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Chris Tummings is a British actor, singer, and multi-instrumentalist who has worked across theatre, television, and film for more than four decades. He is best known to British audiences as a founding member of the Black Theatre Co-operative and as a lead performer in the landmark Channel 4 sitcom No Problem! (1983-1985).1 In Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire (2024), he portrayed the Police Chief of the New York Police Department.2
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Tummings grew up in Hackney, east London, and has Jamaican heritage, which he has credited with giving him "stability" and "a close-knit extended family."3 He joined the Anna Scher Theatre at age 17, then progressed to the Old Vic Youth Theatre, where he performed in his first production in 1977 and was inspired to pursue acting professionally.3 After leaving school, he studied speech and drama at Kingsway College.
Tummings made his professional stage debut in 1979 in Mustapha Matura's play Welcome Home Jacko at The Factory in London.4 That same year, he became a founding member of the Black Theatre Co-operative (BTC) alongside fellow actor Victor Romero Evans, with the explicit aim of producing new British writing centred on the Black experience.3
His theatre credits span West End and major regional productions:
The Black Theatre Co-operative's stage work led directly to the creation of No Problem! (1983-1985), written by Farrukh Dhondy and Mustapha Matura and produced by London Weekend Television for Channel 4.1 The series was historic on two counts: it was the first sitcom to air on the newly-launched Channel 4, and the first comedy series specifically to address the lives of the British Black community.1 Set in a council house in Willesden Green, the show followed the Powell siblings -- a family of Jamaican heritage left to fend for themselves after their parents return to Jamaica. Tummings played a lead role as Toshiba across the show's 27 episodes and three series.1
Subsequent television work includes the comedy sketch show Get Up Stand Up (Channel 4), in which he played a wide range of characters, and the long-running Black British sitcom Desmond's.4 His more recent screen credits include The Widow (Amazon Prime) and Stay Close (Netflix).4 He also appears in the film The Bezonians (2021).4
Alongside his acting career, Tummings is an accomplished musician playing saxophone, guitar, and piano.3 He cites Stevie Wonder, Luther Vandross, and Nat King Cole as musical influences,3 and has performed live with the Skaaville All Stars.6
In Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire (2024), Tummings portrayed the Police Chief of the New York Police Department.2 The character appears in Mayor Walter Peck's office as Peck goes through the list of code violations the Ghostbusters incurred while chasing the Sewer Dragon through the city.7 The Police Chief later accompanies Peck to the NYPD station following an incident at the New York City Public Library.7 A line of dialogue for the character was cut from the final release of the film.8
"No Problem! (TV series)," Wikipedia, accessed 2026-06-13, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No_Problem!_(TV_series). ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4
"Chris Tummings," IMDb, accessed 2026-06-13, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0876543/. ↩ ↩2
"Interview: Chris Tummings, Soul Sister the Musical," Afridiziak Theatre News (August 2012), https://www.afridiziak.com/theatrenews/interviews/august2012/chris-tummings.html. Tummings: "My Jamaican family has given me a good sense of stability and also having a close knit extended family just gives a good grounding for life." / "We started the BTC in 79; between (Victor Romero) Evans and myself we saw a need for new British writing." ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5 ↩6
"Chris Tummings," Birmingham Repertory Theatre, accessed 2026-06-13, https://www.birmingham-rep.co.uk/bio/chris-tummings/. ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5 ↩6 ↩7
"Chris Tummings," Broadway World, accessed 2026-06-13, https://www.broadwayworld.com/people/Chris-Tummings/. ↩
"Chris Tummings and Victor Romero Evans with the Skaaville All Stars," Hideaway (London), accessed 2026-06-13, https://www.hideawaylive.co.uk/chris-tummings-victor-romero-evans-skaaville-all-stars. ↩
Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire (2024). Dir. Gil Kenan. Columbia Pictures / Sony Pictures Entertainment. ↩ ↩2
GBFans.com community forum, "Frozen Empire Deleted Scenes" (2024), https://www.gbfans.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=51633. Via Chris Tummings' own Instagram confirmation of the cut line. ↩
