Neil Morrissey

Neil Morrissey
Born	Neil Anthony Morrissey (1962-07-04) 4 July 1962 Stafford, England
Nationality	British
Occupation	Actor, Comedian, Businessman, Singer
Years active	1983–present
Notable work	See below
Spouse(s)	Amanda Noar (m. 1987–91) (divorced)
Partner(s)	Elizabeth Carling (1991) Amanda Holden (2000)
Children	1 son (b. 1989)

Neil Anthony Morrissey (born 4 July 1962) is an English actor, singer and businessman. He is best known for his role as Tony in Men Behaving Badly

He is also known for his role as Rocky in Boon, the voice of Bob, Lofty and Farmer Pickles in Bob the Builder, the voice of Nick in Roary the Racing Car and deputy head Eddie Lawson in Waterloo Road.

Early life

Morrissey was born in Stafford to Irish parents. He and his brother Stephen (who died in 1997) were placed under a care order and later legally separated from their parents (both psychiatric nurses) after they went on multiple theft and burglary sprees. The boys spent much of their childhood in separate foster homes, Morrissey spending most of his time at the Penkhull Children's Home under the care of Margaret Cartlidge (Auntie Margaret). After studying at Thistley Hough High School in Penkhull, he was fostered by the family of his friend Mark Langston. This lasted for nearly two years after leaving the children's home at 17. He studied for his A levels at the City of Stoke-on-Trent Sixth Form College. During this time he was an active member of the Stoke Repertory Theatre, Stoke Schools Theatre, and Stoke Original Theatre and performed at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in 1979. His successful application to the Guildhall School of Music and Drama resulted in an unconditional offer which paved the way for the next steps in his theatrical career.

Career

Acting

On leaving Guildhall, Morrissey paid off his student debts by landing parts in film productions. His first role in 1984 was Able Seaman Matthew Quintal in The Bounty alongside Mel Gibson, Anthony Hopkins and Laurence Olivier.

In 1984 he also appeared in episode 5 (of series 5) of the police drama Juliet Bravo, shown on BBC1. Morrissey shot to fame in the mid-1980s as dim biker Rocky in the ITV drama series Boon. In 1990, he played the lead role of Noddy in the British spoof horror film I Bought a Vampire Motorcycle which involved many of the actors from Boon.

His role as Tony in Men Behaving Badly was created to replace the character of Dermot after Harry Enfield's departure from the series. The series became one of the most popular UK sitcoms of the 1990s and turned Morrissey into a national star and a target for the tabloid newspapers. His ongoing romance storyline with co-star Leslie Ash led to the pair appearing in several advertisements for Homebase. In 1997, he starred in the Comedy Premiere The Chest and in 1998 two TV series: My Summer with Des and The Vanishing Man.

Circa 1999, Morrisey starred in a comedy drama called Shakespeare's Birthday, in which he played a coach driver. One of his colleagues was played by Tony Selby.

Morrissey also starred in the John Godber film about rugby league called Up n Under and voiced several characters in the children's television series Bob the Builder, including the lead character, in which role he scored a Christmas 2000 UK number 1 single with "Can We Fix It?". In 2015, he was fired from voicing the character and the role was given to Lee Ingleby. In addition, he provides the narration for Morph (in recent years) and Maisy.

In 2002, Morrissey returned to TV screens in the drama series Paradise Heights which ran for two series. He then had a starring role in the BBC sitcom Carrie and Barry from 2004–2005.

His West End theatre work includes Speed, Robin Hood, The Daughter In-Law and his critically acclaimed West End performance in A Passionate Woman. In 2005 Morrissey performed in Victoria Wood's musical adaptation of Acorn Antiques The Musical alongside Julie Walters, Celia Imrie, Duncan Preston and Josie Lawrence. Morrissey took over the role of Nathan Detroit from Nigel Lindsay in the London revival of Guys and Dolls from 6 March 2006 until June 2006.

In 2006 he was the guest host for an episode of Channel 4's The Friday Night Project before taking on the role as presenter on the BBC Two car related game show Petrolheads.

In 2007 he appeared in British TV show Skins as the father of Cassie and made a guest appearance in Neighbours as a priest, remarrying long term characters Susan (Jackie Woodburne) and Karl (Alan Fletcher) on a boat in the River Thames.

On 11 October 2007 he made his first appearance in the BBC's Waterloo Road as new deputy head teacher, Eddie Lawson. He was in this role for two series, making his final appearance in May 2009.

In August 2009 he promoted a national tour of the play Rain Man.

During the 2009 Christmas season he played the role of Buttons in the Pantomime 'Cinderella' at The Assembly Rooms in Derby. Morrisey returned due to popular demand in the pantomime 'Aladdin' playing the character of Wishey-Washey at The Assembly Rooms in Derby.

In January 2012 Morrissey took on the role of "Fagin", in Lionel Barts musical "Oliver" at the Palace Theatre in Manchester.

In July 2013, Morrissey reprised his Skins role as Marcus Ainsworth, the father of Hannah Murray's character Cassie Ainsworth. He appeared in both parts of Skins Pure.

Morrissey is starring alongside Adrian Edmonson, Robert Webb and Miles Jupp in the play Neville's Island at Duke of York's Theatre, London during Autumn 2014.

In 2015 he portrayed an evil man named Keith in CBBC's The Dumping Ground, just for one episode.

In December 2015, Morrissey will star in BBC Two's comedy drama A Gert Lush Christmas where he will play the father of Russell Howard's character.

Spoof show

On 1 April 2006, a BBC Three spoof programme titled Neil Morrissey's Secret documented sides of Morrissey's life that were previously unknown to the world at large. It alleged he has a house, wife and two children in Jordan as well as a degree in Botany for which he had studied for 20 years. These studies were integral to his motivation to find a breakthrough in anti-ageing. According to the documentary he has invented a cream called 'The Essence' which contains extracts of a plant found only in a remote Jordanian village. In the documentary the cream's acolytes include celebrities such as Jane Seymour, Gloria Hunniford and Philippa Forrester. The show followed Morrissey as he carried out his research which involved years of study and crossing continents, funded by his lucrative acting career. Ultimately Morrissey launches the cream only to have his friends concerned for his health, his laboratory broken into, and a trip to Jordan where he finds that the villagers whose trust he had gained through time spent with them, have abandoned their homes because of the fall-out of his discovery. This hoax was launched on 1 April and despite the suspicions caused by this date as April Fool's Day, it still managed to convince some people that it was true.

Business

Ye Olde Punch Bowl Inn, The lease of which was part owned by Morrissey

Morrissey has invested his earnings successfully in various projects, including production companies and his own television advertising and production company, Cactus Media Group.

He lives in a two bedroom flat in Crouch End, has no mortgage, and bought his first 'flash' car in 2002. He has investments in Babington House, Somerset; and has money in stocks and shares. He has also bought his mother a home in Stafford.

Morrissey's love of the Welsh poet Dylan Thomas led to him and his business partners Matt Roberts and Kevin Roos buying up numerous properties in the village of Laugharne, including the Hurst Hotel, the New Three Mariners pub and Brown's Hotel in April 2004 for £670,000. In October 2006 it was announced that the business had put Brown's Hotel on the market in order to finance the redevelopment of the Hurst Hotel, and the expansion of the private members' club, Hurst House in Covent Garden, London. In July 2008, with delays encountered on the construction of Hurst House-at-the-Mill, a luxury hotel in Hertfordshire due to open in 2009, the Laugharne-based assets of the Hurst House group went into a packaged administration. The assets were subsequently bought by new investors backing Roberts, resulting in the end of Morrissey's association with Laugharne.

Morrissey part owned the lease on the Ye Olde Punch Bowl Inn in Marton, North Yorkshire. From this base came the Morrissey Fox range of real ale beer, developed by Morrissey and chef Richard Fox which is still in production. In June 2009, it was reported that his Welsh pub had failed and that the company owed £250,000, and the lease to Ye Olde Punch Bowl Inn was handed back to the owner after just 18 months on 22 October 2009.

Morrissey avoided bankruptcy over his failed business ventures but entered an IVA.

Personal life

Morrissey married Amanda Noar in 1987 after meeting her when she guested in an episode of Boon; the couple have a son born in 1989. He also has five nieces and a nephew. The couple divorced in 1991. He then became engaged to actress Elizabeth Carling whom he had first met in 1989 when she too was working on Boon. They parted on good terms: she later guested alongside him on Men Behaving Badly. His subsequent affairs have been well documented by the British tabloids, including dating Rachel Weisz after starring together in My Summer with Des in 1998: they lived together at his flat in Crouch End.

The tabloid interest peaked with Morrissey's affair with actress Amanda Holden at the height of his fame in 2000 and when her husband, comedian Les Dennis was taking part in Celebrity Big Brother. The affair was the primary reason for Holden's and Dennis's separation and subsequent divorce. At the story's height, there were 35 photographers outside his apartment block, and he had to ask a neighbour to buy him milk and other essentials – he later asked the police to help him get to his car.

Morrissey has numerous tattoos. According to one version of their origin, Morrissey applied them himself with needles and Indian ink. On his left arm is his first name and a blob which was going to be his initials before it became infected causing him to require an anti-tetanus injection. On his right is a squiggle which is a reversed version of The Saint logo. Morrissey himself says the tattoos were done by other boys at the children's home. The boys there apparently saw that he did not have a tattoo and so gave him the option of a tattoo or a beating. He decided on the tattoo and now regrets not taking the other option.

In 2006 Morrissey was awarded an honorary degree from Staffordshire University.

He is a supporter of the London-based football club Crystal Palace. A fan of real ale, in 2011 he produced a real ale with the club called Palace Ale.

Filmography

Films

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1984	The Bounty	Seaman Matthew Quintal	Film debut
1987	Playing Away	Ian
1990	I Bought a Vampire Motorcycle	Noddy, aka Nick Oddie
1992	The Ballad of Kid Divine: The Cockney Cowboy	Cass Malone
1993	Liberation: Captive 2		Video game (voice only)
1994	Staggered	Video Biographer
1995	Trafford Tanzi	Dean Rebel	TV movie
	Toy Story	Announcer
1996	The Vanishing Man	Nick Cameron	TV movie
	Roger Roger	Phil	TV movie
1997	The Chest	John Croft	TV movie
1998	Jack and the Beanstalk	Jack	TV movie
	Up 'n' Under	Steve
	My Summer with Des	Martin	TV movie
1999	Hunting Venus	Charlotte	TV movie
	The Match	Piss-Off
	The Flint Street Nativity	Adrian Atherton/Wise Man	TV movie
	The Nearly Complete and Utter History of Everything	Director	TV movie
2000	Happy Birthday Shakespeare	Will Green	TV movie
2001	Bob the Builder: A Christmas to Remember	Bob/Lofty/Farmer Pickles	Direct-to-video animated film (voice only)
	Another World	Captain Ronald Brimstone	Animated film (voice only)
2002	Triggerman	Pete Maynard
2003	Bob the Builer: The Knights of Can-A-Lot	Bob/Lofty/Farmer Pickles	Animated TV movie (voice only)
2004	Monkey Trousers	Various roles
	Bob the Builder: The Big Dino Dig	Bob/Lofty/Farmer Pickles	Direct-to-video animated film (voice only)
2005	The Adventures of William Shakespeare	Richard III
2006	Acorn Antiques: The Musical	John/Tony	Direct-to-video film
2008	Clubbed	Simon
2010	Inn Mates	Brian	TV movie
2011	The Adventures of William Shakespeare Vol. 2	Richard III
	Care for Kids	Himself
2012	Run for Your Wife	Gary

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1984	Juliet Bravo	Oliver	Guest Appearance – 1 Episode
1985	Roll Over Beethoven	Youth	Guest Appearance – 1 Episode
1985	Hammer House of Mystery and Suspense	Policeman	Guest Appearance – 1 Episode
1985	Travellers by Night	Flick	Miniseries – Recurring Role
1986	C.A.T.S. Eyes	Trevor	Guest Appearance – 1 Episode
1987	Pulaski	Tarquin Taylor	Guest Appearance – 1 Episode
1987–95	Boon	Rocky Cassidy	Recurring Role
1992–99	Men Behaving Badly	Tony Smart	Leading Role
1992	Cluedo	Gordan Ferrar	Guest Appearance – 1 Episode
1993	Comedy Playhouse	Danny	Guest Appearance – 1 Episode
1993	The Smell of Reeves and Mortimer	Himself	Guest Appearance – 1 Episode
1995	The Morph Files	Narrator	Recurring Role (Voice Only)
1995	Noel's House Party	Sammy Shammy	Guest Appearance – 1 Episode
1997	Brambly Hedge	Wilfred Toadflax	Guest Appearance – 1 Episode (Voice Only)
1997	Rugrats	Wheezy Davis	"Send in the Clouds"
1997	Soul Music	Mort	Recurring Role (Voice Only)
1998	The Vanishing Man	Nick Cameron	Recurring Role
1998–2012	Bob the Builder	Bob/Lofty/Scruffty/Farmer Pickles	Recurring Role (Voice Only)
1999	Maisy Mouse	Narrator (British Version)	(Voice Only)
2001	Look and Read	Zzaap	Guest Appearance – 1 Episode (Voice Only)
2002	Paradise Heights	Charlie Eustace	Recurring Role
2003	Murder in Mind	Stephen Kite	Guest Appearance – 1 Episode
2003	The Eustace Bros.	Charlie Eustace	Recurring Role
2004	Unsolved History	Narrator	Guest Appearance – 1 Episode
2004	Carrie & Barry	Barry	Miniseries – Recurring Role
2005	Bob the Builder: Project Build It	Bob/Lofty/Farmer Pickles	Recurring Role (Voice Only)
2007	Skins	Marcus Ainsworth	Guest Appearance – 1 Episode
2007	Neighbours	Vicar	Guest Appearance – 1 Episode
2007–09	Waterloo Road	Eddie Lawson	Series regular
2011	Supersize Grime	Narrator	Recurring Role
2011	Inspector George Gently	Tony Hexton	Guest Appearance
2012	Line of Duty	DC Nigel Morton	5 Episodes
2012	Me and Mrs Jones	Jason	6 Episodes
2013	Skins: Pure	Marcus Ainsworth	2 Episodes
2014	Over to Bill	Jez
2015	The Dumping Ground	Keith	1 episode; series 3
2015	Death in Paradise	Disco Biscuit	Episode 4.5
2015	A Gert Lush Christmas	Dave Colman

External links

• Neil Morrissey at the Internet Movie Database
• Official Morrissey Fox website