James William Baxter (born 3 August 1990) is an English actor known for his roles as Jake Doland in ''

Emmerdale ''Emmerdale'' (known as ''Emmerdale Farm'' until 1989) is a British soap opera that is broadcast on ITV1. The show is set in Emmerdale (known as Beckindale until 1994), a fictional village in the Yorkshire Dales. Created by Kevin Laffan, '' ...

'', Anthony in ''

Alma's Not Normal ''Alma's Not Normal'' is a British sitcom first broadcast as a pilot episode on BBC Two in April 2020. The series follows the eponymous Alma, from Bolton, as she tries to give her life meaning and the "fabulous" outcome she has always dreamed of ...

'', Leroy in ''

Still Open All Hours ''Still Open All Hours'' is a British sitcom created for the BBC by Roy Clarke, and starring David Jason and James Baxter. It is the sequel to the sitcom ''Open All Hours'', which both Clarke and Jason worked on throughout its 26-episode run ...

'', and Jesus in ''

Red Dwarf ''Red Dwarf'' is a British science fiction comedy franchise created by Rob Grant and Doug Naylor, which primarily consists of a television sitcom that aired on BBC Two between 1988 and 1999, and on Dave since 2009, gaining a cult following. T ...

''. Since 2023, he has portrayed deputy head teacher Joe Casey in '' Waterloo Road''.

Early life

Baxter was born and brought up in

Sunderland Sunderland () is a port city in Tyne and Wear, England. It is the City of Sunderland's administrative centre and in the Historic counties of England, historic county of County of Durham, Durham. The city is from Newcastle-upon-Tyne and is on t ...

Tyne and Wear Tyne and Wear () is a metropolitan county in North East England, situated around the mouths of the rivers Tyne and Wear. It was created in 1974, by the Local Government Act 1972, along with five metropolitan boroughs of Gateshead, Newcastl ...

and educated at Farringdon Community Sports College. He attended weekly classes at NADA (the Northern Academy Of Dramatic Arts) held at the city's Royalty Theatre. Whilst there he appeared in various productions including ''Some Like It Hot'' and the 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 ...

'' (Christmas 2006).

Career

Stage

In the Fiona Evans stage play ''Scarborough'' at the 2007

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 ...

, his performance as a teenager embarking upon an illicit affair with his PE Teacher won him a best-actor nomination for a Festival Fringe Award, and favourable reviews. He has played in the North East musical ''Fine Fine Fine'' based on a story by

Denise Robertson Denise Robertson (9 June 1932 – 31 March 2016) was a British writer and television broadcaster. She made her television debut as the presenter of the ''Junior Advice Line'' segment of the BBC's '' Breakfast Time'' programme in 1985, though ...

. Baxter created the role of ''Bruce Blakemore'' in ''Silk Road'' by

Alex Oates Alex Oates (born 1987 in Newcastle) is an English playwright from the North East. Background Born in Newcastle, Oates was born to a nurse and policeman and raised in Whitley Bay in the North East of England. He moved to London to attend Mid ...

at Assembly Studios as part of the Edinburgh Festival 2014.

Television

In 2007, Baxter landed the role of Jake Doland, in the long running

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 ...

soap opera A soap opera, or ''soap'' for short, is a typically long-running radio or television serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term "soap opera" originated from radio dramas originally being sponsored ...

''. Baxter left the soap in 2009, together with his on-screen family, at the conclusion of their storyline. In 2012, Baxter played Jesus (of Caesarea) in the episode "Lemons" of the sci-fi sitcom ''

''. He also had a bit part in the BBC's '' The Revenge Files of Alistair Fury'', filmed on Tyneside, and played Alan Maddison in the ITV World War II drama ''

Joe Maddison's War ''Joe Maddison's War'' is a 2010 television film written by Alan Plater about strained family and social relations in wartime. Directed by Patrick Collerton and filmed partly on location in South Shields, it presents a view of World War II th ...

''. In November 2013, he joined the cast of ''

Hebburn Hebburn is a town in the metropolitan county of Tyne and Wear, England. It governed under the borough of South Tyneside; formerly governed under the county of Durham until 1974 with its own urban district from 1894 until 1974. It is on the south ...

'' as a guest in series two. Since 2013, Baxter has played the role of Leroy in the

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, ...

series ''

'', the revival series of ''

Open All Hours ''Open All Hours'' is a British television sitcom created and written by Roy Clarke for the BBC. It ran for 26 episodes in four series, which aired in 1976, 1981, 1982 and 1985. The programme developed from a television pilot broadcast in Ronni ...

''. In 2021, Baxter played the role of Anthony in

on BBC2. In 2022, Baxter was cast as Joe Casey in the new series of ''Waterloo Road''.

Radio

''Imaginary Boys'': As part of BBC Radio 4s Afternoon Play strand, James played 17-year-old schoolboy David in a

Paul Magrs Paul Magrs (pronounced "Mars"; born 12 November 1969) is a writer and lecturer. He was born in Jarrow, England, and now lives in Manchester with his partner, author and lecturer Jeremy Hoad. Early life Magrs was born in Jarrow, Tyne & Wear, on ...

play. David is followed by, and falls in love with, an alien called Lawrence. Lawrence is a noveliser from Verbatim 6, a species that is also featured in Magrs' Big Finish audio book ' Find and Replace' and '

Ringpullworld ''The Companion Chronicles'' is a sci-fi audio series produced by Big Finish Productions, Big Finish, detailing adventures usually featuring The Doctor (Doctor Who), the Doctor, as told by various former companions of his, with only one further ...

Personal life

In 2018, he began dating actress

Chelsea Halfpenny Chelsea Halfpenny (born 26 September 1991) is an English actress, known for her roles as Amy Wyatt in the ITV soap opera ''Emmerdale'' and Alicia Munroe in the BBC drama '' Casualty''. She played Jenna Hunterson in the 2022 UK Tour of ''Wai ...

, and they announced their engagement on 13 June 2021.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Baxter, James 1990 births Living people People from Sunderland Male actors from Tyne and Wear 21st-century English male actors English male radio actors English male soap opera actors English male stage actors Actors from County Durham