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Giles Watling

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Giles Watling
Official portrait, 2019
Member of Parliament
for Clacton
In office
8 June 2017 – 30 May 2024
Preceded byDouglas Carswell
Succeeded byNigel Farage
Personal details
Born
Giles Francis Watling[1][2]

(1953-02-18) 18 February 1953 (age 71)[1]
Chingford, Essex, England[1]
Political partyConservative[3]
Spouse
Vanda Brinkworth
​
(m. 1979)​
Parent
RelativesDeborah Watling (sister)
Dilys Watling (maternal half-sister)
EducationForest School, Walthamstow
OccupationActor, politician

Giles Francis Watling (born 18 February 1953)[1] is a British Conservative politician who served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Clacton from 2017[4] until 2024. He was an actor prior to entering politics.

Early life and education

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Giles Watling was born on 18 February 1953 at Chingford, London.[1] His parents Patricia Hicks and Jack Watling were actors. Watling was privately educated at Forest School, Walthamstow.[1]

Career

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Watling has worked extensively in British theatre and on television, and is probably best known for his portrayal of the vicar Oswald in Carla Lane's series Bread.[5] He has also directed several UK touring theatre productions, and took on the role of Bob in the UK tour of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert in 2013. Watling serves on the board of directors of the Royal Theatrical Fund, a charity which aids those who have professionally practised or contributed to the theatrical arts.[6]

Watling served as a Conservative councillor for Frinton ward on Tendring District Council until 2016, having been first elected in the 2007 United Kingdom local elections.[7]

Parliamentary career

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On 10 September 2014 Watling was shortlisted in the Conservatives' open primary at Clacton to select the party's candidate for the Clacton by-election and was adopted following a public meeting on 11 September 2014.[5][8][9] At the by-election, Watling came second with 24.6% of the vote behind the incumbent UK Independence Party (UKIP) MP Douglas Carswell, who previously served as a Conservative but left that party and joined UKIP earlier in 2014.[10]

At the 2015 general election, Watling again contested Clacton as the Conservative candidate, coming second behind Douglas Carswell, who won 44.4% of the vote.[11][12]

Watling was elected to Parliament as MP for Clacton at the snap 2017 general election, at which Carswell chose to retire, with 61.2% of the vote and a majority of 15,828.[13][14][15] He was returned as MP for Clacton at the 2019 general election with an increased vote share of 72.3% and an increased majority of 24,702.[16]

Following an interim report on the connections between colonialism and properties now in the care of the National Trust, including links with historic slavery, Watling was among the signatories of a letter to The Daily Telegraph in November 2020 by the Common Sense Group of Conservative parliamentarians, which accused the National Trust of being "coloured by cultural Marxist dogma, colloquially known as the 'woke[broken anchor] agenda'".[17]

Watling lost his seat in the 2024 general election to Reform UK candidate and leader Nigel Farage.

Filmography

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Year Title Role Notes
1965 Gideon's Way Malcolm Gideon 8 episodes
1974 Upstairs, Downstairs 2nd Lt. James Marriott 1 episode
1978 You're Only Young Twice PC Henry 1 episode
1979 The Human Factor Colin
1979–80 How's Your Father? Martin Matthews 13 episodes
1980 Keep It in the Family Young man 1 episode
1984 No Place Like Home Maurice 1 episode
1988–91 Bread Oswald 49 episodes
1992 'Allo 'Allo! Major Twistleton-Smythe 1 episode
1997 Melissa Gangster at Airport 1 episode
1999 Grange Hill Mr. Radcliffe 1 episode
2001 The Tutankhamun Conspiracy Howard Carter TV movie
2012 Run for Your Wife Man in pub

Personal life

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Married to Vanda Brinkworth in 1979,[1] the younger brother of the actress Deborah Watling and younger half-brother of actress Dilys Watling, Watling is a member of the Garrick Club, an exclusive gentlemen's club which in 2024 opened its doors to women,[1] Frinton Cricket Club, Walton and Frinton Yacht Club and Frinton War Memorial Club.[1]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i Anon (2017). "Watling, Giles Francis". Who's Who (online Oxford University Press ed.). Oxford: A & C Black. doi:10.1093/ww/9780199540884.013.U289481. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
  2. ^ "No. 61961". The London Gazette. 19 June 2017. p. 11782.
  3. ^ Mason, Rowena (11 September 2014). "Conservatives select former 1980s television star to fight Ukip in Clacton". The Guardian. Retrieved 25 August 2016.
  4. ^ "Giles Watling – Search UK Parliament". beta.parliament.uk.
  5. ^ a b "Two Conservative councillors to fight Clacton primary". BBC News. 10 September 2014.
  6. ^ Anon (2014). "Clacton: Bread's Giles Watling to stand for Conservatives". bbc.co.uk. BBC News.
  7. ^ "Councillor Watling G F". Tendring District Council. 3 May 2007. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 25 August 2016.
  8. ^ James Dwan (10 September 2014). "TORY 'open primary' candidates for Clacton by-election are Frinton actor Giles Watling and Colchester councillor Sue Lissimore". Clacton & Frinton Gazette. Retrieved 25 August 2016.
  9. ^ "Two candidates shortlisted for the Clacton by-election". Conservativehome.com. 10 September 2014. Retrieved 25 August 2016.
  10. ^ Lodge, Will (16 September 2014). "Clacton: Carswell strolls to victory for UKIP at Clacton by-election". East Anglian Daily Times. Retrieved 12 October 2014.
  11. ^ "Election Data 2015". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 17 October 2015. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
  12. ^ "Clacton: Parliamentary constituency". BBC News. 2019. Archived from the original on 14 January 2021. Retrieved 14 January 2021.
  13. ^ "Statement of Persons Nominated – Clacton Constituency" (PDF). Tendring District Council. Retrieved 12 May 2017.
  14. ^ "Knife death mother in MP election bid for Clacton". BBC News. 21 April 2017 – via bbc.com.
  15. ^ "Norfolk North and Penistone & Stocksbridge choose their candidates. Latest selection news. – Conservative Home". 2 May 2017.
  16. ^ "Clacton Parliamentary constituency". BBC News. Retrieved 18 November 2019.
  17. ^ "Britain's heroes". Letter to The Daily Telegraph. 9 November 2020. Retrieved 20 May 2022.{{cite press release}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
[edit]
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Giles Watling.
Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by Member of Parliament
for Clacton
2017–2024 		Succeeded by
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