Peter Bowles is best-known for his leading roles in two popular British situation comedies, Richard DeVere in To The Manor Born and Archie Glover in Only When I Laugh. However, he is one of British television's most prolific performers who made a name for himself in mainly villainous roles in series such as Danger Man, The Saint, The Avengers (three times), The Prisoner, The Baron, The Persuaders!, Adam Adamant Lives!, Callan, Survivors, I, Claudius and Roald Dahl's Tales Of The Unexpected. After Space:1999, Bowles decided that, having now played the ultimate villain, he would quit playing bad guys and made a conscious career move into comedy. He has appeared in starring roles in numerous series including Guthrie Featherstone in Rumpole Of The Bailey, Ken Green in The Crezz, Howard in The Bounder, Major Sinclair Yeates in The Irish R.M., Neville Lytton in Lytton's Diary (a series which he also created), Donald Fairchild in Executive Stress, and Guy Buchanan in Perfect Scoundrels (which he created with Bryan Murrray). Film roles have largely eluded him, although early in his career he appeared in Live Now, Pay Later (1962), The Informers (1963), The Yellow Rolls Royce (1964), Blow-Up (1966) and The Charge Of The Light Brigade (1968). He later appeared in Endless Night (1971), A Day In The Death Of Joe Egg (1972), The Offence (1973) and The Legend Of Hell House (1973). Prior to his appearance in Space:1999, Bowles had appeared as Kofax in the Triple Cross episode of Gerry Anderson's The Protectors.
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