Derek Fowlds (born 2 September 1937) is an English actor, known for playing Bernard Woolley in popular British television comedies Yes, Minister and Yes, Prime Minister and Oscar Blaketon in the long-running ITV police drama Heartbeat.
Fowlds was born in Wandsworth, London, the son of Ketha Muriel (née Treacher) and James Witney Fowlds, a salesman. He attended a Secondary Modern School in Berkhamsted, Hertfordshire.
Fowlds was previously married to actress Adrienne Corri and Blue Peter presenter and dancer Lesley Judd.
After amateur acting, he trained at RADA and made his debut on the West End stage in The Miracle Worker. He appeared in various film roles, including East of Sudan (1964), Hotel Paradiso (1966), Frankenstein Created Woman (1967) and The Smashing Bird I Used to Know (1969), prior to becoming familiar to British television viewers as 'Mr. Derek' in the children's series The Basil Brush Show, replacing Rodney Bewes as presenter. Perhaps his most famous role was that of Bernard Woolley in Yes Minister and its sequel Yes, Prime Minister alongside Paul Eddington and Nigel Hawthorne.