From Film Sets to Care Home
Actor Daniel Peacock tells HELENA JONES why he swapped the limelight for life on the frontline
Dan Peacock outside Hastings Court
Daniel Peacock has been many things: actor, comedian, writer, and familiar face in some of Britain’s best-loved TV and film productions. But now, the man once sharing scenes with Del Boy and appearing in Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves spends his days leading games, singalongs and conversations in a Hastings care home.
For Daniel, 66, the move from film sets to the activity room was born out of personal heartbreak — and a desire to give back. “When I first saw my dad in the care home, I cried,” he says. “He was a shell of a man. That moment changed me forever.”
Born in 1958 in London, Daniel – known to most as ‘Dan’ – grew up in a creative household. His father, Trevor Peacock, was an actor, scriptwriter and songwriter, best remembered as Jim Trott in The Vicar of Dibley. In 1965, a song he penned – Mrs. Brown, You’ve Got a Lovely Daughter – became a surprise global hit when performed by Herman’s Hermits, topping the US Billboard Hot 100 and the Canadian charts. “Dad was my inspiration,” Dan says. “Not just in acting and writing, but in life.”
Dan left school at 15 with no qualifications, bouncing through odd jobs – including a stint at a drinks factory. “I hated it,” he recalls. “To get sacked, I jumped into a drinks vat, contaminated the lot, and that was it.”
His true passion was writing, and still is, but he is best known as a performer. At 18, he secured a place at the then Central School of Speech and Drama, only to be expelled for moonlighting in a paid comedy double act, The Diamond Brothers. Over the next decades, he appeared in Only Fools and Horses, Quadrophenia, Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, and numerous stage productions. He also raised four children.
In 2019, Trevor was diagnosed with dementia. The illness progressed rapidly, and he passed away in 2021 – just two years later. “The first time I saw him after he’d moved into the care home, I didn’t recognise him,” Dan says. “He was glaring in a puzzled way rather than really looking. I was asked if I wanted to ‘assist’ him. I didn’t know what that meant, but then I realised – I had to cut up his food and feed him like a child. That was the moment I thought, ‘This changes everything.’”
Some months later, Dan’s son mentioned a vacancy for an activity leader at Hastings Court Care Home. Dan hesitated at first, worried it would be too emotional, but decided to apply. Now, instead of memorising scripts, he spends his days chatting with residents, organising quizzes, leading singalongs and encouraging conversation. “It’s like being in a play,” he says. “Everyone here has a story, a role, a past. My job is to bring that out and make them feel seen.”
Although the work can be challenging, he says it has also been deeply rewarding. “There are days when it’s heartbreaking,” he admits. “But there’s a privilege in being part of someone’s life at such a vulnerable time. It matters.”
He doesn’t see his new career as a departure from acting. “Acting is about people,” he says. “Care work is about people too – just without the cameras.”
Without a doubt, residents, their loved ones as well as the staff appreciate Dan as one of a kind. As one resident, Margaret Page says: “I miss Dan when he’s not here, He makes everyone so happy.” Clair Birch, who works at Hastings Court says: “Dan puts himself second and everyone else first”
And while the applause now comes in the form of a smile or a thank-you, it is, he insists, every bit as satisfying.
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