Actor Terrence Hardiman, best known for portraying The Demon Headmaster, has died at the age of 86, his agent has said.
Hardiman terrified a generation of children with his eponymous role in the 1990s, which saw the sinister schoolmaster remove his tinted glasses to hypnotise pupils, after telling them to ‘look into my eyes’.
He revealed in a 2019 interview how he happened to live near several schools in north London and that kids would often stop and stare at him in the street or shout at him.
His death was announced ‘with great sadness’ by Scott Marshall Partners, which said he was a ‘beloved client and much-loved stage and screen actor’.
The actor, who also appeared in The Crown, is survived by his wife Rowena and his two children.
The Demon Headmaster was a massive hit in the mid-1990s which saw Hardiman play the sinister schoolmaster who used the power of hypnosis to enact his evil schemes
It was The Demon Headmaster that made Hardiman a household name (pictured in the role)
Hardiman also appeared in a great number of TV series such as Wallander, Doctor Who and Prime Suspect.
The Londoner narrated hundreds of audiobooks, too, including series by the likes of Colin Dexter, Anne Perry and Ruth Rendell.
But it was The Demon Headmaster and his trademark tinted glasses that made Hardiman a household name.
The character would only remove his spectacles when he wanted to use his mind-controlling techniques on pupils to carry out his evil schemes.
The plot was based on the series of books written by Gillian Cross.
The author tweeted today: ‘Very sad to hear that Terrence Hardiman has died.
‘He was a wonderful actor on television, stage and screen and a great Demon Headmaster. Sending deepest sympathy to his family and friends.’
Speaking in 2019 about originally taking up the role, Hardiman told Radio Times: ‘I thought, ”What a horrible character. How lovely. A real villain of a piece. Why not?”’
He said he had ‘no idea’ it would become such a success, adding: ‘I started to be recognised in the street, especially as I lived near schools around here, in North-West London.
‘And there were people – youngsters – looking at me, and shouting out at me, and making fun of me, which is very healthy. It stopped me being too grand!
Actor Terrence Hardiman (pictured in the TV programme Crown Court), best known for playing the title role in the CBBC series The Demon Headmaster, has died at the age of 86, his agent has said.
Hardiman returned to The Demon Headmaster for a cameo appearance (pictured left) when it was rebooted in 2019
Hardiman in the film Ghandi back in 1982
Hardiman (pictured in his Demon Headmaster role) was the son of a policeman and excelled at school, before studying English at Cambridge University
Throughout the 1970s and 80s, Hardiman landed a series of television roles, including that of barrister Stephen Harvesty (pictured) in Crown Court, which he played for 11 years until 1983
‘But then the slightly more remarkable thing, I found, was that it wasn’t just children who were watching. It was parents and other people, too.’
Hardiman returned to the series for a cameo appearance when it was rebooted in 2019.
Hardiman was the son of a policeman and excelled at school, before studying English at Cambridge University.
He began acting in both serious and comedic roles after joining The Marlow Society and the Cambridge University Amateur Dramatics club, before going on tour with the Royal Shakespeare Company.
Throughout the 1970s and 80s, Hardiman landed a series of television roles, including that of barrister Stephen Harvesty in Crown Court, which he played for 11 years until 1983.
Terrence Hardiman in the Enemy At The Door episode of The Prussian Officer
British actor Terrence Hardiman as ‘Mephistophilis’ of the Royal Shakespeare Company performing in the ‘Doctor Faustus’ play at The Royal Shakespeare Theatre in 1968
Hardiman plays ‘Eric’ in an episode of Keeping Up Appearances
Terrence Hardiman, aka the Demon Headmaster, makes a special appearance in Doctors
He also portrayed German Luftwaffe air force chief Major Reinhardt in Secret Army.
It was the 1990s, however, when he reached new heights of fame as The Demon Headmaster.
The children’s television series ran from 1996 to 1998 and was loved by kids and adults alike.
Hardiman landed another major recurring role as Father Abbot Radulfus in Cadfael. Radulfus was the ecclesiastical superior to Brother Cadfael.
In the 2000s he also appeared in episodes of BBC One’s Doctors and Heartbeat, before playing Hawthorne in ‘The Beast Below’ episode of Doctor Who on April 10, 2010.
In 2017, he portrayed Doctor Evans in an episode of hit Netflix series The Crown.
Blythe Danner, and Terrence Hardiman appearing in the ABC TV mini-series ‘Inside the Third Reich’ in 1982
Eric Porter (1928 – 1995) as ‘Dr Faustus’ and Terrence Hardiman (right) as ‘Mephistophilis’ for the Royal Shakespeare Company on stage at The Royal Shakespeare Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon on August 9 1968
Tributes have poured in for the star on social media following the announcement of his death today.
Journalist Morgan Jeffrey, who interviewed Hardiman in 2019, tweeted: ‘Terrified a generation as the Demon Headmaster, but could not have been more of a good-natured gentleman in real life.
‘It was such a thrill to speak to Terrence in 2019 when he made a cameo appearance in the Demon Headmaster revival – he was so clearly delighted to have made such an impact, delivering those ‘safe scares’ for young viewers at a formative age.’
One fan wrote: ‘He terrified an entire generation of children in The Demon Headmaster. What an icon.’
