Peter Henry Benson (3 April 1943 – 6 September 2018)[1][2] was a British actor, best known for his role as Bernie Scripps in the popular ITV television series Heartbeat, a police drama set in the fictional Yorkshire village of Aidensfield during the 1960s.

Born in Wallasey in Cheshire,[3] the son of schoolmaster Herbert George Benson (1888–1972), who served as a Special Constable during World War II, and Mabel Dorothy (née Lord, 1902–1979),[citation needed] Peter Benson was a talented singer and dancer and an accomplished theatre actor.

[6] He also had parts in Coronation Street, The Royal, Rumpole of the Bailey, Jeeves and Wooster, The Bill, Peak Practice, Casualty, Tenko, and Lovejoy, among others.

He was often involved helping Claude Greengrass (Bill Maynard), his half-brother Vernon Scripps (Geoffrey Hughes), and later Peggy Armstrong (Gwen Taylor) with disastrous money-making schemes.

[7] His film work included roles in Cry of the Banshee (1970),[8] Michael Crichton's The First Great Train Robbery (1978),[9] Roman Polanski's Tess (1979),[10] and Christian Cantamessa's Air (2015).