Brian Glover

Did you know?!

1. 

   First role

   Barry Hines, who wrote the film, put Glover's name forward to the director, and that led to his first acting role: Mr Sugden, the overbearing and comically strict sports teacher in Ken Loach's Kes.

2. About the name

   Before acting, Glover was a professional wrestler under the ring name Leon Arras the Man From Paris, a name he took from a wrestler who failed to appear at a match one night.

3. A change of course

   From 1954 to 1970, Glover worked as an English and French teacher, spending part of that time at Longcar Central School in Barnsley. Alongside teaching, he regularly appeared as "Leon Arras".

4. Own stunts

   Glover drew on his wrestling experience to serve as fight arranger for the Royal Shakespeare Company's As You Like It, in which he also played Charles the wrestler.

5. Beyond film

   Glover was the voice of the "gaffer" in the long-running Tetley Tea Folk television advertisements, and also voiced "Big Pig" for the Now That's What I Call Music! album series.