Rudolph Malcolm Walker (born 28 September 1939) is a Trinidadian-British actor, best known for his sitcom roles as Bill Reynolds in Love Thy Neighbour (1972–76), Constable Frank Gladstone in The Thin Blue Line (1995–96) and since 2001, he has played Patrick Trueman in the BBC soap opera EastEnders. Early life and emigration Rudolph Walker was born on 28 September 1939 in San Juan, Trinidad and Tobago. He began acting as an eight-year-old in primary school, going on to join Derek Walcott's Trinidad Theatre Workshop as its youngest member. With the aim of furthering his career he left the island at the age of 20 in 1960. He had been planning to go to the United States, where he had connections, but actor Errol John — who had already migrated to Britain but was in Trinidad doing a play — convinced him to go to the UK, where the training was considered to be superior. Walker was married to Lorna Ross in 1968, but they divorced after having two children. He then married fellow Trinidadian Dounne Alexander in 1998. This union later ended, and in 2016, he married Evangeline Vincent. Career Walker's earliest television role was as a policeman in the British The Wednesday Play, in the episode titled "Fable" (aired 27 January 1965). He is known for his comedic roles in Love Thy Neighbour (Thames Television), The Thin Blue Line, which starred Rowan Atkinson, and in Ali G Indahouse. Walker also appeared in Doctor Who, in the 1969 serial The War Games, and also in several episodes of Empire Road in 1979. He was one of the first black actors to be seen regularly on British television, and so has always been proud of his role on the controversial Love Thy Neighbour, which ran for seven series, from 1972 to 1976. He appeared in the first episode of the ITV sitcom ⋅On the Buses, "The Early Shift" (1969), and the first episode of Mr. Bean as "The Examiner" (1990). His other notable roles included as barrister Larry Scott in the 1985 BBC series Black Silk, by Mustapha Matura and Rudy Narayan. Since 2001, Walker has played Patrick Trueman in the BBC One television soap opera EastEnders, for which role he was voted best actor in 2002 at the annual Ethnic Multicultural Media Awards, and in 2010 he appeared in the Internet spin-off series EastEnders: E20. He also starred in a