Shaun Williamson | |
|---|---|
 Williamson at an event in 2008 | |
| Born | 29 November 1965 |
| Occupations |
|
| Years active | 1989–present |
| Height | 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) |
| Spouses |
|
| Children | 3 |
Shaun Williamson (born 29 November 1964 ) is an English actor best known as Barry Evans in EastEnders and as a satirical version of himself in the BBC/HBO sitcom Extras , 'Barry off EastEnders'.
Williamson was born in Park Wood, Maidstone. He attended Holy Family RC Primary School, followed by St Simon Stock Catholic School where he frequently played truant. Following school he became a postman, but developed a drink problem, consuming 12 pints of beer a day by the time he was 18. He later said he joined the Royal Navy at that point "to break that cycle". [1] He completed his training at HMS Raleigh. He intended to become a helicopter pilot but was rejected when it was discovered he was colour blind. He subsequently worked in various jobs such as a Bluecoat for Pontins, as a rep for Club 18-30 and one season at Camp America. Aged 26, in 1991 he was working in the Wines & Spirits Department for Safeway, in Walderslade and Strood, when he decided to enlist at the Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art. [2]
Williamson is widely known for his portrayal of the foolish, hapless Barry Evans in the BBC soap opera EastEnders , a role that he played from 1994 to 2004. This was Williamson's second role in the soap; he previously had a brief role as a paramedic earlier in 1994. In 2009, he stated that he had no regrets about leaving the show. [3]
Williamson was the subject of This Is Your Life in 2001. In 2004, Williamson appeared on and won an episode of Celebrity Stars in Their Eyes , impersonating the singer Meat Loaf. Williamson finished third in the 2007 series of Comic Relief does Fame Academy . Other television roles have included parts in the detective series Inspector Morse , the ITV drama London's Burning , the BBC sitcom Waiting for God , the Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant comedy Extras as a send-up of himself and as Balbus, a midlife crisis afflicted Roman charioteering instructor in historical comedy series Plebs.
Williamson competed in Celebrity Big Brother 20 , and became the eighth housemate to be evicted, on day 23. Most recently, in 2020, Williamson appeared as recurring character Chris Smith, future father-in-law to the titular character played by Spencer Jones in the BBC Two sitcom, Mister Winner. He reprised the role from the pilot which had previously been broadcast in 2017 on BBC One. [4]
Stage roles have included Monty the DJ in the West End run and UK tour of Saturday Night Fever, and appearing at Canterbury's Marlowe Theatre from December 2003 to January 2004 in a pantomime production of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs , alongside Toyah Willcox. [5] In 2006 he starred in the pantomime Dick Whittington at The Playhouse in Weston-super-Mare. He returned to the Marlowe Theatre from December 2007 to January 2008, in Aladdin, alongside Stephen Mulhern. During 2008 he played Nathan Detroit in the touring production of Guys and Dolls , having already appeared in the part in the West End. In 2008–2009, he was again appearing in Aladdin, this time at the Wyvern Theatre, Swindon. In May 2006, Williamson played the lead in the play Road to Nirvana at The King's Head Theatre London and in October 2006, appeared in a sketch as part of the charity benefit The Secret Policeman's Ball which was staged at the Royal Albert Hall. [6]
In 2009, Williamson toured the UK playing habitual criminal Norman Stanley Fletcher in a stage version of the classic TV comedy Porridge . The script had been newly written by the series' co-authors, Dick Clement and Ian La Frenais. [7] In 2012 he toured in The Ladykillers . He played Baron Bomburst and Lord Scrumptious in the UK tour production of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. [8]
In 2018, Williamson wrote a BBC radio drama series titled Eden's End, set in the Kent hop picking season of 1939. The series starred Shane Taylor (Band of Brothers), Steve Nallon (Spitting Image) and Candis Nergaard (Call the Midwife).
Williamson spent a year competing in the UK Quiz Grand Prix as research for his book A Matter Of Facts which details the world of elite general knowledge quizzing competitions. [9] During this time he became a Top 50 ranked player in the UK. During an appearance on ITV's Beat the Chasers (in which he won £120,000 for The Paul Strank Charitable Trust based in south London), the Dark Destroyer described him as "celebrity quizzing royalty". [10]
Currently Williamson has been on a singing tour as an act called "Barrioke". [11] Touring various festivals, Williamson performs popular songs and has been praised across social media, recently receiving attention for duetting with Cher in an advert for UKTV's rebrand. [12]
Williamson has three children and has been married twice. His first child was born in 1987 when Williamson was 22. The child's mother was a circus performer with whom Williamson was in a relationship. After breaking up she told Williamson of her pregnancy but Williamson left to pursue a career in America, promising to care for the child on his return. When he returned the circus performer had married another man and this man was listed as the child's father on the birth certificate. [13] [14] Williamson subsequently married his manager Melanie Sacre and they were married for 16 years; they have two children together. He married Adele, his second wife, in 2018. [15]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1989 | Crime Monthly | Taxi Driver | Episode: 'Mirza Murder Casebook' |
| 1994 | Waiting for God | Brown | Episode: 'A Royal Visit?' |
| London's Burning | Chris | ||
| 1994–2004 | EastEnders | Paramedic / Barry Evans | 656 episodes |
| 1994–2008 | The Bill | Dave Monks / SO19 Officer | 3 episodes |
| 1995 | Inspector Morse | Garage Cashier | Episode: 'The Way Through the Woods' |
| 1997–1999 | Night Fever | Himself; Contestant | 4 Episodes |
| 2002 | The Basil Brush Show | Evil Furniture Genius | Episode: 'The Date' |
| 2005 | GB3-Being Young | Mr. Dozey | Television film |
| Funland | Cliff | Series 1, episode 2 | |
| 2005–2007 | Extras | Barry / Shaun Williamson / Barry from Eastenders | 10 episodes |
| 2007 | Holby City | Larry Randle | Episode: 'Mirror Man' |
| 2008 | Fairy Tales | Sava Stojkovic | Episode: 'Rapunzel' |
| The Slammer | Jimmy Jinx | ||
| Dani's House | Clown | Episode: 'Amnesia' | |
| 2008–2014 | Doctors | Roy Marlin / Walter Twiddle / Bob Robbins | 3 episodes |
| 2009–2011 | Scoop | Digby Digworth | 39 episodes |
| 2011 | New Tricks | Martin Fallon | Episode: 'The Gentleman Vanishes' |
| 2011–2013 | Life's Too Short | Shaun Williamson | 5 episodes |
| 2013 | Celebrity Juice | Barry | Episode: 'Coronation St. vs. EastEnders' |
| Sooty | Barrie Bonkers | Episode: 'The Fancy Dress Party' | |
| 2014 | Houdini | Riley | 2 episodes |
| Plebs | Balbus | Episode: 'The Best Man' | |
| 2016 | Sexy Murder | Brian Jessop | 6 episodes |
| 2017 | Casualty | Terry Boydell | Episode: 'The Stag, the Dog and the Sheep' |
| Comedy Playhouse | Chris Smith | Episode: 'Mister Winner' | |
| 2018 | Moving On | Geoff | Episode: 'Two Fat Ladies' |
| 2019 | Al Murray's Great British Pub Quiz | Himself / Barman / Scorekeeper | 20 episodes |
| 2020 | Mister Winner | Chris Smith | 2 episodes |
| 2021 | Beat the Chasers: Celebrity Special | Himself; Contestant; Winner | 1 episode |
| A League of Their Own | Himself / Barry Evans (EastEnders character) | 2 episodes | |
| 2023 | Significant Other | Jonny | In-production [16] |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1996 | Stella Does Tricks | Mr. Peters' driver | |
| 2008 | Daylight Robbery | Police Chief | |
| 2009 | The Invention of Lying | Richard Bellison | |
| 2009 | Uncut | Marc | |
| 2017 | The Blazing Cannons | Mu Mu Manager | |
| 2018 | This Is Jayde: The One Hit Wonder | Shaun | Also writer and producer |
| Paying Mr. McGetty | Himself | ||
| 2021 | Cold Sun | Alex Huntsworth |
| Year | Title | Artist | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | "Heads Down" | Tom Williams | [17] [18] |
Ian Watkins, known by his stage name H, is a Welsh singer and actor. He is a member of the British pop group Steps.
Leslie Dennis Heseltine is an English television presenter, actor and comedian. He presented Family Fortunes from 1987 until 2002.
Samantha Zoe Womack is an English actress, singer, model and director who has worked in film, television and stage. Womack initially planned a career in singing and she represented the United Kingdom in the 1991 Eurovision Song Contest. Her song for the contest, "A Message to Your Heart", was released as her first single in April 1991 and reached number 30 in the UK Singles Chart.
Robin Mark Askwith is an English actor and singer who has appeared in a number of film, television and stage productions.
Brian Paul Conley is an English actor, comedian, singer and television presenter. Conley has been the host of The Brian Conley Show, as well as presenting the Royal Variety Performance on eight occasions. In his 40-year television career, he has starred in multiple award-winning television sitcoms including Time After Time and The Grimleys.
Extras is a British sitcom about extras working in television, film, and theatre. The series was co-produced by the BBC and HBO, and written and directed by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant, both of whom starred in it. It follows the lives of Andy Millman (Gervais), his friend Maggie Jacobs and Andy's substandard agent and part-time retail employee Darren Lamb (Merchant) as Millman muddles through life as an anonymous "background performer" who eventually finds success as a B-list sitcom star.
Tanya Christine Franks is an English actress. She is best known for her role as Rainie Cross in the BBC soap opera, EastEnders.
George Kapiniaris is an Australian stage, television and film actor and comedian. He is of Greek descent and is best known for his role in popular sitcom Acropolis Now and composed the series' theme song.
Emma Louise Barton is an English actress. She is perhaps best known for the role of Honey Mitchell in EastEnders which she has portrayed on and off since November 2005. Before her role in EastEnders, Barton appeared in Spooks and on stage in plays including Grease. In 2019, Barton competed in the seventeenth series of Strictly Come Dancing, paired with professional Anton du Beke, reaching the Grand Final.
Lucy Renee Speed is an English actress best known for her television roles as Natalie Evans in the BBC One soap opera EastEnders appearing in 526 episodes between 1994 and 2004, and as DS Stevie Moss in the ITV police drama series The Bill from 2008 to 2010. She has also starred in the BBC One sitcom Cradle to Grave (2015) and ITV dramas Marcella (2018) and Unforgotten (2021). Speed is also a prolific stage performer, appearing in numerous theatrical productions.
Harold Owen "Gary" Wilmot, MBE is a British singer, actor, comedian, presenter, writer and director who rose to fame as a contestant on New Faces. As a television presenter, he is best known as the host of You and Me, So You Want To Be Top and Showstoppers. His West End credits include Me and My Girl, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, The Prince of Egypt, and Wicked.
Miles Hugh Barrett Jupp is an English actor, singer, and comedian. He began his career as a stand-up comedian before playing the role of the inventor Archie in the children's television series Balamory. He also played John Duggan in The Thick of It, Nigel in the sitcom Rev and appeared on many comedy panel shows. Between 2015 and 2019, Jupp was the host of The News Quiz on BBC Radio 4, replacing Sandi Toksvig.
Leon Lopez is a British actor, television and film director, singer-songwriter and occasional model, best known for playing the role of Jerome Johnson in the Channel 4 soap opera Brookside from 1998 to 2002. He also played the role of Linford Short in the BBC's EastEnders in 2016. His first feature film as a director, Soft Lad, premiered at the East End Film Festival in 2015.
Jason John Manford is an English comedian, presenter, actor and singer.
Nichola McAuliffe is an English television and stage actress and writer, best known for her role as Sheila Sabatini in the ITV hospital sitcom Surgical Spirit (1989–1995). She has also starred in several stage musicals and won the 1988 Olivier Award for Best Actress in a Musical for her role in Kiss Me, Kate.
Thomas Lawrence Knight, usually credited as Tommy Knight, is an English former actor best known for playing Luke Smith in The Sarah Jane Adventures and Doctor Who, Kevin Chalk in the original run of Waterloo Road, Cal Bray in Glue and Archibald Brodie in Victoria.
Paul Greenwood is a British film, television and theatre actor. He is best known for his role as PC Michael "Rosie" Penrose in the sitcom The Growing Pains of PC Penrose and its successor Rosie, and as Inspector Yelland in Spender.
Andy Hockley is a Welsh actor and singer born in 1959 in Pontypridd, South Wales.
Martin John Kemp is an English musician and actor, best known as the bassist in the new wave band Spandau Ballet and for his role as Steve Owen in EastEnders.
Mia Iris Jenkins is an English actress and singer. She is known for her roles as Alex in the Disney Channel musical drama The Lodge and Emma in the Disney Channel series Soy Luna. Following her appearances on Disney programmes, Jenkins has made various appearances in television series and films, including the Prime Video series Hanna, the BBC Three series Mood, and the Sky Atlantic series Domina.
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
