Inside the life of Tom Chambers and how hijack trauma led to marrying teenage sweetheart

By Katie Palmer, Senior TV Reporter

Father Brown: Season 12 Episode 1 promo trailer

Father Brown returns to BBC One today, January 10, where a medieval murder is committed at a battle re-enactment. Mark Williams returns as the title character with Tom Chambers as one of the police bosses.

Tom is a 47-year-old English actor known for his role as Sam Strachan in Holby City and Casualty. He also played Max Tyler in Waterloo Road and won the sixth season of Strictly Come Dancing with professional partner Camilla Dallerup.

Born and raised in Derbyshire, he grew up with an interest in acing and dance. He now lives in Marlow in Buckinghamshire.

The star is married to Clare Harding and they have three children - William, Olive and Poppy. His marriage came about following harrowing circumstances in December 2000.

He had been travelling from London to Nairobi on a British Airways flight when a hijacker burst into the cockpit and the crew fought to restrain him.

Strictly Come Dancings Tom Chambers and Camilla Dallerup (Image: Newcastle Chronicle)

During the struggle, the auto-pilot became disengaged and sent the plane plummeting with almost 400 passengers on board.

The pilots recovered control of the aircraft, and all passengers landed safely. But the near-death experience led Tom to seek out his teenage sweetheart, Clare, and propose to her.

Following the incident he had told the Mirror: "It was the most frightening experience of my life. This guy dived straight at the controls and sent it into a plunge. The oxygen masks came down and a trolley shot down the aisle.

"Everyone was praying. I just thought this cannot be happening. I thought I was going to die without getting the chance to ever be with Clare or even say goodbye to her. All I could think was, ‘I have to marry Clare’.

"We were only four seconds from hitting the ground when the crew managed to regain control."

Tom Chambers and his wife Clare in 2010 (Image: PA)

Clare, who had been in another relationship beforehand, was also in a near-fatal accident.

Tom explained: "At the time Clare was still with another guy and it didn’t feel right to try to break them up.

"But then two years ago she was crossing a street in London when she was hit by a taxi and injured.

“But the first person she called was me, not him. I knew then that the time was right.”

The couple married in October 2008 in Derbyshire, having to change the date due to his commitments in Strictly.

Clare had been against him taking part in the show as she did not want it to disrupt their big day, but knowing how proud her grandparents would be seeing him on their favourite show, they agreed to swap the date.

Father Brown airs on BBC One on January 10 at 2pm