Paul Henry, (born 1947) is a British actor, best known for his role in the soap opera, Crossroads.
Born in Birmingham, he attended the city's Alderlea Boys School in Shard End with Jeff Lynne, later leader of the Electric Light Orchestra pop group. Henry trained at the Birmingham School of Speech and Drama, which was followed by eight years at the Birmingham Rep. Between 1975 to 1988, he played his best-known role of Benny Hawkins, a simple-minded bumbling semi-rustic handyman, in Crossroads.
In 1977, Henry recorded "Benny's Theme" with the Mayson Glen Orchestra, on Pye Records. It peaked at no.39 in the UK Singles Chart in January 1978.[1] He was in character as Benny in the song, but spoke rather than sang.
His country boy style got him the part of Peter Stevens in The Archers for a time. By wife Sheila, he had a son, Anthony and a daughter, Justine. Henry's post-Crossroads career included minor stage roles and running a nightclub in Whitchurch, Shropshire, but in 1994 he returned to television briefly in a tribute to Crossroads, called 30 Years On. In a 2002 interview, Henry declared that the public still love Benny and during a shopping trip, he came back to his car and found a person had left piece of paper on it saying "Benny, we miss you".[2]
In 2004, he was returned to acting on TV in an episode of the British hospital series Doctors. He then played a regular character, a delivery man, in the series of the ITV1 prison drama Bad Girls.
Comedian Ronnie Barker later in his life revealed that he had suggested Henry should be cast as the character, Lennie Godber, opposite him in the sitcom Porridge, but the actor Richard Beckinsale was chosen instead by the television producer.