Hands-on former Leeds councillor and lord mayor Bernard Atha who had acting roles in Kes and Coronation Street has died

A well-known former Leeds councillor, Lord Mayor and actor has died at the age of 94, his family have announced.

Bernard Atha CBE passed away on Saturday after a short illness. He was born in Leeds in 1928 and spent 50 years serving the city as a councillor.

He was also a trained ballet dancer, lawyer and sometime actor who had parts in Coronation Street and Kes, and hosted Nelson Mandela’s visit to Leeds in 2001. He was an active figure in sporting and arts circles who was instrumental in the opening of Leeds Playhouse and the creation of the Northern Ballet.

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He was educated at Leeds Modern (now Lawnswood) School and the University of Leeds, and qualified as a barrister, later teaching law at Huddersfield Technical College. Born into a working-class family, he was a child evacuee during the war and spent his National Service with the RAF.

Coun Bernard Atha by the Wall of Fame in Leeds Civic HallCoun Bernard Atha by the Wall of Fame in Leeds Civic Hall
Coun Bernard Atha by the Wall of Fame in Leeds Civic Hall

He was first elected to the city council in 1957 for the City ward, and after it was abolished represented Holbeck from 1969-73 and Kirkstall from 1973-2014 for Labour.

In Ken Loach’s 1969 film Kes, he played the role of the school careers officer who dismissed Billy’s prospects. He appeared in two other Loach films, Family Life in 1971 and Black Jack in 1979, and featured in TV programmes All Creatures Great and Small, Sherlock Holmes, Coronation Street, Emmerdale and Last of the Summer Wine.

He was made CBE in 2007 for services to arts and OBE in 1991 for services to sport.

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His niece Helen Atha said: “I’m deeply sorry to inform you that my dear uncle, Bernard Atha CBE, and a man with so many ‘hats’ of public and charitable service to the people of Leeds, has passed away peacefully at the age of 94, after a short illness.

Artistic director Rod Dixon, right, with Bernard Atha at the launch of exhibition marking the 50th anniversary of Leeds's Red Ladder Theatre Company at Leeds Central Library in 2018Artistic director Rod Dixon, right, with Bernard Atha at the launch of exhibition marking the 50th anniversary of Leeds's Red Ladder Theatre Company at Leeds Central Library in 2018
Artistic director Rod Dixon, right, with Bernard Atha at the launch of exhibition marking the 50th anniversary of Leeds's Red Ladder Theatre Company at Leeds Central Library in 2018

"He was generous to a fault, would do anything for anybody, led a frugal life, had a wonderful sense of humour, never banged his own drum or sought recognition. Public service and kindness flowed through his entire body.”

Mr Atha is survived by his sister Sheila, eight nieces and nephews and great-nephews and nieces.

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