Nigel Allan Havers (born 6 November 1951) is an English actor and presenter. In 1981 he earned a BAFTA nomination for Best Actor in a Supporting Role, for portraying Lord Andrew Lindsay in the British sports film Chariots of Fire (1981).
Other credits include A Passage to India (1984), Empire of the Sun (1987), Farewell to the King (1989), Don't Wait Up (1983–1990), Sleepers (1991) Coronation Street, (2009–2019), Brothers & Sisters (2009), Doctor Who spin-off The Sarah Jane Adventures, Downton Abbey (2011), The Life of Rock with Brian Pern (2014), Benidorm (2017), Finding Alice (2021), The Gentlemen (2024), and A Cruel Love: The Ruth Ellis Story (2025).
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Early life and family
Nigel Allan Havers was born on 6 November 1951, in Edmonton, Middlesex, the younger of two sons of barrister Sir Michael Havers (later Lord Havers) and Carol Lay. His father served as Attorney General for England and Wales and briefly as Lord Chancellor in the Conservative Government in the 1980s.
His paternal aunt, Lady Butler-Sloss, his grandfather Sir Cecil Havers and elder brother Philip Havers KC also had prominent legal careers. His paternal uncle, David Havers, was a Manchester-based businessman.
Havers took part in the BBC TV series Who Do You Think You Are?, broadcast in the UK in July 2013. As part of the show, he explored his ancestry from an Essex businessman on his father's side and a Cornish miller on his mother's side.
Education
Havers was educated at Nowton Court Prep School in Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk and is an alumnus and patron of Arts Educational School (ArtsEd), an independent school for performing arts in Chiswick, London.
Professional life and career
Havers is most known for "playing the quintessential, old school Englishman with his dashing good looks, cut-glass accent and thoroughly charming manner".
In 1975, Havers's career began with an appearance in Upstairs, Downstairs, in one of the show's last episodes, "Joke Over" as Peter Dinmont, one of Georgina's (Lesley-Anne Down) Roaring Twenties "party" friends. In 1975, Havers played the hapless heroin addict, Patrick Mills, who stood trial for a series of drug offences in the Granada Television daytime series Crown Court.
His first film appearance was in Pope Joan (1972), then in The Glittering Prizes (1976), but his first major success came with the leading role in a BBC dramatisation of Nicholas Nickleby (1977), closely followed by another BBC drama serial adaption of A Horseman Riding By (1978).
In 1981, he played a main role in the film Chariots of Fire (1981), for which, he earned a BAFTA nomination for Best Actor in a Supporting Role. He starred in A Passage to India (1984), he co-starred with Maureen Lipman in The Little Princess (1986), starred in Empire of the Sun (1987), and Farewell to the King (1989), he co-starred for several years alongside Dinah Sheridan and Tony Britton in the 1980s BBC sitcom Don't Wait Up (1983–1990). He co-starred with Warren Clarke in the BBC comedic mini-series Sleepers (1991).
Havers appeared on This Is Your Life in 1992, having been surprised by host Michael Aspel at Twickenham Film Studios. He later wrote an autobiography, titled Playing with Fire, which was published in October 2006 by Headline Publishing Group.
In 2009, Havers appeared in the U.S. television drama Brothers & Sisters, and the Doctor Who spin-off The Sarah Jane Adventures. On 18 December 2009, he first appeared in the British soap Coronation Street (broadcast on the ITV network) playing the charming escort Lewis Archer, who woos Audrey Roberts
In November 2010, Havers became a contestant on the tenth series of I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here!, which started on 14 November 2010. On 21 November, Havers left the show after vehemently objecting to a challenge called Kangaroo Court in which contestants who lost the challenge would be subjected to an electric shock.
Personal life
Havers married Carolyn CoxIn in 1974. They had a daughter and divorced in 1989.
During his first marriage, Havers began a relationship with Polly Bloomfield (née) Williams, the daughter of actor Hugh Williams and the sister of his friend, actor Simon Williams. They married in 1989. She died in June 2004 of ovarian cancer.
In 1990, Havers was banned from driving for one year and fined £500 for drunk driving.
On 8 June 2007, Havers married Georgiana "George" Bronfman. (née Rita Webb), an Essex native, in New York City. Bronfman is the former spouse of Canadian-American businessman Edgar Bronfman.
Havers is the godfather of comedian Jack Whitehall.
Selected filmography
Theatre (pantomime)
Sleeping Beauty – London Palladium (2025), as Keeper of the Privy
Robin Hood – London Palladium (2024)
Peter Pan – London Palladium (2023)
Jack and the Beanstalk - London Palladium (2022)
Pantoland – London Palladium (2021)
Goldilocks and the Three Bears – London Palladium (2019)
Snow White – London Palladium (2018)
Dick Whittington – London Palladium (2017)
Jack and the Beanstalk – Theatre Royal Bath (2016)
Dick Whittington – Swindon Wyvern Theatre (2014)
Robin Hood – Theatre Royal, Plymouth (2013)
Jack and the Beanstalk – The Mayflower (2012)
Peter Pan – Hawth Theatre (2011)
Dick Whittington – Birmingham Hippodrome (2010–2011)
Jack and the Beanstalk – Nottingham Theatre Royal (2009)
Aladdin – Yvonne Arnaud Theatre (2008)
Cinderella – Richmond Theatre (2007)
Theatre (other)
Ricochet (1993) as producer and lead actor
Rebecca (2011) as lead actor
The Importance of Being Earnest – Harold Pinter Theatre (2014)
The Importance of Being Earnest – Theatre Royal, Glasgow (2015)
Art (2018) as lead actor
Private Lives (2021–23) as lead actor
Radio
Proof by Dick Francis (1987) as Tony Beach
Reluctant Persuaders (2015) as Rupert Hardacre
Audiobooks
The Scarifyers: The Secret Weapon of Doom (2010) as Victor Bright
Doctor Who: No More Lies (2007) as Nick
Tales from Watership Down (Richard Adams) (1996)