John Spurley Challis was born on 16 August 1942 at St Andrews Nursing Home[1] Clifton, Bristol, England.

[5] His father, Alec, was a civil servant at the Admiralty; his mother, Joan (née Harden), was a drama teacher and keen participant in amateur dramatics.

1969 he played in the gangster drama Big Breadwinner Hog, and between 1971 and 1975 Challis made regular appearances in Z-Cars as Sergeant Culshaw.

The sitcom Bloomers (1979), starring Richard Beckinsale, was written about Challis's experience working at a garden centre while taking a break from acting.

[15] His other television appearances include Dixon of Dock Green, Thriller, The Sweeney, Doctor Who (The Seeds of Doom), Dracula, Beau Geste, Juliet Bravo, Bloomers, Ever Decreasing Circles, Doctor Snuggles, Chance in a Million, The Bill, One Foot in the Grave, Open All Hours, The New Statesman, Don't Wait Up, Soldier Soldier, Brass Eye, My Family, In Sickness and in Health, Benidorm, the end of which he felt spelt the end of his television career,[16] and Heartbeat.

[17] During his appearance in a 1997 Channel 4 mockumentary Brass Eye television episode "Decline", he was tricked into believing Clive Anderson had been shot by Noel Edmonds.

of Last of the Summer Wine he guest-starred as a retired jewel thief with fanciful stories of his past exploits in the South of France.

[29] His work at the National Theatre included productions of On the Razzle (1979) and The Rivals (1983), with Michael Hordern, and Laughter on the 23rd Floor with Frank Finlay.

[29] In a 1993 tour with the National he starred along with Barbara Windsor, Kenneth Waller, and Christopher Villiers in a production of Entertaining Mr Sloane by Joe Orton.

He also appeared in pantomime at Weston Playhouse in winter 2011–12 playing Ebenezer in Aladdin and as King Rat in Dick Whittington at the Plaza over Christmas 2013 and New Year 2014.

[47] Tributes were paid by a number of fellow actors and entertainers including his Only Fools and Horses co-stars Sir David Jason and Sue Holderness, as well as Ice-T, Paul Chuckle, Piers Morgan and Sheila Ferguson.