Not So Plain Ja Discovering a way to escape from school bullies led Keith Jayne into the acting profession. While he landed a series of high profile roles, which included the lead in Stig of the Dump, typecasting and a health scare persuaded him to pursue a new career path. Simon Stabler uncovers more about Keith’s past, present and his plans for the future. A pituitary gland problem as a child caused Keith to grow at a slower rate than his classmates. At the age of 13, in order to get away from the bullies who made his time at grammar school an unpleasant experience, he decided to enrol with The Barbara Speake Stage School. In these happier surroundings and represented by the school’s talent agent June Collins – mother of former pupil Phil - Keith began appearing in small roles on TV favourites such as Rumpole of the Bailey, Angels and Upstairs, Downstairs. Like many young actors of the 70s he appeared in several Children’s Film Foundation productions, including Robin Hood Junior – which starred fellow Barbara Speake alumni Keith Chegwin, Sammy’s Super T-shirt and The Glitterball, a friendly alien story that appeared five years before ET. Keith’s big break happened in 1979 when he was cast as Tom Arnold, a cabin boy, in The Onedin Line. An appearance in The Prisoner of Zenda - one of Peter Sellers’ final films – and inclusion in 1980’s Who’s Who of Television, was followed by the title role in Thames Television’s BAFTA nominated adaptation of Stig of The Dump.
Cheers! Keith is currently planning a return to acting. Photo © Keith Jayne 54 episodes. Keith’s main roles were interspersed with stage performances at The Old Vic and The National Theatre, not to mention a role in the Doctor Who story The Awakening. Keith’s performance as reluctant time traveller Will Chandler is still praised by the show’s fans, more than 25 years after transmission - with Doctor Who: The Television Companion going as far to hail the character as “one of the most convincing and
“Stig of the Dump is the part that I am most remembered for” While Keith acknowledges that this role “is probably the part I am most remembered for,” it was as Boxer Reed in Murphy’s Mob, ITV’s rival to Grange Hill, which gave him the most work - appearing for four years in all
memorable companions the Doctor never had.” Asking Keith if there was any truth in the rumour that Will Chandler would become a regular companion to Peter Davison’s Doctor, he confirmed that the idea was mooted for a short while.
“Until the producer decided that the character would not have enough lasting appeal for the viewers. “Actually, I was not sorry about that, as I don't really like the programme, although it was fun to do at the time.” While Keith feels lucky to have been involved with some of Britain’s bestloved programmes, he began to feel typecast. Deciding that an extra string to his bow would be useful, he went to college to study for a certificate in Finance and Investment. Having run his own financial services business for the last 22 years Keith believes that his return to education “was one of my better decisions.” This career change coincided with a dark period of Keith’s life when his earlier health problems came back to haunt him. “As a result of the growth hormone treatment I received as a child, I received a letter from the NHS saying I may have contracted CJD.” As the number of CJD-related deaths