Author Description

Star of Bedroom Farce and Glengarry Glen Ross, Derek Newark acted in the very first episode of Doctor Who. From the army to RADA to the National Theatre and Broadway, this is the story of the rise and fall of a talented actor brought down by booze and bad behaviour. Once challenging film star Oliver Reed to a fight in a studio canteen, Derek was knocked down in a Green Room drinking confrontation by Jim Carter, later to win fame as the butler in Downton Abbey. Full of behind-the-scenes anecdotes captured by his brother, this book appeals to anyone interested in the history of the British theatre - as well as those who like tales of Soho bad boys. From Sir John Gielgud, Michael Winner, Oliver Reed, Ray Winstone to gangster John Lindon and Francis Bacon's lover George Dyer, Derek knew them all and clashed with most of them!