He is best remembered for playing Bill in Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory, where he sang "The Candy Man".

Woods was born on 9 April 1928 in Edmonton, Middlesex and grew up in nearby Palmers Green.

[2] His best remembered film role is in Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory, where he played the character of Bill, the owner of Bill's Candy Shop, singing "The Candy Man" near the beginning of the film; the single was later a hit for entertainer Sammy Davis Jr. During the early 1970s Woods collaborated on the musical Trelawny with his friend Julian Slade.

[2] His television credits include Z-Cars, Up Pompeii!, Doctor Who', Blake's 7, Auf Wiedersehen, Pet and Ever Decreasing Circles.

He also appeared as Jacob and Potiphar in the 1991 production of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat at the London Palladium, the soundtrack of which topped the British albums chart in August 1991.