[3] He was called up to do his national service at RAF Northwood, where he met future The Good Life actor Richard Briers.

Upon leaving the RAF the two aspiring actors both performed in productions by the Dramatic Society at the Borough Polytechnic Institute (now London South Bank University).

Murphy was a member of the Theatre Workshop (alongside future TV co-star Yootha Joyce), and a jobbing actor in the 1960s and early 1970s, combining his theatre work with guest appearances in television shows such as The Avengers, Z-Cars, Callan and Dixon of Dock Green, before being cast in the role which would make him a household name.

I had been told I had an excellent singing voice and in fact did some training, but sadly I lacked confidence and missed opportunities – one of my biggest regrets.

In 1981 another television sitcom, The Incredible Mr. Tanner, was created specifically for Murphy with him in the title role and featuring regular Man About The House and George and Mildred co-star Roy Kinnear.

[2] Murphy continued to appear regularly on television, most notably as "Alvin Smedley" in Last of the Summer Wine from 2003 to 2010,[5] which was promoted by a cast return to the Rose Theatre site, and also with roles in On Your Way, Riley (1985) as Arthur Lucan,[7] Lame Ducks (as a private investigator); The Bill (as a drunken tramp dressed as an elf at Christmas); comedy series Pond Life, an animation series, as Len Pond, the father of protagonist Dolly Pond (Sarah Ann Kennedy), One Foot in the Grave starring Richard Wilson (playing a character called Mr Foskett);[8] Brookside; and as a shopkeeper called Stan in the pre-school children's TV series Wizadora.

[3] His grandson is Martin Murphy, a writer, director, and performer, whose recent writing credits include The Ghost of White Hart Lane (2024), along with Midas (2023) and Jonny Feathers the Rock & Roll Pigeon (2022) both at the Park Theatre.

[14] Murphy appeared for three episodes - along with his wife, Linda Regan - playing the role of Mayor, Lord Palmer, in podcast sitcom Barmy Dale.