David Paisley (born 2 February 1979) is a Scottish actor, domestic violence and LGBTQIA+ rights campaigner, known for roles as midwife Ben Saunders in '' Holby City'', Ryan Taylor in '' Tinsel Town'' and Rory Murdoch in ''

River City ''River City'' is a Scottish television soap opera that was first broadcast on BBC One Scotland on 24 September 2002. ''River City'' follows the lives of the people who live and work in the fictional district of Shieldinch. In November 2017, a s ...

''. Some of his characters have been controversial due to their sexual orientation.

Early life

Paisley is the son of author Janet Paisley, and is one of seven children. He was voted 'Britain's sexiest man' by readers of ''

Gay Times ''Gay Times'' (stylized in all caps), also known as ''Gay Times Magazine'' and as ''GT'', is a UK-based LGBTQ+ media brand established in 1975. Originally a magazine for gay and bisexual men, the company now includes content for the LGBTQ+ comm ...

'' magazine in 2003. He grew up in

Glen Village Glen Village is a settlement in the Falkirk council area of Scotland, situated at the southern end of Callendar Park, and around south of Falkirk town centre. It adjoins the housing estate of Hallglen, with the two localities counted together i ...

near Falkirk. At 15 years of age, Paisley went to an LGBT group where he eventually met his first partner. At 17, he attended the

University of Glasgow , image = UofG Coat of Arms.png , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of arms Flag , latin_name = Universitas Glasguensis , motto = la, Via, Veritas, Vita , ...

to study physics, during which time he appeared in a community workshop (part of 7:84 theatre company in Glasgow) and then studied Optometry at

Glasgow Caledonian University Glasgow Caledonian University ( gd, Oilthigh Chailleannach Ghlaschu, ), informally GCU, Caledonian or Caley, is a public university in Glasgow, Scotland. It was formed in 1993 by the merger of The Queen's College, Glasgow (founded in 1875) and G ...

. At 18, he

came out Coming out of the closet, often shortened to coming out, is a metaphor used to describe LGBT people's self-disclosure of their sexual orientation, romantic orientation, or gender identity. Framed and debated as a privacy issue, coming out of ...

to his family who were supportive and helped in his efforts campaigning against the

Keep the Clause campaign The Keep the Clause campaign was a privately funded political campaign organised in 2000 with the aim of resisting the repeal of legislation known as Clause 28 of the Local Government Act 1988 in Scotland and the United Kingdom, which forbade ...

Career

Paisley began acting as a teenage boy when he heard about an open audition for television drama '' Tinsel Town'', a 1999-2000 television drama (co-produced by BBC Scotland and Raindog/Deep Indigo Productions). He went on to play one of the main characters, Ryan Taylor, the 17-year-old partner of a police officer. Later, Paisley appeared in a few stage productions. Then in 2002, he landed the part of midwife Ben Saunders in

BBC1 BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television bulletins, ...

's popular medical soap '' Holby City''. Ben's kiss with his on-screen same-sex partner attracted 114 complaints from viewers. In 2008, Paisley starred in the short film ''Sweat'', which was screened at the

London Lesbian and Gay Film Festival BFI Flare: London LGBTIQ+ Film Festival, formerly known as the London Lesbian and Gay Film Festival (LLGFF), is the biggest LGBTIQ+ film festival in Europe. It takes place every spring in London, England. It began in 1986, as a season of gay and ...

, and selected for screening at

NewFest NewFest: The New York Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, & Transgender Film Festival put on by The New Festival, Inc., is one of the most comprehensive forums of national and international LGBT film/video in the world. Founded in 1988, The New Festival, Inc ...

in New York, June 2008. Paisley completed filming on his regular role as Rory Murdoch on BBC Scotland's ''

'', the son of gangster Lenny Murdoch and departed the show in 2009. Paisley starred as 'Madam' Gary in the play ''The Backroom'' by Adrian Pagan at The Cock Tavern Theatre in Kilburn, London in March–May 2009, where he provided a 'particularly credible' performance as his 'nervy and paranoid' character. In May 2009, he also starred as Michael in the successful stage production of ''Muhmah'' at the HighTide Festival. In 2009–10, he took to the stage again in the UK Tour of ''Over The Rainbow: The Eva Cassidy Story'', in which he played the part of Dan Cassidy. In 2010, he made his directorial debut with the play ''The Lasses, O'' (written by his mother Janet Paisley). at the

Edinburgh Festival __NOTOC__ This is a list of arts and cultural festivals regularly taking place in Edinburgh, Scotland. The city has become known for its festivals since the establishment in 1947 of the Edinburgh International Festival and the Edinburgh Fe ...

. He also starred as Rick in the 2010 horror film ''Unhappy Birthday''. In 2013, Paisley "starred" in a short film produced for the

Dutch Film Festival The Netherlands Film Festival ( nl, Nederlands Film Festival) is an annual film festival, held in September and October of each year in the city of Utrecht. During the ten-day festival, Dutch film productions and co-productions are exhibited. Be ...

called ''Fall-out'', described as a post-apocalyptic romantic comedy. In 2016, he played the role of

Saki Hector Hugh Munro (18 December 1870 – 14 November 1916), better known by the pen name Saki and also frequently as H. H. Munro, was a British writer whose witty, mischievous and sometimes macabre stories satirize Edwardian society and cultu ...

Katherine Rundell Katherine Rundell (born 1987) is an English author and academic. She is the author of ''Rooftoppers'', which in 2015 won both the overall Waterstones Children's Book Prize and the Blue Peter Book Award for Best Story, and was short-listed for t ...

's ''Life According to Saki'' at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe; the play went on to win the

Carol Tambor Best of Edinburgh Award The Carol Tambor Best of Edinburgh Award is a theater prize given annually at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. History The Award has presented by the Carol Tambor Theatrical Foundation since 2004. In a formal agreement with the Fringe Society, i ...

and subsequently toured

Off-off-Broadway Off-off-Broadway theaters are smaller New York City theaters than Broadway and off-Broadway theaters, and usually have fewer than 100 seats. The off-off-Broadway movement began in 1958 as part of a response to perceived commercialism of the pro ...

. In November 2019, he returned to ''River City'' as Rory Murdoch, back from the dead having faked his own suicide.

Filmography

Awards and nominations

, - ! scope="row" , 2016 ,

, Best of Edinburgh , Life According to Saki , ,

Personal life

Paisley is a vegetarian. He was voted 'Britain's sexiest man' by readers of ''

'' magazine in 2003. In 2021, SNP MP Joanna Cherry alleged he had defamed her on Twitter, though he denied this and Cherry did not take the matter to court. In March 2021 Paisley was nominated for '"Awesome" Ally of the Year' by

Diva Diva (; ) is the Latin word for a goddess. It has often been used to refer to a celebrated woman of outstanding talent in the world of opera, theatre, cinema, fashion and popular music. If referring to an actress, the meaning of ''diva'' is cl ...

magazine. In May 2021 Paisley was nominated for '"Celebrity" of the Year' at the

National Diversity Awards The National Diversity Awards is an awards ceremony which honours positive role models, entrepreneurs and community organisations across several different strands within the equality and diversity sector. It is held annually in various venues ac ...

. In June 2021 he was announced as a winner of the Attitude Pride Awards 2021. In August 2021 he was shortlisted for the "Community Champion Award" at the Proud Scotland Awards. Paisley declared in August 2021 that he would move from Scotland as he "no longer feels safe".

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Paisley, David 1979 births Alumni of the University of Glasgow Living people Scottish male film actors Scottish male television actors Scottish male soap opera actors Scottish gay actors LGBT entertainers from Scotland Alumni of Glasgow Caledonian University