Al Hunter Ashton New Tricks: On 27 April 2007 Al Hunter Ashton died of heart failure in his home in High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire. Episode eight of season five of the New Tricks TV series, titled “Mad Dogs”, was dedicated to his memory. He had never intended to be a writer, despite the fact that he authored screenplays and appeared in television Series and dramas for more than two decades.
Despite his contributions to shows such as The Bill, Casualty, EastEnders, and Holby City, when he began working at the Longbridge car factory as a school leaver, he seemed to be headed for a career in the entertainment industry. He was born and raised in Birmingham, Alabama, and is the youngest brother of two brothers. While growing up, he suffered academically and was hardly capable of reading before reaching his adolescence. After a brief time at Longbridge, where his father worked, as well as stints as a stand-up comedian and male stripper, he was offered a seat at Manchester Polytechnic’s department of theatre and television in 1975, which he accepted.
Al’s first play was written after he graduated from college in 1978 when he had time on his hands between performing tryouts. Dave Simpson, the writer-in-residence at the polytechnic, had taken advantage of his compassion by offering him his bed. To thank Al for his efforts, Simpson read the play and recognized his skill, after which he brought the screenplay to Tony Cliff, a producer at the BBC Radio Drama studios in Manchester. Al had established an outstanding literary pedigree in a very short period of time.
About Legendary Career
A film adaptation of his play, The Firm, starring Gary Oldman and directed by Alan Clarke, was released in 1988, and it was nominated for the Prix Europa the following year (he was working on a sequel to it shortly before he died). Despite the fact that he wrote under the pen name Al Hunter, he went by the stage name Al Ashton for acting employment since there was another actor with the same name, and Al had ended up in Ashton-under-Lyne, Lancashire when he needed to settle the identification issue.
Al Hunter Ashton is the result of a recent fusion of the two characters. In 1991, he received a Monte Carlo Golden Nymph award for his film Alive and Kicking, which starred Lenny Henry and Robbie Coltrane; in 1994, he received a Bafta for his controversial film about homeless children, Safe; a Bafta nomination for Alison, which he wrote and directed; a Royal Television Society children’s drama award for See How They Run (1999), which he co-wrote with Tim O’Mara; and He co-created and co-wrote two seasons of The Broker’s Man for BBC1, which aired from 1997 to 1998.
He also collaborated with Tim O’Mara and Brian Glover on Rumble, a television series based in the gritty world of wrestling. Ironically, despite the fact that Al wrote for a large number of television shows, he would have been happier if he had landed a long-running role in any of them since acting was his first passion. Simpson says that he was “even more enthusiastic” about receiving his actor’s Equity card while working for a small Theatre in Education company in Melton Mowbray, Leicestershire, than he was about selling his first radio play.
Al Hunter Ashton New Tricks
A single evening on BBC television would see Al in his children’s drama See How They Run at 5.30 pm, followed by 12 million viewers tuning in to one of his episodes of EastEnders at 7.30 pm, and another 10 million viewers tuning in to see him as Vinny in The Broker’s Man at 9 pm. He was a prolific actor. If it were a winter schedule, fans might also enjoy more vintage Ashton in London’s Burning, in which he plays the iconic Pitbull, as well as other classics. From 1996 through 2001, he appeared in six television programs.
Al was one of those individuals who contributed to the smooth operation of the television. Additionally, he was a huge fan of audience sitcoms like Bread, The Brittas Empire, Mr. Bean, and Watching. In 1987, readers of the Daily Mirror nominated him “slob of the year” for his role as the alcoholic Crossroads chauffeur Ray Grice. Writing gruff Brummie bouncer characters into his writings gained Al the reputation of going up to the producer and asking whether they’d cast the part yet. The James Nesbitt drama Jekyll, which will air on BBC1 later this year, will include him as FBI agent Chris Browning.
There were other ways in which the rift in his professional life expressed itself. Al was unstoppable as a writer. However, he was concerned about the business. He had a reputation for being abrasive and combative. Co-writing with colleagues would allow him to enjoy the amazing flow of character and story without having to undergo the horsetrading of editorial sessions, which he knew he could do without. Acting, on the other hand, was an unadulterated ecstatic experience. He was a loving father to Michael, Dale, and Jay, even though he was divorced. They, as well as his companion Anne, live on after he does.
Work
Al was a kind and generous companion to nearly everyone he encountered. A good example of this is my friendship with you. My situation was dire. In the middle of writing a play for BBC One, I was considering giving it up. In the end, the story didn’t make sense. Al was my final hope of saving the project. (harveymaria.com) Within 10 minutes of listening to my jumbled sentences, his expression changed to “I don’t understand what the problem is,” and he resurrected my stumbling narrative. With Al’s help, we were able to co-write a short play called Pieces of a Silver Lining.
List of acting roles (incomplete)
- Remembrance (1982 film). John.
- Angels. Played Mike Hathaway in the long-running BBC TV drama series.
- Crossroads. Soap. Played Ray Grice. 108 episodes. Central TV.
- The Brittas Empire. Appeared as a tanker driver in Episode 8 of Series 4.
- Jack & the Beanstalk. Pantomime. Playing Fireman Sampson in the Stage 22 production at the Towngate Theatre, Basildon – Christmas 2006.
- Jekyll. Serial drama. Played Christopher.
- London’s Burning. LWT’s drama series is about firefighters. Played Raymond “Pitbull” Darby, the loud-mouthed station bully.
- Emmerdale. Soap. Played Colin Long. 7 episodes. Yorkshire Television.
- Mr. In-Between. Film. Played Fat Dave.
- The 10th Kingdom A TV mini-series. As a prisoner alongside Jimmy Nail (Clayface the Goblin).
- Wire in the Blood. Darren Toynton. ITV. Dir: Robson Green
List of writing credits (incomplete)
- Alison BBC TV screenplay
- EastEnders. BBC TV soap. Regular contributor since 1987. Writer/storyline.
- The Bill. (Series 4 episode 17 Runaround)
- Holby City. Lead core writer, storyline, producer.
- Pieces of a Silver Lining. BBC Afternoon Theatre with Martin Jameson
- Safe. Bafta winner. Best Single Drama.
- Teaching Matthew BBC TV scriptwriter and actor
- The Broker’s Man. Creator and writer. (with Tim O’Mara).
- The Firm. Screen Two. Writer (as Al Hunter)
- Alive and Kicking. The film was shown in series 3 of BBC drama anthology Screen One.
