ENDEAVOUR star Roger Allam will soon be bidding farewell to the crime drama – but he’s still on our screens starring in Murder in Provence on ITV.
Here’s everything you need to know about Roger Allam – from life on screen to life behind the scenes.
Who is Roger Allam?
Roger Allam is a British actor, born in October 26, 1953.
He is best known for his performances on stage, in film and TV and on the Radio.
After studying at Christ’s Hospital school in Sussex and Manchester University, he made his theatre debut in 1976.
His big break on the stage came when he appeared as Javert in the original London cast of the all-conquering musical Les Misérables from 1985 to 1986.
Roger Allam stars as Fred Thursday in the ITV crime drama Endeavour
Roger has continued to tread the boards as his career in TV and film has blossomed, playing such iconic Shakespearean roles as Macbeth, Prospero and Mercutio.
He also played Falstaff in Henry IV Parts 1 & 2, which won him his second Olivier Award for Best Actor in 2011 – his first came a decade earlier, for his role as Captain Terri Denis in Privates on Parade.
On TV, he starred as Tory Peter Mannion in the critically-acclaimed BBC comedy The Thick of It between 2007 and 2012.
The actor has also had roles as Ilyrio Mopatis in Game of Thrones, DSI Mackintosh on Ashes to Ashes and General Campion in the TV adaptation of Parade’s End in 2012.
He’s also appeared in several hit movies, such as The Queen, V for Vendetta and The Iron Lady, as well as voicing the narrator (Death) in the war film The Book Thief.
Roger is married to the actress Rebecca Saire, who starred as Juliet in the BBC’s 1978 version of Romeo and Juliet, and they have two sons together, William, who followed in his father’s footsteps by becoming an actor, and Thomas.
Both Rebecca and William appeared in the seventh season of Endeavour as a mother-son duo.
Roger has starred in Endeavour since it began in 2012, playing the gruff-but-with-a-heart-of-gold Detective Inspector Fred Thursday, who is both a friend and a mentor to young Morse.
In March 2022, Allam debuted in the lead role of Antoine Verlaque in Murder in Provence – a cosy crime drama based on the Verlaque & Bonnet detective novels by ML Longworth, starring alongside Nancy Carroll.
Who does Roger Allam play in Endeavour?
Detective series Endeavour, the prequel to Inspector Morse, will soon be coming to an end after the release of season nine – and so will Allam’s character Fred Thursday.
But Allam admits he has no idea of his characters exit and what fate Fred Thursday will face.
Endeavour is the insightful prequel of the highly acclaimed Inspector Morse series, which followed a young Endeavour Morse, played by Shaun Evans – at the beginning of his career.
In a recent interview with Radio Times, the actor admitted he didn’t think he would last nine seasons on the show.
He said: ”We’re going to try and provide a satisfying and satisfactory emotional reason why John Thaw’s Morse never mentions a man called Fred Thursday.
“I hope that’s satisfying for fans.
“There have been times in the past over a series where they seem to have gone apart and then they’ve come back together again.
“But this, I guess, will have to be a satisfying explanation of why that finally happens.”
The release date for the upcoming season nine has yet to be announced.
