Samuel Attwater (born 10 April 1986) is an English actor and singer who played Leon Small in the British soap opera ''

EastEnders ''EastEnders'' is a Television in the United Kingdom, British soap opera created by Julia Smith (producer), Julia Smith and Tony Holland which has been broadcast on BBC One since February 1985. Set in the fictional borough of Walford in the Ea ...

'' and its online spin-off ''

EastEnders: E20 ''EastEnders: E20'' (sometimes just ''E20'') is a British Internet soap opera, which began airing on 8 January 2010. A spin-off from the established BBC soap ''EastEnders'', it is set in ''EastEnders'' regular setting of Albert Square, a Victori ...

''. He won the sixth series of ''

Dancing on Ice ''Dancing on Ice'' is a British television series presented by Phillip Schofield alongside Holly Willoughby from 2006 to 2011, who then returned in 2018, and Christine Bleakley from 2012 to 2014. The series features celebrities and their prof ...

'' in March 2011 and participated in the ' All Stars' series in 2014. He was eliminated 11th, finishing in 4th place.

Career

Acting

Attwater trained at the

Italia Conti Academy of Theatre Arts The Italia Conti Academy of Theatre Arts is a performing arts conservatoire based in Woking, England. It was founded in 1911 by Italia Conti, an actress. The first production at Italia Conti Academy was the play '' Where the Rainbow Ends''. F ...

and went on to star in musicals such as '' Tonight's the Night'', ''12 Tenors'', ''20th Century Boy'', and ''Our Benny''. He appeared as a dancer in

Bollywood Hindi cinema, popularly known as Bollywood and formerly as Bombay cinema, refers to the film industry based in Mumbai, engaged in production of motion pictures in Hindi language. The popular term Bollywood, is a portmanteau of "Bombay" ...

film '' Jhoom Barabar Jhoom'' and featured in four episodes of ''

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 ...

'' in 2009, playing Ricky. In January 2010 he starred in the ''

'' spin-off ''

'' as Leon Small and went on to become a regular cast member in ''EastEnders'', but was axed in May 2010, making his last on-screen appearance on 30 September 2010.

Singing

Attwater's debut EP, ''Breaking Boundaries'', was released on 24 January 2011.

''Dancing on Ice''

In December 2010, it was announced that Attwater would be competing in the sixth series of ''

'' in 2011. Attwater was partnered by neon figure skater

Brianne Delcourt Professional skaters from the British television show ''Dancing on Ice'' are figure skaters who appear with celebrities in front of a panel of judges. Most of the professionals on the series are former ice dancers or pair skaters. Competi ...

. Attwater won the series on 27 March 2011, beating Laura Hamilton in the final. He then went on to perform alongside gold medal winning skaters Torvill and Dean, on the Dancing on Ice Live Tour 2011, touring around the UK performing at arenas such as the Birmingham NIA and Wembley Stadium. Sam finished fourth in the 'All Stars' series of ''

'' with his fiance

Vicky Ogden Vicky, Vicko, Vick, Vickie or Vicki is a feminine given name, often a hypocorism of Victoria. The feminine name Vicky in Greece comes from the name Vasiliki. Women * Family nickname of Victoria, Princess Royal (1840–1901), wife of Germa ...

after they lost out to

Ray Quinn Raymond Arthur Quinn (born 25 August 1988) is an English actor, singer, dancer and carpet layer. He is best known for his role as Anthony Murray in ''Brookside'' from 2000 to 2003. He achieved more public recognition when he auditioned for the ...

and his partner

Maria Filippov Maria Filippov (born 20 June 1973 as Maria Hadjiiska) is a Bulgarian professional ice skater and former competitor. Career As Maria Hadjiiska, she was a member of the Bulgarian national ice dancing team from 1988 to 1992 and her country's nati ...

but head judge

Robin Cousins Robin Cousins, MBE (born 17 August 1957) is a British former competitive figure skater who was BBC Sports Personality of the Year in 1980. He was the 1980 Olympic champion, the 1980 European champion, a three-time World medalist (1978–19 ...

praised Sam and his skating work.

West End

On 18 July 2011, Sam made his West End debut playing the character of "Norman" in hit West End musical "Dreamboats & Petticoats" at the Playhouse Theatre. He also performed "The Wanderer" a song from the musical, on ITV's "This Morning" on 4 August 2011. He then also appeared on "The Alan Titchmarsh Show" performing with some of the cast of Dreamboats and Petticoats, on 13 October 2011. Between September 2013 and February 2014, Sam has appeared as Adam Pontipee in a nationwide tour of

Seven Brides for Seven Brothers ''Seven Brides for Seven Brothers'' is a 1954 American musical film, directed by Stanley Donen, with music by Gene de Paul, lyrics by Johnny Mercer, and choreography by Michael Kidd. The screenplay, by Albert Hackett, Frances Goodrich, and Do ...

. From January 2020 to February 2020, Sam starred in a West End adaptation of Rags the Musical where he played “Micheal the moustache man”

Personal life

Sam married

in 2014, making them the first ''Dancing on Ice'' couple to marry. In 2016, Ogden gave birth to their two daughters.

Filmography

References

External links

* *
Agency profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Attwater, Sam 1986 births Living people English male soap opera actors Alumni of the Italia Conti Academy of Theatre Arts People from Basingstoke Reality show winners 21st-century English male actors