Edwin Apps was a well-known figure in the early days of British television, with his most prolific period as a character actor spanning from 1953 to 1972. During this time, he also worked as a scriptwriter for the BBC, penning a total of 33 episodes for the comedy series All Gas and Gaiters in 1966.
Born in East Kent, the son of auctioneers and hop farmers, Apps' early life was marked by the marital breakup of his parents, which led to his evacuation to Cornwall at the onset of World War II. At the age of 17, he joined a repertory company in the north of England, but his budding career as an actor was interrupted by national service.
After completing his training at the Central School of Speech and Drama, Apps resumed his career on the stage and in live television. In 1976, he and his wife, the RADA-trained actress and writer Pauline Devaney, relocated to a farm in the French town of Liez in western France.
In his later years, Apps appeared only occasionally in French films, devoting more time to his lifelong passion for painting. A successful painter of oils on canvas, he specialized in satirical depictions of bishops in unconventional situations. In 2013, he published a humorous autobiography entitled "Pursued by Bishops - the Memoirs of Edwin Apps".
Pauline Devaney, his wife, is also an accomplished painter and finalist in the 2017 National Art Competition.
