Michael "Mike" Reid (19 January 1940 – 29 July 2007) was an English comedian, actor, author and occasional television presenter from London, who is best remembered for playing the role of Frank Butcher in EastEnders and hosting the popular children's TV show Runaround. He was noted for his gravelly voice and strong Cockney accent.

Biography

Michael Reid was born in 1940, the son of Ellen Louvian (née Ives) and Sidney Reid, during World War II, and the Blitz bombings of Central London caused him and his family to move to Tottenham, North London, where he attended Rowland Hill School.

In 1958, he married his first wife; they had a daughter, Jane Hall. They divorced in 1967, after which he married his longtime live-in partner Shirley (née Allder) in 1971; they had two sons, Michael (born 1962) and Mark Edward (1965–1990). Shirley already had a son James (known as Jimmy) and a daughter, Angela (who in 2008 the press claimed to be a British National Party activist). In December 1985, his son Mark, a schizophrenic, accidentally shot dead his 17-year-old friend, for which he received a suspended sentence. Mark fathered twins, a son and daughter, and committed suicide aged 24 in Colchester, Essex, by setting himself on fire. Shortly after his son's death, Reid's granddaughter Kirsty Anne S. (1990–1990) – Mark's daughter – died in her cot in Colchester, aged six months.

Reid moved to a villa in Marbella, Spain so he could live close to a golf course which would enable him to pursue his passion of playing golf three to four times each week.

Reid was known to be opposed to plans to introduce blasphemy laws, for the effect this would have on satire, comedy and free speech.

Reid was good friends with fellow actor and stand up comedian Freddie Starr; together they introduced their sometime-bodyguard, the bareknuckle fighter Lenny McLean, to acting. McLean went on to star in Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels.

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