Biography

British stage and screen actor whose characters typically displayed indecision or timidity, usually mild-mannered or naive types who tended to come to a sticky end somewhere along the line. Collings began acting professionally with the Liverpool Repertory Theatre in the early 60s. Though having never attended drama school, he nonetheless segued successfully into television work following the advice of a fellow actor. On screen from 1965, he initially appeared in several prominent cop shows (Z Cars (1962), Softly Softly (1966)) but became ultimately best known for his work in science fiction, often having undergone extensive alien make-up. He was notable as an alien kidnap victim turned into a human bomb in The Psychobombs (1970) and as a 'Vogan' renegade scientist out to destroy (and, of course, expiring in the process) the perennial robotic nemesis in Revenge of the Cybermen. Having enjoyed the experience, he popped up twice more in Doctor Who (1963) instalments: as the driver of a mining vehicle on an extraterrestrial world who suffers from the unfortunate malady 'robophobia' while confronting The Robots of Death and as the titular antagonist (on this occasion playing an immortal, but mutated and disfigured alien scientist) in Mawdryn Undead.

Collings also specialised in period drama, particularly effective as the often mistreated and underpaid clerk Bob Cratchit in Scrooge (1970), the spy John Barsad (aka Solomon Pross) in A Tale of Two Cities (1980), the Russian liberal politician Pavel Nikolayevich Milyukov in Fall of Eagles (1974) and British Tory Prime Minister William Pitt in the miniseries Prince Regent (1979). On stage, he portrayed Lord Stanley in a National Theatre production of Richard III and the King of France in Henry V at the Royal Exchange in Manchester. He provided the voice for Legolas in the BBC 4 radio serial The Lord of the Rings.
- IMDb mini biography by: I.S.Mowis

He appeared in the final episodes of two 1970s/1980s cult classic science fiction series: Blake's 7 (1978) and Sapphire & Steel (1979).

On the "Special Edition" DVD commentary for the serial The Robots of Death: Part One (1977), Tom Baker spoke of his admiration for Collings and compared him favourably to Denholm Elliott, with whom Baker had worked on The Vault of Horror (1973).

He was the father of twins Samuel Collings and Eliza Collings.

He has two roles in common with both David Warner and Richard E. Grant. All three have played Bob Cratchit - Collings in Scrooge (1970), Warner in A Christmas Carol (1984) and Grant in A Christmas Carol (1999) - and the Doctor from Doctor Who (1963) - Collings in the Big Finish audio drama "Full Fathom Five", Warner in the Big Finish audio dramas "Sympathy for the Devil" and "Masters of War" and Grant in Comic Relief: Doctor Who - The Curse of Fatal Death (1999) and Doctor Who: Scream of the Shalka (2003).

He sang the haunting theme song to the TV series Midnight Is a Place (1977) in which he also played the character Julian Oakapple.