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Michael French

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English actor (b. 1962) For other people named Michael French, see Michael French (disambiguation).

Michael French
BornMichael Clark
17 September 1962 (1962-09-17) (age 62)
Bow, London, England
OccupationActor
Years active1983–

Michael French (born Michael Clark, 17 September 1962) is an English actor, known for his roles as David Wicks in EastEnders; Nick Jordan, a consultant and Clinical Lead, Senior Consultant in emergency medicine in Casualty and former cardiothoracic registrar in its spin-off series Holby City; and Jeff Slade in the BBC sci-fi crime series Crime Traveller.

Biography

Michael French was born Michael Clark in Bow, London, on 17 September 1962. He appeared in school productions and shows put on by a local drama club. When he was 20, French worked as an entertainer at the Holiday Club International in Majorca. When he returned to Britain, at the age of 22, French got his first acting break in the musical Godspell at the Kenneth More Theatre in Ilford, east London. He spent the next three years touring in small productions before becoming disillusioned with his lack of success and taking a job as an air steward for British Airways. Later, French quit his job with British Airways, began studying acting at the Mountview Academy of Theatre Arts and graduated in 1992. He chose to take his mother's maiden surname for professional purposes.

After his family moved to central London and then Essex when he was a child, his first stage experience was as a teenager when the mother of television presenter Ben Shephard cast him in a production at the drama group that she ran in Theydon Bois.

In 1993, an EastEnders casting agent saw him performing in Les Misérables in London's West End and he was cast as David Wicks in the BBC soap opera EastEnders. He appeared in EastEnders between 1993 and 1996, and later reprised his role in 2012 for the departure of Pam St Clement who played his on-screen mother Pat Butcher, and again between 2013 and 2014. Due to the high-profile role, he was outed as gay by tabloids in 1996. He also appeared as Nick Jordan in Casualty and its spin-off programme Holby City, between 1998 and 2000, returning to the role in Casualty between 2006 and 2013.

Other television work included Crime Traveller (1997), and Born and Bred (2002-2004). His other theatre work included Sacred Heart (1999), Art (2000), Chicago (2004), and The Sound of Music (2014). In July 2024, it was announced that French would be reprising his role of David Wicks in EastEnders for a short stint later in the year.

Filmography

Year Show Role Notes
1993–1996, 2012–2014, 2024 EastEnders David Wicks Series regular (463 episodes)
1997 Crime Traveller Detective Jeff Slade 8 part series
1998, 2008–2013 Casualty Nick Jordan Series regular
1999–2000, 2006, 2010 Holby City
2001 The Fabulous Bagel Boys DS Alexander Murchison
The Gentleman Thief Ellis Bride
2004 The Afternoon Play Hardy Rose 1 episode: "Sons, Daughters and Lovers"
2001–2004 Born and Bred Dr. Tom Gilder Series regular
2005 Casualty@Holby City Nick Jordan 2 episodes: "Deny Thy Father" (Parts 1&2)
2006 Dalziel and Pascoe Gary Lescott 1 episode: "Wrong Time, Wrong Place"
2018 Bargain Hunt Self 1 episode

References

  1. ^ "Michael French". BBC Drama. Retrieved 3 January 2020.
  2. ^ Sutton, Caroline (17 March 1996). "French connection". Sunday Mirror. Retrieved 26 July 2014 – via The Free Library.
  3. ^ Benedict, David (30 March 1999). "Arts: French without tears". The Independent. Archived from the original on 12 May 2022. Retrieved 25 August 2020.
  4. "Michael French returns to EastEnders as David Wicks". BBC News. 25 July 2013. Retrieved 23 August 2020.
  5. Brown, David (24 July 2013). "EastEnders confirms Michael French to return as David Wicks later this year". Radio Times. Retrieved 23 August 2020.
  6. Brown, David (18 May 2014). "EastEnders: Michael French to bow out as David Wicks". Radio Times. Retrieved 23 August 2020.
  7. Theil, Michele (4 October 2024). "Remembering when Michael French was cruelly outed by tabloids in 1996 as he returns to EastEnders". PinkNews. Archived from the original on 4 October 2024. Retrieved 4 October 2024.
  8. Reynolds, Simon; Green, Kris (13 May 2008). "Michael French joins 'Casualty'". Digital Spy. Retrieved 23 August 2020.
  9. Lambert, Doug (12 January 2013). "Michael French To Leave Casualty". ATV Today. Retrieved 2 August 2014.
  10. Brown, David (1 February 2013). "Casualty: Michael French bows out as Nick Jordan – video preview". Radio Times. Archived from the original on 8 August 2014. Retrieved 2 August 2014.
  11. Stewart, Alastair (21 November 2016). "Crime Traveller: celebrating an underappreciated 90s sci-fi". Den of Geek. Retrieved 25 August 2020.
  12. "Born and Bred". BBC Drama. 28 October 2014. Retrieved 25 August 2020.
  13. "Michael French on... Sacred Heart". Evening Standard. London. 25 March 1999. Retrieved 23 August 2020.
  14. "United Kingdom: Fourteenth cast of theatre comedy "Art" speak about the hit play". Reuters. 25 January 2000. Retrieved 23 August 2020.
  15. ""Chicago" cast changes from 13 Dec 2004 Michael French & Josefina Gabrielle join cast". London Theatre. 3 December 2004. Retrieved 11 August 2020.
  16. Hickling, Alfred (8 December 2014). "The Sound of Music review – Paul Kerryson says so long with terrific show". The Guardian. Retrieved 25 August 2020.
  17. "David Wicks returns to Eastenders as Michael French reprises the role later this year". BBC. Retrieved 16 July 2024.

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