- Born
- Died
- Birth nameAnthony Patrick Caunter
- Solidly built, balding, extremely prolific British character actor, known chiefly for his lengthy tenure as car dealer Roy Evans on TV's EastEnders (1985), spanning some 634 episodes over a nine year period (1994-2003). He was born Anthony Patrick Caunter in Southampton to Roy Robert and Annie Mary Joy Caunter (née Stratton). He grew up in Worthing, and, after leaving school, served with the RAF. Upon his return to civilian life, Caunter studied drama at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art (LAMDA). He first acted on stage with the Farnham Repertory Company (1966-69) and, later, with the Theatre Royal in Windsor (1984-89). His screen debut duly followed in 1962 and he subsequently found many small supporting roles in cult television shows, frequently portraying police officers. Caunter appeared three times as different characters in Doctor Who (1963). He also had recurring roles in Queenie's Castle (1970) (as Diana Dor's sly wheeler-dealer brother-in-law Jack Shepherd), The Legend of Robin Hood (1975) (as Friar Tuck), Beryl's Lot (1973) (next-door neighbour Trevor Tonks), Crown Court (1972) (Inspector Cripps), Juliet Bravo (1980) (Detective Chief Inspector Jim Logan) and The Chief (1990) (Deputy Chief Constable Arthur Quine).
Tony Caunter retired from acting in 2016. Residing in East Sussex, he was married to Frances Wallace and had three sons and a daughter. He died on October 13 2025, aged 88. His wife had predeceased him a week earlier.
- IMDb mini biography by: I.S.Mowis
- SpouseFrances Wallace(1962 - October 5, 2025) (her death, 4 children)
- Ranked #47 in the 100 Greatest EastEnders (1985) Characters of All Time for his performance as Roy Evans (2010).
- Initially booked for another role in Doctor Who: Colony In Space.
- Ranked #57 in The 100 Greatest EastEnders (1985) Characters of All Time for his performance as Roy Evans (2015).
- The final version of Cromwell (1970), at one stage, was one hundred eighty minutes long, but it was cut down to one hundred forty-one minutes, deleting several featured roles in the process including: Felix Aylmer (in his final film) as an archbishop, and Bryan Pringle, Peter Bennett, Tony Caunter, George A. Cooper, and William Lucas.
- As of 2017 he is the 10th-longest serving actor in the history of EastEnders (1985) (tied with John Altman, Ricky Groves, Shane Richie, Nitin Ganatra and Himesh Patel, and behind only Adam Woodyatt, Steve McFadden, Perry Fenwick, Sid Owen, Rudolph Walker, a tied Mike Reid and Todd Carty, John Bardon, a tied Bill Treacher, James Alexandrou, Derek Martin, Jake Wood and Jamie Borthwick, and a tied Ross Kemp, Dean Gaffney and Shaun Williamson), having played the character Roy Evans for 9 years (from 1994 until 2003).
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