Prolific British character actor, adept at eccentric or whimsical impersonations, particularly of Dickensian characters. The son of law society president Sir Dingwall Bateson, he won a scholarship to Wadham College, where he trained for acting with the Oxford University Dramatic Society. Straight out of college, he was handpicked by Alberto Cavalcanti for the role of Lord Verisopht in the Ealing production of The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby (1947). Bateson made his theatrical debut at the Old Vic the following year in "Twelfth Night". He was highly acclaimed for his performance as Lucky in "Waiting for Godot", which he first performed at the Arts Theatre in London in 1955.
Nothing, if not versatile, Bateson turned his considerable talents to a wide variety of diverse assignments, ranging from Shakespearean classics (Richard III (1955)) to social drama The Guinea Pig (1949)) and lightweight farce (La souris qui rugissait (1959)). He was a longstanding member of the BBC radio repertory company and latterly much in demand for voice-over work, which included providing the voice of Kreacher in Harry Potter et l'ordre du Phénix (2007). Television saw him in small roles as scientists, police officers, clerks and the like, in numerous popular shows from Chapeau melon et bottes de cuir (1961) and Z Cars (1962) to Docteur Who (1963).
