Terence Hardiman, who terrified a generation of children with his performance in Cbbc’s The Demon Headmaster, has died aged 86.
Hardiman’s agent Scott Marshall Partners confirmed his death “with great sadness,” calling him a beloved client and much-loved stage and screen actor.”
He is probably best known for his role as the evil protagonist in Cbbc’s The Demon Headmaster, which ran from 1996 to 1998 and was rebooted briefly in 2019. Hardiman terrified a children of generation with his portrayal of the Demon and he became widely recognized for the character’s trademark dark glasses.
Born in London in 1937, Hardiman first got into acting at Cambridge University before he toured with the Royal Shakespeare Company, starring in the likes of Doctor Faustus.
He got his big break playing Stephen Harvesty in Granada Television’s Crown Court for a decade from 1972 and went on to appear in the likes of Doctor Who,...
Hardiman’s agent Scott Marshall Partners confirmed his death “with great sadness,” calling him a beloved client and much-loved stage and screen actor.”
He is probably best known for his role as the evil protagonist in Cbbc’s The Demon Headmaster, which ran from 1996 to 1998 and was rebooted briefly in 2019. Hardiman terrified a children of generation with his portrayal of the Demon and he became widely recognized for the character’s trademark dark glasses.
Born in London in 1937, Hardiman first got into acting at Cambridge University before he toured with the Royal Shakespeare Company, starring in the likes of Doctor Faustus.
He got his big break playing Stephen Harvesty in Granada Television’s Crown Court for a decade from 1972 and went on to appear in the likes of Doctor Who,...
- 5/9/2023
- by Max Goldbart
- Deadline Film + TV
When you look back at what passed for kid’s TV in the UK back in the day, it’s a wonder we aren’t all in therapy. Oh sure, the 80s and 90s might have looked all innocent with its Art Attack and Pingu, but dig a little deeper and you’ll find some frankly harrowing children’s television output, quite literally the stuff of nightmares.
If you’re feeling brave, let’s take a quick nostalgia trip and revisit some of Britain’s most terrifying kids’ TV moments:
The Demon Headmaster
Even the theme tune to this BBC children’s TV classic was scary, with its ominous beat and whispering voices, but the reason The Demon Headmaster shook 90s kids to the core lies in Terrence Hardiman’s truly sinister performance as the headmaster himself. The deep menace to his voice was only intensified by his billowing black...
If you’re feeling brave, let’s take a quick nostalgia trip and revisit some of Britain’s most terrifying kids’ TV moments:
The Demon Headmaster
Even the theme tune to this BBC children’s TV classic was scary, with its ominous beat and whispering voices, but the reason The Demon Headmaster shook 90s kids to the core lies in Terrence Hardiman’s truly sinister performance as the headmaster himself. The deep menace to his voice was only intensified by his billowing black...
- 10/22/2022
- by Lauravickersgreen
- Den of Geek
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Jokers, circus masters and demonic dolls. Which TV characters terrify you? Den Of Geek asked its writers that very question…
The subconscious is a terrible place; dark, mysterious and peopled by spectres from the past. As a bit of a laugh then, we sent our writers journeying into theirs and asked them to drag out any TV terrors they found lurking in the shadows.
Some television fears had been ensconced there since childhood, others were more recent tenants. Some were morally terrifying; human beings with icy hearts capable of atrocities, others were simply… atrocities.
Join us as we count down in order of terror from the sort-of-creepy to the downright terrifying, the 50 TV characters that, for whatever reason, give our writers chills. It’s by no means an exhaustive list, so feel free to fill in gaps by adding your own peculiar television nightmares below…
50. Charn -...
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Jokers, circus masters and demonic dolls. Which TV characters terrify you? Den Of Geek asked its writers that very question…
The subconscious is a terrible place; dark, mysterious and peopled by spectres from the past. As a bit of a laugh then, we sent our writers journeying into theirs and asked them to drag out any TV terrors they found lurking in the shadows.
Some television fears had been ensconced there since childhood, others were more recent tenants. Some were morally terrifying; human beings with icy hearts capable of atrocities, others were simply… atrocities.
Join us as we count down in order of terror from the sort-of-creepy to the downright terrifying, the 50 TV characters that, for whatever reason, give our writers chills. It’s by no means an exhaustive list, so feel free to fill in gaps by adding your own peculiar television nightmares below…
50. Charn -...
- 10/29/2015
- by louisamellor
- Den of Geek
Happy birthday, Cbbc! 30-years-old and still going strong, judging by this nostalgia-powered clip starring the likes of Edd the Duck and Gordon the Gopher.
Confronted with three decades' worth of the finest children's entertainment, it was a hard task to corral the Digital Spy team into picking the very best - or at least their favourite - Cbbc programmes.
So here are our picks, from ChuckleVision to Byker Grove and back again, which means you'll have to let us know yours in the comment box below.
1. The Animals of Farthing Wood (1992-1995)
This animated adaptation of Colin Dann's novel was so good it could have been on at any time of day instead of part of the Cbbc lineup.
It was gripping, heartbreaking and funny, and you found yourself getting perhaps too-attached to the likes of Fox, Badger, Toad and Mole (a tear may have been shed on several occasions). Though,...
Confronted with three decades' worth of the finest children's entertainment, it was a hard task to corral the Digital Spy team into picking the very best - or at least their favourite - Cbbc programmes.
So here are our picks, from ChuckleVision to Byker Grove and back again, which means you'll have to let us know yours in the comment box below.
1. The Animals of Farthing Wood (1992-1995)
This animated adaptation of Colin Dann's novel was so good it could have been on at any time of day instead of part of the Cbbc lineup.
It was gripping, heartbreaking and funny, and you found yourself getting perhaps too-attached to the likes of Fox, Badger, Toad and Mole (a tear may have been shed on several occasions). Though,...
- 9/10/2015
- Digital Spy
Winston Churchill, Harriet Jones, Harold Saxon... As we all head to the voting booths, how have UK prime ministers fared in Doctor Who?
Incarnations of the Doctor are a bit like British prime ministers. They usually last four to five years in real time and, despite having different faces, a cynic could say that they're all pretty much the same beneath the surface. But that's the stuff of Media Studies dissertations, in fact, Doctor Who has a far dimmer view of the UK executive in the show itself.
Over the course of fifty-odd years, the office of prime minister has been both the target and agent of satire and parody in a show that deals with an onslaught of alien activity on British soil in the past, present and future.
As we're all going to the polls today to pick who we want in Downing Street, here's our look back...
Incarnations of the Doctor are a bit like British prime ministers. They usually last four to five years in real time and, despite having different faces, a cynic could say that they're all pretty much the same beneath the surface. But that's the stuff of Media Studies dissertations, in fact, Doctor Who has a far dimmer view of the UK executive in the show itself.
Over the course of fifty-odd years, the office of prime minister has been both the target and agent of satire and parody in a show that deals with an onslaught of alien activity on British soil in the past, present and future.
As we're all going to the polls today to pick who we want in Downing Street, here's our look back...
- 5/6/2015
- by louisamellor
- Den of Geek
There are so many Children’s TV shows that are disturbing in a variety of different ways. There’s the intentionally creepy such as Courage the Cowardly Dog; the unintentional creepy such as Lamb Chop and the tragic animal slaughter of Animals of Farthing Wood.
Here’s a rundown of my Top 5 most disturbing TV shows created for children.
5. The Demon Headmaster
The Demon Headmaster was some downright creepy stuff and I’m not surprised that it’s no longer running. I don’t think the Beeb would allow a program based in a school and centred on a headmaster with pervy eyes to exist on their channels these days.
What was most disturbing about the Demon Headmaster was that with children’s imaginations being so wild, it didn’t take long until viewers started to wonder if their own headmaster was as evil as Terrence Hardiman’s demonic eyed titular character.
Here’s a rundown of my Top 5 most disturbing TV shows created for children.
5. The Demon Headmaster
The Demon Headmaster was some downright creepy stuff and I’m not surprised that it’s no longer running. I don’t think the Beeb would allow a program based in a school and centred on a headmaster with pervy eyes to exist on their channels these days.
What was most disturbing about the Demon Headmaster was that with children’s imaginations being so wild, it didn’t take long until viewers started to wonder if their own headmaster was as evil as Terrence Hardiman’s demonic eyed titular character.
- 6/26/2012
- by Curtis Evans
- Obsessed with Film
Children in school and one of them has been bad since he got a zero. So Timmy ( Alfie Field) has to walk home or he'll get sent below. The Test Card girl in the lift recites a rhyme about "the beast below." Amy (Karen Gillan) : My name is Amy Pond, when I was 7 I had an imaginary friend. Last night was the night before my wedding and my friend came back." Hang on, somethings not right, he can't be her imaginary friend cos we know he's real, yes the Doctor is very real, so clearly this is an arc for this season. The Doctor (Matt Smith) says his box is a spaceship. He tells her in the twenty ninth century the human race moves to the stars. They're on the Starship UK: "it's Britain, an entire country looking for a new home." He calls them observers and he doesn't get involved in other's problems.
- 6/28/2011
- by mhasan@corp.popstar.com (Mila Hasan)
- PopStar
Here we go, or should that be Geronimo(?), with the new series ending last Saturday here in the UK I figured it was about time I went back and watched it all over again and brought you the chaotic mess of thoughts that would follow.
Two things before you read all of this, I thought David Tennant was brilliant but I thought his departure was drawn out and by the end of it almost wanted him gone. This is no reflection on him though more on the production, I mean 20 minutes of his last episode were dedicated to his regeneration. I also really wished people wouldn’t judge Matt Smith on his first seconds in The End of Time yet so many people did.
So, without further ado…
The Eleventh Hour
My Thoughts: It had been a long wait for this. Many had criticised his ten seconds on screen, many others hadn’t.
Two things before you read all of this, I thought David Tennant was brilliant but I thought his departure was drawn out and by the end of it almost wanted him gone. This is no reflection on him though more on the production, I mean 20 minutes of his last episode were dedicated to his regeneration. I also really wished people wouldn’t judge Matt Smith on his first seconds in The End of Time yet so many people did.
So, without further ado…
The Eleventh Hour
My Thoughts: It had been a long wait for this. Many had criticised his ten seconds on screen, many others hadn’t.
- 7/6/2010
- by Timus
Here we go, or should that be Geronimo(?), with the new series ending last Saturday here in the UK I figured it was about time I went back and watched it all over again and brought you the chaotic mess of thoughts that would follow.
Two things before you read all of this, I thought David Tennant was brilliant but I thought his departure was drawn out and by the end of it almost wanted him gone. This is no reflection on him though more on the production, I mean 20 minutes of his last episode were dedicated to his regeneration. I also really wished people wouldn’t judge Matt Smith on his first seconds in The End of Time yet so many people did.
So, without further ado…
The Eleventh Hour
My Thoughts: It had been a long wait for this. Many had criticised his ten seconds on screen, many others hadn’t.
Two things before you read all of this, I thought David Tennant was brilliant but I thought his departure was drawn out and by the end of it almost wanted him gone. This is no reflection on him though more on the production, I mean 20 minutes of his last episode were dedicated to his regeneration. I also really wished people wouldn’t judge Matt Smith on his first seconds in The End of Time yet so many people did.
So, without further ado…
The Eleventh Hour
My Thoughts: It had been a long wait for this. Many had criticised his ten seconds on screen, many others hadn’t.
- 7/6/2010
- by Timus
- SpoilerTV
There are Vampires, Silurians and life-changing choices to be made, in this month's Doctor Who Magazine.
Four forthcoming episodes are previewed, The Vampires of Venice, Amy’s Choice, The Hungry Earth and Cold Blood and there are interviews with writers Toby Whithouse, Simon Nye, Chris Chibnall and Steven Moffat, and never-before-seen photos!
Talking about the new-look reptile people of The Hungry Earth/Cold Blood, Chris Chibnall reveals,These new creatures don’t negate the original Silurians, they’re a different exploration of the same idea. They’re close cousins. And once you see Neve McIntosh (who plays Silurians Alaya and Restac) and Matt Smith acting their socks off together, I’m hoping you’ll feel the idea paid off.
Also in the magazine
Head writer Steven Moffat gets his head flushed down the loo and tells what else happened when Matt Smith and Karen Gillan went back to school with the Doctor Who team,...
Four forthcoming episodes are previewed, The Vampires of Venice, Amy’s Choice, The Hungry Earth and Cold Blood and there are interviews with writers Toby Whithouse, Simon Nye, Chris Chibnall and Steven Moffat, and never-before-seen photos!
Talking about the new-look reptile people of The Hungry Earth/Cold Blood, Chris Chibnall reveals,These new creatures don’t negate the original Silurians, they’re a different exploration of the same idea. They’re close cousins. And once you see Neve McIntosh (who plays Silurians Alaya and Restac) and Matt Smith acting their socks off together, I’m hoping you’ll feel the idea paid off.
Also in the magazine
Head writer Steven Moffat gets his head flushed down the loo and tells what else happened when Matt Smith and Karen Gillan went back to school with the Doctor Who team,...
- 4/29/2010
- by Marcus
- The Doctor Who News Page
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