Having graduated from East15 in 2011 I landed an agent from the showcase, was invited to meet with Wendy Spon at The National Theatre after and went on my first tour very quickly playing The Cowardly Lion in a production of the Wizard of Oz.
At times my fostering demands meant I had to ask my agent not to put me forward for work, but despite that fact, as far as possible, I got involved in lots of fun projects with a very broad range including promenade theatre, immersive productions, short films, commercials, low budget independent feature films, stage productions in both children and adult theatre, fringe and in the past couple of years, since retiring from full-time fostering I have made my musical debut with the original comedy musical ‘What’s Wrong With Me’ playing the cult retreat leader Osmond to a sell-out production at the Lion and Unicorn Theatre and standing ovations every performance. I have also played Jon, the director of a reality TV show in ‘Everything I Know About Love’ (BBC/Working Title Television) and the antagonist Michael in ‘Bambi – The Reckoning (Jagged Edge Productions). The first trailer for Bambi – TR, which I am in, went viral in the spring this year and is due for release Summer 2025.
I have been diagnosed with ADHD, and begun the journey of better understanding myself in the light of neurodivergency. Both personally, and as an actor.
I grew up in a council house in a village surrounded by neighbours with homes that would be worth millions now. I had a fairly rough start to life at home and was frequently shunned by our wealthier neighbours who’s parents didn’t want their children playing with.. one parent described us as ‘the leaches’.
At school I was frequently in fights and my dad only wanted to know one thing when I did ‘did you win?’ And if I didn’t then the instruction was to go back and fight again until I did.
The take away from this which my dad embodied was ‘never quit’.
One thing that I excelled in at school was acting. Right from primary school, it was always there, lifting me out of myself and my circumstances. Acting was, and is, freedom.
I studied theatre and performing arts at a local college in a particularly interesting time with Paul Bettany in my year, and Diane Richards (Diane Parish professionally) and Golda Rosheuvel in the year above. Miss T, our beloved drama teacher was a wonderful woman who instilled a vigorous work ethic, but was also a great encourager and she really helped me to start believing in myself and my talents. We stayed friends until she died and she always believed in me. I owe her a great debt.
While Paul, Golda and Diane all went straight on to drama schools, I could not even afford the audition fees.
I fell into working in Social Care and worked in a range of fields including children’s homes, substance misuse, mental health, homelessness and outreach. I always encouraged my clients to believe in themselves and reach for what they want and not to give up. Having worked my way up to management level, and approaching 40, I started to get a nagging feeling of hypocrisy and the thought that life begins at 40. I felt a return of the hunger for acting professionally (I used drama therapeutically in every setting I worked in).
God, the universe, whatever it is you choose to call that beautiful, vibrant creative force that we experience in the wilds of nature and sometimes in the still of night; I felt, was nudging me to return to my first great passion and love.
I was successful in my auditions and chose to study at East15.
I became an actor and a foster carer and married those two equally challenging and rewarding vocations with varying degrees of success. Fostering requires priority however and it is only recently that I retired from fostering which can break your heart with alarming frequency, and finally was able to prioritise my career as an actor.
In the last couple of years, as well as starting two small supporting businesses and joining a studio studying aerial arts, I have made my professional debut in a musical playing Osmond, the cult retreat leader, in the sell-out run of the comedy musical ‘What’s Wrong With Me?’, played the director, Jon, in the BBC TV Series ’Everything I Know About Love’ and the antagonist Michael in the horror feature film ‘Bambi – The Reckoning’ which will be released early 2025.
For me, life is an adventure. I’ve been knocked down and I’ve got up again. But if I have a motto it is simply ‘never quit’. Adjust, adapt and enjoy the dance; but never quit.
To those who have supported me and support me still, I am eternally grateful and love you dearly. Thank you x
