Clive Merrison (born 15 September 1945) is a Welsh actor of film, television, stage and radio. He trained at Rose Bruford College.
He has made numerous television appearances. He has twice appeared in supporting roles in Doctor Who, in The Tomb of the Cybermen (1967) and Paradise Towers (1987). He has also appeared in Yes, Prime Minister, Foyle's War and The Tomorrow People.
He has been a member of the Royal Shakespeare Company and performed with the company at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre in Stratford-on-Avon.
Merrison played the onscreen father of Kate Winslet in the 1994 movie Heavenly Creatures, directed by Peter Jackson and he recently played the traditionalist headmaster in Alan Bennett's The History Boys. He also appeared in the 1982 Clint Eastwood vehicle Firefox.
He has played the lead role of Sherlock Holmes on radio, with the late Michael Williams as Dr. Watson from 5 November 1989 to 5 July 1998, and later Andrew Sachs, in the Bert Coules scripted pastiche series The Further Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, the first series of which was broadcast in 2002 and the second in 2004. He is the only actor to have played Holmes in adaptations of every single Conan Doyle short story and novel about the character.
