Gaunt's father was a lawyer. Gaunt attended Giggleswick School and Baylor University, Texas, and then the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art. He then spent three years working in repertory theatre at Worthing, Bath, Salisbury and Cheltenham. He then spent a year in America and returned to direct productions at Birmingham, Coventry and Cheltenham, interrupted by a spell in the army. After minor roles in 1960s series such as Z-Cars and The Avengers, and the Edgar Wallace Mysteries films The Sinister Man and Solo for Sparrow, he gained a role as the super-powered secret agent Richard Barrett in the 1968 British espionage/science fiction series The Champions. In 1966 he appeared in "Flight Plan", an episode of The Saint, where he played an Osprey pilot. He had also appeared in a recurring role in Sergeant Cork following policemen in Victorian London.
Later career
Between 1983 and 1987 he starred as harassed father Arthur Crabtree in the sitcom No Place Like Home. He subsequently made many guest appearances in other series such as Juliet Bravo and in the Doctor Who two-part serial Revelation of the Daleks. From 1995 to 1997 Gaunt starred in the sitcom Next of Kin opposite Penelope Keith. In 2010 he appeared in the Globe Theatre production of Shakespeare's Henry IV, Part 1. He starred in the 2004 Doctor Who audio series Dalek Empire III. He is currently appearing in the Channel 4 series Cast Offs. In December 2011 he was seen in Episode One of the ITV drama Without You. In February 2012 Gaunt appeared in Midsomer Murders as Ludo DeQuetteville in the episode "The Dark Rider", first aired on ITV1 on Wednesday 1 February 2012. This is his second appearance in this series, after playing Michael Bannerman in the 2004 episode "The Maid in Splendour". In May 2015, Gaunt played Judge St John Redmond in six episodes of EastEnders.
Stage roles
Gaunt also has extensive stage experience, both as an actor and a theatre director, including a notable success in playing the Micheál Mac Liammóir character in Gates of Gold by Frank McGuinness at the Finborough Theatre, London, and in the West End. He appeared in the Royal Shakespeare Company production of The Seagull, sharing the role of Sorin with Ian McKellen; and appeared in King Lear as Gloucester at the New London Theatre in Drury Lane, London, opposite McKellen in the title role following a United Kingdom tour. He revived his performance as Gloucester in the TV film of the same name released in late 2008. He appeared in the role of Dogsborough, a parody of Paul von Hindenburg in Bertold Brecht's The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui, and in The Crucible at the Old Vic. In 2017 he appeared in a tour of Alan Bennett's play The Lady in the Van.
Personal life
Gaunt married actress Carolyn Lyster on 7 September 1974. They have a daughter, Matilda and a son, Albie.
