Christian Rodska obituary
Actor whose career included sitcoms, radio and soaps, and the children’s TV series Follyfoot, in which he played a lovable rogue
He was not on the list.
The actor Christian Rodska, who has died of cancer aged 78, landed his breakthrough role in a fondly remembered children’s television series of the 1970s, Follyfoot, inspired by Monica Dickens’s 1963 novel Cobbler’s Dream. Set on a farm providing sanctuary for veteran and rescue horses, it starred Steve Hodson as his namesake Steve and Gillian Blake as Dora, with Rodska playing Ron Stryker, the carefree, rebellious fellow worker often seen sitting astride his handsome Triumph Tiger motorcycle – the bad apple who shatters the calm of the countryside in more ways than one.
Shortly before being cast in the role, the actor had bought the bike for £5 off a scrapheap and lovingly restored it – he was particularly proud of its gold horn, which he found in an antiques shop – and it was written into the script.
Rodska told Jane Royston and Ray Knight, authors of Follyfoot Remembered (2011), that Ron was “quite a nasty individual” in Dickens’s book, but the author personally praised him with the words: “Stryker was never half as lovable a rogue as you make him.”
Follyfoot ran for three series from 1971 to 1973, with its adventures attracting audiences of up to 14 million and winning the 1972 Harlequin award for best children’s programme from the Society of Film and Television Arts (now Bafta). It was filmed in the West Riding of Yorkshire around the Harewood estate between Harrogate and Leeds.
In looking for a title, the producer, Tony Essex, grabbed a map of the area, asked his 11-year-old daughter, Tamara, to point randomly to a place, and she picked the village of Follifoot. Essex’s brother, Francis (under the pseudonym Stephen Francis), wrote the memorable theme song, The Lightning Tree. Performed by the Settlers, it became a Top 40 hit and was about a tree that had been hit by lightning and replanted in the Follyfoot farmyard to give colour to what had been a featureless expanse of cobbles.
In 2011, Hodson and Blake took part in a 40th-anniversary visit to the Yorkshire locations by nostalgia-seeking fans, but illness ruled Rodska out.
His post-Follyfoot television career as a character actor was prolific and wide-ranging, and punctuated by roles as politicians – Max Aitken, the first Lord Beaverbrook, also owner of the Daily Express, in Number 10 (1983); the Labour leader Neil Kinnock in Thatcher: The Final Days (1991); and Winston Churchill in the French drama The Days That Made History (2010) and two 2015 documentaries, Churchill: When Britain Said No, and Churchill: Winning the War, Losing the Peace. He also played President Harry Truman in the film The Monuments Men (2014), directed by George Clooney.
The Daily Mail wrote of his second Churchill portrayal: “It was almost like watching real footage of the old warrior himself.”
Rodska was born Christian Rodskjaer in Cullercoats, Northumberland, to Florence (nee White), known as Sheila, and Herluf Rodskjaer, who came from a family of Danish sea captains. Shortly after his birth, they moved to Basra, Iraq, where his father was harbour master and captained King Faisal II’s royal yacht. After the 1958 military coup, they returned to Britain and settled in Southampton. On leaving school, Christian became an assistant stage manager at Salisbury Playhouse, where he made his acting debut. He later changed his name to Rodska.
After Follyfoot he had a regular part as the mine owner’s gentle, vulnerable son Arthur Barras in The Stars Look Down (1975), Alan Plater’s adaptation of AJ Cronin’s novel set among an early-20th-century pit community in the north-east of England. Then, he co-starred as the hunter and freed Roman slave Esca in the Sunday-teatime serial The Eagle of the Ninth (1977), from Rosemary Sutcliff’s novel.
He popped up in endless dramas, but switched to sitcom to play Tom, one of a family of itinerant crooks, in The Nesbitts Are Coming (1980); and soap as Harry Newton, a new-build developer’s persistent sales agent trying to persuade Brian and Gail Tilsley to buy a house, in two 1980 episodes of Coronation Street.
While shooting Sharpe’s Mission (1996) with Sean Bean in Crimea, he established a rapport with Russian Cossack stunt artists and, afterwards, was invited to stay with them in St Petersburg, drinking vodka and learning to trick-ride horses.
He established a rapport with Russian Cossack stunt artists
and was invited to stay with them in St Petersburg
He returned to the north-east of England to film the first series of 55 Degrees North (2004), playing Detective Inspector Dennis Carter, of a fictional Tyneside police force, restricting the activities of a whistleblowing subordinate – and ending up shot dead himself. He also played Arthur “Bomber” Harris in the 2006 German television film Dresden and Captain Smith in the 2011 documentary What Sank Titanic?
In more than 1,000 BBC radio broadcasts over the years, Rodska appeared in dramas and comedies by writers ranging from Peter Tinniswood, Stan Barstow and Keith Waterhouse to JB Priestley and Jean-Paul Sartre, and was constantly in demand as a reader of books. He also had runs in the radio soaps Waggoners’ Walk, as Bill Ashton (1979-80), a business executive, and The Archers, as Russell Baxter (2009), a solicitor failing to save Matt Crawford from prison for committing fraud.
His expressive voice was heard as a narrator of Tinniswood’s radio comedy series following the adventures of Uncle Mort (1987-96) and Winston (1989-94), and many audio books, including Churchill’s epic tome The Second World War.
Rodska’s 1969 marriage to Jacqueline Mousny ended in divorce. He is survived by their children, Ben and Camille; his second wife, the actor Barbara Kellermann, whom he married in 2017 after 19 years together; his stepson, Freddie; and two grandchildren, Louis and Xavier.
Actor
Nick and Perry
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2000
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Casualty (1986)
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Dr. Bailer
Colin Carver
Morris Coyne
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4 episodes
Winston Churchill in Churchill: Winning the War, Losing the
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2015
Churchill: When Britain Said No (2015)
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7.7
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Assassin's Creed: Unity (2014)
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George Clooney, Bill Murray, Matt Damon, John Goodman, Bob
Balaban, Hugh Bonneville, and Jean Dujardin in The Monuments Men (2014)
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2014
Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag (2013)
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Family Tree (2013)
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7.4
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Curiosity (2011)
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2011
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Doctors (2000)
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4.6
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Colin Thomas
Frank Tanner
2005–2011
2 episodes
The Days That Made History (2009)
The Days That Made History
7.3
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2010
1 episode
The Archers (2007)
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8.5
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Russell
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2009
9 episodes
Martin Clunes in Doc Martin (2004)
Doc Martin
8.4
TV Series
Stu MacKenzie
2005–2009
2 episodes
John Rabe (2009)
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7.2
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2009
Andrea Riseborough in Margaret Thatcher: The Long Walk to
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Margaret Thatcher: The Long Walk to Finchley
7.1
TV Movie
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2008
Universum (1987)
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8.3
TV Series
Uhrmacher
2008
1 episode
Nickolas Grace in Mr Thornton's Change of Heart (2007)
Mr Thornton's Change of Heart
6.8
Short
Thornton
2007
Little Claus and Big Claus
Short
Herdsman
2006
John Light and Felicitas Woll in Dresden (2006)
Dresden
6.6
TV Movie
Arthur Harris
2006
Scott Chisholm, Jack Bannon, and Michael Kosminsky in The
Giblet Boys (2005)
The Giblet Boys
8.0
TV Series
Grandad
2005
2 episodes
Doctor Who: The Monthly Adventures (1999)
Doctor Who: The Monthly Adventures
8.5
Podcast Series
Laan Carder (voice)
2004
1 episode
Dervla Kirwan and Don Gilet in 55 Degrees North (2004)
55 Degrees North
7.9
TV Series
DI Dennis Carter
2004
6 episodes
Animated Tales of the World (2000)
Animated Tales of the World
7.9
TV Series
Guard
Lnadlord (voice)
2002
1 episode
The Magic Paintbrush: A Story from China (2000)
The Magic Paintbrush: A Story from China
7.4
TV Short
Guard
Landlord (voice)
2000
Animated Epics: Don Quixote (2000)
Animated Epics: Don Quixote
6.0
TV Movie
Jeronimo
Perez (voice)
2000
The Ghost of Greville Lodge (2000)
The Ghost of Greville Lodge
5.7
James' Father
2000
Doomwatch: Winter Angel (1999)
Doomwatch: Winter Angel
5.5
TV Movie
Shaston Driver
1999
People Like Us (1999)
People Like Us
8.3
TV Series
1999
1 episode
Maisie Raine (1998)
Maisie Raine
7.6
TV Series
Bill Hayes
1999
1 episode
Kiss Me Kate (1998)
Kiss Me Kate
6.9
TV Series
Client
1998
1 episode
The Round Tower (1998)
The Round Tower
7.3
TV Mini Series
Dr. Carr
1998
Romuald the Reindeer (1996)
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6.3
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(voice)
1996
1 episode
Waiting for Giro
6.6
Short
Dee
1996
Sean Bean in Sharpe (1993)
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8.4
TV Series
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1996
1 episode
Helen Masters, Jack Shepherd, and Jimmy Yuill in Wycliffe
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7.2
TV Series
Giles Rawle
1995
1 episode
Barbara Flynn and Catherine Russell in Chandler & Co
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7.6
TV Series
Larry's Landlord
1995
1 episode
Licence to Live
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Robert Hawthorne
1994
Dr. Zitbag's Transylvania Pet Shop (1994)
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7.0
TV Series
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2 episodes
Albert le 5ème mousquetaire (1993)
Albert le 5ème mousquetaire
6.7
TV Series
Porthos (1994) (English version, voice)
1993–1995
True Crimes
7.0
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Reenactment
1992
1 episode
Maigret (1992)
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7.8
TV Series
Moers
1992
2 episodes
Old Boy Network (1992)
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6.0
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Andy Hepple
1992
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Thatcher: The Final Days (1991)
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6.7
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1988–1991
2 episodes
Spender (1991)
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7.6
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Superintendent George Ellis
1991
1 episode
Peter Davison in Mystery!: Campion (1989)
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7.6
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1990
1 episode
Chambre à part (1989)
Chambre à part
5.2
Reporter Tv
1989
The Fifteen Streets (1989)
The Fifteen Streets
6.9
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Father Bailey
1989
Dramarama (1983)
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6.5
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1989
1 episode
Julian Glover, Jane Asher, Kate Buffery, and Suzanna
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Felix
1989
1 episode
Terence Alexander, Sean Arnold, Annette Badland, Deborah
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6.8
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1987
1 episode
Janet Amsbury in The Diary of Anne Frank (1987)
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5.8
TV Series
Warehouse Clerk
1987
3 episodes
Zastrozzi: A Romance (1986)
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6.7
TV Mini Series
2nd Businessman
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1986
2 episodes
Mark McManus in Taggart (1983)
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7.4
TV Series
Alex Dewar
1986
3 episodes
Oliver Twist (1985)
Oliver Twist
7.3
TV Mini Series
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1985
6 episodes
Tenko Reunion (1985)
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8.2
TV Movie
Duncan Fraser
1985
Travellers by Night
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Mr. Barker
1985
1 episode
There Comes a Time
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Milkman
1985
1 episode
The Exercise
3.7
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Capt. Porter, ACF
1985
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TV Movie
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1985
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1984
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8.5
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1983
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1982
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1982
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1981
1 episode
Juliet Bravo (1980)
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1980
1 episode
Airey Neave: A Will of Steel
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1980
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1980
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1980
2 episodes
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1980
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1979
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Les Miserables (1978)
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7.3
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7.2
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1978
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The Tomorrow People (1973)
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7.2
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1978
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1978
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Max Beeza and the City in the Sky (1977)
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1977
The Eagle of the Ninth (1977)
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8.0
TV Mini Series
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1977
5 episodes
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8.8
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Tant Raynor
1977
8 episodes
Wings (1977)
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Corporal Roberts
1977
1 episode
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in Hunters Walk (1973)
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8.1
TV Series
David Sparks
1976
1 episode
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TV Movie
Chairman
John Martin
Willy the Keelman
1976
Rodney Bewes, James Bolam, and Brigit Forsyth in The Likely
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The Likely Lads
6.6
Pump Attendant
1976
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7.0
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Harold
Malc Berry
Chaz
1968–1976
5 episodes
The Stars Look Down
8.3
TV Mini Series
Arthur Barras
1975
11 episodes
Kenneth More in Father Brown (1974)
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7.0
TV Series
Giles
1974
1 episode
Alan Dobie in The ITV Play (1968)
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TV Series
Johnny
1974
1 episode
Follyfoot (1971)
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7.7
TV Series
Ron Stryker
1971–1973
39 episodes
Penny Gold (1973)
Penny Gold
5.2
The Clerk
1973
General Hospital (1972)
General Hospital
7.6
TV Series
Jack
1973
1 episode
Rules, Rules, Rules
TV Series
Dave
1971
1 episode
ITV Saturday Night Theatre (1969)
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6.3
TV Series
Freddie
1971
1 episode
The Roads to Freedom (1970)
The Roads to Freedom
8.4
TV Mini Series
Nippert
1970
3 episodes
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7.1
TV Series
Stefan
1970
3 episodes
Nicol Williamson in The Reckoning (1970)
The Reckoning
6.8
Jones
1970
Gerald Harper in Hadleigh (1969)
Hadleigh
7.3
TV Series
Bored Youth
1969
1 episode
The Wednesday Play (1964)
The Wednesday Play
7.4
TV Series
Rufus
1968
1 episode
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