Manchester Celebrities
Television, Film, Media & Broadcasting (11)

Ralf Little

Bury born Ralf Little came to the attention of the UK television viewing public when he starred in the role of Anthony in "The Royle Family".

He had already had some success as a child actor, appearing in the Children's BBC series "Sloggers" and "Sloggers 2" as well as in "Children's Ward" on ITV.

He has in fact begun studying for a medical degree when he was offered the role of Anthony, at which time he immediately gave up his studies to pursue a career in acting.

Still a relative newcomer, Ralf has continued in another major hit comedy role, as Jonny in "Two Pints of Lager and a Packet of Crisps". He has also worked as a presenter in film and theatre.

In the film "24 Hour Party People", based on Manchester's Hacienda Club, he played New Order bass player, Peter Hook.

Most recently he acted alongside Charles Dale and Neil Morrisey in the BBC drama, "Paradise Heights".

Little admits that he would ideally prefer a career as a professional footballer, and was actually spotted by Hartlepool United, having already been invited to train with them.

Will Mellor

(Born 1976)
Will Mellor was born on 3 April 1976 in Stockport, Cheshire, and quickly established himself as a well know actor in Britain due to his many roles on TV, of which the soap opera "Hollyoaks", set in Chester, is to date perhaps his best known. He has also acted in the prime time BBC series "Casualty" as well as starring roles in many other series.

He also tried his hand at becoming a pop star in 1998, but with little success he returned to television acting. He has come to recent public attention through his role in "Two Pints of Lager and a Packet of Crisps", alongside Ralf Little, (above), and for participating in the Comic relief Fame Academy series in March 2003, where he had another opportunity to demonstrate his singing skills for charity.

Other work by Will Mellor has included "Sport Relief" in 2002, "Is Harry on the Boat?" in 2001, "Fat Friends" in 2000 and "Night Fever" in 1997.

Will has gone on to act in many other successful television roles.

Natalie Casey

(Born 1982)
Born in Rawtenstall in 1982, Natalie Casey, otherwise known as 'chatty Natty' has already enjoyed a high degree of TV coverage and exposure. She first became known to a wide UK audience in the role of the guitar-playing scatterbrain Carol in Channel 4's soap, "Hollyoaks".

Natalie had already made a brief, if uneventful, foray into the world of pop music. As an MTV presenter Natalie was lost for words as Huey Morgan, front man for the Fun Lovin' Criminals band pounced on her unannounced with a long lingering kiss in the middle of an interview on air.

Recently, she has been enjoying a great deal of attention and celebrity for her comedic performance in "Two Pints of Lager and a Packet of Crisps", which is rapidly attracting a cult following. Natalie enjoys horse riding,and playing the piano.

Max Beesley

(Born 1971)
Born Maxton Beesley in Burnage, Manchester in 1971, the son of jazz singer Chris Marlowe and jazz drummer Maxton Beesley, his musical background gave him a considerable headstart in music and as a young boy he won a scholarship to Chetham's School of Music in Manchester and later went to the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London.

As a teenager he began to perform as a keyboard session musician and drummer with several later-to-become-famous pop groups like Take That, George Michael and Jamiroquai, as well as modelling to earn a living. Eventually, he made the decision to turn his attentions to acting and he moved to New York to study with a method acting coach.

After much studying and long periods of unemployment he was successful in securing a starring role in "The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling" - his performance found favour with critics and public alike and other television roles soon followed. These included "The Match", "Five Seconds to Spare", and "Kill Me Later".

Even so, musical opportunities presented themselves and in 2001 he landed a co-starring role with Mariah Carey in the unsuccessful "Glitter". Beesley continues to write songs and has been cast in an American situation comedy. He has also had an on/off relationship with Mel B of the Spice Girls pop singing group. Max currently lives in Los Angeles.

More recently, in 2006-2007 he took a leading role in the television series "Hotel Babylon".

Christopher Eccleston

(Born 1964)

Born in Eccles on 16th February 1964, Christopher Eccleston studied at Salford Technical College and the Central School of Speech & Drama. After graduating 1986, he made his stage debut at the Old Vic Theatre in Bristol, which was followed by work at the National Theatre, the Royal Court Theatre and Bush theatres.

He made his film debut in "Let Him Have It", the true story of Derek Bentley, a mentally retarded 19-year old epileptic, who was hanged. He has also played the part of Detective Chief Inspector Bilborough in the TV series "Cracker" with Robbie Coltraine, the title role in "Jude", and David in "Shallow Grave".

In 1996 Ecclestone moved back to live in Eccles. His several film roles have included "Elizabeth" with Cate Blanchett and a starring role with Cameron Diaz in "Invisible Circus" as well with Nicole Kidman in "The Others". Other films have included "Gone in 60 Seconds" with Nicholas Cage.

The television drama, "The Second Coming" saw Eccleston starring as Jesus returning to earth as a Manchester City supporter who worked in a video shop in Salford after spending 40 days in the wilderness of the Yorkshire Moors ! He also featured in the long-running TV series "Our Friends in the North".

More recently, in 2005 he was announced that he had been chosen to play the title role of "Doctor Who" in the seventh reincarnation of the cult television series. After being off screen for many years, the series returned by popular demand, and Eccleston, accompanied by Billie Piper, launched the first series in March 2005 to an audience at over 10 million viewers, only to announce that he intended to leave so as not to be typecast in the role.

Eccleston's Dr Who character was taken over by David Tennant.

Philip Schofield

(Born 1962)
Philip Schofield was born in 1962 in Manchester and at the age of seventeen he joined the BBC as a children's presenter. He also studied at Oxford University. Later he gained further valuable experience working in New Zealand television. He worked for a time on BBC Radio presenting a Sunday afternoon music show and by the late 1980s he had become one of the most familiar and charismatic faces of Children's BBC TV, appearing with a small sock puppet called Gordon the Gopher.
Schofield soon moved on to join Emma Forbes as a co-presenter of "Going Live", a Saturday morning Children's TV show ran from 1987 to 1992.
He left television for a brief period to take over the lead role from Jason Donovan in the musical "Joseph and his Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat". He went on to the starring role in "Doctor Dolittle".
In recent times he has returned to presenting TV shows such as "Talking Telephone Numbers", the National Lottery Show "Winning Lines" and "Schofield's TV Gold". He also stepped in to replace John Leslie as co-host in the "This Morning" programme on ITV with Fern Britton. He has co-hosted the "Test the Nation" national IQ quiz with Anne Robinson every year since 2002, and regularly features on the BBC's National Lottery show.