Ken Jones

Born on 20 February 1930 Ken Jones appeared in many films and television programmes and played a lead character in the British sitcom The Squirrels (1974-77) but may be best known for his role as 'Horrible' Ives in Porridge, a perpetual cheat, notable for starting his sentences with the words: "'Ere, listen."

It was because of The Squirrels, set in the accounts department of a television rental company, that Jones had to give up his role in Porridge as both series were being recorded at the same time. He managed to juggle both recording schedules for a while, working on Porridge in the mornings and The Squirrels in the afternoons, but this eventually became unfeasible. He did later appear in the 1979 film version of Porridge. He was also in the 2003 spoof documentary Life Beyond the Box: Norman Stanley Fletcher. Whereas most of the former inmates were seen to have gone straight, Ives was shown collecting money for a fake charity.

Jones was born in the Everton district of Liverpool and, on leaving school, went into the building trade before working as a signwriter. He began acting with the amateur Merseyside Community theatre, where he met Sheila Fay, then a teacher. The couple ran a theatre in Liverpool and married in 1954. Deciding to turn professional, both trained at Rada and, on graduating in 1958, joined Joan Littlewood's celebrated Theatre Workshop in Stratford, East London. 

He made his TV debut playing a café owner in a 1962 episode of Probation Officer. He appeared twice as a no-gooder in the police series No Hiding Place before landing the role of Arthur Hackforth in United! which followed the fortunes of a fictional second division football team, Brentwich United, which was produced by the BBC between 1965 and 1967. Between 1968 and 1969 he was behind bars, but this time on the right side of the law, playing prison officer Leslie Mills in the Granada Television sitcom Her Majesty's Pleasure.

Ken appeared in seven Wednesday Play productions during the 1960s, including five directed by Ken Loach, and appeared in several episodes of Coronation Street. He co-starred with Arthur Lowe in The Last of the Baskets, a sitcom in which he played an uncouth boiler maker who is blissfully unaware of his aristocratic heritage and the fact that he has been left a stately home. He and his wife also starred in The Wackers (1975) as a couple, Billy and Mary Clarkson, bringing up their divided Liverpool family – half Protestant, half Catholic, half Liverpool football club supporters, half Everton supporters.

On the West End stage, Jones acted in Donald Howarth's A Lily in Little India (1966), Willy Russell's Breezeblock Park (1977) and Raymond Briggs's When the Wind Blows (1983). Ken Jones and Sheila Fay wrote many plays together, including Gulpin (1977), about a girl not wanting to be a bridesmaid when Liverpool football club are playing at home. Ken directed it.

His last television appearance was in an episode of Doctors in 2007 after which he retired. Sheila, who had starred in the 1973 Doctor Who story The Time Warrior had stopped appearing on television a decade before him. Sheila passed away in 2013 and Ken, who had been diagnosed with bowel cancer moved into a nursing home in Prescot, Merseyside, where he died on 13 February 2014, just six days before his 84th birthday.

One of our favourite character actors, Ken Jones appeared in a combination of over a hundred TV shows and films during a hugely successful career. Known for his versatile acting skills and his ability to bring characters to life with authenticity, Ken will always be remembered for his contributions to British television and his unforgettable performances. His work remains a testament to his talent and passion for acting.