Cole was born in Willesden in 1952 to Victor and Freda Coleman-Smith, the youngest of three children. During his younger years, he played a lot of rugby which resulted in him breaking his nose on several occasions, and he later took up car rallying, and drove for Team Vauxhall in various races. Upon leaving school, Cole got a job as an orthopaedic technician in a local hospital, spending his time applying plaster casts onto the broken limbs and digits of patients. He soon became bored with this and spent a lot of his working hours impersonating his colleagues and writing scripts for the hospital’s medical revues. A friend spotted his obvious talent for comedy and acting and suggested that he was in the wrong career. He also set up the traction for a scene in the film A Clockwork Orange, although he didn't meet the stars. It was when he took part in a staff pantomime, that his colleagues persuaded him to take up a career in showbusiness.
Career
Graham left the hospital job to become a Redcoat at Butlins, Camber Sands, and then made a living as an entertainer. He did loads of stage shows and revues and was a member of a group called the Belle Canto Singers. He also began to do bit-parts and extra work in various TV shows, including working as a straight man for comedians Kelly Monteith and Kenny Everett. He appeared in numerous episodes of Doctor Who in the early 1980s, often in uncredited roles, such as Marshman and then a Cyberman in Earthshock. He has also played Melkur in The Keeper of Traken and finally a Jacondan in The Twin Dilemma. He also made a guest appearance in the final series of Sooty and Co as a detective called Maurice in the episode "Delgrub" and in Only Fools and Horses as a Spanish customs official. His first film appearance as a '00' agent in the James Bond filmThe Living Daylights in 1987. He is best known as PC Tony Stamp in the ITV police drama The Bill, a role he played initially as a recurring character from 1984, and then as a regular from 1988 until 2009. Cole appeared in more episodes of the programme than any other actor, appearing in 1,202 episodes. He had previously spent 12 years in Repertory Theatre, and musicals. He presented and narrated the police video programme Police Stop!. He appeared regularly on Noel's House Party in sketches with Andrew Paul. Cole was gunged on the show, which was arranged by his mother-in-law. He has also made a guest appearance in ITV series as a barman in one episode. in 2015 Cole is also a singer. In his early career Cole appeared as the Emperor of China in a record-breaking 1978/79 season of Aladdin at the Grand Theatre in Swansea. Other pantomime appearances have included the role of "Beast" in Beauty & The Beast at the Woodville Halls in Gravesend, Kent. To date he has appeared in 36 pantomimes. He played Scrooge to critical acclaim at Garrick TheatreLichfield in 2012 and Abanazer for Theater Royal Norwich, 2013-2014. He Played General Waverley In Irving Berlin's White Christmas at The Festival Theatre Edinburgh. He then returned to the role in 2015/16 to record breaking houses at The Dominion Theatre London. Cole starred in the gangster-horror film Evil Never Dies in 2014, as DI David Bracken, a film that also starred Katy Manning, P.H. Moriarty and former The Bill colleague Tony Scannell. Cole made appearances in Doctors and Holby City, before starring in the romantic-drama film 23 Walks in 2020 with Alison Steadman.
Personal life
Cole is a member of the showbusiness charity the Grand Order of Water Rats and held the title King Rat in 2009. He is President of the National Holiday Fund, which takes sick and disabled children to Disney World in Florida. He has been a patron of ChildLine for over 25 years and is the president of Greater London South East Scout County. Cole’s life-long interest in “good causes” began about this time when he joined the St. John’s Ambulance Brigade, following in the footsteps of his parents who were both very active in the charity. Cole supports emergency service charities with his patronage. He is a patron of the Orphans' Gift Fund South East London Boroughs of the Constables Branch Board of the Metropolitan Police and of the charity . He is a Voluntary Police Cadets ambassador. Cole was awarded an OBE in 2010 for his continuing work with charities. He met his future wife while working at the holiday camp, who had won a beauty contest at the there. They soon married and subsequently had 2 children. He was the subject of This Is Your Life in 1997 when he was surprised by Michael Aspel. On his career, Cole said:
