Since 2013, Williams has portrayed the title character in the long-running BBC series loosely based on the Father Brown short stories by G. K. Chesterton.

[3] He was educated at North Bromsgrove High School and then Brasenose College, Oxford, where he graduated in English in 1978.

[6] Williams came to wider public attention in the 1990s through the BBC sketch comedy programme The Fast Show, in which he was one of the central performers.

Other high-profile appearances include the film adaptation of Neil Gaiman's Stardust alongside Michelle Pfeiffer, Robert De Niro and Claire Danes in 2007 and a 2012 role in Doctor Who as Brian Williams, father of the Doctor's companion, Rory.

In America, they see me as a major British character actor, but unfortunately, the BBC is pretty parochial and people are institutionalised here.