Colin McFarlane

Colin McFarlane’s Career Across Animation, Games, and Screen

A voice that millions of children grew up with, and one that gamers and film audiences have come to recognize across decades – Colin McFarlane has built one of British entertainment’s most wide-ranging careers. Raised in Lincoln after his family settled there following his father’s RAF service, McFarlane graduated from Loughborough University with a Drama degree in 1983, stepping onto stage and screen the following year. His professional roots were planted firmly in theatre, earning him the Time Out Best Actor award for his work in Two Horsemen and earning acclaim for performances in Fences alongside Lenny Henry and Coriolanus opposite Steven Berkoff.

The Voice Behind Generations of British Children’s Television

Few British voice actors have reached children’s ears as consistently as McFarlane has over three decades of animation work. His first voice credit came in 1994 with the BBC’s Shakespeare: The Animated Tales, where he voiced Othello. That groundwork led to a string of defining roles – JJ and Skip in Bob the Builder from 2001 to 2003, the kind of work that lodges itself in a generation’s memory without them ever knowing a name. He added Harrison and the King of Buffertonia to his Chuggington credits starting in 2008, voiced multiple characters across Little Princess, brought Bulgy and Beresford to life in Thomas and Friends: Journey Beyond Sodor, and went on to voice PC Malcolm Williams in Fireman Sam and Suds in Milo. He also voiced Mr Lion in Peppa Pig, adding yet another household name to his children’s animation catalog. The range within this output alone – from a double-decker bus to a police constable to a lion – speaks to a performer who approaches each character as a fresh construction rather than a variation on a default.

The Cube, Narration, and the Power of the Disembodied Voice

When ITV launched The Cube in 2009, the show needed a voice that could carry weight without being seen – something between an announcer and an adversary. McFarlane held that role for twelve years, his narration anchoring the show’s tension and becoming as much a part of its identity as the glass chamber itself. It was a master class in how narration functions as character work, not decoration. His earlier narration credits include Sergeant Slipper in Dennis and Gnasher (1996-1998) and the Judge in the 2016 revival of Porridge, each a different register entirely, showing an ear for comedic timing as sharp as his command of drama.

Batman, Doctor Who, and the Big-Screen Crossover

On camera, McFarlane stepped into Christopher Nolan’s Gotham City as Police Commissioner Gillian B. Loeb in Batman Begins (2005) and The Dark Knight (2008), two films that redefined comic book cinema. The role placed him among one of the most-analyzed casts of that era. His connection to the Doctor Who universe spans multiple appearances – voicing the Heavenly Host in the Christmas special “Voyage of the Damned,” playing Moran in the Series 9 episodes “Under the Lake” and “Before the Flood,” and appearing as Colonel Pierce in Torchwood: Children of Earth. He reprised that role for the 2025 spinoff The War Between the Land and the Sea. He also took on the role of Ulysses in STARZ’s Outlander from 2018 to 2020, and appeared in The Commuter alongside Liam Neeson.

Video Game Work – From G-Police to Final Fantasy XVI

McFarlane’s game credits stretch back to Commander Horton in G-Police (1997), making his gaming career nearly as long as his stage career. He voiced Greg across the Buzz! quiz game series – a role with real cultural reach given the franchise’s popularity across Europe. LittleBigPlanet 2 brought him in as Avalon Centrifuge in 2011, and Batman: Arkham Knight added him to a game already stacked with recognizable British voice talent. More recently, he took on Zoltan in Final Fantasy XVI (2023) and Dr. Reuben Reed in Dead Island 2 (2023) – landing in two of that year’s most high-profile game releases simultaneously, a marker of where his standing in the games industry sits.

Stage, Radio, and Recognition

Radio has been a consistent thread throughout McFarlane’s career – he starred in the Sony Award-winning drama Lavender Song alongside Bill Nighy and appeared in the BBC Radio 4 comedy The Many Wrongs of Lord Christian Brighty. In July 2025, Loughborough University awarded him an honorary degree, recognizing not only his artistic output but his ongoing advocacy for men’s health issues. It was a full-circle moment for someone who credits that campus as where his dreams began.

Most Known Roles of Colin McFarlane

• JJ / Skip – Bob the Builder (2001-2003)
• Narrator / The Cube – The Cube (ITV, 2009-2021)
• Commissioner Gillian B. Loeb – Batman Begins / The Dark Knight (2005-2008)
• Harrison / King of Buffertonia – Chuggington (2008)
• Bulgy / Beresford – Thomas and Friends: Journey Beyond Sodor (2017)
• Zoltan – Final Fantasy XVI (2023)
• Dr. Reuben Reed – Dead Island 2 (2023)
• Avalon Centrifuge – LittleBigPlanet 2 (2011)
• Greg – Buzz! Quiz Game Series
• Moran – Doctor Who Series 9 (2015)
• Heavenly Host – Doctor Who: Voyage of the Damned (2007)
• Colonel Pierce – Torchwood: Children of Earth (2009)
• Ulysses – Outlander (STARZ, 2018-2020)
• PC Malcolm Williams – Fireman Sam (2020-)
• Commander Horton – G-Police (1997)
• Additional Voices – Batman: Arkham Knight (2015)
• Suds – Milo (2021-)
• Mr Lion – Peppa Pig
• Othello – Shakespeare: The Animated Tales (1994)
• Sergeant Slipper – Dennis and Gnasher (1996-1998)