Kevin Whately OBE (born 6 February 1951) is a British actor. He is best known for his roles as Neville "Nev" Hope in the comedy drama Auf Wiedersehen, Pet; Robert "Robbie" Lewis in the British crime dramas Inspector Morse (1987–2000) and Lewis (2006–2015); and Jack Kerruish in the drama series Peak Practice (1993–1995). He has appeared in numerous other roles.

Whately is from Brampton, near Carlisle, Cumberland. The family later moved to North Tynemouth when he was four years old. His mother, Mary (née Pickering), was a teacher and his father, Richard, was a Commander in the Royal Navy. His maternal grandmother, Doris Phillips, was a professional concert singer, his paternal grandfather, Herbert Whately, was Archdeacon of Ludlow, and his great-great-grandfather, Richard Whately, was Anglican Archbishop of Dublin. The BBC documentary Who Do You Think You Are?, broadcast in 2009, revealed that Whately is a descendant of Thomas Whately of Nonsuch Park (father of Thomas Whately), a leading London merchant, politician and writer who became a director of the Bank of England, and of Major Robert Thompson, a Parliamentarian during the English Commonwealth and later a tobacco plantation owner in Virginia.

Whately was educated at Barnard Castle School, and went on to study accounting and finance at Newcastle Polytechnic, graduating in 1969. He then trained as an actor at the Central School of Speech and Drama, graduating in 1975 after having partly supported himself by working for the National Theatre at The Old Vic. Before going professional, Whately was an amateur actor at the People's Theatre in Newcastle upon Tyne during the 1970s. His brother, Frank, is a lecturer at Kingston University in London.

According to Richard Marson's book celebrating 50 years of Blue Peter, Whately auditioned as a presenter for the show in 1980 but lost out to Peter Duncan.^{[citation needed]}

Before turning to professional acting, Whately began his working life as a folk singer, and still plays the guitar, performing for charity concerts. Along with other Auf Wiedersehen, Pet stars, he makes an appearance at the biennial benefit concert Sunday for Sammy in Newcastle.

His acting career includes several stage plays, among them an adaptation of Twelve Angry Men, and film appearances in The Return of the Soldier, The English Patient, Paranoid and Purely Belter.

Whately's television appearances include episodes of Shoestring, Geordie Racer, Angels, Juliet Bravo, Strangers, Coronation Street, Auf Wiedersehen Pet, Alas Smith and Jones, Look and Read, You Must Be The Husband, B&B, Peak Practice, Skallagrigg, Murder in Mind, Inspector Morse, 2003 Comic Relief Auf Wiedersehen Pet, Lewis, New Tricks, Who Gets the Dog?, The Children, Silent Cry and Midsomer Murders. Whately provided one of the voices for the English-language version of the 1999 claymation children's television series Hilltop Hospital. He has also done voiceovers for a WaterAid advertisement.

In 1985, Whately appeared in a three-part Miss Marple adaptation ("A Murder Is Announced") for the BBC, playing Detective Sergeant Fletcher, opposite John Castle as Inspector Craddock. Two years later, his role as Detective Sergeant Lewis in the series Inspector Morse established him as a household name in the UK. Whately starred opposite the eponymous Inspector Morse, played by John Thaw, in 32 episodes over 13 years in the hugely successful series.