Don Gilét (born 17 January 1967) is an English actor, best known for his roles in BBC productions ''

Babyfather ''Babyfather'' is a BBC Two television programme which aired in the UK in 2001 and 2002. The show has been described as a "black, male, UK version of ''Sex and the City''".SBS television homepage, http://www.sbs.com.au/babyfather/ It ran for two ...

'', ''

EastEnders ''EastEnders'' is a Television in the United Kingdom, British soap opera created by Julia Smith (producer), Julia Smith and Tony Holland which has been broadcast on BBC One since February 1985. Set in the fictional borough of Walford in the Ea ...

'' and ''

55 Degrees North ''55 Degrees North'' is a BBC television drama series starring Don Gilet as DS Nicky Cole, a London detective relocated to Newcastle upon Tyne after exposing police corruption. Dervla Kirwan co-stars as Claire Maxwell, an ambitious solicitor. ...

''.

Personal life

He was brought up in

Caldmore Caldmore ( ) is a suburb of Walsall in the West Midlands, England. It is a historic village formerly in Staffordshire. History The settlement of Caldmore grew up around an important road junction, the shape of which defined an open space of rou ...

Walsall Walsall (, or ; locally ) is a market town and administrative centre in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands County, England. Historic counties of England, Historically part of Staffordshire, it is located north-west of Birmingham, east ...

, with two older sisters. He attended Blue Coat Academy Church of England and Sunday school at Caldmore Gospel Hall in Caldmore, and the

Mountview Academy of Theatre Arts Mountview Academy of Theatre Arts, formerly Mountview Theatre School, is a drama school in Peckham, south London, England, founded in 1945. The Academy provides specialist vocational training in acting and musical theatre, as well as production ...

. He currently resides with his family in

Bedfordshire Bedfordshire (; abbreviated Beds) is a ceremonial county in the East of England. The county has been administered by three unitary authorities, Borough of Bedford, Central Bedfordshire and Borough of Luton, since Bedfordshire County Council wa ...

. Gilét is close friends with ''

'' co-star

Diane Parish Diane Parish (born 1 November 1969) is an English actress, who has been portraying the character Denise Fox on the BBC One soap opera ''EastEnders'' since 2006 Born in Chelsea, London and a graduate of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, Pari ...

, both having been in ''

'' together.

Career

Gilét's first television appearance was on the Channel 4 dating show '' Streetmate'', where he was interviewed as the friend of a participant. His first major role was playing Johnny Lindo in ''

'' (opposite future EastEnders co-star

), before landing the lead role in the detective series ''

'', as Detective Sergeant Nicky Cole. In 2006, he played Leo Charles in ''

The Line of Beauty ''The Line of Beauty'' is a 2004 Man Booker Prize-winning novel by Alan Hollinghurst. Plot The novel is set in Britain in three parts, taking place in 1983, 1986 and 1987. The story surrounds the young gay protagonist, Nick Guest. Nick is midd ...

'' and had a prominent role in the ''

Doctor Who ''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series depicts the adventures of a Time Lord called the Doctor, an extraterrestrial being who appears to be human. The Doctor explores the u ...

'' Christmas episode " The Runaway Bride". He often performs his own stunts on set. In 2001, Gilét appeared in a commercial for Apple's

iMac G4 The iMac G4 is an all-in-one personal computer designed, manufactured, and sold by Apple Computer from January 2002 to August 2004. It replaced the iMac G3 and was succeeded by the iMac G5. Design and marketing The iMac G4 featured an L ...

Computer. The commercial was named "Window Shopping" and displayed Gilét making certain gestures towards the

iMac iMac is a family of all-in-one Mac desktop computers designed and built by Apple Inc. It has been the primary part of Apple's consumer desktop offerings since its debut in August 1998, and has evolved through seven distinct forms. In it ...

, which the computer later copied. He also appeared as a store manager in a staff training video for

Sainsbury's J Sainsbury plc, trading as Sainsbury's, is the second largest chain of supermarkets in the United Kingdom, with a 14.6% share of UK supermarket sales. Founded in 1869 by John James Sainsbury with a shop in Drury Lane, London, the company wa ...

supermarkets. He has had minor appearances in ''

Casualty Casualty may refer to: *Casualty (person), a person who is killed or rendered unfit for service in a war or natural disaster **Civilian casualty, a non-combatant killed or injured in warfare * The emergency department of a hospital, also known as ...

'', ''

Holby City ''Holby City'' (stylised on-screen as HOLBY CIY) is a British medical drama television series that aired weekly on BBC One. It was created by Tony McHale and Mal Young as a spin-off from the established BBC medical drama ''Casualty'', and pr ...

'', ''

Silent Witness ''Silent Witness'' is a British crime drama television series produced by the BBC, which focuses on a team of forensic pathology experts and their investigations into various crimes. First broadcast in 1996, the series was created by Nigel McC ...

'' and ''

The Bill ''The Bill'' is a British police procedural television series, first broadcast on ITV from 16 August 1983 until 31 August 2010. The programme originated from a one-off drama, '' Woodentop'', broadcast in August 1983. The programme focused on ...

''. Gilét featured in the music video for Gabrielle's 2001 hit " Out of Reach". In 2011, he featured in a music video for the song 'I Want You to Remember' by solo artist I Am Spartacus. In theatre, he has appeared in ''

As You Like It ''As You Like It'' is a pastoral comedy by William Shakespeare believed to have been written in 1599 and first published in the First Folio in 1623. The play's first performance is uncertain, though a performance at Wilton House in 1603 has b ...

'' and ''

The Alchemist An alchemist is a person who practices alchemy. Alchemist or Alchemyst may also refer to: Books and stories * ''The Alchemist'' (novel), the translated title of a 1988 allegorical novel by Paulo Coelho * ''The Alchemist'' (play), a play by Ben ...

''. In April 2008, he joined the popular BBC television soap opera ''

'' playing serial killer

Lucas Johnson Lucas Johnson is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'', played by Don Gilet. He made his first on-screen appearance on 3 April 2008. Lucas is introduced as a reformed drug addict and criminal-turned-preacher who appears a ...

. Gilét's character left ''EastEnders'' on 30 July 2010. In 2010, he appeared as Abanazar in the Churchill Theatre Bromley's Christmas pantomime ''

Aladdin Aladdin ( ; ar, علاء الدين, ', , ATU 561, ‘Aladdin') is a Middle-Eastern folk tale. It is one of the best-known tales associated with ''The Book of One Thousand and One Nights'' (''The Arabian Nights''), despite not being part of ...

'' alongside

Melinda Messenger Melinda Jane Messenger (born 23 February 1971) is an English television presenter and former glamour model and Page Three girl. She presented the magazine programme ''Live from Studio Five'' and was formerly the co-presenter of the reality show ...

. He followed up this performance in 2011 by appearing at the Grove Theatre,

Dunstable Dunstable ( ) is a market town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in Bedfordshire, England, east of the Chiltern Hills, north of London. There are several steep chalk escarpments, most noticeable when approaching Dunstable from the ...

in ''

Jack and the Beanstalk "Jack and the Beanstalk" is an English fairy tale. It appeared as "The Story of Jack Spriggins and the Enchanted Bean" in 1734 4th edition On Commons and as Benjamin Tabart's moralized "The History of Jack and the Bean-Stalk" in 1807. Henry Cole ...

'', which also featured his ''EastEnders'' co-star

Gemma Bissix Gemma Bissix (born 6 June 1983) is an English actress. She has been acting since the age of 9. Her most prominent roles have been in soap operas, as Clare Bates in '' EastEnders'' (1993–1998, 2008) and Clare Devine in ''Hollyoaks'' (2006–200 ...

. In May 2013, Gilét played the roles of Fuliginous, Ruislip & Blackfriar in a BBC radio adaptation of Neil Gaiman's ''

Neverwhere ''Neverwhere'' is an urban fantasy television miniseries by Neil Gaiman that first aired in 1996 on BBC 2. The series is set in "London Below", a magical realm coexisting with the more familiar London, referred to as "London Above". It was dev ...

'', adapted by Dirk Maggs. In 2014, Gilét joined the cast of

BBC #REDIRECT 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 ex ...

medical drama ''

'' in the role of Consultant Anaesthetist Jesse Law. In 2015, Gilét re-joined the cast of BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'' to reprise his role of Lucas Johnson. The first episode that Gilét was featured in was aired on 1 January 2016. His character returned later that year, when his character returned to his villainous way by trying to escape from prison. Gilét's character departed the show again on 10 March 2016. In 2017, Gilét joined the TV series '' The Loch'', playing psychologist Blake Albrighton. The character made his debut in the series's first episode on 11 June 2017. In 2020, it was announced that Gilét was set to return to the BBC soap opera,

to reprise his role of Lucas Johnson. The character returned on 25 December 2020 and departed on 18 March 2021. Then in 2022, he portrayed the role of Coach Harris in the BBC series '' Rebel Cheer Squad''.

Filmography

*''

Desmond's ''Desmond's'' is a British television situation comedy broadcast by Channel 4 from 1989 to 1994. Conceived and co-written by Trix Worrell, and produced by Charlie Hanson and Humphrey Barclay, ''Desmond's'' stars Norman Beaton as barber Desmond ...

'' (1993) *''

The Imaginatively Titled Punt & Dennis Show ''The Imaginatively Titled Punt & Dennis Show'', known simply as ''Punt and Dennis'' throughout its second series, is a British stand-up and sketch show written by and starring comedians Steve Punt and Hugh Dennis. The first series of 6 episod ...

'' (1994) *''Now What'' (1995) *''Brothers and Sisters'' (1998) *'' The Return of Nick Cotton'' (2000) – Biscuit *''

'' (2001) *''

'' (2002) *''

Time Gentlemen Please ''Time Gentlemen Please'' is a British sitcom primarily written by Richard Herring and Al Murray and broadcast on Sky One from 2000 to 2002. Premise The show is set in a forgotten, unwelcoming pub whose opinionated landlord, 'Guv' (short for ...

'' (2002) *''

Cutting It ''Cutting It'' is a BBC television drama series set in Manchester, England, focusing on the lives and loves of the team running a hairdressing salon. It ran for four series between 2002 and 2005. The show featured a number of actors who have sin ...

'' (2002) *''Single Voices'' (2002) *''

'' (2003) *''

'' (2003) *''Belly Button'' (2004) *''

'' (2004–2005) *''

'' (2006) *''

'': " The Runaway Bride" (Christmas special, 2006) *''

Cape Wrath Cape Wrath ( gd, Am Parbh, known as ' in Lewis) is a cape in the Durness parish of the county of Sutherland in the Highlands of Scotland. It is the most north-westerly point in mainland Britain. The cape is separated from the rest of the mai ...

'' (2007) *''

'' (2008–2010, 2016, 2020–2021) –

*''

EastEnders: E20 ''EastEnders: E20'' (sometimes just ''E20'') is a British Internet soap opera, which began airing on 8 January 2010. A spin-off from the established BBC soap ''EastEnders'', it is set in ''EastEnders'' regular setting of Albert Square, a Victori ...

'' (2010) – Lucas Johnson *''

Wizards vs Aliens ''Wizards vs Aliens'' is a British science fantasy television programme produced by BBC Cymru Wales and FremantleMedia Enterprises for CBBC (TV channel), CBBC and created by Russell T Davies and Phil Ford (writer), Phil Ford. The series focuses ...

'' (2012) – Richard Sherwood *''

Father Brown Father Brown is a fictional Roman Catholic priest and amateur detective who is featured in 53 short stories published between 1910 and 1936 written by English author G. K. Chesterton. Father Brown solves mysteries and crimes using his intuiti ...

'' (2013) – Douglas Taylor *''What Does the K Stand For?'' (2013) – Vincent Amos (radio comedy) *''

'' – Jesse Law (2014–2016) *'' Death in Paradise'' (2015) – Guest appearance *''Brief Encounters'' (2016) – Kieren *'' The Loch'' (2017) – Blake Albrighton *''Death on the Tyne '' (2018) – Alan *''Scarborough'' (2019) – Joe Cassidy *'' The Stranger'' (2019) – Phillip *'' Shakespeare & Hathaway: Private Investigators'' (2020) – Winston Hoyte *'' Rebel Cheer Squad'' (2022) – Coach Harris

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Gilet, Don 1967 births Living people People from Walsall Alumni of the Mountview Academy of Theatre Arts Black British male actors British male stage actors British male soap opera actors 20th-century British male actors 21st-century British male actors English people of Nigerian descent