John Nettleton, who has died aged 94, was a prolific character actor for more than half a century. He was admired for the dozens of classical supporting roles he took on stage, but he gained his greatest recognition on screen. His comic flair was best exploited as the cold, calculating Sir Arnold Robinson in the TV sitcom Yes Minister (1980-84), set in the corridors of Whitehall.
Although his presence and resonant voice invested authority in the characters he played, Nettleton was shy and totally unstarry. He described himself as a “workman” actor, adding: “I’ve got a pipe-smoking image. I’m typed as a senior civil servant, a soldier, a judge, a Harley Street doctor.”
