 | This article or section may have been copied and pasted from another location, possibly in violation of Wikipedia's copyright policy. (October 2026) |
 |
Dennis Blanch | |
|---|---|
| Born | 4 February 1947 |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1970- |
| Spouse | Carol Wilks |
Dennis Blanch (born 4 February 1947) is an English actor. He is best known for playing DC/DS Derek Willis in the television series The XYY Man and its spin-off Strangers.
Blanch began his television career in 1970, appearing in such popular programmes as Dad's Army, Upstairs, Downstairs, The Sweeney, The New Avengers, Van der Valk, Grange Hill, Minder, Casualty, Heartbeat, The Bill, Coronation Street and more recently Brassic.
He first played Detective Constable Derek Willis in The XYY Man (1976–1977), then reprised the role in the spin-off Strangers (1978–1982), where his character was promoted to detective sergeant. He also returned to guest star as Willis in Strangers spin-off Bullman (1985), starring former co-star Don Henderson.
Other prominent work includes Michael Brady in series six of How We Used To Live, as well as Derek Warner (1985–1986) and Jim Latimer (1991) in the soap opera Emmerdale.