Peter Egan (born September 28, 1946) is a British actor known for playing smooth neighbour Paul Ryman in 1980s sitcom Ever Decreasing Circles.
Egan was born in London, England, the son of Doris (Pilk) and Michael Thomas Egan. He attended St. George's Secondary school, Maida Vale. His first television role was as the sex-and-cinema-obsessed Seth Starkadder in the BBC serialisation of Cold Comfort Farm in 1968. In 1969 he had come to notoriety as the acid-throwing gangster Hogarth in the controversial Granada TV series Big Breadwinner Hog. Later he had other starring roles as Oscar Wilde in the 1978 serial Lillie, starring Francesca Annis as Lillie Langtry, in the John le Carré dramatisation A Perfect Spy and another BBC sitcom Joint Account. He played the title-role as the future King George IV in the 1979 BBC series Prince Regent, and was a sinister immortal Knight Templar in Michael J. Bird's BBC series The Dark Side of the Sun (1983).
Other roles include Michael Cochrane in the 1998 programme The Ambassador, and on film as the suave secret agent Meres in TV spin-off Callan (1974), & the Duke of Sutherland in Chariots of Fire (1981), Academy Award Best Picture winner. He recently starred in the BBC sitcom Home Again.
He is married to actress Myra Frances.
Learned to speak in Received Pronunciation English during his time at RADA.
