Richard Braine

Richard Braine born 1956 is a British television actor playwright and theatre director One of his most recognisable roles was that of Augustus Gussie FinkNottle in the ITV television third and fourth series Jeeves and Wooster based on the PG Wodehouse novels In an earlier episode of the first series he played the character Rupert Steggles In Germany Braine is known for appearing in a series of adverts for the DinkelMini snack after an outtake of his work on an advert for the brand appeared on a television bloopers programme and he was asked back to appear in subsequent ads1 His varied television career includes parts in EastEnders Only Fools and Horses The Brittas Empire and So What Now and he has appeared in film roles in Bridget Jones The Edge of Reason 2004 Finding Neverland 2004 and Calendar Girls 2003 He also played the character of XP a space alien that loves prawn crisps who comes down to earth in the BBC Two schools programme The Experimenter to understand Earth life from Sarah a schoolgirl friend played by Nadia Williams In 1997 Braine wrote and performed a oneman play Being There With Peter Sellers in which he played the actor who after attempting to stop another mans suicide finds himself reflecting on his own life2 He also wrote Bedding Clay Jones and Sexing Alan Titchmarsh 200134 In 2006 Braine directed Steve Martins play The Underpants his adaptation of The Trousers play Die Hose by Carl Sternheim at The Old Red Lion Islington1 In 2016 he appeared as Henry Kirkov in the BBC series Father Brown episode 44 The Crackpot of the Empire Theatre roles include Ratty in The Wind in the Willows at the Bristol Old Vic He also played a vicar in As Time Goes By In April 2020 he appeared in an episode of the BBC soap opera Doctors as Bernie Sutton5