The cast of ITV's Heartbeat and where are they now? From tragic deaths to soap success

For many people, ITV's Heartbeat was synonymous with Sunday night. It was a classic end-of-weekend show that told you Monday was upon us.

And the 18 seasons of the show were a huge success and the characters were loved by fans of the fictional village set here in Yorkshire. The soap was set in the fictional village of Aidensfield in North Yorkshire and ran from 1992 to 2010.

Fans loved all 372 episodes, so we thought we'd take a look at the long-running ITV drama and see what some of your favourite characters are up to today.

READ MORE: Emmerdale star Kelvin Fletcher's farm: where is it and how can you visit it?

At its peak, an incredible 13 million people tuned in to ITV 1 to watch the latest Heartbeat episode and find out the latest news from the village. Over the course of 18 series, we all got to know the villagers and characters we know and love today.

And although the series ended over a decade ago, you can now watch it in its entirety on the streaming service ITVX. Given its still huge popularity, we decided to catch up with the characters again and find out where they are today – 13 years after the series ended.

Joe McFadden

Joe McFadden captured the hearts of soap fans when he debuted as PC Joe Mason in Heartbeat between 2007 and 2010. Since then, he has appeared in Casualty and then Holby City.

In 2017, he also took part in the BBC dance show “Strictly Come Dancing”.

On 21 January 2019, it was announced that McFadden would perform on the 2019–20 UK tour of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert. He most recently toured with The Rocky Horror Show.

William Simmons

William Simmons was a veteran of the Heartbeat series. He played the role of police officer Alf Ventress in all 18 seasons. The police officer was known more for his excellent local knowledge – than for his skills as a police officer.

After the ITV soap ended, he landed a role as Jacob Hinter in Casualty in 2014. He also had brief appearances in Emmerdale and Coronation Street.

Unfortunately, William Simmons passed away in June 2019 at the age of 78.

Derek Fowlds

He served as a sergeant for seven of those years before he had to end his career and give up the show after a heart attack.

He later became owner of the Aidensfield Arms pub.

After the series ended, he also had roles in other television shows such as Doctors and Casualty

He also had a cameo appearance in the film Run for Your Wife with Danny Dyer and Sarah Harding. Another role he was known for was that of Bernard Woolley in Yes Minister, a role he played for four years.

Derek died in January 2020 at the age of 82.

Nikki Sanderson

Nikki burst onto the screen in Heartbeat as the popular Dawn Bellamy. She played the role from 2008 to 2009 and quickly became a fan favourite.

Today she is best known for her role as Maxine Minnver in “Hollyoaks”, which she has played since 2012 and in which she can still be seen.

Nikki was previously seen in Coronation Street.

Peter Benson

Peter Benson was best known for his role as Bernie Scripps in the series “Heartbeat” between 1995 and 2010. He was an undertaker in the soap opera and also ran an auto repair shop.

After the show ended, he played two different cameo roles in Casualty in 2011 and 2013. He also appeared as Mr. Murdoch in A Touch of Frost, The Bill and Coronation Street.

Unfortunately, Peter passed away in September 2018 at the age of 75.

Tricia Penrose

Tricia rose to fame after playing the role of Gina Ward in Heartbeat. After her first appearance in the second season, she played the role continuously for 17 years from 1993 to 2010 and stayed until the end.

Although she is best known for her roles in over 300 episodes of the series “Heartbeat,” the actress has also appeared in the spin-off series “The Royal,” “Boon, Justice,” “Fort Boyard,” “The Bill,” and “Dancin' Thru the Dark.”

She also appeared in the soap operas Coronation Street as the receptionist at the Cotswolds hotel where Ken Barlow and Alma Sedgewick checked in for New Year's Eve 1991, and in Emmerdale, where she played Elsa Feldmann's friend Louise in June, July and December 1991.

In addition to her acting roles, Tricia has had her own show on Radio Wirral and for BBC Radio 4 since 2021.

Mark Jordan

Mark's role in Heartbeat was that of PC Phil Bellamy. He played the character from season one to season 17. He was best known for his on-off relationship with Gina, who he eventually married before she was killed off.

Today he is best known for his role as Dan Spencer in the ITV soap Emmerdale, which lasted until his dismissal in January 2019.

He has also had roles in Coronation Street, Hollyoaks and Casualty. Mark's current partner is Emmerdale co-star Laura Norton and the couple recently took part in a campaign to raise awareness of a rare genetic condition that affects their children.

Clare Will

Many know Clare as the actress who played local police officer Rachel Dawson from 2006 until the end of the series in 2010. She was one of the few police officers to have an affair with police officer Joe Mason.

In 2012, she then played a recurring role as Trisha Davidson in Coronation Street. She was a private detective hired by Frank Foster to track down Peter Barlow and Carla Connor and find out if there was anything going on between them.

His other roles include Victoria, W1A, Vera and Silent Witness.

Nick Berry

Nick Berry played Sergeant Nick Rowan from seasons one to seven. In the storylines, he died of cancer and subsequently moved to Canada.

But he wasn't just successful on TV. He also had a career as a singer, with the song “Every Loser Wins.” It reached number one in 1986. He also sang the iconic theme song from “Heartbeat.”

His other popular acting roles included the role of Simon Wicks in EastEnders from 1985 to 1990.

Nick made a cameo appearance in 2012 following the death of his mother Pat Butcher.

Nick retired from the limelight after meeting and marrying film star and model Rachel Robertson and decided to become a househusband in Epping, Essex.

In 2011, Nick told the Daily Mail that he loved being a househusband. He said: “I chose to be a househusband and I really enjoyed it. I always said that when the boys are teenagers I might go back but the longer you don't do something the harder it is to do it and I didn't really miss it.”

Bill Maynard

Bill played Claude Jeremiah Greengrass from 1992 to 2000. Greengrass, known only by his last name, had a reputation as a lovable villain who caused trouble for the police.

The actor worked in show business for more than 60 years. He made his first appearance on our screens in 1955 in “Great Scott, It's Maynard”.

In the 1970s he appeared in the Carry On films and also played the lead role in Oh No, It's Selwyn Froggitt.

Bill died in a Leicestershire hospital in 2018, shortly after breaking his hip in a fall from his mobility scooter. He was 89 when he died.

David Lonsdale

David is best known for his role as David Stockwell in Heartbeat, which he played until the series ended in 2010.

Since then he has had minor roles in “Corrie” and “Casualty” as well as film roles in “The Real Full Monty” and “Downton Abbey”.

More recently, he has played roles in Anne, The Suspect, The Thief, His Wife, The Canoe and The Cove.

The actor has been married for over 30 years and has three children.

Jason Duerr

Jason played PC and DC Mike Bradley in Heartbeat from 1997 to 2003. His character came from London and initially caused a stir before settling in well.

He has remained in television since the end of Heartbeat, playing nurse David Hide in Casualty until last year and played the same role in Holby City.

His other TV appearances include “The Wrong Side of the Rainbow,” “Mysterious Island,” and “Summer Solstice.”

The actor has three children with his wife, TV presenter and gardener Kate Charman. He is currently playing the role of Colonel Mustard in the new play Cluedo 2 alongside his soap colleague Brooke Vincent.

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