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Richard Jonathan Fleeshman (born 8 June 1989) is an English actor and singer. His television career began as a 12-year-old, playing
Craig Harris Craig S. Harris (born September 10, 1953) is an American jazz trombonist, who started working with Sun Ra in 1976. He also has worked with Abdullah Ibrahim, David Murray, Lester Bowie, Cecil Taylor, Sam Rivers, Muhal Richard Abrams, and Char ...
for four years in ''
Coronation Street ''Coronation Street'' is an English soap opera created by Granada Television and shown on ITV since 9 December 1960. The programme centres around a cobbled, terraced street in Weatherfield, a fictional town based on inner-city Salford. Orig ...
'' before going on to become an established television, West End and Broadway performer.


Early and personal life

Fleeshman was born on 8 June 1989 in
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 ...
. He is the son of former '' Brookside'' and ''
Coronation Street ''Coronation Street'' is an English soap opera created by Granada Television and shown on ITV since 9 December 1960. The programme centres around a cobbled, terraced street in Weatherfield, a fictional town based on inner-city Salford. Orig ...
'' actress
Sue Jenkins Susan Elizabeth Jenkins (born 31 July 1955) is an English actress. She is most widely known for her roles as Gloria Todd in the ITV soap opera ''Coronation Street'' (1985–1988) and as Jackie Corkhill in the Channel 4 soap opera '' Brookside ...
and actor/director
David Fleeshman David Fleeshman (born 11 July 1952) is a British actor, broadcaster, drama lecturer and theatre director with a wealth of experience in film, radio, television, theatre and commercials. Biography Fleeshman was born on 11 July 1952 in Leeds, Wes ...
. He attended
Cheadle Hulme School Cheadle Hulme School is a coeducational independent day school in Cheadle Hulme, Greater Manchester, England, for pupils aged 4 to 18, and a member of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference. Founded in 1855 as The Manchester Warehouse ...
in
Cheshire Cheshire ( ) is a ceremonial and historic county in North West England, bordered by Wales to the west, Merseyside and Greater Manchester to the north, Derbyshire to the east, and Staffordshire and Shropshire to the south. Cheshire's county tow ...
and
Wilmslow High School Wilmslow High School is a mixed-sex 11–18 comprehensive secondary school in Wilmslow, Cheshire, England. The school began in 1960 as a grammar school and gradually became a comprehensive school, becoming Wilmslow High School in 1991. Histo ...
sixth form. He has two sisters,
Emily Fleeshman Emily Fleeshman (born 26 December 1986) is an English actress. She is most widely known for her roles as Nikki in ''Still Open All Hours'' and Sally in '' Moving On''. She is the daughter of actor David Fleeshman and actress Sue Jenkins, the si ...
and Rosie Fleeshman who are also actresses. In 2019, Fleeshman announced via his
Instagram Instagram is a photo and video sharing social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. The app allows users to upload media that can be edited with filters and organized by hashtags and geographical tagging. Posts can ...
account that he is now a vegetarian and had been meat-free for over two years at that point, having "never felt better ethically or physically".


Acting career

Fleeshman began his professional career in the film called ''An Angel for May''. At the age of 12, from 2002 to 2006, he played the role of
Craig Harris Craig S. Harris (born September 10, 1953) is an American jazz trombonist, who started working with Sun Ra in 1976. He also has worked with Abdullah Ibrahim, David Murray, Lester Bowie, Cecil Taylor, Sam Rivers, Muhal Richard Abrams, and Char ...
in ''
Coronation Street ''Coronation Street'' is an English soap opera created by Granada Television and shown on ITV since 9 December 1960. The programme centres around a cobbled, terraced street in Weatherfield, a fictional town based on inner-city Salford. Orig ...
''. He was the only member of his on-screen family to escape the axe in 2005, leaving the programme at the age of 16. His final episode was broadcast on 16 October 2006. Fleeshman later filmed an episode of '' Blue Murder'' in 2007 in which he played the character Ben Holroyd, starring alongside Jill Halfpenny. The episode, called "Crisis Management", was broadcast in December 2007 on ITV. He played the role of Gillen in the ITV comedy drama ''
Monday Monday ''Monday Monday'' is an ITV, UTV comedy drama. It stars Fay Ripley, Jenny Agutter, Neil Stuke, Holly Aird, Morven Christie, Tom Ellis, and Miranda Hart. It is set in the head office of a supermarket that has fallen on hard times and had t ...
'', which aired on 10 August 2009. On 16 June 2010, Fleeshman joined the company of ''
Legally Blonde ''Legally Blonde'' is a 2001 American comedy film directed by Robert Luketic in his feature-length directorial debut, and scripted by Karen McCullah Lutz and Kirsten Smith from Amanda Brown's 2001 novel of the same name. It stars Reese Wit ...
'' in London, taking over from Duncan James in the role of Warner. In 2009, he played the role of a musically talented autistic boy named Kyle Caddick in a six-part BBC drama series ''
All the Small Things "All the Small Things" is a song by American rock band Blink-182. It was the second single and eighth track released from the band's third album, ''Enema of the State'' (1999). The track was composed primarily by guitarist and vocalist Tom DeL ...
'' allowing him to act as well as sing. Within the series he performed many songs, both solo and as part of a choir, and also sang the song that runs over the end credits. He co-wrote the song with
Sir Elton John Sir Elton Hercules John (born Reginald Kenneth Dwight; 25 March 1947) is a British singer, pianist and composer. Commonly nicknamed the "Rocket Man" after Rocket Man (song), his 1972 hit single of the same name, John has led a commercially s ...
and the show's creator Debbie Horsfield. His father, actor David Fleeshman, played the role of Gilbert in the same series. ''All the Small Things'' was screened in Australia under the title of ''Heart and Soul''. Fleeshman starred in the West End production of '' Ghost: The Musical'', based on the film ''
Ghost A ghost is the soul or spirit of a dead person or animal that is believed to be able to appear to the living. In ghostlore, descriptions of ghosts vary widely from an invisible presence to translucent or barely visible wispy shapes, to re ...
'', written by Bruce Joel Rubin, with music and lyrics by Dave Stewart and Glen Ballard). He played the lead role of Sam Wheat (played by
Patrick Swayze Patrick Wayne Swayze (; August 18, 1952 – September 14, 2009) was an American actor, dancer, and singer known for playing distinctive lead roles, particularly romantic, tough, and comedic characters. He was also known for his media image and ...
in the film) alongside Caissie Levy as Molly and Sharon D. Clarke as Oda Mae Brown. The show premiered at the
Opera House, Manchester The Opera House in Quay Street, Manchester, England, is a 1,920-seater commercial touring theatre that plays host to touring musicals, ballet, concerts and a Christmas pantomime. It is a Grade II listed building. The Opera House is one of t ...
on 28 March 2011 and moved to the
Piccadilly Theatre The Piccadilly Theatre is a West End theatre located at 16 Denman Street, behind Piccadilly Circus and adjacent to the Regent Palace Hotel, in the City of Westminster, London, England. Early years Built by Bertie Crewe and Edward A. Stone ...
on 22 June 2011. When Fleeshman was offered the role in its Broadway transfer, he left the show in the West End with co star Caissie Levy on 12 January 2012 to star in the Broadway production. It began previews on 15 March 2012 at the Lunt Fontanne Theater and officially opened on 23 April 2012. Richard was invited to perform at the 2012 Tony Awards. Fleeshman and Levy remained in the Broadway Production until its final performance on 18 August 2012. In 2013, Fleeshman starred as Bobby Strong in the UK premiere of the hit satirical musical, ''
Urinetown ''Urinetown: The Musical'' is a satirical comedy musical that premiered in 2001, with music by Mark Hollmann, lyrics by Hollmann and Greg Kotis, and book by Kotis. It satirizes the legal system, capitalism, social irresponsibility, populism, bu ...
'', directed by Jamie Lloyd, at the St James Theatre. He then went on to film ''
Call the Midwife ''Call the Midwife'' is a BBC period drama series about a group of nurse midwives working in the East End of London in the late 1950s and 1960s. The principal cast of the show has included Jessica Raine, Miranda Hart, Helen George, Bryony Ha ...
'' for the BBC which was broadcast early February 2015. His next musical project was playing the role of George Bevan, in '' A Damsel in Distress'', a musical adaption of the novel '' A Damsel in Distress'', at the
Chichester Festival Theatre Chichester Festival Theatre is a theatre and Grade II* listed building situated in Oaklands Park in the city of Chichester, West Sussex, England. Designed by Philip Powell and Hidalgo Moya, it was opened by its founder Leslie Evershed-Mart ...
beginning on 30 May 2015. In 2017, Fleeshman played
Francis Drake Sir Francis Drake ( – 28 January 1596) was an English explorer, sea captain, privateer, slave trader, naval officer, and politician. Drake is best known for his circumnavigation of the world in a single expedition, from 1577 to 1580 ...
in two episodes of the CW series ''
Reign A reign is the period of a person's or dynasty's occupation of the office of monarch of a nation (e.g., Saudi Arabia, Belgium, Andorra), of a people (e.g., the Franks, the Zulus) or of a spiritual community (e.g., Catholicism, Tibetan Buddhism ...
''. In 2018, Fleeshman took on the role of Gideon Fletcher in
Sting Sting may refer to: * Stinger or sting, a structure of an animal to inject venom, or the injury produced by a stinger * Irritating hairs or prickles of a stinging plant, or the plant itself Fictional characters and entities * Sting (Middle-earth ...
's musical '' The Last Ship''. He received rave reviews for his performance. In 2018, Fleeshman took on the role of Air-Steward 'Andy' in the West-End gender swapped revival of Stephen Sondheim's
Company A company, abbreviated as co., is a legal entity representing an association of people, whether natural, legal or a mixture of both, with a specific objective. Company members share a common purpose and unite to achieve specific, declared ...
, directed by Marianne Elliot. For this role, he was nominated for the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role in a Musical.


Music career

Fleeshman is a singer, songwriter and in 2003 he was the youngest celebrity contestant to win a '' Stars in Their Eyes'' celebrity special (at 13). He also won ''
Soapstar Superstar ''Soapstar Superstar'' is a British talent show that aired on ITV from 6 January 2006 to 13 January 2007. The show's format works in a similar format to that of '' Pop Idol'' and ''The X Factor'', in that the competition features a group of ...
'' in 2006 and won £200,000 for his chosen charity, The Kirsty Appeal. Richard also plays the
piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keyboa ...
and
guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected string ...
. On 22 April 2007, he performed on the
ITV1 ITV1 (formerly known as ITV) is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the British media company ITV plc. It provides the Channel 3 public broadcast service across all of the United Kingdom except for t ...
show '' An Audience with Coronation Street''. Fleeshman signed a major record deal with
Universal Records Universal Music Group N.V. (often abbreviated as UMG and referred to as just Universal Music) is a Dutch–American multinational music corporation under Dutch law. UMG's corporate headquarters are located in Hilversum, Netherlands and its ...
in 2007 and then completed writing his debut album. In 2008, Richard supported
Elton John Sir Elton Hercules John (born Reginald Kenneth Dwight; 25 March 1947) is a British singer, pianist and composer. Commonly nicknamed the "Rocket Man" after his 1972 hit single of the same name, John has led a commercially successful career a ...
to join him on his Summer stadium tour. Later that year, he supported him again on part of his Red Piano Tour. He supported him again on his summer European Tour in June.


Filmography


Discography


Studio albums


EPs


Singles


References

;Genera
Richard Fleeshman – from Bramhall to Broadway
Cheshire Life. June 2012.


External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Fleeshman, Richard 1989 births Living people 20th-century English male actors 21st-century English male actors English male child actors English male film actors English male musical theatre actors English male singer-songwriters English male soap opera actors English male stage actors People educated at Cheadle Hulme School Singing talent show winners