Peter William Shorrocks Butterworth (4 February 1915[1] – 17 January 1979) was a British actor and comedian best known for his appearances in the Carry On film series.

[8] Following the release of various archived documents from Germany in February 2024, the BBC News website reported a fuller picture of Butterworth's wartime escapades having interviewed his son, Tyler, for the article.

[11] He continued to take minor parts in films and went on to appear alongside actors including Sean Connery,[12] David Niven[13] and Douglas Fairbanks Jr during his career.

He was put in touch with the creator of the series, Peter Rogers, by his friend Talbot Rothwell, the writer of Carry On Cowboy and who had written the previous four films.

Out of the actors who were considered to be the Carry On team, he was the sixth most prolific performer in the series, making sixteen film appearances, two Christmas specials, the television series in 1975 and the west end theatre productions which also toured the country, alongside Sid James, Barbara Windsor and Kenneth Connor.

He was unable to take larger parts due to other work and stage commitments, but these minor roles were specially written into the films for him.

A decade later, he appeared consecutively in The Ritz[15] and Robin and Marian (both 1976) alongside Sean Connery, Richard Harris and Audrey Hepburn.

Friends who took part in the show included Terry Scott, Talbot Rothwell, Jimmy Jewel, John Casson and Rupert Davies.

Butterworth was introduced to actress and impressionist Janet Brown by Rothwell[3] and the two married in 1946 at St Mary's, Bryanston Square, Marylebone.

[18] In 1979, whilst The First Great Train Robbery was on general release, Butterworth was starring as Widow Twankey in the pantomime Aladdin at the Coventry Theatre.

His failure to return for the following day's matinee show caused alarm, and he was found dead in his room from a heart attack.

Following his death, the producer of the Carry On films, Peter Rogers, said that Butterworth was "a thoroughly nice bloke and a dear friend".