Whatever happened to Kev? As Olivia ‘Bev’ Colman scoops an Oscar, how her AA co-star swapped his own acting career to work in security for high-profile events (including the 2011 royal wedding)
- Olivia Colman starred in an AA advert opposite actor Mark Burdis back in 2004
- The British actress last night scooped an Oscar for her role in The Favourite
- Burdis has been acting since the age of six with roles in TV series Grange Hill
- But Colman’s former co-star, 50, is also co-owner of Roma Security Ltd.
Fifteen years ago she was best known as a smug car owner in the AA’s infamous ‘Kev and Bev’ adverts.
But while Olivia Colman went on to secure global fame – scooping a Best Actress award at last night’s Oscars – her former co-star keeps a decidedly low profile.
Child star Mark Burdis, who started his acting career aged six and went on to star in Grange Hill, now works in security alongside gigs as a boxing ring announcer.
Burdis, 50, is a co-owner of Roma Security Ltd., who have worked on high-profile events including the Media Village at the 2011 royal wedding of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge.
Olivia Colman, who last night scooped a Best Actress Oscar for her starring role in The Favourite. Her ascent to fame included starring opposite Mark Burdis in the 2004 ‘Kev and Bev’ adverts for AA – which Colman later described as ‘the bane of my life’
Mark Burdis has not pursued an acting career in recent years but he has carved out a successful career in security (left); co-star Olivia Colman last night scooped an Oscar (right)
The security company has worked with the likes of Amir Khan and boasts glowing testimonials from celebrity clients including Linda Robson and Ray Winstone.
Today, Burdis is perhaps best known for playing Christopher ‘Stewpot’ Stewart on Grange Hill between 1981 and 1985, when he was in his late teens.
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He was trained at the renowned Anna Scher Theatre in Islington and went on to appear in The Bill and EastEnders, as well as roles in Only Fools & Horses, A Touch of Frost and Operation Good Guys.
Burdis also played the lead role of Pip in a BBC adaptation of Charles Dickens’ Great Expectations and dabbled in West End musicals.
His last acting credit listed on IMDB is in 2015 flop Angel, opposite John Hannah.
Aside from his showbiz credentials, Burdis worked in security on the award-winning BBC comedy Operation Good Guys, according to his online bio, as well as the 2000 film Love, Honour and Obey starring Kathy Burke.
Burdis as Tyrone Grogan in a TV series called Backs to the Land. It was set in May 1940 at the fictional Crabtree Farm in the village of Clayfield
Today, Burdis is perhaps best known for playing Christopher ‘Stewpot’ Stewart on Grange Hill between 1981 and 1985, when he was in his late teens (pictured)
Burdis (far left) with co-stars including John Beckett and Perry Benson in spoof documentary Operation Good Guys, the second series of which was shown in BBC Two in 2000
Burdis at Arsenal Football Club in 2005. He has also worked on a host of rock music videos and as an operative at the UK head office of acclaimed fashion photographer Mario Testino
He has also worked on a host of rock music videos and as an operative at the UK head office of acclaimed fashion photographer Mario Testino.
But he was thrust into the spotlight once more this week when Best Actress winner Olivia Colman reminisced on her starring role opposite him in the AA adverts.
The success of the 2004 ads proved problematic for the star, who previously told The Mirror: ‘AA! That has become the bane of my life.
‘I thought they were going to run that for about a week but they ran it for what felt like four times a day for a year.’
An overwhelmed Olivia Coleman is left in tears after winning the Best Actress award last night following an extraordinary journey to the top
The AA ad campaign saw Olivia playing two versions of Bev, one in a luxury vehicle after taking out a car loan and another faring less well – it was both a blessing and a curse for the star
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