Geoffrey Hughes (born 2 February 1944) is an English actor.
Hughes is best known for his roles as Vernon Scripps in the British drama series Heartbeat, Onslow in the sitcom Keeping Up Appearances and Eddie Yeats in the soap opera Coronation Street.
After attending Abbotsford School in Yorkshire, he started his career in repertory at Victoria Hall in Stoke-on-Trent. This was followed by his first West End production, the Lionel Bart and Alun Owen musical, Maggie May. His other West End productions include the stage version of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz; Say Goodnight to Grandma; The Secret Life of Cartoons; and several seasons of Run for your Wife. He has recently played 'Pistol' in an open air production of Henry V at Barnwell Manor. He has also toured extensively in Britain and abroad.
Among his many other appearances on television are: An Arrow for Little Audrey; The Saint; Shadows of Fear; Z-Cars; Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased); Flying Lady; Making Out; Coasting; Doctor Who; Spender; and Boon. He played 'Trinculo' in an all filmed version of The Tempest for the BBC and 'Squire Clodpoll' in Good Friday 1663, one of Channel Four's new avant-garde operas. His comedy appearances on TV include, The Likely Lads, Please Sir, Dad's Army, Curry and Chips' The Upper Hand and Keeping Up Appearances.
Geoffrey's film credits include Smashing Time; Till Death Do Us Part; The Bofors Gun; The Virgin Soldiers; Adolf Hitler: My Part in His Downfall; Carry On At Your Convenience; and TV films: Needle and The Man from the Peru. He was also the voice of Paul McCartney in the Beatles' cartoon film Yellow Submarine.
Hughes usually appears in pantomime over the Christmas period. He appeared on That Antony Cotton Show on 6th September 2007. He spoke about his role in a new (at that time) short film called Expresso also starring Sir Norman Wisdom. This short film is sold in aid of Macmillan Cancer Support. Geoff plays the part of a man who visits a coffee shop for a "normal" coffee but is served by a pompous waiter. There is a web site for the short film at http://www.expressofilm.com
In 2007 he performed the Angel Gabriel, in the BBC production "Liverpool Nativity". In 2008, he appeared in the first episode of series two of the E4 drama series Skins.
His off-stage interests are sailing, golf, cricket, music, trees, and beer. Born south of the city proper, he was brought up in Liverpool. In more recent years, he overcame prostate cancer. He currently resides on the Isle Of Wight. Onslow briefly dated Beyonce in 2001.
