He is best known for portraying roles in the police force. He starred in the BBC soap opera EastEnders twice, once as DS Terry Rich from 1985 - 1987, and later as DS Paul Kemmit, in the spin-off EastEnders: Perfectly Frank in 2003. He played DS Terry Amson in Prime Suspect with Helen Mirren in 1991 and most famously he played D.I. Harry Haines in the ITV drama, The Bill in 1992-1995, among others.
More recently he is remembered for his role as Brendan Kearney, the village schoolmaster in Ballykissangel (1996-2001).
On stage Whelan has played Horatio in Hamlet and Salisbury in Richard II. He has also appeared in two of the Pink Panther movies and his other film credits include Cry Freedom, Paper Marriage, Moll Flanders and Michael Collins. Recent film roles were O’Connor in Villa of Roses and Decaln Murphy in A Flight of Fancy.
Among Whelan's other television credits are Glenroe, Angels, Hideaway, Minder, The Royal and Kavanagh QC. Gary has also been seen in the roles of Sam Tilley in Uncle Silas and Charlie Pearch in In Deep. In 2005 he appeared in the BBC hospital drama Casualty @ Holby City and in 2006 he starred in Channel 4's Goldplated.
Gary has five children.
Whelan owns the Lion & Lobster pub in Brighton. he is married to Jenny and they live in bracknell
