Richard Wilson

Richard Wilson OBE is a Scottish actor, theatre director, and broadcaster, born on July 9, 1936. He is best known for his role in the BBC sitcom, One Foot in the Grave as Victor Meldrew. Another prominent appearance of him was in the BBC Mini-series Merlin as Gaius, Camelot's royal physician. Wilson worked as a research assistant in a laboratory at Glasgow's Stobhill Hospital before moving to acting at the age of 27. After graduating from RADA, he worked in repertory theatres in Edinburgh (Traverse Theatre), Glasgow, and Manchester.

Wilson received an OBE for services to drama in the 1994 Birthday Honours. He was elected Rector of the University of Glasgow for a three-year tenure in April 1996. Wilson has always been an outspoken supporter of LGBT rights. James Roose-Evans wrote Wilson's biography, One Foot on the Stage: The Biography of Richard Wilson. Wilson hosted a special edition of Channel 4’s Dispatches in March 2011 called Train Journeys From Hell, in which transport journalist Christian Wolmar highlighted the shortcomings of the British train network.

Wilson was a guest on BBC Radio 4's Desert Island Discs in June 2021. The Roches’ Hammond Song, Sibelius’ Symphony No. 6 in D minor, and Roberta Flack’s, The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face were among his choices. His luxury item was a membership to The Guardian, and his book of choice was Robert Burns’ poetry.