Philip Ashley Taylor Dawson (born 11 January 1982), known as Ashley Taylor Dawson, is an English actor and singer. He is known for portraying the role of
Darren Osborne
Darren Osborne is a fictional character from the British Channel 4 soap opera ''Hollyoaks''. He was introduced by executive producer Phil Redmond as part of the Osborne family, making his first screen appearance on 18 November 1996, portrayed ...
in the
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned enterprise, state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a four ...
soap opera ''
Hollyoaks
''Hollyoaks'' is a British soap opera which began airing on Channel 4 on 23 October 1995. It was created by Phil Redmond, who had previously conceived the soap opera ''Brookside (TV series), Brookside''. Since 2005, episodes have been aired on ...
'', as well as being a member of the pop group
allSTARS*
Allstars (stylised allSTARS*) were a British pop group, who were active between 2001 and 2002, achieving some chart success in the UK. Consisting of Sam Bloom, Thaila Zucchi, Ashley Taylor Dawson, Rebecca Hunter and Sandi Lee Hughes (the ini ...
.
Early life
Born in
Manchester
Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...
, Dawson grew up in
Wilmslow
Wilmslow ( ) is a market town and civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire East in Cheshire, England, south of Manchester city centre. The population was 24,497 at the 2011 Census.
History
Toponymy
Wilmslow derives its name from Old ...
. He attended Ashdene Primary School and
Altrincham Grammar School for Boys and joined local drama group Scamps at a young age. He is the brother of singer and guitarist Catherine Taylor-Dawson.
Career
Dawson has played the role of Darren Osborne in ''Hollyoaks'' since 1999. Actor Adam Booth originally played the part before leaving in 1997. The character rejoined ''Hollyoaks'' in 1999 when Dawson secured the part. Dawson joined ''Hollyoaks'' when he was 17 years old after getting his big break with the National Youth Theatre. Since then he has appeared in ''Hollyoaks'' spinoffs such as ''
Hollyoaks Later
''Hollyoaks Later'' (originally ''Late Night Hollyoaks'') is a British television spin-off of the Channel 4 soap opera ''Hollyoaks''. The series allows for more sexual content, 'edgier' storylines and stronger language than ''Hollyoaks''. The s ...
'' and ''
Tom's Life''. He went on to secure the part of Darren following an audition, but soon after left in 2000 to join ALLSTARS*.
Dawson re-joined the show in August 2003 after AllSTARS* split up. On playing the part Dawson said "I love playing the bad lad. He's my alter ego".
Dawson was a member of the UK pop band
allSTARS*
Allstars (stylised allSTARS*) were a British pop group, who were active between 2001 and 2002, achieving some chart success in the UK. Consisting of Sam Bloom, Thaila Zucchi, Ashley Taylor Dawson, Rebecca Hunter and Sandi Lee Hughes (the ini ...
. His college best friend,
Sam Bloom
Samuel Bloom (born 19 December 1981) is an actor and singer best known as a member of the short lived pop group allSTARS*.
Early life
Bloom was born in Manchester on 19 December 1981. Graham Gouldman of 10cc was the first husband of Bloom's mo ...
, called him up for an audition and invited him over. Byrne Blood Productions (Steps, A1), the management company at that time, was surprised to find that the actor could also dance and sing. Dawson eventually made it in, getting accepted and rising to fame. Dawson and Bloom also shared a flat together. Other than performing, he also appeared in allSTARS*' accompanying
CITV
CITV (short for Children's ITV, also known as the CITV Channel) is a British free-to-air children's television channel owned by ITV plc. It broadcasts content from the CITV archive and acquisitions, every day from 6 am to 9 pm which ...
television show, ''
STARStreet*''. Dawson was featured in other shows as well. He performed with the band on ''80s Mania'' in 2001, and was next seen on episodes of ''Top of the Pops''. He later made an appearance in ''
Never Mind the Buzzcocks
''Never Mind the Buzzcocks'' is a British comedy panel game show with a pop music theme. It has aired on Sky Max since September 2021, having originally aired between November 1996 and January 2015 on BBC Two. The original series was first hoste ...
'', ''
Stars in Their Eyes
''Stars in Their Eyes'' is a British television talent series, based on Joop van den Ende's Dutch format ''Soundmixshow''. It featured a singing contest in which members of the public impersonate showbiz stars.
The show premiered on 21 July 1 ...
'' and ''
RI:SE''. While with the group they managed to score four
Top 20
A record chart, in the music industry, also called a music chart, is a ranking of recorded music according to certain criteria during a given period. Many different criteria are used in worldwide charts, often in combination. These include rec ...
singles in their two-year career.
Dawson appeared along with Darren Day in a production of ''
Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat
''Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat'' (often colloquially known as ''Joseph'') is a sung-through musical with lyrics by Tim Rice and music by Andrew Lloyd Webber, based on the character of Joseph from the Bible's Book of Genesis. Thi ...
'' at the Palace Theatre, Manchester, UK. As a teenager, he appeared in a number of amateur productions in his home town, including Wilmslow Guild Players' production of ''Jack and the Beanstalk'' in 1996, for which he was nominated for The Barry Phillips Award for the Most Promising Youngster (Male) in the Cheshire Theatre Guild Awards.
In September 2013, Dawson was announced as a contestant on the
eleventh series of ''
Strictly Come Dancing
''Strictly Come Dancing'' (informally known as ''Strictly'') is a British dance contest show in which celebrities partner with professional dancers to compete in mainly ballroom and Latin dance. Each couple is scored by a panel of usually 4 ...
'' partnered with
Ola Jordan
Aleksandra "Ola" Jordan (''née'' Grabowska; born 30 September 1982) is a British-Polish professional ballroom dancer and model. She appeared as a professional on the British TV show ''Strictly Come Dancing'' from 2006 to 2015. After winning a ch ...
. They were voted out in the quarter-finals, on 8 December.
In 2014, Dawson released "Playboy Bunny" on ''Applique Music'', produced by
Artful and Lempo, reached #1 on
JunoDownload and #54 on
ITunes
iTunes () is a software program that acts as a media player, media library, mobile device management utility, and the client app for the iTunes Store. Developed by Apple Inc., it is used to purchase, play, download, and organize digital mul ...
, supported on
Capital FM and
BBC Radio One
BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It specialises in modern popular music and current chart hits throughout the day. The station provides alternative genres at night, including electronica, dance, ...
.
In January 2021, Dawson and
John Junior
John Junior, known as The Duckman is a British mental health activist and script consultant. He is known for co-creating, inspiring and featuring in multi-award winning and British Academy of Film and Television Arts, BAFTA nominated documenta ...
, filmed a video with
BBC Radio 5, about a suicide storyline in
Hollyoaks
''Hollyoaks'' is a British soap opera which began airing on Channel 4 on 23 October 1995. It was created by Phil Redmond, who had previously conceived the soap opera ''Brookside (TV series), Brookside''. Since 2005, episodes have been aired on ...
. The storyline; When Nancy and Darren, played by Dawson, were distressed about Nancy's partner Kyle taking his own life, this stopped Junior from continuing with his suicide plans. The
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
brought them both together, so that Junior could thank Dawson for saving his life.
In January 2011, Dawson announced that he and long-term partner Karen McKay were expecting their first child.
Their first son was born in March 2011 and their second in October 2013.
Dawson is fond of sports and plays football, tennis, and basketball. He supports
and considered a career as a professional footballer. He currently plays occasional charity football matches with the Hollyoaks All-Stars. He also owns a night club in Wilmslow called Symposium.