Michael McKell (born 10 February 1959, in

Bethnal Green Bethnal Green is an area in the East End of London northeast of Charing Cross. The area emerged from the small settlement which developed around the common land, Green, much of which survives today as Bethnal Green Gardens, beside Cambridge Heat ...

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

) is an English actor. He is best known for playing Inspector Trevor Hands in ''

Murder Investigation Team Major Investigation Teams (MIT) are the specialised homicide squads of the Metropolitan Police in London, England. Forming part of the Homicide and Major Crime Command, there are 24 MITs within the Met. MITs investigate cases of murder, manslau ...

'' (2003-2005), Dr. Nick West in ''

Doctors Doctor or The Doctor may refer to: Personal titles * Doctor (title), the holder of an accredited academic degree * A medical practitioner, including: ** Physician ** Surgeon ** Dentist ** Veterinary physician ** Optometrist *Other roles ** ...

'' (2006-2008) and DS Nicholas "Nick" Henshall 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, '' ...

'' (2008-2011).

Television

McKell is best known for appearing in two British soap operas, ''

'', in which he played Dr. Nick West from 2006 until the character was run over and killed in 2008, and ''

'', in which he has played DC Nick Henshall over two separate periods from 2008 to 2011, until the character committed suicide. He has also appeared in a third soap opera, ''

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 ...

'' as the hitman Carter who supposedly killed

Paul Trueman Paul Trueman is a fictional character from the British BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'', played by Gary Beadle. The character, who first arrived onto Albert Square on 23 April 2001 and later departed the programme on 23 December 2004, was portraye ...

under the orders of Andy Hunter. For his role as Nick in ''Doctors'', McKell received nominations for Sexiest Male at the 2006, 2007 and 2008

British Soap Awards The British Soap Awards (BSAs) are an annual awards ceremony in the United Kingdom which honours the best moments in British soap operas. The ceremony is televised on ITV and has been presented by Phillip Schofield since 2006. The trophies give ...

. His exit storyline later saw a nomination at the 2009 ceremony. He is also known for playing D.S./D.I. Trevor Hands in two seasons of the

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 ...

drama ''

'', two seasons of Channel 4's ''

Totally Frank ''Totally Frank'' is a comedy drama series with a real-life band as its stars on Channel 4. It follows a band, Frank, who were struggling to make it in the music industry. Frank The band on the show consisted of lead singer Tasha ( Lauren Bl ...

'' and the BBC One series ''

Blessed Blessed may refer to: * The state of having received a blessing * Blessed, a title assigned by the Roman Catholic Church to someone who has been beatified Film and television * ''Blessed'' (2004 film), a 2004 motion picture about a supernatural ...

'', playing Ronnie, a Jaggeresque musician. He came to prominence in the mid-1990s as the character Tony in a series of British television commercials for the

Peugeot 106 The Peugeot 106 is a supermini produced by French automaker Peugeot between 1991 and 2003. Launched in September 1991, it was Peugeot's entry level offering throughout its production life, and was initially sold only as a three door hatchback, w ...

car, alongside

Julie Graham Julie Graham (born 24 July 1965) is a Scottish television and film actress. Career Graham has appeared in the Channel 4 ''Blood Red Roses'' (1986, filmed in East Kilbride). She also appeared in 1986 in an episode of ''Taggart'', “Death Call� ...

and Annie Dunkley. He was the face of Ancestry in their national campaign 2019. He appeared in the final episode of BBC2's ''

Cradle to Grave ''Cradle to Grave'' is a British sitcom set around the life of Danny Baker. It began airing on 3 September 2015. The sitcom stars Laurie Kynaston as Danny Baker, Peter Kay, and actress Lucy Speed as Danny Baker's parents. Plot It is 1973 and ...

'' in October 2015. Most recently appeared in ITV drama Vera 2019. He appeared in an episode of BBC afternoon drama-comedy '' Shakespeare & Hathaway: Private Investigators'' entitled The Rascal Cook, in which he played Len Tekler. The episode first aired on 8 March 2018 and was repeated on 21 March 2019.

Film

McKell starred in the cult film ''

Essex Boys ''Essex Boys'' is a 2000 British crime film. It was directed by Terry Winsor and stars Sean Bean, Alex Kingston, Tom Wilkinson, Charlie Creed-Miles and Holly Davidson. Plot The film is based loosely around events in December 1995 that culmina ...

'' alongside

Sean Bean Sean Bean (born Shaun Mark Bean on 17 April 1959) is an English actor. After graduating from the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, Bean made his professional debut in a theatre production of ''Romeo and Juliet'' in 1983. Retaining his Yorkshire ac ...

as drug dealer Wayne Lovell. Other films include ''Beneath Still Waters'', ''Act's Of Godfrey'', ''The Low Down'', ''Blood'', ''Bar'', ''Death'', ''Freight'', ''Shouting Men'', '' Outpost: Rise of the Spetsnaz'', '' Hatton Garden: the Heist'', and ''Who Needs Enemies''. He has appeared in over 30 films, including ''

Allied An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are called ...

'' with

Brad Pitt William Bradley Pitt (born December 18, 1963) is an American actor and film producer. He is the recipient of various accolades, including two Academy Awards, a British Academy Film Award, two Golden Globe Awards, and a Primetime Emmy Award. ...

and ''

Where Hands Touch ''Where Hands Touch'' is a 2018 romantic war drama film directed and written by Amma Asante and starring Amandla Stenberg, George MacKay, Abbie Cornish, Christopher Eccleston, and Tom Sweet. It was produced by Charlie Hanson, and tells the ...

'', directed by

Amma Asante Amma Asante (born 13 September 1969) is a British filmmaker, screenwriter, former actress, and Chancellor at Norwich University of the Arts, who was born in London to parents from Ghana. Her love for the film industry started when she received ...

. McKell co-produced and starred in ''

Winter Ridge ''Winter Ridge'' is a 2018 British psychological thriller drama film directed by Dom Lenoir and starring Matt Hookings, Olwen Catherine Kelly, Michael McKell, Hannah Waddingham, Justin McDonald and Alan Ford. It was written by Ross Owen Willia ...

''. ''The Guard Of Auschwitz'', ''Abatement'', ''13 Graves'', ''Once Upon A Time In London'', ''Pentagram'', ''The Angel Of Auschwitz'' and ''Irish Stand Down'', were all released in 2019. 2019's ''Lucas & Albert'' features Michael's daughter Claudia Grace McKell, who herself is a director for her first film ''Just A Girl''. Recently, Mckell played the titular roles in Steve Lawson's 2021 film ''

Jekyll and Hyde ''Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde'' is a 1886 Gothic novella by Scottish author Robert Louis Stevenson. It follows Gabriel John Utterson, a London-based legal practitioner who investigates a series of strange occurrences between his old ...

'', and appeared in 2022's ''

Prizefighter Professional boxing, or prizefighting, is regulated, sanctioned boxing. Professional boxing bouts are fought for a purse that is divided between the boxers as determined by contract. Most professional bouts are supervised by a regulatory autho ...

'' with

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Ray Winstone Raymond Andrew Winstone (; born 19 February 1957) is an English television, stage and film actor with a career spanning five decades. Having worked with many prominent directors, including Martin Scorsese and Steven Spielberg, Winstone is perha ...

and

Russell Crowe Russell Ira Crowe (born 7 April 1964) is an actor. He was born in New Zealand, spent ten years of his childhood in Australia, and moved there permanently at age twenty one. He came to international attention for his role as Roman General Maxi ...

Theatre

From January to July 2015, McKell co-starred with

Tina Hobley Tina Ellen Hobley (born 20 May 1971) is an English actress and radio presenter, best known for her long-running role as Chrissie Williams in the BBC One medical drama series ''Holby City''. Hobley left Holby City in November 2013 after 12 years. ...

Jamie Lomas James Lomas (born 21 April 1975) is an English actor, known for his soap opera roles as Warren Fox in ''Hollyoaks'' and Jake Stone in ''EastEnders''. Life and career Lomas was born in Manchester. Before joining ''Hollyoaks'' in 2006, he had ...

Rik Makarem Tarik Makarem (born 18 January 1982), is an English actor most famous for playing Nikhil Sharma in ''Emmerdale''. Classically trained he is a graduate of the Royal Scottish Academy of Music & Drama. He won a Laurence Olivier Bursary in 2004 ...

and

Gray O'Brien Gray O'Brien (born Gerard O'Brien, 11 August 1968) is a Scottish television and film actor, best known for his portrayal of the villainous Weatherfield businessman Tony Gordon in the popular ITV soap opera ''Coronation Street'' from 2007–2010 ...

in a nationwide touring production of Peter James's ''Dead Simple''. In September/October 2015, McKell appeared with

Nick Moran Nick Moran (born 23 December 1968 or 1969, sources differ) is an English actor and filmmaker, best known for his role as Eddie the card sharp in ''Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels''. He appeared as Scabior in ''Harry Potter and the Deathly H ...

in ''Roaring Trade'' at

The Park Theatre The Park Theatre opened in Finsbury Park, north LondonCecilia Sundstrom"Psychopaths, nudity and Maureen Lipman launch new Finsbury Park theatre" ''Hackney Gazette'', 27 March 2013. Retrieved 2013-04-01. in 2013. It describes itself as "a neighbo ...

. From 7 December 2015 to 3 January 2016, McKell appeared in his first pantomime as Abanazar in ''Aladdin'' at the

Derby Arena Derby Arena is a multi-use indoor arena and velodrome at Pride Park in Derby, England. It was opened in 2015 and has hosted cycling, badminton and entertainment events. Construction Construction was expected to be completed in November 2014 wi ...

. McKell went back to his roots to play Paul in Irvine Welch's play ''Creatives'' at The Edinburgh Festival 2017. McKell is about to embark on a UK and Ireland tour with Queen and Ben Elton’s We Will Rock You 2019/2020.Michael resumes the tour post Covid in 2022

Music

McKell started his working life as a musician. He was the singer/songwriter for the band The Park, penning hits for Toyah,

Dollar Dollar is the name of more than 20 currencies. They include the Australian dollar, Brunei dollar, Canadian dollar, Hong Kong dollar, Jamaican dollar, Liberian dollar, Namibian dollar, New Taiwan dollar, New Zealand dollar, Singapore dollar, U ...

and

Julien Clerc Paul Alain Leclerc (born 4 October 1947), known by his stage name Julien Clerc (), is a French singer-songwriter. Life Born in Paris, Clerc grew up listening to classical music in his father Paul Leclerc's home, while his mother Évelyne Merlot ...

. His solo career after deals with Phonogram, WEA and EMI was cut short by a near fatal car crash in August 1991. McKell returned to the stage in ''

Macbeth ''Macbeth'' (, full title ''The Tragedie of Macbeth'') is a tragedy by William Shakespeare. It is thought to have been first performed in 1606. It dramatises the damaging physical and psychological effects of political ambition on those w ...

'' at The Lyric Hammersmith in the late 1990s. He has appeared in West End musicals, including '' Blood Brothers''

Rod Stewart Sir Roderick David Stewart (born 10 January 1945) is a British rock and pop singer and songwriter. Born and raised in London, he is of Scottish and English ancestry. With his distinctive raspy singing voice, Stewart is among the best-selling ...

musical '' Tonight's the Night'', written and directed by

Ben Elton Benjamin Charles Elton (born 3 May 1959) is an English comedian, actor, author, playwright, lyricist and director. He was a part of London's alternative comedy movement of the 1980s and became a writer on the sitcoms '' The Young Ones'' and ''Bla ...

. Elton later went on to write the character Ronnie for McKell in his BBC comedy ''Blessed''. McKell played "Lank" in the double Olivier winning production of ''Crazy For You'' in 2012 and returned to the role he created "Stoner" in the 2014 production of ''Tonight's The Night''. In 1985, he toured as Michael St James with French star Julien Clerc and worked with French singer/songwriter

Serge Gainsbourg Serge Gainsbourg (; born Lucien Ginsburg; 2 April 1928 – 2 March 1991) was a French musician, singer-songwriter, actor, author and filmmaker. Regarded as one of the most important figures in French pop, he was renowned for often provoca ...

. McKell released an EP, ''Shower Over Moon Street'', in 2009 and performed tracks from his album ''Shower Over Moon Street'' at The

Royal Albert Hall The Royal Albert Hall is a concert hall on the northern edge of South Kensington, London. One of the UK's most treasured and distinctive buildings, it is held in trust for the nation and managed by a registered charity which receives no govern ...

in November 2009. "Save Me", the first single from the album, was released 25 July 2010.In 2022 Michael is back on the road with We Will Rock You and he will be releasing his new album The Last Picture Show

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:McKell, Michael English male soap opera actors English male musical theatre actors English male film actors English male television actors Living people 1959 births