David Ross, (19 January 1945), is a British actor best known for playing the original Kryten and the second Talkie Toaster in Red Dwarf, and Elgin Sparrowhawk in The Green Green Grass.
Early in his career, Ross worked on radio. He starred with Jack Smethurst in A Proper Charlie and worked with Grant Naylor in their radio sitcom Wrinkles. This led to him being cast as Kryten in Series II of Red Dwarf.
While at first Kryten was to be a One-Shot Character, he was liked by the cast, crew, and audience enough that Ross was asked to return for Series III, now playing Kryten as a main character. Unfortunately, this clashed with a play Ross was appearing in at the Old Vic, and so Kryten was recast with Robert Llewellyn. Ross would return to the series in two later episodes, voicing Lister's chirpy breakfast companion, Talkie Toaster, taking over from John Lenahan.
Ross appeared in two of Alan Bleasdale's dramas; He first played DHSS clerk Donald Moss in Boys from the Blackstuff, and later on played Mr. Weller in G.B.H.. The rest of The '90s had Ross playing guest roles in series such as London's Burning, If You See God, Tell Him, CASUAL+Y, May to December, The Bill, The Brittas Empire, and Goodnight Sweetheart, while also playing Bevis Whittle in Eskimo Day and its sequel, Cold Enough For Snow.
In 2005, he was cast as Elgin Sparrowhawk in The Green Green Grass, a Spin-Off of Only Fools and Horses, which ran for four series. Once Green Green Grass ended, Ross went back to guest roles, including one in the Grand Finale of Last of the Summer Wine.
Works on TV Tropes he appeared in:
Films- ARIA (1987) — Doorman
- Splitting Heirs (1993) — Sergeant Richardson
- Mary Reilly (1996) — Doctor
- Eskimo Day (1996) — Bevis Whittle
- Cold Enough For Snow (1997) — Bevis Whittle
- Coronation Street, 9 episodes:
- 1 episode (1975) — Dr. McKay
- 2 episodes (1976) — Sid Wilson
- 6 episodes (1994) — Lester Fonteyne
- Boys from the Blackstuff, 2 episodesshow list (1982) — Donald Moss
- Brookside, episode "Nothing Serious" (1983) — Father Christmas
- The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, episode "The Dancing Men" (1984) — Inspector Martin
- Bergerac, episode "Private Fight" (1988) — Harry Johnson
- Red Dwarf, 3 episodes:
- "Kryten" (1988) — Kryten 2X4B-523P
- 2 episodesshow list (1991-2017) — Talkie Toaster
- Watching, episode "Wedding" (1989) — Registrar
- G.B.H., 6 episodesshow list (1991) — Mr. Weller
- London's Burning, 1 episode (1992) — Borough Street Station Officer
- If You See God, Tell Him, 1 episode (1993) — Mr. Gudgeon
- CASUAL+Y, 2 episodes:
- "Deceptions" (1993) — Lenny Shines
- "Halfway House" (1995) — Mr. Carnell
- May to December, episode "Take Good Care of My Baby" (1994) — Mr. Blain
- The Bill, 5 episodes:
- "Make Believe" (1994) — Ken Parkes
- "Cold Light of Day" (1996) — Colin Butler
- "Not in the Script" (1997) — William Burley
- "On Air" (1999) — David
- "Supping with the Devil" (2000) — George Maynard
- The Brittas Empire, episode "Snap Happy" (1996) — Pirate
- Goodnight Sweetheart, episode "Pennies from Heaven" (1998) — Bookie
- Heartbeat, 2 episodes:
- "Desperate Measures" (2000) — Roy Brooks
- "Swan Song" (2004) — Harry Pilbeam
- Midsomer Murders, 2 episodes:
- "Garden of Death" (2000) — Rodney Widger
- "Sauce for the Goose" (2005) — Sam Hardwick
- Murder in Mind, episode "Motive" (2001) — Detective Chief Inspector Edwards
- Law & Order: Criminal Intent, episode "One" (2001) — Zivkovic
- The Green Green Grass, 31 episodes (2005-09) — Elgin Sparrowhawk
- Minder, episode "The Art of the Matter" (2009) — Brian Richardson
- Doctors, 2 episodes:
- "The Great Escape" (2009) — Derek Furst
- "Whip Hand" (2011) — Reggie Prentice
- Doc Martin, episode "Do Not Disturb" (2009) — Ted
- Last of the Summer Wine, episode "How Not to Cry at Weddings" (2010) — Conrad
- Holby City, episode "How Lo Can You Go?" (2012) — Stu Williams
