ACTOR
Tony Britton
20 archived facts 4 topics 1 source Last reviewed Oct 2026
All facts (20)
- #001
Tony Britton is the father-in-law of actor Brian Cant and chef Phil Vickery.
- #002
He is the father of television presenter Fern Britton, Cherry Britton and actor Jasper Britton.
- #003
From 1983 to 1990 he appeared alongside Nigel Havers and Dinah Sheridan in the BBC sitcom Don't Wait Up, which became one of the most important moments of his career.
- #004
He performed with the Royal Shakespeare Company.
- #005
He is the grandfather of Peter Cant.
- #006
His first wife, Ruth Hawkins, the mother of Fern Britton and Cherry Britton, died at the age of 94. (24 January 1924 - 17 April 2018).
- #007
Britton's second wife, Eva Castle Britton (née Skytte Birkfeldt), was a Danish sculptor and a member of the wartime Danish resistance. They had a son, the actor Jasper Britton.
- #008
Britton was born the son of Doris Marguerite (née Jones) and Edward Leslie Britton, in a room above the Trocadero pub on Temple Street in Birmingham, Warwickshire.
- #009
He attended Edgbaston Collegiate School in Birmingham and Thornbury Grammar School in Gloucestershire.
- #010
During the Second World War he served in the Army and also worked as an estate agent and in an aircraft factory.
- #011
In September 2013 Sir Jonathan Miller directed a Gala Performance of William Shakespeare's King Lear at the Old Vic in London. Britton played the Earl of Gloucester.
- #012
In 1975 Britton won the Broadcasting Press Guild Award for Best Actor for The Nearly Man.
- #013
His film career ended in 1961 with The Break.
- #014
His daughters from his first marriage, Cherry and Fern, were born in 1949 and 1958 respectively, and his son Jason was born in 1962 from his second marriage.
- #015
His second wife, Eva Birkenfeldt, was a sculptor.
- #016
He is a golfer with a handicap of 13.
- #017
His first car was a Ford Zodiac, but his favourite was a 1949 Bentley.
- #018
He must be one of the few Londoners who enjoys driving there, as his favourite journey is from his home in Chelsea to Battersea Park, where he goes running if he is at home.
- #019
Tony Britton was initially under contract to Rank and later to British Lion.
- #020
Tony Britton spent two and a half years touring the country with My Fair Lady.
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