William Mellor (born 3 April 1976) is an English actor, singer and model. He is known for his roles as Jambo Bolton in ''

Hollyoaks ''Hollyoaks'' is a British soap opera which began airing on Channel 4 on 23 October 1995. It was created by Phil Redmond, who had previously conceived the soap opera ''Brookside (TV series), Brookside''. Since 2005, episodes have been aired on ...

'', Gaz Wilkinson in ''

Two Pints of Lager and a Packet of Crisps ''Two Pints of Lager and a Packet of Crisps'' is a British sitcom that ran from 26 February 2001 to 24 May 2011. First broadcast on BBC Two, it starred Sheridan Smith, Will Mellor, Natalie Casey, Ralf Little, Kathryn Drysdale and Luke Gell. Cr ...

'', Warren Stamp in

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 ...

, DC Spike Tanner in ''

No Offence ''No Offence'' is a British television police procedural drama on Channel 4, created by Paul Abbott. It follows a team of detectives from Friday Street police station, a division of the Manchester Metropolitan Police (a fictional version of the ...

'', Steve Connolly in ''

Broadchurch ''Broadchurch'' is a British crime drama television series broadcast on ITV for three series between 2013 and 2017. It was created by Chris Chibnall, who acted as an executive producer and wrote all 24 episodes and produced by Kudos in assoc ...

'', Georgie in ''

Barking! ''Barking!'' is a British children's television series that produced three series between October 2004 and February 2006. The show was originally broadcast on ITV1's children's slot CITV. It was nominated for Best Drama at the 11th British Acad ...

'' and Ollie Curry in ''

White Van Man "White van man" is a stereotype used in the United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the Europe ...

''. In 2021, he began appearing 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 ''

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 ...

'' as

Harvey Gaskell ''Coronation Street'' is a British soap opera first broadcast on 9 December 1960. The following is a list of characters introduced in 2021, by order of first appearance. All characters are introduced by series producer Iain MacLeod. The first ch ...

Career

Mellor first came to the public's attention in 1990, when he played Ben Rowlingson in the children's programme ''

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 ...

''. In 1995, he joined the cast of the soap opera ''

'' and played James "Jambo" Bolton until 1998. He had a cameo as Jambo in a Christmas edition of ''Hollyoaks''. He released a cover of

Leo Sayer Gerard Hugh "Leo" Sayer (born 21 May 1948) is an English-Australian singer and songwriter whose singing career has spanned five decades. He has been an Australian citizen and resident since 2009. Sayer launched his career in the United Kingdom ...

's "

When I Need You "When I Need You" is a popular song written by Albert Hammond and Carole Bayer Sager. Its first appearance was as the title track of Hammond's 1976 album ''When I Need You''. Leo Sayer's version, produced by Richard Perry, was a massive hit world ...

", which reached number 5 in the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

, as well as a follow-up single called "No Matter What I Do", which reached number 23. He also made an appearance in the music video for

Boyzone Boyzone were an Irish boy band, created in 1993 by talent manager Louis Walsh. Before even recording any material, Boyzone made an appearance on RTÉ's '' The Late Late Show''. Their most successful line-up was composed of Keith Duffy, Steph ...

Comic Relief Comic relief is the inclusion of a humorous character, scene, or witty dialogue in an otherwise serious work, often to relieve tension. Definition Comic relief usually means a releasing of emotional or other tension resulting from a comic episo ...

single " When The Going Gets Tough". Shortly after, Mellor appeared as Greg in ''

Is Harry on the Boat? ''Is Harry on the Boat?'' Is a 2001 British made-for-TV film, based on the lives of holiday reps in Ibiza. A television drama series then followed, airing on Sky One from 2002 to 2003. Background It is based on the book of the same name by C ...

''. He played Jack 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 ...

'' from 2001 to 2003, and starred as Gaz Wilkinson in the comedy ''

'' from 2001 to 2011. Mellor starred as "Barmpot" in the postal worker drama '' Sorted'', and played DC Jed Griffiths in the second series of ''

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 ...

''. In 2004, Mellor provided the voice for Georgie the dog in the CITV series ''

''. He played Tom in the second series of ''

The Street The Street may refer to: Geographical *Wall Street in New York City's Financial District * The Street, Lawshall, Suffolk, England * The Street (Heath Charnock), a building and bridleway in Rivington, Lancashire, England Film and television * ''The ...

''. Mellor won the first series of the BBC singing contest '' Comic Relief does Fame Academy'' in 2003. He made his ''

'' debut on 20 May 2007 playing womanising salesman

Warren Stamp The following is a list of characters that first appeared in the BBC soap opera '' EastEnders'' in 2007, by order of first appearance. A new family were introduced in this year, with Zainab Masood, Masood Ahmed, Shabnam Masood and Tamwar Masoo ...

. Mellor was a guest star in the

BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board ex ...

fantasy drama ''

Merlin Merlin ( cy, Myrddin, kw, Marzhin, br, Merzhin) is a mythical figure prominently featured in the legend of King Arthur and best known as a mage, with several other main roles. His usual depiction, based on an amalgamation of historic and le ...

'', playing the villain Valiant in the series second episode of the same name. In October 2008, he starred in ''The Prisoner'', a documentary about prison life. Mellor portrayed Chris in the British horror

thriller film Thriller film, also known as suspense film or suspense thriller, is a broad film genre that evokes excitement and suspense in the audience. The suspense element found in most films' plots is particularly exploited by the filmmaker in this genre ...

''The Reeds''. Mellor did a brief stint on children's television channel

CBeebies CBeebies is a British free-to-air public broadcast children's television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is also the brand used for all BBC content for children aged 6 years and under. Its sister channel CBBC is aimed at older childr ...

, in which he read books for the audience. In 2011, he starred in the

BBC Three BBC Three is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It was first launched on 9 February 2003 with programmes targeting 16 to 34-year-olds, covering all genres including animation, comedy, curre ...

comedy ''

'' and 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, p ...

drama '' Waterloo Road''. From 2011 to 2012, he played Liam Flynn in the

comedy series ''

In with the Flynns ''In with the Flynns'' is a British sitcom created by Caryn Mandabach, produced by Caryn Mandabach Productions, and broadcast by the BBC. The first series began broadcast on 8 June 2011 for six episodes on BBC One and in high definition on BBC On ...

'', as well as appearing in ''

''. Mellor had a guest role in the final episode of the

comedy series ''

Mongrels A mongrel, mutt or mixed-breed dog is a dog that does not belong to one officially recognized breed and including those that are the result of intentional breeding. Although the term ''mixed-breed dog'' is sometimes preferred, many mongr ...

''. In 2013, he played Steve Connolly in the

detective drama ''

''. In 2014, he appeared on BBC One's Kay Mellor drama series '' In The Club''. In February 2021, it was announced that Mellor would join the cast of ''

'' as

, with his first scenes airing in March. From 24 September 2022, Mellor competed in the twentieth series of ''

Strictly Come Dancing ''Strictly Come Dancing'' (informally known as ''Strictly'') is a British dance contest show in which celebrities partner with professional dancers to compete in mainly ballroom and Latin dance. Each couple is scored by a panel of usually 4 ...

'', partnered with professional dancer

Nancy Xu Nancy Xu YouJie (; born 30 July 1991) is a Chinese dancer and choreographer. She is best known for being a professional dancer on ''Strictly Come Dancing'' since 2019. Early and personal life Xu was born on 30 July 1991 in Hunan, China. She bega ...

. The couple made it to the semi-finals, but were eliminated on 12 December 2022, finishing in fifth place.

Personal life

Mellor met dancer Michelle McSween when they starred together in the stage musical ''Oh, What a Night'' in 1999. They married in 2007, and have two children. Mellor is an avid supporter of

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 ...

. In 2020, in a podcast with fellow actor and friend

Ralf Little Ralf Alastair John Little (born 8 February 1980) is an English actor, writer, presenter, narrator and former semi-professional footballer, working mainly in television comedy. He played Antony Royle in ''The Royle Family'' and Jonny Keogh in ...

, Mellor discussed his struggle with depression after the death of his sister six years before. Mellor's father, Bill, died in 2020, two weeks after being diagnosed with

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal b ...

. In week 8 of ''Strictly Come Dancing'', on 12 November 2022, Mellor danced a waltz to the song "

Three Times a Lady "Three Times a Lady" is a 1978 song by American soul group the Commodores for their album '' Natural High'', written by lead singer Lionel Richie. It was produced by James Anthony Carmichael and the Commodores. It was the Commodores' first number ...

", as a tribute to his father.

Filmography

Guest appearances

*''

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 ...

'' (2011) – Contestant *''

All Star Mr & Mrs ''All Star Mr & Mrs'' is a British television show which first began airing on 12 April 2008 on ITV. It is a celebrity revival of the original '' Mr and Mrs'' that aired on ITV from 1968 to 1988 with two separate revivals in 1995–1996 and 19 ...

'' (5 June 2013) – Contestant *''

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 wi ...

'' (4 September 2013) – Contestant *'' I Love My Country'' (28 September 2013) – Guest *''

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 ...

'' (2014, 2017) – Homeowner/panellist *''

Celebrity Juice ''Celebrity Juice'' is a British television comedy panel game on ITV2, broadcast since 24 September 2008. The show is written and presented by Leigh Francis in the role of his alter ego Keith Lemon, and its current team captains Laura Whitmore ...

'' (2016, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021) – Guest *''

A Question of Sport ''Question of Sport'' (previously ''A Question of Sport'') is a British television sports quiz show produced and broadcast by the BBC. It is the "world's longest running TV sports quiz". Following a pilot episode in December 1968, broadcast onl ...

'' (2022) – Contestant

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Mellor, Will 1976 births Living people English male soap opera actors Singing talent show winners Actors from Stockport