Christopher Parker (born 24 August 1983) is an English actor and television presenter, best known for portraying Spencer Moon on

BBC One BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's Flagship (broadcasting), flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News ...

soap opera A soap opera, or ''soap'' for short, is a typically long-running radio or television serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term "soap opera" originated from radio dramas originally being sponsored ...

'' EastEnders'' between 2002 and 2005.

Early career

Christopher Parker's career began at an early age as a model appearing in print campaigns and TV commercials. He progressed onto small roles in TV dramas such as ''

The Bill ''The Bill'' is a British police procedural television series, first broadcast on ITV from 16 August 1983 until 31 August 2010. The programme originated from a one-off drama, '' Woodentop'', broadcast in August 1983. The programme focused on ...

'', '' London's Burning'' (appearing in the last ever episode) and '' Judge John Deed''. Parker worked as a

stunt double In filmmaking, a double is a person who substitutes FOR another actor such that the person's face is not shown. There are various terms associated with a double based on the specific body part or ability they serve as a double for, such as stunt ...

in '' Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets''. He then came to wider attention in the role of Spencer Moon in the BBC soap opera '' EastEnders'', where he played the younger brother of Alfie Moon, portrayed by British actor

Shane Richie Shane Patrick Paul Roche (born 11 March 1964), known as Shane Richie, is a British actor, comedian, television presenter and singer. Following initial success as a stage and screen performer, he became best known for his portrayal of the chara ...

. During his time on ''EastEnders'', he appeared in the first series of ''

Strictly Come Dancing ''Strictly Come Dancing'' (informally known as ''Strictly'') is a British dance contest show in which celebrities partner with professional dancers to compete in mainly ballroom and Latin dance. Each couple is scored by a panel of usually 4 ...

'' and made it through to the final alongside his partner Hanna Karttunen.

Recent broadcasting

In 2005/06 he worked as a presenter on ''CD:UK'', ''MTV News'', ''

CBBC CBBC (initialised as Children's BBC and also known as the CBBC Channel) is a British free-to-air Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast children's television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is also the bran ...

'' with Fearne Cotton,

Disney radio Radio Disney was an Radio in the United States, American radio network operated by the Disney Radio Networks unit of Disney Branded Television within the Disney General Entertainment Content, headquartered in Burbank, California. The network b ...

and as an entertainment presenter on the morning television show ''

This Morning This Morning may refer to: * ''This Morning'' (TV programme), a British daytime television programme * ''This Morning'' (radio program), a Canadian radio show which aired from 1997 to 2002 * '' CBS This Morning'', an American morning show, succe ...

''. Parker hosted an hour long special called "Bond is Back" for American television about the latest James Bond film, ''Casino Royale''. He has appeared on

on '' Hider in the House'' presented by Jason King and Joel and taken part in

ITV2 ITV2 is a British free-to-air television channel owned by ITV Digital Channels, a division of ITV plc. It was launched on 7 December 1998. For a number of years, it had the largest audience share after the five analogue terrestrial station ...

's reality television programme '' Deadline'' with chief editor Janet Street Porter. He was the first celebrity to be sacked by Street-Porter, for refusing to take pictures of famous people without first asking their permission. He presented ''Dead Famous Live'' opposite Gail Porter and was, for a period, the face of the digital music channel Bubble Hits. Parker appeared in the second series of the BBC's ''

Hotel Babylon Hotel Babylon may refer to: Television * Hotel Babylon (BBC series), a 2000s BBC drama series * Hotel Babylon (music programme), a 1990s ITV late night music programme Literature * ''Hotel Babylon'' (novel), a novel by Imogen Edwards-Jones * ...

'' opposite

Danny Dyer Danial John Dyer (born 24 July 1977) is an English actor and presenter. Dyer's breakthrough role was as Moff in '' Human Traffic'', with other notable roles as Mick Carter in EastEnders, Billy the Limpet in '' Mean Machine'' and as Tommy John ...

. In 2006 he worked alongside Christian Slater, Nick Moran and

Eddie Izzard Edward John Izzard (; born 7 February 1962) is a British stand-up comedian, actor and activist. Her comedic style takes the form of what appears to the audience as rambling whimsical monologues and self-referential pantomime. Izzard's stand- ...

in a live performance of the Hollywood film ''The Rogues''. Parker splits his time between Los Angeles and London. In Los Angeles he worked for Fox owned channel TV Guide Channel and also Reelz Channel (a film themed channel). In 2008, he took part in the Strictly Come Dancing Live Arena Tour and he has acted in Tim Smith's short film Schoolboy and also the feature film Education of Keiron which stars James Wilby. He is also presenting holiday segments for ITV1's This Morning and has a column in Teen Now magazine. Chris Parker hosted a weekly show on Gala Bingo's TV channel, commencing June 2009. Christopher took part in a celebrity version of TV show Total Wipeout which aired on 2 January 2010.

Law career

Parker later studied for a law degree at

Birkbeck, University of London , mottoeng = Advice comes over nightTranslation used by Birkbeck. , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £4.3 m (2014) , budget = £10 ...

. According to his (protected) Twitter feed, as of April 2013, he was a final year law student. He has expressed a desire to take his law aspirations further after completing his degree, but has encountered problems with many law firms requiring A-level results which, due to his acting experiences when younger, he lacks. As of October 2022, he is a senior consultant at London-based law firm Ignition Law.

Personal life

Parker has completed two London Marathons, one for the charity

Barnardo's Barnardo's is a British charity founded by Thomas John Barnardo in 1866, to care for vulnerable children. As of 2013, it raised and spent around £200 million each year running around 900 local services, aimed at helping these same grou ...

and the second for the Make Poverty History Campaign and visited Africa with

Comic Relief Comic relief is the inclusion of a humorous character, scene, or witty dialogue in an otherwise serious work, often to relieve tension. Definition Comic relief usually means a releasing of emotional or other tension resulting from a comic epis ...

alongside Fearne Cotton. He is also a celebrity supporter for the

British Red Cross The British Red Cross Society is the United Kingdom body of the worldwide neutral and impartial humanitarian network the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement. The society was formed in 1870, and is a registered charity with more ...

. In 2004, he attempted suicide by cutting his wrists and taking an overdose of paracetamol tablets after a woman claimed he lied about their relationship to hide his sexuality. After two friends found him, he was left with no lasting damage, and said the attempt was stupid but that he had reached the stage of desperation. After three weeks of extended leave from ''EastEnders'', he and production staff reached a mutual decision that he would not return to the series.

Awards

* Best new TV talent at the TRIC Awards in 2005

References

External links

* ''official website'' * {{DEFAULTSORT:Parker, Christopher English male soap opera actors English television presenters 1983 births Living people