Bill Ward (born 5 May 1967) is an English actor. He is known for his soap opera roles as Charlie Stubbs in ''

Coronation Street ''Coronation Street'' (colloquially referred to as ''Corrie'') is a British television soap opera created by ITV Granada, Granada Television and shown on ITV (TV network), ITV since 9 December 1960. The programme centres on a cobbled, terraced ...

'' and James Barton in ''

Emmerdale ''Emmerdale'' (known as ''Emmerdale Farm'' until 1989) is a British television soap opera that is broadcast on ITV (TV network), ITV. The show is set in Emmerdale (known as Beckindale until 1994), a List of fictional towns and villages, fict ...

''.

Early life

Ward was educated at Oundle School and

Bristol University The University of Bristol is a public research university in Bristol, England. It received its royal charter in 1909, although it can trace its roots to a Merchant Venturers' school founded in 1595 and University College, Bristol, which had ...

where he obtained a degree in Modern British History, and worked as an advertising executive before beginning his professional acting career in the 1980s.

Career

Ward acted widely in theatre and television, joining the cast of ''Coronation Street'' in 2003, portraying local builder Charlie Stubbs, until 2007 when his character was killed by Tracy Barlow after a domestic abuse storyline. He made his second appearance in a major soap opera role as James Barton in ''

'' beginning in 2013. However, Ward announced in August 2016 that he was quitting the soap, and his character was killed off in October 2016. Outside of acting, Ward is noted as a photographer. Ward also had a role in 2003 in BBC TV's ''

EastEnders ''EastEnders'' is a British television 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 East End of London, the ...

'', in which he played the role of Mike Parker. He also has had roles in shows such as ITV's ''

The Bill ''The Bill'' is a British police procedural television series, broadcast on ITV (TV network), ITV from 16 October 1984 until 31 August 2010. The programme originated from a one-off drama, "Woodentop (The Bill), Woodentop" (part of the ''Storyb ...

'' and '' Heartbeat''. In 2019, he starred as retired

drag queen A drag queen is a person, usually male, who uses Drag (entertainment), drag clothing and makeup to imitate and often exaggerate Femininity, female gender signifiers and gender roles for entertainment purposes. Historically, drag queens have ...

Hugo Battersby / Loco Chanelle in the acclaimed musical '' Everybody's Talking About Jamie'' at the Apollo Theatre for a limited run. In December 2020, it was revealed that Ward had undertaken work as a delivery driver for

Tesco Tesco plc () is a British multinational groceries and general merchandise retailer headquartered in the United Kingdom at its head offices in Welwyn Garden City, England. The company was founded by Jack Cohen (businessman), Sir Jack Cohen in ...

, after several acting jobs he had scheduled were cancelled due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

. In September 2023, he appeared in an episode of the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

soap opera '' Doctors'' as Mickey Gilmore. It was announced in April 2024 that Ward would Headline in

Bridlington Spa Bridlington Spa is a dance hall, Theater (structure), theatre and Convention center, conference centre in Bridlington, East Riding of Yorkshire, England. Refurbished between 2006 and 2008 and further updated with a new branding in 2016, the ven ...

pantomime playing the role of Fleshcreep in Jack and the Beanstalk, running from 14 December 2024 to 5 January 2025.

Filmography

References

External links

* 1967 births Alumni of the University of Bristol Living people English male soap opera actors Male actors from Newcastle upon Tyne People educated at Oundle School {{England-actor-stub