Tom Beard was born in London on April 25 1965 to surgeon Charles and his flautist wife Trish and has a brother Alex - who later became CEO at the Royal Opera House. A keen sports player he reached the finals of the Lancashire Rugby Sevens at age eleven and, whilst at Westminster School, was in the first XI at both cricket and football. After graduating from the University of Sussex - where he was a leading member of the student drama society - in German and Politics he enrolled at the Webber Douglas Acting school in London where he was spotted by an agent who cast him as Laertes in Peter Hall's 1994 production of 'Hamlet' Several other roles followed for the Royal Shakespeare Company whilst on television he appeared in a range of populist dramas from 'Poirot' to 'Midsomer Murders'. Away from acting he was a keen angler and a respected gardener in addition to being an avid Chelsea fan. In January 2015 he was diagnosed with cancer and he passed away on July 20, leaving a wife, Polly, and two children Ella and Joe.