Bill Maynard, the actor best known for playing Claude Jeremiah Greengrass in the ITV series Heartbeat, died at the age of 89 in March 2018 after breaking his hip in a fall from a mobility scooter. His daughter confirmed the news, saying he died in hospital after a complication with the care he received.
Maynard, whose real name was Walter Williams, had struggled with mobility issues for several years following a stroke in 2000 that left him partially paralysed and forced him to step away from his television career.
Career and Heartbeat Success
Maynard played the scruffy and eccentric poacher Claude Jeremiah Greengrass in Heartbeat from 1992 to 2000, and later appeared in its spin-off The Royal until 2003. His other credits included Till Death Us Do Part, Coronation Street, Love Thy Neighbour and The Life of Riley.
According to an interview he gave in 1995, the Heartbeat role reportedly paid him £400,000 a year. He also had his own BBC radio show based in Leicester. During his time on air, he said: "making people laugh and smile brings me a lot of personal satisfaction."
He added: "I am delighted to be still in the entertainment industry doing what I love most – 76 years since I began my career...I have had an amazing career, and I consider myself to be very lucky to still have the energy and enthusiasm to take on new work."
Brief Political Stint
In between his on-screen work, Maynard had a short stint in politics. In 1984, he stood as an independent Labour candidate in the Chesterfield by-election against Tony Benn, after making his thoughts clear on the way Benn was appointed as the Labour candidate. He finished in fourth place with just over a thousand votes.
Personal Life and Tragedies
Maynard was married twice, and both marriages ended in tragedy. He met his first wife, Muriel Linnett, while working in Leicester, and they married in 1949. The couple had a son and a daughter. It was on a trip to Butlins that he met comedy actor Terry Scott, which began his career in entertainment.
Muriel died in 1982 after a battle with cancer, leaving Maynard widowed. He remarried Tonia Bern-Campbell in 1990, but after eight years together she filed for divorce. After their marriage ended, he publicly claimed to have "never really loved her."
Maynard died at 89, leaving fans of Heartbeat devastated by the loss of the iconic actor.
