The Narrator
Russell Boulter
Russell trained at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art and graduated in 1984 playing the title role in Richard III.
He began his acting career at The Royal Shakespeare Company playing as cast and understudying for two seasons at Stratford and the Barbican in 1985/86/87. Seasons in repertory and theatre festivals followed in Farnham, Edinburgh, Ludlow and Bristol Old Vic. He worked extensively on Radio 4: in the series “Citizens” “Morning Story”, “Poetry Please” “Woman’s Hour” and “Afternoon Theatre”.
He began his TV work in the series Watching, The Darling Buds of May, The Upper Hand, Where the Heart Is, Heartbeat, Luv, and Brookside and presented “First Light” for Grampian TV and “Scene” for HTV.
Russell got his first West End break playing Mickey in Blood Brothers and opened the show at the Phoenix Theatre Charring Cross Road in 1991. He went on to play Joey in Pal Joey at Bristol Old Vic and the title role in Hamlet at Birmingham Old Rep.
Russell is best known for his work on “The Bill” as DS John Boulton.
During his five years with the series he produced and directed JB Priestley’s “They Came to a City” on the London fringe at The Hen and Chickens Islington and with fellow “Bill” cast members founded “The Four Amigos” He produced and directed “Lone Star” which played at the Old Red Lion Islington before touring Australia where the production went to the Sydney Opera House. He also produced and starred in the short film, “Crush” for Ant Films.
Since leaving the Bill in 2000 his television work has included the series A and E, a regular in the series “Casualty” with starring roles in “Where the Heart is”, “Eastenders”, “Merseybeat”, “Judge John Deed”, and “Murder in Suburbia”.
In the theatre he has toured with the premier of Noel Cowards “Star Quality” which opened at the Theatre Royal Bath and went on to the Apollo Theatre in the West End. In 2003 He played the title role in Macbeth at the Stafford Theatre Festival, 2004 General Kipper, George Bush Snr, and a drag artist in “The Dubya Trilogy” At the Players Theatre in London’s West End, and in 2005 he played Marc in the national tour of “Art.”
In 2006 he played Edward in the Bristol Old Vic production of “Air Guitar” and presented the documentary about the Victorian philanthropist George Muller.” Robber of the Cruel Streets.”
He completed the audio version of “The 100 minute Bible” and stared in the Granada TV series “Mobile”, Radio 4s “Hide” and narrated the documentaries “Waco” and “9/11 stairway B” for Channel 4. He is a regular reader for Isis, Harper Collins and BBC Audio books, and is a narrator for the BBC Natural History Unit. His reading of Charles Dickens “A Christmas Carol” was the featured audio book for the website “Talking Issues.”
In 2008 he appeared in the BBC series “Waking the Dead” and in the West End production of “Our Man in Havana.” He narrated the discovery channel series “Deep Wreck Mysteries” Also the narrator of “The Snowman” and “The Bear” for the Bath Philharmonic orchestra.
He Lives in Bristol and is on the teaching staff at BOVTS.