Biddable character given a gentle hint (1,4,5)

I believe the answer is:

a soft touch

'biddable character' is the definition.
(if someone's a soft touch they're biddable)

'a gentle hint' is the wordplay.
'gentle' becomes 'soft' (synonyms).
'hint' becomes 'touch' (synonyms).
'a'+'soft'+'touch'='A SOFT TOUCH'

'given' is the link.

I've seen this clue in The Times.

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