Gil Chesterton is a recurring character on Frasier, portrayed by Edward Hibbert.
Character[]
Gil is the host of "Restaurant Beat" on KACL talk radio. His middle name is Leslie.
Gil's first appearance is in Frasier Crane's Day Off, where he temporarily takes over Frasier's time slot while he has a bout with the flu. Initially, Gil appears to be somewhat antagonistic towards Frasier and even vies for his time slot but this is not the case in subsequent episodes.
He is pompous, like Frasier, but also very effeminate. He is suspected by his coworkers of being gay, but he claims to be married to Deb. However, his coworkers say "they thought that was the cat". In one episode, however, Frasier has sexual dreams about Gil, and he tries to create symbolic meanings for these dreams, but isn't fully satisfied. He is generally well known for wearing a bow tie, and speaking with a 'public school (i.e. private)' English accent (which Frasier once says is fake).
He drives a red BMW with a red interior, as learned in the third season. In the final season, it is implicitly acknowledged that he is homosexual.
At one point he tries to coach Frasier into acceptance when the radio shrink is accidentally seen entering a gay bar, leading him down the "yellow brick road of pride and self-acceptance". However, he is also seen entering a gay bar during the ending credits. Despite being pompous, he gets along well with his co-worker Bulldog Brisco, as the two are seen conspiring on many occasions.
Gil makes his last appearance in the series finale. He is shown to be ecstatic upon learning that Roz has been named KACL station manager and is last seen watching Frasier give his farewell address during his final broadcast, along with Niles, Daphne, Martin, Ronee, Bebe, and the rest of the KACL staff.
Reboot[]
Gil appears in the second season of the reboot. When Frasier returns to Seattle Gil is shown to still run his food show at KACL and shows an interest in singing his reviews. He is still married to his wife Deb and seems happy about it suggesting that he is still in denial about his sexuality or was in fact heterosexual after all.
Trivia[]
- Gil is named for the real-life Gil Chesterton, a former teacher of the show producer Christopher Lloyd.