Philip Martin Brown (born 9 July 1956) is a British actor from
Manchester
Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...
. He is known for his long-running portrayal of English teacher Grantly Budgen in the hit
BBC One
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, ...
school-based drama series '' Waterloo Road'', which he played from 2006 to 2013. He is also known for playing Steve McDonald's (
Simon Gregson
Simon Alan Gregory (born 2 October 1974), better known by his stage name, Simon Gregson, is an English actor. He is best known for his portrayal of Steve McDonald in the long-running ITV soap opera '' Coronation Street'' since 1989. He has re ...
)
Therapist
Therapist is a person who offers any kinds of therapy
A therapy or medical treatment (often abbreviated tx, Tx, or Tx) is the attempted remediation of a health problem, usually following a medical diagnosis.
As a rule, each therapy has indi ...
in 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 ...
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 ...
'' Coronation Street'' in 2015, although he first appeared in the show as D.I. Pinnock in 2005. In 2021, Brown appeared in the BBC One
medical
Medicine is the science and practice of caring for a patient, managing the diagnosis, prognosis, prevention, treatment, palliation of their injury or disease, and promoting their health. Medicine encompasses a variety of health care practic ...
soap opera ''
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
** ...
'' as Marvin Bulis, having previously played various other roles in the show.
Career
From March 2006 to October 2013, Brown appeared as English teacher Grantly Budgen in the first nine series of the
BBC One
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, ...
school-based drama series '' Waterloo Road''. He was the longest serving cast member on the show and featured in 154 episodes in total. He has also worked on '' The Professionals'', ''
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 ...
'' 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 o ...
'', where he appeared in ten episodes as Seth Mercer, and has made appearances in many other British dramas, including '' Heartbeat'', '' Midsomer Murders'', ''
Hetty Wainthropp Investigates
''Hetty Wainthropp Investigates'' is a British crime drama television series, starring Patricia Routledge as the title character, Henrietta "Hetty" Wainthropp, that aired for four series between 3 January 1996 and 4 September 1998 on BBC One. ...
'', ''
New Tricks
''New Tricks'' is a British television police procedural
The police show, or police crime drama, is a subgenre of procedural drama and detective fiction that emphasizes the investigative procedure of a police officer or department as the ...
'' and ''
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
** ...
''. His most prominent role in a drama before ''Waterloo Road'' was Eddie Vincent 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 ...
'', where he appeared in 17 episodes between 2002 and 2003. He also played
John Adams
John Adams (October 30, 1735 – July 4, 1826) was an American statesman, attorney, diplomat, writer, and Founding Father who served as the second president of the United States from 1797 to 1801. Before his presidency, he was a leader of t ...
in the 1984 film '' The Bounty'' and appeared in '' Sharpes Justice'' in 1997. He played a detective in the second episode 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 ''
Rosemary & Thyme
''Rosemary & Thyme'' is a British television cosy mystery thriller series starring Felicity Kendal and Pam Ferris as gardening detectives Rosemary Boxer and Laura Thyme. The show began on ITV in 2003. The third series ended in August 2007 ...
''. He also appeared in a '' Skins'' online episode in 2012 as a drug dealer. Brown left ''Waterloo Road'' during the autumn term of Series 9. He appeared briefly in the 1999 film '' Sleepy Hollow'' starring Johnny Depp. In January 2015, he appeared in '' Coronation Street'' as Steve McDonald's (
Simon Gregson
Simon Alan Gregory (born 2 October 1974), better known by his stage name, Simon Gregson, is an English actor. He is best known for his portrayal of Steve McDonald in the long-running ITV soap opera '' Coronation Street'' since 1989. He has re ...
) therapist. He appeared in the
CBBC
CBBC (initialised as Children's BBC and also known as the CBBC Channel) is a British free-to-air Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast children's television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is also the bran ...
series ''
The Worst Witch
''The Worst Witch'' is a series of children's books written and illustrated by Jill Murphy. The series are primarily about a girl who attends a witch school and fantasy stories, with eight books published. The first, ''The Worst Witch'', was ...
'' in 2017, playing the role of Algernon Rowan-Webb.
Filmography
Film
Television
Personal life and awards
He attended Barrow-in-Furness Grammar School for Boys where his favourite subject was English. At the end of his fifth year, Brown was asked to leave the school, later stating that he was a "dreadful troublemaker". He lives in
Paddock Wood
Paddock Wood is a town and civil parish in the borough of Tunbridge Wells in Kent, England, about southwest of Maidstone. At the 2001 Census it had a population of 8,263, falling marginally to 8,253 at the 2011 Census. Paddock Wood is a centre f ...
, Kent, with his wife. They have two children.
In 2010, Brown was nominated for the Best Actor prize in the 2010 ''
TV Choice
''TV Choice'' is a British weekly TV listings magazine published by H. Bauer Publishing, the UK subsidiary of family-run German company Bauer Media Group.Young Epilepsy website /ref>