Dennis Alaba Peters

Dennis Alaba Peters was a Gambian actor who worked in the United Kingdom. He is known for his portrayal of Sir Curtis Seretse in the TV series Department S (1969–70).[1]

Dennis Alaba Peters
Born	1927
Died	1996
Occupation	Actor (film, TV)
Years active	1964–73
Television	Department S

Early life

Dennis Alaba Peters was born in The Gambia. Peters was son of successful newspaper publisher Ingram Peters, and Rosemary Kezia, both from Sierra Leone. He was the youngest of five children; his sister Dr. Florence Mahoney (née Asi Peters), born in Banjul, The Gambia; Bijou Peters, a nurse and journalist; Ruby Peters, a retired UN administrator who died in 2008; and brother Dr Lenrie Peters (1932-2009), a surgeon, celebrated poet and novelist.[2]

He studied Economics at The University of Cambridge. Before finishing his studies, Peters left Cambridge to attend the Guildhall School of Music and Drama[3] to study voice instead. His switch to Guildhall was against his father's wishes, and his family stopped supporting him. In need of employment, Peters became a BBC reporter. Upon graduation from Guildhall School of Music and Drama, he appeared in operas. He eventually concentrated entirely on acting.[4] He was active during the 1960s and early 1970s.[5]

Sir Curtis Seretse

Little background information describes the character of Sir Curtis Seretse. The character heads Department S of Interpol and team leader Stewart Sullivan reports directly to him. The show left his role in Interpol undefined – but his contacts include senior members of NATO and the United Nations. Sir Curtis has access to information that the Department S team does not (e.g. episode "Last Train to Redbridge"). He has a mostly hands-off approach to managing, but can become personally involved (episodes "The Bones of Byrom Blain", "Death on Reflection"). He may exercise authority, standing Sullivan down for becoming too emotionally involved (episode "A Fish Out of Water").

Casting Peters, a black African, as a sophisticated and urbane senior diplomat, was extremely uncommon in 1960's television. The significance of Lieutenant Uhura, a character with a leading and central role in the original Star Trek series being portrayed by an African American actress drew much commentary, this was not the case with Sir Curtis.[6] In a 2008 Documentary about the series, Kate O'Mara stated that she believed casting Peters in an authority role "did a lot for the black community in the acting world".[7]

Filmography

• 1970 Department S:The Ghost of Mary Burnham (as Sir Curtis Seretse)
• 1969 Department S:The Bones of Byrom Blain (as Sir Curtis Seretse)
• 1969 Department S:The Pied Piper of Hambledown (as Sir Curtis Seretse)
• 1969 Department S:A Ticket to Nowhere (as Sir Curtis Seretse)
• 1969 Department S:The Man from 'X' (as Sir Curtis Seretse)
• 1969 Department S:The Trojan Tanker (as Sir Curtis Seretse)
• 1969 Department S:The Duplicated Man (as Sir Curtis Seretse)
• 1969 Department S:The Soup of the Day (as Sir Curtis Seretse)
• 1969 Department S:Six Days (as Sir Curtis Seretse)
• 1969 Department S:Death on Reflection (as Sir Curtis Seretse)
• 1969 Department S:Dead Men Die Twice (as Sir Curtis Seretse)
• 1969 Department S:Black Out (as Sir Curtis Seretse)
• 1969 Department S:The Double Death of Charlie Crippen (as Sir Curtis Seretse)
• 1969 Department S:One of Our Aircraft Is Empty (as Sir Curtis Seretse)
• 1969 Department S:A Fish out of Water (as Sir Curtis Seretse)
• 1969 Department S:The Treasure of the Costa Del Sol (as Sir Curtis Seretse)
• 1969 Department S:Who Plays the Dummy? (as Sir Curtis Seretse)
• 1969 Department S:Last Train to Redbridge (as Sir Curtis Seretse)
• 1969 Department S:The Mysterious Man in the Flying Machine (as Sir Curtis Seretse)
• 1969 Department S:A Small War of Nerves (as Sir Curtis Seretse)
• 1969 Department S:Les Fleurs du mal (as Sir Curtis Seretse)
• 1969 Department S:Handicap Dead (as Sir Curtis Seretse)
• 1969 Department S:Spencer Bodily Is Sixty Years Old (as Sir Curtis Seretse)
• 1969 Department S:The Trojan Tanker (as Sir Curtis Seretse)
• 1969 Department S:The Shift That Never Was (as Sir Curtis Seretse)
• 1969 Department S:The Man in the Elegant Room (as Sir Curtis Seretse)
• 1969 Department S:A Cellar Full of Silence (as Sir Curtis Seretse)
• 1969 Department S:The Perfect Operation (as Sir Curtis Seretse)
• 1969 Department S:The Man Who Got a New Face (as Sir Curtis Seretse)
• 1968 Praise Marx and Pass the Ammunition (as Reporter)
• 1967 Goodbye, Nobby Clarke (as Kanaro)
• 1966 The Defiant Ones (as cast member)
• 1965 Curse of Simba (as Saidi)
• 1964 Once a Spy... (as Police Capt)

Death

He died in the US in 1996.[8]

References

1. BFI Dennis Alaba Peters
2. Ancestry Ancestry Message Boards - Dennis Alaba Peters
3. GuildHall School of Music and Drama
4. ITC Press Info Pack DS-PUB-6 Biography of Dennis Alaba Peters (printed document only)
5. IMDB Dennis Alaba Peters
6. ‘Who is Sir Curtis Seretse?’: A Re evaluation of Black Representation in Sixties British Television
7. Wanna watch a Television Series? Chapter One: Variations on a Theme Part one of a two part documentary on the making of Department S and Jason King.
8. africa.gm Personal Obituary of Lenrie Peters