Jesse Birdsall (born 13 February 1963) is an English actor, known for his roles as Marcus Tandy in the

BBC1 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 ...

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 ...

'' Eldorado'', Nick Beckett in the adventure series ''

Bugs Bugs may refer to: * Plural of bug Arts, entertainment and media Fictional characters * Bugs Bunny, a character * Bugs Meany, a character in the ''Encyclopedia Brown'' books Films * ''Bugs'' (2003 film), a science-fiction-horror film * ''Bugs ...

'' (1995–1999), football manager Roger Webb in ''

Footballers' Wives ''Footballers' Wives'' is a British television drama about fictional Premier League football club Earls Park F.C., its players, and their wives, broadcast on ITV from 2002 to 2006. The show initially focuses on three very different couples, bu ...

'' between 2004 and 2006, and Fraser Black 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''. Since 2005, episodes have been aired on sister channel E4 a da ...

'', as well as for villain Ron Gregory in a few episodes of ''

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 on ...

''.

Career

As a child, Birdsall attended the Anna Scher children's theatre school in Islington, and in his teens appeared in

Nanette Newman Nanette Newman (born 29 May 1934) is an English actress and author. She appeared in nine films directed by her husband Bryan Forbes, including '' Séance on a Wet Afternoon'' (1964), '' The Whisperers'' (1967), '' Deadfall'' (1968), ''The Stepf ...

's children's cooking programme ''Fun Food Factory'' and in several television plays and series, usually with his trademark

rockabilly Rockabilly is one of the earliest styles of rock and roll music. It dates back to the early 1950s in the United States, especially the Southern United States, South. As a genre it blends the sound of Western music (North America), Western music ...

look. He had one line as an extra ("Watch it mate!") in an episode of '' Minder'' from 1980 entitled "Don't Tell Them Willie Boy was Here". In 1982 he starred alongside singer

Hazel O'Connor Hazel Thereasa O'Connor (born 16 May 1954) is a British singer-songwriter and actress. She became famous in the early 1980s with hit singles " Eighth Day", "D-Days" and " Will You?" She also starred in the 1980 film '' Breaking Glass''. Career ...

in the TV drama series set in a nightclub called ''Jangles''. He first came to wider public attention in the serial '' Annika'' in 1984, his first notable television role. He then subsequently appeared in the films '' Wish You Were Here'' (1987), directed by

David Leland David Leland (born 20 April 1947) is an English film director, screenwriter and actor who came to international fame with his directorial debut '' Wish You Were Here'' in 1987. Life He initially trained as an actor at Central School of Speec ...

and co-starring

Emily Lloyd Emily Alice Lloyd-Pack (born 29 September 1970), known as Emily Lloyd, is an English actress. At the age of 16, she starred in her debut and breakthrough role in the 1987 film '' Wish You Were Here'', for which she received critical acclaim ...

, '' Getting It Right'' (1989), and ''Beyond Bedlam'' (1994). He appeared in the 1988 music video of

Kim Wilde Kim Wilde (born Kim Smith, 18 November 1960) is an English pop singer, DJ and television presenter. She first saw success in 1981 with her debut single " Kids in America", which peaked at No. 2 in the UK. In 1983, she received the Brit Award ...

's single '' Hey Mister Heartache''. Another notable television role was his portrayal of slick playboy Marcus Tandy in the

'' Eldorado'', which ran for just one year from 1992 to 1993 and came to be thought of as a notable flop. Nonetheless, the amount of coverage the programme received for its perceived low quality and lack of success would gain Birdsall much exposure, and from 1995 to 1999 he played one of the lead characters in another BBC1 programme, the successful futuristic action/adventure series ''

''. Birdsall played the part of John Barron in the last episode of '' Morse'' in the episode '' The Remorseful Day'' which aired on 15 November 2000. In 2002 he appeared in an episode of '' Murder in Mind'', S2xE04, called 'Swansong'. He appeared in New Tricks as Tony Morgan in season 8 episode 6. He guest-starred in ''

Midsomer Murders ''Midsomer Murders'' is a British crime drama television series, adapted by Anthony Horowitz and Douglas Watkinson from the novels in the '' Chief Inspector Barnaby'' book series (created by Caroline Graham), and broadcast on two channels of ...

'', playing two separate characters, in the episodes " Market For Murder" in 2002 as Harry Painter and " Small Mercies" in 2009 as Mike Johnson. He also appeared in several episodes of the ITV police drama ''

'' in 2003 as a character named Ron Gregory, and for the same network appeared as a regular in series 3–5 of the popular drama ''

''. In 2006, Birdsall appeared as patient Dillon Ellis in two episodes of ''

Holby City ''Holby City'' (stylised on-screen as HOLBY CIY) is a British medical drama television series that aired weekly on BBC One. It was created by Tony McHale and Mal Young as a spin-off from the established BBC medical drama '' Casualty'', and ...

'' before reappearing in 2018 as Steven Fletcher, the estranged father of Adrian Fletcher. He had a small role in the BBC One soap opera '' EastEnders'' in August 2012, playing John Hewland, jilted fiancé of

Sharon Watts Sharon Watts (also Rickman, Mitchell and Beale) is a fictional character from the BBC One soap opera ''EastEnders'', played by Letitia Dean. Sharon is one of ''EastEnders'' original characters conceptualised by creators Tony Holland and Julia ...

(

Letitia Dean Letitia Jane Dean (born 14 November 1967) is an English actress. She is known for her portrayal of Sharon Watts in the BBC soap opera, '' EastEnders''. An original cast member from 1985 to 1995, she reprised the role from 2001 to 2006, and again ...

), in two episodes. Birdsall played the role of Fraser Black in Channel 4 soap ''

'' but left the show in spring 2014 following a

whodunit A ''whodunit'' or ''whodunnit'' (a colloquial elision of "Who asdone it?") is a complex plot-driven variety of detective fiction in which the puzzle regarding who committed the crime is the main focus. The reader or viewer is provided with the cl ...

storyline in which he was murdered.

Personal life

The son of

Penguin Books Penguin Books is a British publishing house. It was co-founded in 1935 by Allen Lane with his brothers Richard and John, as a line of the publishers The Bodley Head, only becoming a separate company the following year.Derek Birdsall, Birdsall attended Hampstead School in north London. He has been married to ''

Only Fools and Horses ''Only Fools and Horses....'' is a British television sitcom created and written by John Sullivan (writer), John Sullivan. Seven series were originally broadcast on BBC One in the United Kingdom from 1981 to 1991, with sixteen sporadic Christmas ...

'' actress Gwyneth Strong, with whom he has two children, since 15 July 2000. Birdsall has twice been in trouble with the police, being convicted of actual bodily harm after an altercation in 1981, and in 1999 being fined £1,000 following an unprovoked attack on a fellow customer at a pub in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

. Birdsall is a supporter of

Arsenal An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...

having been born and brought up in the

Highbury Highbury is a district in North London and part of the London Borough of Islington in Greater London that was owned by Ranulf brother of Ilger and included all the areas north and east of Canonbury and Holloway Roads. The manor house was situ ...

district.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Birdsall, Jesse 1963 births Living people Alumni of the Anna Scher Theatre School English people convicted of assault English male television actors People convicted of assault occasioning actual bodily harm People from Highbury