Tony Osoba

Tony Osoba (born  in Maryhill, Glasgow, Scotland) is a Scottish actor best known for his role as Jim 'Jock' McClaren in the popular 70s British sitcom Porridge, and appeared in its sequel Going Straight. Osoba was the first black Scottish actor to appear on primetime television when he appeared in the series.

He had an early ambition to design cars but when he realised that the employment opportunites in that field were limited he decided to become an actor after his A-levels and trained at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama. He then joined a theatre company in Richmond, toured abroad and was a member of the Royal Shakespeare Company.

His other television roles include Det. Sgt. Charles 'Chas' Jarvis in Dempsey & Makepeace (1984-6) and Peter Ingram in Coronation Street (1990). He has also appeared in Space: 1999 (1976), The Professionals (1978), Charles Endell Esq (1979), The Flame Trees of Thika (1981), Bergerac (1983), Between the Lines (1994) and Dinotopia (2002) as well as two appearances in Doctor Who in the stories Destiny of the Daleks (1979) and Dragonfire (1987).

In 2005, Osoba starred as the Kralahome in a UK touring production of the The King and I.^[6] Recent credits include the 2007 film Tanner, as Superintendent Smith in Hollyoaks and Charlie Dokes in The Bill. In 2011 Osoba made a brief appearance in an episode of The Shadow Line.^[7]

Osoba has also appeared in one radio series, Space Force (1984�1985), as Loderick Sincere.