Arthur Bostrom

Arthur Bostrom (born January 6, 1955) is an English actor, most famous for his role as Officer Crabtree in the long-running BBC TV sitcom 'Allo 'Allo!.

Career
Bostrom had a recurrent character in 'Allo 'Allo!, first appearing midway through the second series and remaining until the show's finale. Officer Crabtree was played as an idiotic British undercover officer, disguised constantly as a French local police agent during the Second World War. Much of the character's humour derived from his supposed inability to pronounce French words correctly in conversation, which, on an English-language television programme, was represented by ludicrous exaggeration and mispronunciation of ordinary English words. For example, "Good morning" would be pronounced as "Gid moaning", "I was just passing round the corner" would be "I was just pissing roond the corner", and famously, "The bombers were being chased by fighters when they dropped their bombs on the London docks" became "The bummers were being chased by farters when they drooped their bums on the London dicks'. Bostrom actually speaks fluent French.

In 2005, Bostrom guest-starred in Dead Man Walking, an audio drama based on the television series Sapphire and Steel. From December 2007 to January 2008, he continued his pantomime run when he appeared in production as an ugly sister in Cinderella in Middlesbrough. On 8 January 2008, he appeared in an episode of Big Brother's Big Mouth on E4. He discussed events in the house after introducing the show in the familiar character of Officer Crabtree.

On 3 March 2010, he appeared as a vicar in the BBC One daytime soap opera doctors and again in doctors (17:163) on 25/01/2016 as sommelier Murray Bathurst.

Bostrom appeared (alongside fellow 'Allo 'Allo! alumnus Sam Kelly) in the BBC radio dramatization of The Good Soldier Švejk by Jaroslav Hašek in November 2008, playing the part of Wendler.

In November 2012, Bostrom appeared in Hebburn as a newspaper editor.

In 2017, he appeared in the BBC series Father Brown as Richie Queenan in episode 5.12 "The Theatre of the Invisible"

In 2017, he appeared on a celebrity edition of Pointless.

In October 2018, he reprised his role from 'Allo 'Allo! in the book Good Moaning France: Officer Crabtree's Fronch Phrose Berk (Waterside Press), in which he attempts to teach others to 'spook the Fronch longwodge'.

Animated Series

 * Wakfu (2008-present) - Nox (eps. 1-26), Qilby (eps. 32-52) , Brakmar Prince (eps. 37-38, 43) , Tavern Patron 3 (ep. 38)

Animated Shorts

 * Mini-Wakfu (2008-2010) - Nox

Animated Specials

 * Noximilien the Clockmaker (2010) - Noximilien Coxen