Tom Watt (actor)

Tom Watt
Born	Thomas Erickson Watt 14 February 1956 Wanstead, East London, England
Occupation	Actor, journalist, radio presenter
Years active	1981–2010

Thomas Erickson "Tom" Watt (born 14 February 1956) is an English radio presenter, journalist and actor, who is best known for playing the role of Lofty Holloway in the BBC soap opera EastEnders. He is also known for his appearances on the BBC radio show Fighting Talk.

Acting career

A native of Wanstead, Watt studied drama at Manchester University where he directed several stage productions. One of his first television roles was in the comedy series Never the Twain in 1981, but his big break came in 1985 when he was cast as one of the original characters in the BBC's fledgling soap opera, EastEnders. Watt played Lofty Holloway, the weedy, asthmatic barman of The Queen Vic from the show's inception until 1988.

Other acting credits have included roles in the BBC drama South of the Border, a South London detective show; the role of Norman in the 1990 film for ITV called And the Nightingale Sang, a love story set during the war; Boon 1992, with Michael Elphick; as well as a minor role in the 1992 film Patriot Games, among others.

As well as television and film he has had many theatre and stage roles. Most notably, he starred in the one-man show Fever Pitch, based on the Nick Hornby novel of the same name.

TV and radio

After leaving EastEnders, Watt combined acting with his second passion, football, by becoming a sports journalist. He has presented for Channel 4, Radio 1, Radio 3, Radio 5 Live, talkSPORT, and cable TV. He currently presents a regular slot on BBC London Radio, and features regularly on BBC Radio 5 Live's Fighting Talk,^[1] where we he won the "Champion of Champions" trophy on 28 May 2011. He also hosts Arsenal TV's Monday night Fans Forum.

He produced, directed and presented the Channel 4 children's sports show, Rookies.

On 22 October 2010, Watt appeared in an episode of the BBC TV series New Tricks.

Music

Watt recorded a version of Bob Dylan's Subterranean Homesick Blues in 1985, which featured members of the British band New Order among other artists. The single reached number 67 in the UK singles chart before dropping out of the chart completely. This was recorded for his own Watt The Duck label.

Writing

Watt writes a column in The Observer doing match reports and features. As well as the column, he has authored two books about football, The End and A Passion for the Game. He was the ghost-writer for the David Beckham autobiography, My Side, which won a special prize at the British Book Awards and is the fastest-selling biography or autobiography of all time.

Personal life

Watt was romantically involved with his EastEnders cast-mate Anita Dobson, who played Angie Watts.^[2]

He is an avid supporter of Arsenal football club and Cheltenham Town, a committed Labour Party member and a speaker for left-wing causes.

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1992	Patriot Games	The Electrician
2000	Saint Jude	Pat
2005	Lost Dogs	Dennis
2006	Flirting with Flamenco	Martin
2009	Sherlock Holmes	Carriage Driver

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1981	My Father's House	Eddie	Two Episodes
1982	A Kind of Loving	Wally Chisholm	Two Episodes
1983	Chessgame	Technician	One Episode
1984	Love and Marriage	Paul	One Episode
	The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes	1st Loafer	One Episode (A Scandal in Bohemia)
	Dramarama	Steve Berwick	One Episode
	Never the Twain	Duane	One Episode
1985-88	EastEnders	Lofty Holloway	106 Episodes
1986	Cold War Killers	Technician	TV Movie
1989	And a Nightingale Sang	Norman	TV Movie
1992	Boon	Steve	One Episode
1993	Comedy Playhouse	Gordon	One Episode
1994-95	Space Precinct	Officer Beezle	Four Episodes
2000	Happy Birthday Shakespeare	Mickey	TV Movie
2002	TLC (TV series)	Sid the porter	One Episode
2009	Doctors	Ray MacGyver	One Episode
2010	New Tricks	Stuart Russell	One Episode

References

1. Fighting Talk 10 January 2009
2. Kingsley, Hilary (1990). The EastEnders Handbook. BBC books. ISBN 9780563362920.

External links

• Tom Watt at the Internet Movie Database
• Tom Watt BBC presenter profile
• Tom Watt Walford Gazette interview