JOHN CHALLIS’ EARLY LIFE AND CAREER
Challis, who has died aged 79, was born in Bristol in 1942 but moved to south-east London with his parents when he was one.
His father was a civil servant from Sheffield while his mother, who harboured dreams of becoming an actress, oversaw plays for youth clubs.
After a brief and unsuccessful attempt at becoming an estate agent, Challis set his sights on a career in the arts.
One of his early roles was as Sergeant Culshaw in police procedural Z-Cars, which he thought was of no interest to his father.
It was only years later that he found out from a family friend how proud his father was. They later shared a rare moment of personal affection.
