Beadle Bamford

Beadle Bamford is a fictional character who appears in most adaptations of Sweeney Todd.

In 1936 film

In the 1936 film version of the story, in which he is referred to as the Beadle, he gives the title character his new apprentices, the latest one being Tobias Ragg. He states that Tobias will be the last apprentice given to Sweeney by town hall because of the disappearance of Sweeney's 12 previous apprentices.

In Broadway MusicAL

In Stephen Sondheim's 1977 Broadway musical Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, he serves as the villainous Judge Turpin's chief henchman, and helps him frame and exile Benjamin Barker and procures the barber's wife Lucy for Turpin to [...]. Fifteen years later, he brings Turpin to Sweeney Todd's barbershop — unaware that the barber is in fact Barker, returned from exile and hell-bent on revenge.

On Turpin's orders, he takes Todd's daughter Johanna to an insane asylum when she rebuffs Turpin's offer of marriage. After she escapes, he goes to Todd's barber shop to investigate strange black smoke and foul smells coming from the chimney. To prevent him from discovering that he kills his clients and turns them into pies, Sweeney invites Bamford upstairs for a shave. He kills him offscreen/offstage by slashing his throat.

In Tim Burton's 2007 film adaptation of the musical, he was portrayed by Timothy Spall.