William Ash (born 13 January 1977) is a

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

actor An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), li ...

. He is known for roles in the television dramas ''

Soldier Soldier ''Soldier Soldier'' is a British television drama series. The title comes from a traditional song of the same name - "Soldier, soldier won't you marry me, with your musket, fife and drum?" - an instrumental version of which was used as its t ...

'' (Series 3–4), '' Where the Heart Is'' (1997–1998), ''

Clocking Off ''Clocking Off'' is a British television drama series which was broadcast on BBC One for four series from 2000 to 2003. It was produced for the BBC by the independent Red Production Company, and created by Paul Abbott. It was effectively an ant ...

'' (2001–2002), '' Waterloo Road'' (2009–2011) and '' The Tunnel'' (2016–2017). His film appearances include ''

Mad About Mambo ''Mad About Mambo'' is a 2000 romantic comedy film written and directed by John Forte. It stars William Ash, Keri Russell and Brian Cox. Plot A boy obsessed with football finds his life changing dramatically once he adds a little Samba. D ...

'' (2000) and ''

Hush Hush may refer to: Film and television * ''Hush'' (1921 film), starring Clara Kimball Young * ''Hush'' (1998 film), starring Gwyneth Paltrow * ''Hush!'' (film), a 2001 Japanese film directed by Ryosuke Hashiguchi * ''Hush'' (2005 film), starring ...

'' (2008).

Career

Born in

Chadderton Chadderton is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Oldham, Greater Manchester, England, on the River Irk and Rochdale Canal. It is located in the foothills of the Pennines, west of Oldham, south of Rochdale and north-east of Manchester. Hi ...

, near

Oldham Oldham is a large town in Greater Manchester, England, amid the Pennines and between the rivers Irk and Medlock, southeast of Rochdale and northeast of Manchester. It is the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough of Oldham, wh ...

, Ash's first TV appearance was as Spike 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. Origi ...

aged 10. He then had a regular role as Nicky in ''

Making Out Making out is a term of American origin dating back to at least 1949, and is used to refer to kissing, including extended French kissing or heavy kissing of the neck (called ''necking''), or to acts of non-penetrative sex such as heavy petti ...

'' (1989–1991), followed by a regular role in the ITV series '' Where the Heart Is''. He has since appeared in ''

'', ''

Children's Ward ''Children's Ward'' (retitled ''The Ward'' from 1995 to 1998) is a British children's television drama series produced by Granada Television and broadcast on the ITV network as part of its ''Children's ITV'' strand on weekday afternoons. The pro ...

'', ''

Lilies ''Lilium'' () is a genus of herbaceous flowering plants growing from bulbs, all with large prominent flowers. They are the true lilies. Lilies are a group of flowering plants which are important in culture and literature in much of the world. M ...

'', ''

Born to Run ''Born to Run'' is the third studio album by American singer-songwriter Bruce Springsteen, released on August 25, 1975, by Columbia Records. As his effort to break into the mainstream, the album was a commercial success, peaking at number thr ...

'', ''

Burn It {{Infobox television , image = Burn It (BBC 2003).jpg , caption = , alt_name = , genre = Drama , creator = , developer = , writer = Matt Greenhal ...

'', ''

All the King's Men ''All the King's Men'' is a 1946 novel by Robert Penn Warren. The novel tells the story of charismatic populist governor Willie Stark and his political machinations in the Depression-era Deep South. It was inspired by the real-life story of U.S ...

'', '' ShakespeaRe-Told (A Midsummer Night's Dream)'', ''

Doctor Who ''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series depicts the adventures of a Time Lord called the Doctor, an extraterrestrial being who appears to be human. The Doctor explores the u ...

'', the miniseries ''Conviction'', ''

'', '' Waterloo Road'' and '' Shameless''. In 1995 he appeared in '' Heartbeat''. In 2006, he portrayed the

Manchester United 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 City of Salford, Salford to ...

footballer

Albert Scanlon Albert Joseph Scanlon (10 October 1935 – 22 December 2009) was an English footballer. He began his career with Manchester United and was one of the " Busby Babes" who survived the Munich air disaster of 1958. Although he sustained severe inju ...

in an edition of the BBC series ''Surviving Disasters'' about the Munich air disaster of 1958, of which Scanlon was a survivor. Ash's stage credits include the premiere productions of '' Presence'' at the

Royal Court Theatre The Royal Court Theatre, at different times known as the Court Theatre, the New Chelsea Theatre, and the Belgravia Theatre, is a non-commercial West End theatre in Sloane Square, in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, London, Englan ...

in 2001 and of ''How to Disappear Completely and Never Be Found'' at

Sheffield Theatres Sheffield Theatres is a theatre complex in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. It comprises three theatres: the Crucible, the Lyceum and the Tanya Moiseiwitsch Playhouse. These theatres make up the largest regional theatre complex outside the ...

as well as ''

Of Mice and Men ''Of Mice and Men'' is a novella written by John Steinbeck. Published in 1937, it narrates the experiences of George Milton and Lennie Small, two displaced migrant ranch workers, who move from place to place in California in search of new job o ...

'' at the

Royal Lyceum Theatre The Royal Lyceum Theatre is a 658-seat theatre in the city of Edinburgh, Scotland, named after the Theatre Royal Lyceum and English Opera House, the residence at the time of legendary Shakespearean actor Henry Irving. It was built in 1883 by a ...

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

. In December 2011 Ash had a starring role in a BBC comedy drama, '' Lapland'', as Ray, a role he is reprising for a new series, ''

Being Eileen ''Being Eileen'' is a BBC comedy-drama which began as a new six-part series on 4 February, and ended on 11 March 2013. It began as a one-off Christmas special titled ''Lapland'', broadcast in the United Kingdom on BBC One on 24 December 2011. A f ...

''. In 2013 he starred in the ITV comedy drama series ''

Great Night Out ''Great Night Out'' is a British comedy drama which aired on ITV (TV network), ITV in 2013. It was created by Mark Bussell and Justin Sbresni and starred Lee Boardman, William Ash (actor), William Ash, Craig Parkinson and Stephen Walters. The ser ...

'' as Beggsy. In 2015, Ash appeared as Frank Mellor in the BBC TV series '' Death in Paradise'' episode 4.4. In February 2016, he appeared in BBC drama series '' Moving On''. In 2016, he appeared 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 ...

Netflix Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fil ...

series ''

Paranoid Paranoia is an instinct or thought process that is believed to be heavily influenced by anxiety or fear, often to the point of delusion and irrationality. Paranoid thinking typically includes persecutory beliefs, or beliefs of conspiracy c ...

''. He also appeared as the character BB in the second and third series of

Sky Atlantic Sky Atlantic is a British pay television channel owned by Sky Group Limited broadcast in the United Kingdom and Ireland. The channel is primarily dedicated to imported programmes from the United States, and holds the domestic rights to HBO ...

's ''The Tunnel''. In 2017, Ash played Leighton Thomas in ITV's serial killer drama, '' The Loch''. In 2018, he played the role of Marvin in a British TV drama series, ''

Wanderlust Wanderlust is a strong desire to wander or travel and explore the world. Etymology The first documented use of the term in English occurred in 1902 as a reflection of what was then seen as a characteristically German predilection for wandering ...

''. Ash played a central character in the 2020 film '' Perfect 10''. In 2021, Ash made a guest appearance 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 ...

'', as part of a domestic abuse storyline playing the role of Kevin. He is a second cousin of actor

Peter Ash Peter Ash (born 4 February 1985) is an English actor from Newton Heath, Greater Manchester who has starred in British television series such as ''Casualty'', ''Footballers' Wives'', ''Hollyoaks '' and ''Coronation Street''. Early life He atten ...

Filmography

Film

Television

Stage

References

External links

*
BBC Interview on Little Malcolm

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ash, William English male film actors English male television actors Living people 1977 births People from Chadderton 20th-century English male actors 21st-century English male actors Male actors from Oldham Male actors from Lancashire