By Debbie Ransome

For many in the Caribbean diaspora in Britain, Rudolph Walker is a national treasure. Not only did he become one of the most well-known black faces on British TV in the 1970s - in the often teeth-clenching, but always funny TV comedy series “Love Thy Neighbour” - but he has also been a star of classical and serious roles on British TV and the stage throughout his career. Details below for those of you not in the UK and yet to discover him.

On 19 November, Rudolph launched his autobiography Walking with Dignity at the Trinidad and Tobago High Commission in London. The book charts his early childhood life, through his move to London in the 1960s, his wide-ranging acting career and his current role as a stage and screen elder statesman.

The launch included a Q&A with friend and fellow carnival-lover, the veteran media trainer and education specialist Juliet Alexander. He outlined how the women of his Trinidad childhood had given him a steer in life. “They all carried themselves with dignity,” he explained. He linked this to his current ability to use his visibility as a star of BBC TV’s EastEnders to be an “effective” voice on issues - and he spoke passionately about his work as an ambassador for Prostate Cancer UK and as a Patron of Haven Hospices.

Rudolph spoke of EastEnders (call it a “drama”, says Rudolph) and the opportunities it offers to tackle difficult storylines and allow actors to use their voices “with dignity”. He also talked about a career based on “variety, challenges”. Rudolph also cheerfully smiled through the teasing about British TV’s Teletubbies (he voiced the opening and closing sequences for the American dubbed version). He was also teased about the number of TV wives he had acted with – some of whom attended the book launch. 

But it was in his reading from notes about a childhood mishap that we were reminded of what an amazing raconteur Rudolph Walker still is. He related getting into a scrape and trying to dodge “getting licks” from his mother (if you have to ask, you need to brush up your Caribbean). The room in the high commission building was silent as Rudolph took us on a journey in time and space, back to a bygone era in Trinidad where a young boy’s troubles could give rise to the kind of hilarious episode that would linger in the memory for some time. He conjured up a more innocent Trinidad, a childhood filled with hope and longing and a series of incidents that had everyone bawling with laughter.

Star of screen and stage

You have to have lived in Britain in the 1970s to understand how cutting-edge “Love Thy Neighbour” was in its day. It managed to make comedy out of a storyline about two men – one black, one white – living next door to one another and slugging it out with every racial epithet allowed on British television at the time. Their wives – played by the marvellous actresses Nina Baden-Semper and Kate Williams – tried to stop their warring husbands descending into the racial and neighbourly chaos that was all too possible at the time. 

After that, it was in a more serious role as a black barrister in “Black Silk” and on stage that Rudolph was able to showcase that he was more than a TV star with comic timing.

However, for a whole new generation, Rudolph is best known for his role over the last 23 years as Patrick Trueman in the long-running BBC TV soap/ drama (views differ) “EastEnders”. For Caribbean, US and Canadian readers of Caribbean Intelligence©, think the longevity of “The Young and the Restless”, but based in a London East End community. Just add gritty storylines and even some royal appearances and you will understand why this is one of the nation’s most-loved programmes. It currently runs four evenings a week and has been known to cause a national power surge as kettles are switched on for cups of tea following a particular cliffhanger ending.

Rudolph’s character in this over the years has allowed him to show his range of acting skills, involving him in storylines dealing with mini-strokes, death in the family, marital breakdown and sexual assault. He even shared a special occasion glass of rum with then Prince Charles’s consort, Camilla when the royal couple made a special appearance in a 2022 episode of EastEnders.

Rudolph at 80 – a 2019  interview with Caribbean Intelligence

Tek a rum, your majesty – THAT EastEnders episode with Charles and Camilla

Throughout this career, Rudolph has championed things close to his heart – from the Trinidad Carnival roots of Notting Hill Carnival (he attends every year) to his desire to empower young people through his Rudolph Walker Foundation. As well as his TV parts beyond the ones already mentioned, in shows such as The Thin Blue Line and Lovejoy, he has also appeared in films including King Ralph and 10 Rillington Place. His stage parts have included acclaimed Shakespearean roles as Othello, in The Tempest and in Pericles. 

On his 80^th birthday, Rudolph answered questions in 2019 from Caribbean Intelligence© about his life and career. 

He remains one of the most prominent Trinidad-born high-profile people in the UK, alongside Sir Trevor McDonald and Baroness Floella Benjamin. 

Trinidad and Tobago High Commissioner Vishnu Dhanpaul called him a “national treasure” in his introductory remarks. With Rudolph such a staunch supporter of the high commission and its work and of Notting Hill Carnival, it gave the High Commissioner a chance to remind the gathered actors, actresses and Trinis of Trinidad’s recent parliamentary bill designating the steelpan as the national musical instrument of Trinidad & Tobago. 

The book launch evening was much like Rudolph – with its roots firmly planted in Trinidad, but meaning so much more to a British audience.

Debbie Ransome is the Managing Editor of Caribbean Intelligence.