Leon Harrop (born ) is a British TV actor with

Down's Syndrome Down syndrome or Down's syndrome, also known as trisomy 21, is a genetic disorder caused by the presence of all or part of a third copy of chromosome 21. It is usually associated with physical growth delays, mild to moderate intellectual disa ...

, known for playing characters with the condition, most notably playing Ralph Wilson in ''

The A Word ''The A Word'' is a BBC television drama series, based on the Israeli series ''Yellow Peppers''. The series follows a young boy and how his family cope with the revelation that he has autism spectrum disorder. Following filming in the Lake Dist ...

'' (2016–2020) and its spin off series ''

Ralph & Katie ''Ralph & Katie'' is a 2022 British television drama series. It is a spin-off of ''The A Word'', and is centred around the lives of a couple with Down syndrome. The six-part series, handled by a writing team made up predominantly of people with ...

'' (2022).

Career

Harrop is from the town of Royton in Greater Manchester, and his first TV acting role was in a 2009 episode of the BBC drama ''The Street'' set in an unnamed street in Manchester. He starred alongside his onscreen mother Maxine Peake and onscreen dad Stephan Graham. Harrop got the part after the casting company rang his school, New Bridge School, and Harrop's teacher suggested him. After Harrop's teacher asked his mother what she thought, she read the script to see if the role was a good fit for Harrop. Harrop says that reading the script made his mother cry. After filming the episode the series' creator and writer Jimmy McGovern said Harrop was a "natural talent". Harrop then went on to perform in another BBC drama set in Manchester, portraying Lee in the

mini series The Mini is a small, two-door, four-seat car, developed as ADO15, and produced by the British Motor Corporation (BMC) and its successors, from 1959 through 2000. Minus a brief hiatus, original Minis were built for four decades and sold during ...

''From Here to There'' (2014) about the

1996 Manchester bombing The 1996 Manchester bombing was an attack carried out by the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) on Saturday, 15 June 1996. The IRA detonated a lorry bomb on Corporation Street in the centre of Manchester, England. It was the biggest ...

by the IRA. He also appeared in a 2015 episode of the Channel 4 police procedural drama '' No Offence'' also set in Manchester, and a 2016 episode of the BBC

anthology In book publishing, an anthology is a collection of literary works chosen by the compiler; it may be a collection of plays, poems, short stories, songs or excerpts by different authors. In genre fiction, the term ''anthology'' typically categ ...

drama series, '' Moving On'' created by Jimmy McGovern, with whom Harrop had previously worked on ''The Street''. Harrop played

series regular In fiction, a character (or speaker, in poetry) is a person or other being in a narrative (such as a novel, play, radio or television series, music, film, or video game). The character may be entirely fictional or based on a real-life person, i ...

Ralph Wilson in ''

'' between 2016 and 2020 in for all three series of the show, with the news and entertainment website '' HITC'' noting in September 2020 that his performance was being praised by fans of the show. Between 2019 and 2021 Harrop had guest appearances in three episodes of the

Sky One Sky One was a British pay television channel operated and owned by Sky Group (a division of Comcast). Originally launched on 26 April 1982 as Satellite Television, it was Europe's first satellite and non-terrestrial channel. From 31 July 1989, ...

comedy drama '' Brassic.'' Also in 2021 he guest starred in the BBC medical drama '' Casualty'' as Jordan "Jordy" Holt in the 11th episode of the 35th series. In 2022 Harrop reprised his role of Ralph Wilson in ''The A Word'''s spin off show ''Ralph and Katie'' starring alongside Sarah Gordy who plays the eponymous character of Katie Thorne.

Filmography

References: Harrop's

agency Agency may refer to: Organizations * Institution, governmental or others ** Advertising agency or marketing agency, a service business dedicated to creating, planning and handling advertising for its clients ** Employment agency, a business that ...

: Conway Van Gelder Grant, and IMDb

References

External links

*
Lean Harrop's biography and cv on agency's website Conway Van Gelder Grant
{{DEFAULTSORT:Harrop, Leon 1992 births Living people British male television actors Actors with Down syndrome Male actors from Oldham British people with disabilities People from Royton 21st-century British male actors