Biography

William Simons was born on November 17, 1940 in Mumbles, South Wales, UK. He was an actor, known for Cribb (1980), Ivory Hunter (1951) and Heartbeat (1992). He was married to Jackie Simons and Janie Lowther. He died on June 21, 2019 in England, UK.

Severely pock-marked face caused by a skin disease in his teens

He became best known for playing the phlegmatic, curmudgeonly PC Alf Ventress in all 18 seasons of ITV's Heartbeat (1992). Despite playing a heavy smoker, in real life he did not smoke and smoked herbal cigarettes when his character was required to smoke.

Simons was a child actor, singer and dancer, but his juvenile career was curtailed when he developed a severe skin disease in his teens. He played it down as acne but it was worse than that. He retreated from public view for four years and became a stage manager, behind the scenes, before returning to acting as an adult with the Stables Theatre Company in Manchester. From 2002 on, he was a patron for the charity Changing Faces which helps people with facial disfigurements such as scars.

Never watched his performances on television because he was too self-critical.