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 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 ''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. Origi ...

'' since 1989. He has received 17 awards for comedy and performance, plus a Legends of Industry Award.

Early life

Whilst a pupil at

The Kingsway School The Kingsway School is a coeducational secondary school located in Stockport, Greater Manchester, England. The school has sites on each side of Kingsway; on Foxland Road in Gatley to the west and Broadway in Cheadle to the east. History ...

Stockport Stockport is a town and borough in Greater Manchester, England, south-east of Manchester, south-west of Ashton-under-Lyne and north of Macclesfield. The River Goyt and Tame merge to create the River Mersey here. Most of the town is within ...

in 1989, Simon Gregory entered a search for the part of one of two new cast members to join the

soap opera ''

'' as the 'McDonald Twins'. Fellow Kingsway pupil

Nicholas Cochrane Nicholas Marc Cochrane is an English actor, known for his role as Andy McDonald in the ITV soap opera '' Coronation Street''. Career Cochrane had appeared as an extra on TV for ''Coronation Streets production company, Granada TV, prior to hi ...

was selected out of the class to become Andy McDonald, and a search was on for another class member who had the same height, build and hair colouring as him. As Gregory was the only member of the class to fit these criteria, he was selected and the two were sent for further auditions at

Granada Television ITV Granada, formerly known as Granada Television, is the ITV franchisee for the North West of England and Isle of Man. From 1956 to 1968 it broadcast to both the north west and Yorkshire but only on weekdays as ABC Weekend Television was it ...

, where they were selected for the roles. Gregory was initially credited under his real name, but later adopted the stage name 'Gregson' once he was old enough to join

Equity Equity may refer to: Finance, accounting and ownership * Equity (finance), ownership of assets that have liabilities attached to them ** Stock, equity based on original contributions of cash or other value to a business ** Home equity, the dif ...

, as there was already a member with the name Simon Gregory.

''Coronation Street''

Gregson's first appearance in an episode of ''

'' aired on 6 December 1989 and he currently appears on the soap as a regular cast member. It was announced on 19 September 2015 that Gregson was to take an extended break from the show for personal reasons. He returned to the soap in 2016.

Television appearances

In 2009, along with ''Coronation Street'' co-star

Michelle Keegan Michelle Elizabeth Keegan (born 3 June 1987) is an English actress, known for her roles as Tina McIntyre in the ITV soap opera ''Coronation Street'' and Sergeant Georgie Lane in the BBC drama series '' Our Girl''. Keegan also starred as Tra ...

, he appeared in the third part of '' Red Dwarf: Back to Earth'' as himself. On 20 August 2011, he appeared on ''

All Star Family Fortunes ''Family Fortunes'' is a British television game show based on the American game show ''Family Feud''. The programme ran on ITV (TV network), ITV from 6 January 1980 to 30 December 2002. A celebrity version, ''#All Star Family Fortunes, All St ...

'' along with his family. On 7 July 2013, he took part in ITV game show '' Tipping Point: Lucky Stars''. He appeared as a panellist on an episode of ''

Through the Keyhole ''Through the Keyhole'' is a British comedy panel game show created by the TV producer Kevin Sim and originally presented by Sir David Frost in the studio and Loyd Grossman on location. The location presenter goes around celebrities' houses and ...

'' which aired on 5 October 2013. In 2013, he appeared multiple times in the ITV daytime quiz show ''

Show Me the Telly ''Show Me the Telly'' is a British game show that aired on ITV from 25 November to 20 December 2013 as a winter replacement for '' Tipping Point'' and was hosted by Richard Bacon with Chris Tarrant as team captain. Format The game consists of ...

''. He has appeared in an episode of ''

Big Star's Little Star ''Big Star's Little Star'' is a British game show that began on ITV on 4 September 2013 and is presented by Stephen Mulhern. The show sees three celebrity contestants and their children or grandchildren answering questions about each other to w ...

'' on 23 April 2014. He took part in ''Celebrity Haunted Mansion'' in February 2018. He was the series winner. On 20 February 2021, he took part in the ITV Game show ''Catchphrase Celebrity special''. In 2021, Gregson participated on the twenty-first series of '' I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here!'' and finished in second place.

Awards

Nominated

*2005 –

British Soap Award 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 ...

for Best Actor *2009 –

TRIC Award The Television and Radio Industries Club (widely known as TRIC) is a British institution chartered in 1931 to "promote goodwill in the television and radio industries". The Club holds an annual awards ceremony each March honouring achievement in te ...

for TV Soap Personality *2009 – British Soap Award for Best Actor *2009 – British Soap Award for Best Comedy Performance *2009 – British Soap Award for Best On-Screen Partnership, alongside Katherine Kelly *2010 – TRIC Award for TV Soap Personality *2010 – British Soap Award for Best On-Screen Partnership, alongside Katherine Kelly *2010 – TV Quick Award for Best Soap Actor *2010 –

National Television Award The National Television Awards (often shortened to NTAs) is a British television awards ceremony, broadcast by the ITV (TV network), ITV network and initiated in 1995. The National Television Awards are the most prominent ceremony for which the ...

for Most Popular Serial Drama Performance *2011 – British Soap Award for Best On-Screen Partnership, alongside Katherine Kelly *2011 – TV Quick Award for Best Soap Actor *2019 – British Soap Award for Best On-Screen Partnership, alongside

Kate Ford Kate Ford (born 29 December 1976) is an English actress. She is known for her portrayal of Tracy Barlow in the ITV soap opera '' Coronation Street'' (2002–2007, 2010–present). Ford was born in Salford, Greater Manchester. She attended Qu ...

Won

*2009 – TV Quick Award for Best Soap Actor *2014 –

for Best Comedy Performance *2017 – Legends of Industry Award for Television Acting

Personal life

In the 1990s, Gregson became known in the press for various traffic offences and problems with alcohol and drugs. He was written out of the series for over a year after ''The Sun'' ran a story in which Gregson allegedly admitted regularly spending £1,000 per month on cocaine. He returned to his ''Coronation Street'' role after rehabilitation. Gregson announced in November 2022 that he had quit smoking four months earlier and had quit alcohol before that aswell. Gregson has been married to long-term partner Emma Gleave since 2010. They have three sons; Alfie (born 2007), Harry (born 2009) and Henry Teddy (born 2016).Simon Gregson Welcomes Son Harry
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References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Gregson, Simon 1974 births Living people 20th-century English male actors 21st-century English male actors English male child actors English male soap opera actors I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here! (British TV series) participants Male actors from Manchester People from Wythenshawe