Antony Cotton (born Antony Dunn; 5 August 1975) is an English actor, known for portraying the role of
Sean Tully
Sean Tully is a fictional character from the British soap opera ''Coronation Street'', played by Antony Cotton. He made his first appearance during the episode broadcast on 13 July 2003. Following that appearance, the character returned full-t ...
in ''
Coronation Street
''Coronation Street'' is an English soap opera created by Granada Television and shown on ITV since 9 December 1960. The programme centres around a cobbled, terraced street in Weatherfield, a fictional town based on inner-city Salford.
Origi ...
'', as well as portraying Alexander Perry in the original ''
Queer as Folk'' series. In 2007, Cotton hosted his own talk show titled ''
That Antony Cotton Show
''That Antony Cotton Show'' is a British comedy chat show that was broadcast on ITV1 and STV for one series in 2007. It was presented by '' Coronation Street'' actor Antony Cotton and aired on weekdays at 5pm. The show was filmed in front of a ...
'', which was cancelled after one series. In March 2013, he won ''
Let's Dance for Comic Relief
''Let's Sing and Dance'', formerly known as ''Let's Dance'', is a British television programme shown on BBC One, featuring celebrities performing famous dance routines to raise money for the charities Comic Relief and Sport Relief. The programme ...
''.
Early and personal life
Cotton was born Antony Dunn in
Bury, Greater Manchester
Bury ( ) is a market town on the River Irwell in Greater Manchester, England. Metropolitan Borough of Bury is administered from the town, which had an estimated population of 78,723 in 2015.
The town is within the historic county boundarie ...
, the son of actress Enid Dunn.
He attended
Woodhey High School
Woodhey High School is a coeducational secondary school in Ramsbottom, in the Metropolitan Borough of Bury, Greater Manchester, England.
Woodhey High School was built by Bury LEA (Local Education Authority) in 1979 to replace the Peel Brow S ...
at
Holcombe Brook,
Ramsbottom
Ramsbottom is a market town in the Metropolitan Borough of Bury, Greater Manchester, England. The population at the 2011 census was 17,872.
Historically in Lancashire, it is on the River Irwell in the West Pennine Moors, northwest of Bu ...
, and the
Oldham
Oldham is a large town in Greater Manchester, England, amid the Pennines and between the rivers Irk and Medlock, southeast of Rochdale and northeast of Manchester. It is the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough of Oldham, wh ...
Theatre Workshop.
He has an elder brother, Andrew. Cotton supports the
Terrence Higgins Trust
Terrence Higgins Trust is a British charity that campaigns about and provides services relating to HIV and sexual health. In particular, the charity aims to end the transmission of HIV in the UK; to support and empower people living with HIV, to ...
and is a patron of the
LGF The Albert Kennedy Trust
Akt (stylised as akt and legally known as The Albert Kennedy Trust) is a voluntary organisation based in England, created in 1989 to serve lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBTQ+) young people who are homeless or living in a hostile enviro ...
and the 'Queer Up North' festival.
In August 2009, it was reported in ''
Digital Spy
Digital Spy (DS) is a British-based entertainment, television and film website and brand and is the largest digital property at Hearst UK. Since its launch in 1999, Digital Spy has focused on entertainment news related to television programmes, ...
'' that Cotton is "openly gay". In March 2010, it was reported that Cotton had exchanged rings with his partner, Peter Eccleston. In January 2012, footballer
Michael Ball
Michael Ashley Ball (born 27 June 1962) is an English singer, presenter and actor. He made his West End debut in 1985 playing Marius Pontmercy in the original London production of ''Les Misérables'', and went on to star in 1987 as Raoul in ...
was fined by
the Football Association
The Football Association (also known as The FA) is the Sports governing body, governing body of association football in England and the Crown Dependencies of Jersey, Bailiwick of Guernsey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man. Formed in 1863, it is the ...
for a homophobic rant on Twitter about Cotton.
Career
Cotton currently plays barman and factory worker
Sean Tully
Sean Tully is a fictional character from the British soap opera ''Coronation Street'', played by Antony Cotton. He made his first appearance during the episode broadcast on 13 July 2003. Following that appearance, the character returned full-t ...
on ''
Coronation Street
''Coronation Street'' is an English soap opera created by Granada Television and shown on ITV since 9 December 1960. The programme centres around a cobbled, terraced street in Weatherfield, a fictional town based on inner-city Salford.
Origi ...
'', a role which he has continuously played since 2003.
His Mother, Enid Dunn, also played several parts in Coronation Street between 2002 and 2014. Cotton played "Alexander" in the original UK version of ''
Queer as Folk''. He has also appeared in episodes of ''
Absolutely Fabulous
''Absolutely Fabulous'' (also known as ''Ab Fab'') is a British television sitcom based on the ''French and Saunders'' sketch, "Modern Mother and Daughter", created by Dawn French and Jennifer Saunders. The show was created and written by Saund ...
'' as "Damon". In 2007, Cotton won the second series of
ITV
ITV or iTV may refer to:
ITV
*Independent Television (ITV), a British television network, consisting of:
** ITV (TV network), a free-to-air national commercial television network covering the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man, and the Channel Islan ...
's ''
Soapstar Superstar
''Soapstar Superstar'' is a British talent show that aired on ITV from 6 January 2006 to 13 January 2007. The show's format works in a similar format to that of '' Pop Idol'' and ''The X Factor'', in that the competition features a group of ...
''. He donated his winning money, £200,000, to the
Elton John Aids Foundation
The Elton John AIDS Foundation (EJAF) is a nonprofit organization, established by rock musician Sir Elton John in 1992 in the United States and 1993 in the United Kingdom to support innovative HIV prevention, education programs, direct care a ...
.
In July 2007, it was announced that Cotton would be fronting his own teatime chat show on ITV. The show, ''
That Antony Cotton Show
''That Antony Cotton Show'' is a British comedy chat show that was broadcast on ITV1 and STV for one series in 2007. It was presented by '' Coronation Street'' actor Antony Cotton and aired on weekdays at 5pm. The show was filmed in front of a ...
'', was filmed with a live studio audience at
Granada Television
ITV Granada, formerly known as Granada Television, is the ITV franchisee for the North West of England and Isle of Man. From 1956 to 1968 it broadcast to both the north west and Yorkshire but only on weekdays as ABC Weekend Television was it ...
studios in Manchester, and combined celebrity chat with
topical humour
The topical humor and topical jokes is humor framed around a specific topic related to current events or dealing with issues that are important or popular at the current time. The value of this kind of humor often diminishes when the topic is no ...
. It was first broadcast on 13 August 2007. Following the end of the first series, ITV announced that the show was axed and would not return for a second series. He appeared on ''
Family Fortunes
''Family Fortunes'' is a British television game show based on the American game show ''Family Feud''. The programme ran on ITV from 6 January 1980 to 30 December 2002. A celebrity version, ''All Star Family Fortunes'', followed from 2006 to 2 ...
'' on 20 September 2008 winning £10,000 for his chosen charity. In December 2008, he appeared with co-star
Suranne Jones
Sarah Anne Akers (née Jones; born 27 August 1978), known professionally as Suranne Jones, is an English actress and producer. She rose to prominence as Karen McDonald in ''Coronation Street'' between 2000 to 2004. Upon leaving, she furthered h ...
on ''
Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?
''Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?'' (often informally called ''Millionaire'') is an international television game show franchise of British origin, created by David Briggs, Mike Whitehill and Steven Knight. In its format, currently owned and ...
''.
He also took part in the
eleventh series of ''
I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here!'' which began airing on 13 November 2011. He left on 2 December 2011, after 21 days in the jungle, placing fourth. Cotton also starred in an episode of
Mad Mad World
''Mad Mad World'' is the second studio album by Canadian rock singer Tom Cochrane, originally released in 1991 in Canada and in the United States on February 17, 1992. The first single from the album, " Life Is a Highway", became a hit in late ...
on
ITV1
ITV1 (formerly known as ITV) is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the British media company ITV plc. It provides the Channel 3 public broadcast service across all of the United Kingdom except for t ...
in Spring 2012. He won first place in a series of ''
Let's Dance for Comic Relief
''Let's Sing and Dance'', formerly known as ''Let's Dance'', is a British television programme shown on BBC One, featuring celebrities performing famous dance routines to raise money for the charities Comic Relief and Sport Relief. The programme ...
'' in March 2013. Cotton was a contestant for the 2018 revamp of ''
Dancing on Ice
''Dancing on Ice'' is a British television series presented by Phillip Schofield alongside Holly Willoughby from 2006 to 2011, who then returned in 2018, and Christine Bleakley from 2012 to 2014. The series features celebrities and their profe ...
''.
Cotton made his film debut opposite
Daniel Craig
Daniel Wroughton Craig (born 2 March 1968) is an English-American actor who gained international fame playing the secret agent James Bond in the film series, beginning with '' Casino Royale'' (2006) and in four further instalments, up to '' ...
and
Derek Jacobi
Sir Derek George Jacobi (; born 22 October 1938) is an English actor. He has appeared in various stage productions of William Shakespeare such as ''Hamlet'', ''Much Ado About Nothing'', ''Macbeth'', ''Twelfth Night'', ''The Tempest'', ''King ...
in the 1998 film ''
Love Is the Devil: Study for a Portrait of Francis Bacon''.
He also appeared in the 1998 film, ''
The Wisdom of Crocodiles''. Cotton has appeared in several shows at the
Oldham Coliseum
Oldham Coliseum Theatre is a theatre in Oldham, Greater Manchester, England.
Found on Fairbottom Street in the town centre, Oldham's Coliseum is a repertory theatre which celebrated its centenary in 1987. Its interior makes it a great period ...
, including ''The Fifteen Streets'' and ''
The Hobbit
''The Hobbit, or There and Back Again'' is a children's fantasy novel by English author J. R. R. Tolkien. It was published in 1937 to wide critical acclaim, being nominated for the Carnegie Medal and awarded a prize from the '' ...
'' at
Manchester's Palace Theatre and Opera House. He appeared in
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs
"Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" is a 19th-century German fairy tale that is today known widely across the Western world. The Brothers Grimm published it in 1812 in the first edition of their collection ''Grimms' Fairy Tales'' and numbered as T ...
at the
Middlesbrough Theatre
Middlesbrough Theatre (formerly the Little Theatre) is a theatre in Middlesbrough, England, which was opened by Sir John Gielgud in 1957 and was one of the first new theatres built in England after the Second World War.
History
The history o ...
.
Honours, awards and recognition
In 2005, Cotton won the Most Popular Newcomer category at the
National Television Awards
The National Television Awards (often shortened to NTAs) is a British television awards ceremony, broadcast by the ITV network and initiated in 1995. The National Television Awards are the most prominent ceremony for which the results are voted ...
for his role in ''Coronation Street''.
Cotton won the 2005
''Inside Soap'' Awards for Best Newcomer and Funniest Performance. In 2006, he won the award for Funniest Performance. At the 2007
British Soap Awards
The British Soap Awards (BSAs) are an annual awards ceremony in the United Kingdom which honours the best moments in British soap operas. The ceremony is televised on ITV and has been presented by Phillip Schofield since 2006. The trophies give ...
, Cotton was awarded the Best Actor award, which was voted for by the public. Also in 2007 he won Best Actor at the
''Inside Soap'' Awards.
Cotton was appointed
Member of the Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations,
and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...
(MBE) in the
2022 Birthday Honours
The 2022 Queen's Birthday Honours are appointments by some of the 15 Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries. The Birthday Honours are awarded as par ...
for services to the British Army, personnel and veterans.
Filmography
;Film
;Television
See also
*
List of Dancing on Ice contestants
The following is a list of ''Dancing on Ice
''Dancing on Ice'' is a British television series presented by Phillip Schofield alongside Holly Willoughby from 2006 to 2011, who then returned in 2018, and Christine Bleakley from 2012 to 201 ...
*
List of I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here! (British TV series) contestants
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cotton, Antony
1975 births
Living people
English male soap opera actors
English gay actors
People from Bury, Greater Manchester
Singing talent show winners
English television talk show hosts
I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here! (British TV series) participants
21st-century LGBT people
Members of the Order of the British Empire