Biography
Actor, presenter, writer, producer, traveller and all-round adventurer, Peter Duncan is as much admired for his work as Chief Scout (the volunteer leader of the UK's half a million scouts) as he is for a TV, film and theatre career that spans four decades. A self-confessed "action-addict" he is equally at home talking to the Queen as he is climbing towards Mount Everest with a bunch of kids.
He is perhaps best known for his daredevil approach to life, which first came to the public's attention when he joined the Blue Peter team in 1980. He wore his 'action man' label with pride (running in the first London Marathon, fighting a sumo wrestler in Japan and crossing the Irish Sea in a VW beetle) and he was voted the third most popular man on TV .
In 1985 he left Blue Peter to make Duncan Dares, a series that capitalised on his derring-do image. He returned to Blue Peter for one more year before producing and directing a six part series called Travel Bug for CBBC in which he, his partner Annie and their four children backpacked their way around the world. In the two follow up series their adventures were shown in Chinese Breakaway and Arthur's trip to India. Other recent TV credits of note include the 26 part slapstick comedy series Demolition Dad and Channel 4's The Games - in which he took part as the oldest competitor ever.
Peter began his career as an actor, and at 17, joined the National Theatre. Since then he has taken on numerous roles, most notably the title role in the musicals Barnum and Me and My Girl. In 1995 he was nominated for an Olivier as Best Actor in a musical for his role in The Card. He most recently appeared in two Alan Ayckbourn plays Bedroom Farce, Things we do for Love and as Stan Laurel in a new production of Laurel and Hardy. In the summer of 2007 he will be performing as Macduff in Macbeth at the Open Air Theatre in Regent's Park, alongside his 15 year-old son Arthur. He is also playing the title role in the Fantastic
Mr. Fox - again in Regent's Park.