Benjamin Charles Miles (born 29 September 1966) is an English actor, best known for his starring role as Patrick Maitland in the television comedy Coupling, from 2000 to 2004, as Montague Dartie in The Forsyte Saga, from 2002 to 2003, as Peter Townsend in the Netflix drama The Crown (2016–2017) and George in episode 8 "The One That Holds Everything" in the TV drama The Romanoffs (2018). Early life Miles was born in Wimbledon, London, and lived as a young man in Ashover, Derbyshire, attending Tupton Hall School. He began acting in school productions, which he pursued mainly because it allowed him to miss classes. In an interview, Miles stated how he would spend his spare time in a now-defunct record shop (Hudsons) in Chesterfield, Derbyshire, while "thinking about 'finding the one'". He trained at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. Career He moved into television roles in the 1990s, playing supporting roles in such series as Zorro, Soldier Soldier, Is It Legal?, The Bill, Peak Practice and Wonderful You. Miles played a very small part as a journalist, with just a few words of dialogue, in the 1997 motion picture The Wings of the Dove. In 1999, he was cast as Richard Martin in Reach For The Moon. In 2000, he was cast as Robert Brown in Cold Feet and the womanizing Patrick Maitland in the comedy series Coupling, a role which he played until the series ended in 2004. He continued other television work during his tenure in Coupling, appearing in The Forsyte Saga as Montague Dartie (this was the first time Miles acted with Amanda Root) and in Prime Suspect. In 2004, Miles portrayed Charles Ryder in the BBC Radio 4 production of Brideshead Revisited. Miles was the co-lead in the BBC drama, A Thing Called Love, filmed on location in Nottingham, England. Miles appeared in the 2005 BBC television drama Mr Harvey Lights a Candle, playing the part of a teacher taking an unruly party of pupils on a daytrip to Salisbury Cathedral. In 2006, he appeared in the TV drama After Thomas as the father of a son with autism. He worked alongside actors such as Clive Mantle. In 2008, he appeared as the squire Sir Timothy in the British production Lark Rise to Candleford, and as Plantagenet Palliser in Radio 4 production The Pallisers. In 2009, he appeared as the head of a