Daniel Ryan (born 1968 as Daniel O'Brien [1] ) is an English actor and writer. He is known for starring as Darren Alexander in the BBC drama comedy Linda Green , Andrew Gilligan in The Government Inspector , Andy Coulson in Steel River Blues and Kenny Reed in The Whistleblowers . His stage credits include Macbeth , A Midsummer Night's Dream and Richard III . Since 2019, he has played DI Tony Manning in The Bay .
Ryan was born in Culcheth near Warrington, Cheshire to parents who owned a bingo hall. He and his younger brother attended Culcheth High School. Despite playing in a school band called Darker Than Shark he was enthused by a RADA-educated drama teacher. He attended the Lancashire Schools Arts Workshop in North Wales, before being accepted into LAMDA. [2]
On graduation, he joined the Royal Shakespeare Company on an 18-month contract. In 1995 he played a paralysed man in a Drinking and Driving Wrecks Lives advert. Ten years after graduation, he played the part of Bottom in A Midsummer Night's Dream at RSC in 1999/2000. He has also starred in both Fallout and Posh at the Royal Court Theatre, and was in Mammals at the BushTheatre and later on tour. [3] In 2008 he appeared in Gethsemane , a new play by David Hare at the National Theatre.
In 1992 Ryan played Jamie Hunter who takes revenge on travellers when they befriend his fiancee in series 1 episode 8 of Heartbeat called "Outsiders". Ryan played Andy in the 2001 ITV drama Bob & Rose . In December 2007, he appeared in the Series 17 episode of Heartbeat called "Touch and Go", in which he played Max Philpott who murdered long running character PC Phil Bellamy. He appeared on the Teen Drama Skins as the father of the third generation character Rich Hardbeck in 2011 and 2012. He took over the role of Harry (Sandy's husband, previously played by David Michaels) in the special reunion episodes of BBC sitcom As Time Goes By alongside Judi Dench and Geoffrey Palmer. Ryan also appeared in the 2008 Doctor Who episode "Midnight". He played Felix Sansome in "Wild Justice", S5:E2 of Lewis , which aired April 2011. In 2012, he appeared as antagonist Barry Flint in The Girl Who Lived, the fourth episode of the ninth season of New Tricks .
In 2014, he appeared in Salting the Battlefield as Bill Catcheside. He is also known for playing the role of Dan in the Sky Living comedy-drama Mount Pleasant since 2011. In 2015 he appeared as Steve Baker in S7:E1 of Doc Martin , [4] and as Colonel Anthony Forbes-Leith in the BBC TV series Father Brown episode 3.9 "The Truth in the Wine". He has played Welsh butcher Bryn Brindsley in the ITV war-time drama Home Fires from 2015. [5] In 2018 he starred in the ITV mini-series Innocent , as the lead character's brother, Phil Collins. [6] In February 2019 he played Gerald Baynes in Death in Paradise S8.E8. [7] Also in February he appeared as Alec Sidden in The Seagull, S9:E4 of Vera , and in April 2019 as Detective Inspector Anthony 'Tony' Manning in The Bay .
In 2022 he played Gary in Middle at the National Theatre. [8]
In 2022 he portrayed DAC Peter Clarke (Metropolitan Police) in the four part ITV series Litvinenko .
Heartbeat is a British police procedural period drama series, based upon the Constable series of novels written by Nicholas Rhea, and produced by Yorkshire Television until it was merged with ITV, then by ITV Studios, from 1992 until 2010. The series is set in the North Riding of Yorkshire during the 1960s, with plots centred on the fictional locations of Aidensfield and Ashfordly. It stars Nick Berry (S1–7), Jason Durr (S7–12), Jonathan Kerrigan (S13–16) and Joe McFadden (S17–18)
Walter Frederick George Williams, better known by his stage name Bill Maynard, was an English comedian and actor. He began working in television in the 1950s, notably starring alongside Terry Scott in Great Scott – It's Maynard! (1955–56). In the 1970s and 1980s, he starred in the successful British sitcoms Oh No It's Selwyn Froggitt and The Gaffer and appeared in five films in the Carry On series. After a hiatus from television work in the late 1980s, Maynard starred as Claude Jeremiah Greengrass in the long-running television series Heartbeat from 1992 to 2000, reprising the character in the spin-off The Royal in 2003.
Mark Benton is an English actor and television presenter known for his roles as Eddie in Early Doors, Howard in Northern Lights and Martin Pond in Barbara. Benton has also starred in the BBC One school-based drama series Waterloo Road as mathematics teacher Daniel "Chalky" Chalk from 2011 to 2014. In 2013, Benton took part in Strictly Come Dancing, and in 2015 he hosted the daytime game show The Edge.
Roger William Allam is a British actor who has performed on stage, in film, on television and radio.
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Edward Peel is an English television and stage actor. He was described by The Times in 2010 as a "veteran star of TV dramas" and "a familiar face on television for the past 40 years".
Sally Jane Lindsay is an English actress and television presenter. She rose to fame playing Shelley Unwin in the long-running ITV soap opera Coronation Street (2001–2006). Her other roles include Lisa Johnson in the Sky One comedy-drama Mount Pleasant (2011–2017), Alison Bailey in the ITV police procedural Scott & Bailey (2011–2016), and Kath Agnew in the BBC sitcom Still Open All Hours (2013–2019). Since 2021, she has starred as Jean White in Channel 5's The Madame Blanc Mysteries (2021–present), which she co-created and produces.
James Anthony Hazeldine was an English television, stage and film actor and director.
Rupert Nicholas Vansittart is an English character actor. He has appeared in a variety of roles in film, television, stage and radio, often playing comic characters. He is best known for his role as Lord Ashfordly in the ITV drama Heartbeat and for playing Lord Yohn Royce in the HBO series Game of Thrones (2014–2019).
John Arthur Duttine is an English actor noted for his roles on stage, films and television. He is well known for his role as Sgt George Miller in Heartbeat and also Bill Masen in the TV series The Day of the Triffids.
David Lonsdale is an English actor. He is best known for playing David Stockwell in the ITV period police drama series Heartbeat.
Adrian Philip Scarborough is an English actor.
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William Ash is an English actor. He is known for roles in the television dramas Soldier Soldier, Where the Heart Is (1997–1998), Clocking Off (2001–2002), Waterloo Road (2009–2011), The Tunnel (2016–2017) and Emmerdale (2022–present). His film appearances include Mad About Mambo (2000) and Hush (2008).
Paul Bown is an English actor.
Steven Blakeley is a British actor. He is best known for his role as PC Geoff Younger in the British police drama Heartbeat, guest roles in various other television programmes and multiple theatre roles.
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Lisa McGrillis is a British actress.