Grantly Budgen
| Grantly Budgen | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Waterloo Road character | |||||
| Portrayed by | Philip Martin Brown | ||||
| Duration | 2006–2013 | ||||
| First appearance | Episode 1 9 March 2006 | ||||
| Last appearance | Episode 166 "Grantly's Perfect Poetry" 10 October 2013 | ||||
| Created by | Ann McManus Maureen Chadwick | ||||
| Spin-off appearances | Let's Dance for Sport Relief (2011) | ||||
| Classification | Former; regular | ||||
| Profile | |||||
| Occupation | English Teacher (1984–2013) | ||||
| Home | Rochdale (until 2012) Greenock (2012–2013) | ||||
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Grantly Budgen is a fictional character from the BBC One school-based drama series Waterloo Road, portrayed by Philip Martin Brown. Grantly first appeared in the pilot episode of the series, first broadcast on 9 March 2006. He appeared as a regular character for nearly eight years before departing in the season nine episode "Grantly's Perfect Poetry", broadcast on 10 October 2013. He was the longest running character, appearing in the first nine series of the show. Brown's departure left the show for the first time without any original cast members. Grantly appeared in 154 episodes in total.
Grantly was part of the original teaching team and was the original Head of English at Waterloo Road, and was good friends with colleagues Tom Clarkson (Jason Done) and Steph Haydock (Denise Welch). He was best known for his grumpy attitude, his sarcastic wit, and the various insults he gave towards some of his students.
The character of Grantly has been noted as curmudgeonly and cynical, Grantly frequently voices objections to the school's management and acts as the staff's union representative. Although known to be lazy in the classroom, over time his dedication to the school becomes apparent. He is also devoted to his wife Fleur until her death, after which he begins a relationship with Maggie Croft and agrees to join her to run the school house in Scotland.
In the eighth series, Grantly develops kidney failure and spends a number of weeks in a coma before returning home to convalesce. On his return to the school, he learns a new kidney donor has been found for him but dies before the operation can take place.
