr. Clark ||
|-
| 1986 || ''[[Murrow (film)|Murrow]]'' || BBC Technician ||
|-
| 1987 || ''[[Still Crazy like a Fox]]'' || Sergeant ||
|-
| 1987 || ''[[Bellman and True]]'' || Commercial Traveller ||
|-
| {{dts|format=y|1989-10-23}} || ''[[Boon (TV series)|Boon]]'' || Billy Hooper || Episode: "[[List of Boon episodes#Of Meissen Men|Of Meissen Men]]"
|-
| 1990–2004, 2014, 2023 || ''[[EastEnders]]'' || Marcus Christie || 73 episodes
|-
| {{dts|format=y|1991-4-12}} || ''{{sortname|The|Object of Beauty}}'' || Mr. Mundy ||
|-
| {{dts|format=y|1991-10-17}} || ''[[Minder (TV series)|Minder]]'' || Head Waiter || Episode: "[[List of Minder episodes#A Bird in the Hand is Worth Two in Shepherd's Bush|A Bird in the Hand is Worth Two in Shepherd's Bush]]"
|-
| 1992 – 1994 || ''{{sortname|The|House of Eliott}}'' || Joseph Wint ||
|-
| 1996 || ''[[Secrets & Lies (film)|Secrets & Lies]]'' || Men in Suits ||
|-
| {{dts|format=y|1997-9-19}} || ''[[Photographing Fairies]]'' || Mr. Dawson ||
|-
| {{dts|format=y|1998-2-2}} || ''[[Peak Practice]]'' || Mr. Anthony Millington || Episode: "[[Peak Practice#Another Day of Life|Another Day of Life]]"
|-
| {{dts|format=y|1998-2-3}} || ''[[McCallum (TV series)|McCallum]]'' || Humphrey Poole || Episodes: "[[McCallum (TV series)#Dead Man's Fingers|Dead Man's Fingers]]" and "[[McCallum (TV series)#Running on Empty|Running on Empty]]"
|-
| {{dts|format=y|1998-4-23}} || ''[[Silent Witness]]'' || Charles || Episode: "[[List of Silent Witness episodes#ep23|Brothers in Arms]]"
|-
| {{dts|format=y|1998-11-27}} || ''[[Dangerfield (TV series)|Dangerfield]]'' || Academic || Episode: "[[Dangerfield (TV series)#Harvest Time|Harvest Time]]"
|-
| 1999 || ''[[Hunting Venus]]'' || Antiques Dealer ||
|-
| 1999 || ''{{sortname|The|Mystery of Men|nolink=y}}'' || Headmaster Haines || Television film
|-
| {{dts|format=y|2000-7-15}} || ''[[Dalziel and Pascoe (TV series)|Dalziel and Pascoe]]'' || DI Larkin || Episode: "[[List of Dalziel and Pascoe episodes#Foreign Bodies|Foreign Bodies]]"
|-
| 2002 || ''[[Before You Go (film)|Before You Go]]'' || TV Priest ||
|-
| {{dts|format=y|2005-10-13}} || ''{{sortname|The|Brief|dab=2004 TV series}}'' || Dr. Raeburn || Episode: "[[The Brief (2004 TV series)#Lack of Affect|Lack of Affect]]"
|-
| 2013 || ''{{sortname|The|Great Ghost Rescue|dab=film}}'' || The Head Master ||
|-
| 2013 || ''[[Lucan (British TV series)|Lucan]]'' || Albert Hensby || TV mini-series
|-
| {{dts|format=y|2013-2-4}} || ''[[Lewis (TV series)|Lewis]]'' || Professor Richard Seager || Episode: "[[List of Lewis episodes#Intelligent Design|Intelligent Design]]"
|-
| 2015 || ''[[Churchill|Churchill: Winning the War, Losing the Peace]]'' || Lord Moran || Television film
|-
|}

== Screenplays ==
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="font-size: 100%; background: #f9f9f9"
! colspan=6 style="background:#B0C4DE;" | [[Screenplay]]s written by Stephen Churchett
|- align="center"
! Date first broadcast
! Title
! Director
! Cast
! class= unsortable | Synopsis Awards
! Station Series

|-
| {{dts|format=dmy|1991-8-6}}
|data-sort-value=" Bill: Getting Involved" |''{{va|[[The Bill]]: [[The Bill (series 7)#ep354|Getting Involved]]|The Bill: Getting Involved}}''
| {{sortname|Richard|Holthouse|nolink=y}}
| {{sortname|Graham|Cole}}, [[Jeff Stewart (actor)|Jeff Stewart]] and [[Trudie Goodwin]]
| Stamp talks to a man about paint stripper on his car – the second time in a month. Hollis and Ackland are later called to an industrial estate where a man is damaging the car.
| [[ITV (TV network)|ITV]]
|-
| {{dts|format=dmy|1999-3-8}}
| ''{{va|[[Kavanagh QC]]: [[Kavanagh QC#Previous Convictions|Previous Convictions]]|Kavanagh QC: Previous Convictions}}''
| {{sortname|Tristram|Powell}}
| {{sortname|John|Thaw}}
| An RAF Jet Provost trainer crashes into a crowded moto-cross event killing 22 people. One of these is a friend of Kavanagh's son. The RAF Corporal responsible for maintenance commits suicide, pinning the blame on his lover, Charlotte Sinclair ([[Amanda Ryan]]). She is tried for theft and conspiracy to murder. Sabotage or human error? Kavanagh has to defend her and uncover documents initially denied to the Court.
| [[ITV (TV network)|ITV]]
|-
| {{dts|format=dmy|1999-3-29}}
| ''{{va|[[Kavanagh QC]]: [[Kavanagh QC#End Game|End Game]]|Kavanagh QC: End Game}}''
| {{sortname|Tristram|Powell}}
| {{sortname|John|Thaw}}
| In November 1985, a robbery at Turnbrook Services goes wrong and a pregnant teacher and young boy are killed. The following year, three men are sentenced to life imprisonment, with a minimum of between 15 and 23 years in jail. Kavanagh was a Junior for the flawed defence. The firer of the final shot commits suicide in 1992 leaving a note admitting one of the men was innocent. Hunger strikes and petitions to Home Secretaries follow. Finally, 12 years after the initial murder, Kavanagh and Miss Miller act for one of the men, Cracken, at his appeal.
| [[ITV (TV network)|ITV]]
|-
| {{dts|format=dmy|2000-11-15}}
| ''{{va|[[Inspector Morse (TV series)|Inspector Morse]]: [[List of Inspector Morse episodes#The Remorseful Day|The Remorseful Day]]|Inspector Morse: The Remorseful Day}}''
| {{sortname|Jack|Gold}}
| {{sortname|John|Thaw}} and [[Kevin Whately]]
| Yvonne Harrison is murdered in her bed and found by her husband Frank, her body having been left in a sexually compromising position. Morse, after no progress, is taken off the case after two months, and it remains unsolved. A year later an anonymous letter sent to the police suggests Harry Repp, who is to be released from prison, may be the perpetrator. Morse's failing health has Lewis assuming a more active role.
| [[ITV (TV network)|ITV]]
|-
| {{dts|format=dmy|2001-4-25}}
|data-sort-value="Kavanagh QC: End of Law" | ''{{va|[[Kavanagh QC]]: [[Kavanagh QC#The End of Law|The End of Law]]|Kavanagh QC: The End of Law}}''
| {{sortname|Jack|Gold}}
| {{sortname|John|Thaw}}
| Kavanagh is sitting as a [[Recorder (judge)|Recorder]] at Southwark [[Crown Court]]. Lord Cranston (Nicholas Le Prevost) pops in for a conversation during a trial for shoplifting. Would he like to become a Judge? He asks Foxcott and his daughter for advice. Elsewhere, Aldermarten is prosecuting Harry Hatton (Robert Pickavance) for the murder of Katya Zimanyi (Rachel Woolrich), a Hungarian escort in the Mortimer Hotel. The defendant is served by Miss Swithen ([[Samantha Bond]]), a [[Solicitor Advocate]]. After losing the trial she asks Kavanagh for help with the appeal, but passes out after a diabetic attack. But Lord Cranston asks him not to get too involved – so of course he takes on the appeal. Soon a miscarriage of justice starts to look like a state cover-up involving the intelligence community. Kavanagh is given the alternatives of the appeal or being sworn in as a Judge.
| [[ITV (TV network)|ITV]]
|-
| {{dts|format=dmy|2002-10-7}}
| ''{{va|[[Dalziel and Pascoe (TV series)|Dalziel and Pascoe]]: [[List of Dalziel and Pascoe episodes#Mens Sana|Mens Sana]]|Dalziel and Pascoe: Mens Sana}}''
| {{sortname|Juliet|May}}
| {{sortname|Warren|Clarke}} and [[Colin Buchanan (actor)|Colin Buchanan]]
| 73-year-old Mrs. Vannstone is found dead in a seaweed bath at a local spa. With Dalziel on a month's sick leave following his heart attack, it's left to Pascoe to deal with the case. Things look pretty straight forward, until the nurse who found the body supposedly commits suicide. Deciding it is time to return to work, Dalziel books himself a week at the spa in an attempt to find out the real goings on. And when another grisly murder occurs, he realises that certain people claim to be somebody they aren't – and the truth begins to unravel in more than one horrific way for Pascoe, as his latest floozy turns out to the prime suspect. And when all of the events are connected to the death of a man at the spa two years ago, Dalziel is forced to step in and take charge of the situation. Is Pascoe naïve enough to let the prime suspect get away just to have a little bit of fun, or will his head rule his heart?
| [[BBC1]]
|-
| {{dts|format=dmy|2006-1-29}}
| ''{{va|[[Lewis (TV series)|Lewis]]: [[List of Lewis episodes#Reputation|Reputation]]|Lewis: Reputation}}''
| {{sortname|Bill|Anderson|dab=director}}
| {{sortname|Kevin|Whately}} and [[Laurence Fox]]
| First episode, from a story by [[Russell Lewis]]. DI Lewis returns to Oxford after two years' secondment to the British Virgin Islands to recover from his wife's death, and is reluctantly assigned by his new boss, DCS Innocent, to the murder of an Oxford mathematics student who is shot while participating in a sleep study.
| [[ITV (TV network)|ITV]]
|-
| {{dts|format=dmy|2009-3-22}}
| ''{{va|[[Lewis (TV series)|Lewis]]: [[List of Lewis episodes#Allegory of Love|Allegory of Love]]|Lewis: Allegory of Love}}''
| {{sortname|Bill|Anderson|dab=director}}
| {{sortname|Kevin|Whately}} and [[Laurence Fox]]
| From a story by [[David Pirie]]. Lewis and Hathaway discover that the bizarre murder of a [[Czechs|Czech]] barmaid with an antique Persian mirror parallels a similar killing found in a newly published fantasy novel, by the young [[Oxford]] author Dorian Crane. The life of another young woman is threatened, leading Lewis to suspect that the murdered girl is a victim of mistaken identity.
| [[ITV (TV network)|ITV]]
|-
| {{dts|format=dmy|2010-5-9}}
| ''{{va|[[Lewis (TV series)|Lewis]]: [[List of Lewis episodes#Dark Matter|Dark Matter]]|Lewis: Dark Matter}}''
| {{sortname|Bille|Eltringham}}
| {{sortname|Kevin|Whately}} and [[Laurence Fox]]
| Lewis and Hathaway investigate the killing in suspicious circumstances of Professor Andrew Crompton, amateur [[astronomer]] and Master of Gresham College. Crompton is found dead at the university [[observatory]] after making a strange confession to a priest. His widow suspected that he had been having an affair, but Lewis and Hathaway discover that the dead man had a curious obsession.
| [[ITV (TV network)|ITV]]
|-
| {{dts|format=dmy|2011-4-10}}
| ''{{va|[[Lewis (TV series)|Lewis]]: [[List of Lewis episodes#Wild Justice|Wild Justice]]|Lewis: Wild Justice}}''
| {{sortname|Hettie|Macdonald}}
| {{sortname|Kevin|Whately}} and [[Laurence Fox]]
| A bishop visiting St Gerard's College is found dead after drinking poisoned wine; Lewis and Hathaway suspect that she has been killed because of her progressive views. When another two killings occur, both mirroring macabre murders from a Jacobean revenge tragedy, it appears the murderer is targeting candidates for the post of vice-regent of the college. However, after learning that one of the suspects harbors a dark secret, Lewis and Hathaway realise the motive is much more twisted and that the murderer is avenging perceived slights from over twenty years before.
| [[ITV (TV network)|ITV]]
|-
| {{dts|format=dmy|2011-4-24}}
|data-sort-value="Lewis: Gift of Promise" | ''{{va|[[Lewis (TV series)|Lewis]]: [[List of Lewis episodes#The Gift of Promise|The Gift of Promise]]|Lewis: The Gift of Promise}}''
| {{sortname|Metin|Hüseyin}}
| {{sortname|Kevin|Whately}} and [[Laurence Fox]]
| (co-author with [[Dusty Hughes (playwright)|Dusty Hughes]]) Lewis and Hathaway investigate the murder of a businesswoman who had apparently been blackmailing the father of her protégé. The memoirs of a former head of MI5 provide Lewis with a vital clue, one which furthers the investigation that has ties with old romantic passions and the Irish Republican Army (IRA).
| [[ITV (TV network)|ITV]]
|-
| {{dts|format=dmy|2013-2-4}}
| ''{{va|[[Lewis (TV series)|Lewis]]: [[List of Lewis episodes#Intelligent Design|Intelligent Design]]|Lewis: Intelligent Design}}''
| {{sortname|Tim|Fywell}}
| {{sortname|Kevin|Whately}} and [[Laurence Fox]]
| (Story, screenplay by Helen Jenkins) After seven years of ducking the question, Lewis and Hobson are embarking on a relationship, though the detective has a new puzzle to solve. An elderly don, Richard Seager, is struck by a car on the night of his release from prison; before dying, however, he mysteriously scratches the number '500' into the paintwork. Lewis must contend with Seager's wife, convinced that the sister of her husband's victim is the guilty party.
| [[ITV (TV network)|ITV]]

|-
|}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
*{{IMDb name|0161410|Stephen Churchett}}
*[https://www.bbc.co.uk/eastenders/backstage/cast/cast_content/cast_stephen_c.shtml Cast page] at the official ''EastEnders'' website

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Churchett, Stephen}}
[[Category:1947 births]]
[[Category:2022 deaths]]
[[Category:20th-century English male actors]]
[[Category:20th-century English male writers]]
[[Category:20th-century English screenwriters]]
[[Category:21st-century English male actors]]
[[Category:21st-century English screenwriters]]
[[Category:Actors from the London Borough of Bromley]]
[[Category:British male television writers]]
[[Category:English male soap opera actors]]
[[Category:English television writers]]
[[Category:Male actors from Kent]]
[[Category:People from Bromley]]
[[Category:Writers from the London Borough of Bromley]]
[[Category:Long stubs with short prose]]

{{UK-tv-actor-1940s-stub}}

Stephen Churchett - Revision history

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