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Darren Jeffries | |
|---|---|
| Born | 2 March 1982 |
| Occupations |
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| Years active | 1997–present |
Darren Jon-Jeffries (born 2 March 1982) is an English actor, writer and presenter best known for his portrayal of Sam "O.B." O'Brien in Channel 4 soap-opera Hollyoaks . He is also known for presenting Freshly Squeezed and Red Bull Rivals on Channel 4, as well as Text Santa for ITV2.
Jeffries was born in Wrexham, Wales to Glynis Jeffries (née Jones), a teacher of sign language, and Wayne Jeffries, a professional carpenter.
As a senior, he attended Padgate Community High School in Warrington, (now known as Padgate Academy), whose notable former pupils also include Chris Evans and Kerry Katona. Jeffries also joined Padgate High sixth Form College and studied business, English literature, English language and drama.
At fourteen whilst attending Padgate High, he joined a Warrington-based acting course, culminating in a small performance at Warrington's Parr Hall where he was spotted by a North-West based acting agency. This led to an audition for the role of Sam "O.B." O'Brien in Channel 4 soap-opera Hollyoaks in 1997, which he subsequently obtained. He was a prominent cast member in the show until 2007, when he announced he would be leaving the series in order to pursue other projects. [1]
Soon afterwards in 2008 he carved a successful presenting career alongside Hollyoaks co-star Matt Littler beginning with a stint on Channel 4's V Festival coverage, followed by The Versus Chart on T4 throughout 2008 and 2009. In 2009 Jeffries and Littler were also the faces of The RAF's 'Least 9 till 5' media campaign, and presented their own radio show on the Lancashire radio station Rock FM.
In 2010, Jeffries hosted T4's Red Bull Rivals, where he and Matt Littler visited France, South Africa, Sweden and Greece whilst taking part in numerous Red Bull sponsored sports. From 2011 to 2012 he was the presenter of Channel 4's flagship music show Freshly Squeezed, alongside Matt Littler, Jameela Jamil and Matt Edmondson.
Throughout 2013 he hosted The British Soap Awards spin-off show on ITV2 alongside Matt Littler, Zoe Hardman and Joe Swash, presented a Text Santa spin-off show for ITV, and throughout 2014, guest presented The Gadget Show numerous times for Channel 5.
In 2014 Jeffries returned to performing, and appeared numerous times on stage and television in various productions, whilst also studying at The Manchester School Of Acting. In 2016, Jefferies reprised his role as OB in Hollyoaks. In February 2023, he portrayed Pete Farnsworth in an episode of the BBC soap opera Doctors . [2]
| Year | Title | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 1997–2008, 2016–2017 | Hollyoaks | Sam "O.B." O'Brien |
| 2000 | Hollyoaks: Breaking Boundaries | Sam "O.B." O'Brien |
| 2014 | Cardboard Andy | Andy |
| 2022 | Brassic | Minimart owner |
| 2023 | Doctors | Pete Farnsworth |
At The 2008 British Soap Awards, Darren Jeffries and Matt Littler won The Best On-Screen Partnership Award. [3]
T4 was a scheduling slot on Channel 4 and E4. It also aired on weekdays in the school holidays. The slot had a separate station identification on screen graphic from Channel 4 and E4. Channel 4 originally produced the strand in-house until 2002, when production was passed onto independent companies. The slot was targeted at the 16-24 age group.
Matthew Edmondson is a British television and Sony Award-nominated radio presenter, best known for his work with BBC Radio 1 and ITV2.
Max Cunningham is a fictional character from the British Channel 4 soap opera Hollyoaks, played by Ben Sheriff from 1995 to 1997, and Matt Littler from 1997 to 2008. He first appeared on 6 November 1995, and Littler took over the role in September 1997. In 2008, Max was the second longest running character in Hollyoaks, after Tony Hutchinson. In May 2008, it was announced that Littler had decided to leave the show and would depart in July 2008.
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Sam "O.B." O'Brien is a fictional character in the long-running Channel 4 British television soap opera Hollyoaks, played by Darren Jeffries. He debuted on-screen on 6 October 1997 before leaving on 26 February 2008. He later made a brief return in July 2008 before leaving on 11 July 2008. He returned on screen in November 2016. Whilst on the show, O.B.'s storylines revolved around his friendship with Max Cunningham and several relationships. The character has been described as iconic and is most notable for his "classic comedy duo" status with Max. Jefferies was nominated for several awards for his time on the show. During a Hollyoaks live video in October 2016, it was revealed Darren Jeffries would be returning to the role after 8 years away. O.B returned on 17 November 2016 and made his last appearance on 2 January 2017.
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