David Yip

David Yip
Yip at the British Library in 2022
Born
David Nicholas Yip

(1951-06-04) 4 June 1951
Liverpool, England
Alma materEast 15 Acting School
Occupations
  • Actor
  • playwright
Years active1973–present
SpouseVirginia Yip
Chinese name
Chinese葉西園
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu PinyinYè Xīyuán
Yue: Cantonese
JyutpingJip6 Sai1 Jyun4
Websitedavidyip.co.uk

David Nicholas Yip (Chinese: 葉西園; pinyin: Yè Xīyuán; born 4 June 1951) is a British actor and playwright. He gained prominence through his role in the BBC series The Chinese Detective (1981–1982) as the first Chinese lead on British television.

His films include A View to a Kill (1985), Ping Pong (1986), and Break (2020). Yip wrote and starred in the play Gold Mountain. On television, he appeared in the Channel 4 soap opera Brookside (1989–1990), the CBBC series Spirit Warriors (2010), and the Sky Atlantic thriller Fortitude (2017–2018). He is also known for his voice work.

Yip has given talks and presented documentaries on the Chinese community in his hometown of Liverpool. In 2022, he was awarded honorary doctorates by the University of Essex and Edge Hill University.