Actor Bill Maynard, who played Heartbeat, passed away at age 89 following an eight-decade career.
Born in Heath End, Farnham, Surrey, the son of a gardener named Walter, and a laundry worker, Edith, Maynard attended Kibworth Beauchamp grammar school after his family relocated to Leicestershire.
Bill was already earning more than his father by doing comedy turns in clubs at the age of 11.
Likewise, the actor played the title role in the ITV comedy Oh No, It’s Selwyn Froggatt and starred in the Carry On films Carry On at Your Convenience and Carry On Matron. He also appeared in the Heartbeat spinoffs The Royal and The Moorside more recently after playing Sgt Beetroot in the 1980s television comedy Worzel Gummidge.
Maynard’s most recent appearance was in the 2017 drama The Moorside, which was about the disappearance of Shannon Matthews.
What Happened To Claude Greengrass In Heartbeat?
In the show Heartbeat, nothing has happened to the Claude Greengrass character. However, the actor who played the character died in 2018 due to injuries sustained in a mobility scooter accident.
Heartbeat is a British historical drama series produced by ITV Studios from 1992 to 2010. It is based on Nicholas Rhea’s “Constable” series of novels. The series was a hit from the start, with early episodes regularly attracting more than 10 million viewers, reaching a peak audience of 13.82 million in 2001 and 12.8 million in 2003.
Bill portrayed the witty Claude Greengrass from seasons one to ten. He was always getting into trouble on the show by poaching games from other farms. The actor left the series due to health issues but returned to The Royal. Similarly, he worked on ITV’s Heartbeat as the lovable rogue Claude Jeremiah Greengrass for eight years.
Actor Bill Maynard Died At 89: What Illness Did He Have?
According to his daughter-in-law, Maynard died in a Leicestershire hospital shortly after breaking his hip in a fall from his mobility scooter. She also added that He was bigger than life and loved show business.
Following his death, actors, athletes, and fans have all paid tribute to him. Willie Thorne, a snooker player and commentator from Leicestershire, tweeted: “Bill Maynard died today, which is a sad day. He loved snooker and lived near me in Leicester; he was a wonderful actor and friend. RIP.”
Likewise, Bill’s Heartbeat co-star Tricia Penrose, who played Gina in the soap, also paid tribute to Bill, with whom she competed on the game show Pointless. She posted that it was only a few weeks ago that she worked with him.
Moreover, another actor, Richard Willis, shared a story about how he met Bill. He posted on social media: “Bill Maynard came to my father’s theatre on Guernsey to perform his beautiful one-person show about Charles Dickens. As a 10-year-old, I remember him attempting to talk me out of becoming an actor. I’ve always been grateful for this experience.”
Who Replaced Claude Greengrass’s Character?
A Liverpool actor, Vernon Scripps, played by Geoffrey Hughes, replaced Greengrass as the village’s lovable rogue. Millions of fans knew him as Twiggy in The Royle Family, Onslow in Keeping Up Appearances, and Coronation Street binman Eddie Yeats in the 1970s and 1980s. At 68, he passed away from prostate cancer in 2012.
Claude Jeremiah Greengrass was last seen in Heatbeat’s episode Cold Turkey. Due to illness, Bill Maynard was forced to leave the performance. He did, however, appear in ‘The Royal,’ a Heartbeat spinoff series. In this episode, Greengrass (Bill Maynard) is having trouble getting paid for some gardening work he has been doing for Stringer.