David Peter S. Witts (born 30 June 1991) is a British actor and model from

Southend-on-Sea Southend-on-Sea (), commonly referred to as Southend (), is a coastal city and unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area with Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough status in south-eastern Essex, England. It lies on the nor ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

, best known for his portrayal of

Joey Branning Joey Branning is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'', played by David Witts. Introduced on 22 June 2012 by producer Bryan Kirkwood, Joey is the estranged son of established character Derek Branning (Jamie Foreman) and th ...

in 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 ...

television soap opera ''

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 appeared from 2012 to 2013.

Early life

Witts attended Southend High School for Boys, where he first discovered his passion for acting. For a number of years, he trained with the

National Youth Music Theatre The National Youth Music Theatre (NYMT) is an arts organisation in the United Kingdom providing pre-professional education and musical theatre stage experience for young people. Based in London, it is constituted as a private limited company (or ...

and the National Youth Theatre of Great Britain. Following a short period of working as a barman, Witts appeared in numerous theatre productions, including ''Wild Boyz'', ''The Wizard of Oz'' and ''Snow White'' during 2011 and 2012.

Career

2012–13: ''EastEnders''

In May 2012,

Digital Spy Digital Spy (DS) is a British-based entertainment, television and film website and brand and is the largest digital property at Hearst UK. Since its initial launch in 1999, Digital Spy has focused on entertainment news related to television pro ...

reported that Witts had been cast to play

Derek Branning Derek Branning is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'', played by Terence Beesley in 1996 and then Jamie Foreman from 2011 to 2012. Derek is the eldest child of Jim Branning (John Bardon) and Reenie Branning (Joy Graham). ...

's son,

, in ''EastEnders''. Of his arrival to the series, Witts commented, "I am delighted to be joining ''EastEnders'' after being a fan for so many years. Joining the

Branning family The Branning family, together with the Jackson family are a fictional extended family in the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders''. Introduced in 1993 were the Jackson family, consisting of Carol Jackson (Lindsey Coulson), her partner and later husban ...

couldn't have come at a better time, especially after the recent

British Soap Awards The British Soap Awards (BSAs) are an annual awards ceremony in the United Kingdom which honours the best moments in British soap operas. The ceremony is televised on ITV (TV network), ITV. The trophies given to the winners are made from metal a ...

wins." ''EastEnders executive producer

Lorraine Newman Lorraine Newman (born 1978) is a British scriptwriter, television producer, and the executive producer of the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'' from 2012 to 2013. Newman, who has worked on ''EastEnders'' for "nearly 20 years", received the role of ...

said, "Joey is a fantastic addition to the Brannings and after an explosive entrance onto the Square, he is set to break a few hearts as he campaigns to bring Derek down." In October 2013 it was reported that he had decided to leave ''EastEnders''. His final scenes were aired on 26 December 2013.

2014–present: Theatre, ''Recovery Road'' and ''Manhunt''

In early 2014 Witts starred as Link Larkin in a production of ''

Hairspray Hairspray may refer to: * Hair spray, a personal grooming product that keeps hair protected from humidity and wind * Hairspray (1988 film), ''Hairspray'' (1988 film), a film by John Waters ** Hairspray (1988 soundtrack), ''Hairspray'' (1988 soundt ...

'' at the

Curve In mathematics, a curve (also called a curved line in older texts) is an object similar to a line, but that does not have to be straight. Intuitively, a curve may be thought of as the trace left by a moving point. This is the definition that ...

in Leicester. He appeared in the pantomime ''

Aladdin Aladdin ( ; , , ATU 561, 'Aladdin') is a Middle-Eastern folk tale. It is one of the best-known tales associated with '' One Thousand and One Nights'' (often known in English as ''The Arabian Nights''), despite not being part of the original ...

'' at the New Theatre, Hull over the Christmas/New Year period of 2014/15. In March 2015, it was announced that Witts would star in the new American TV series '' Recovery Road'', as Craig, with the series beginning on 25 January 2016 on Freeform. In May 2016, it was announced that the show had been cancelled. In May 2018, it was announced that Witts would be making his West End debut in the hit musical ''

Wicked Wicked may refer to: Books * ''Wicked'' (Maguire novel), a 1995 novel by Gregory Maguire that inspired the musical of the same name * ''Wicked'', a 1997 novel series collaboration between Australian children's authors Paul Jennings and Morris ...

'', replacing Bradley Jaden as Fiyero from 23 July 2018. Witts left ''Wicked'' on 20 July 2019 and was replaced by

Alistair Brammer Alistair Daniel Brammer (born 12 November 1988) is an English actor best known for playing Jean Prouvaire in both the 2010 special '' Les Misérables: 25th Anniversary Concert'' and the 2012 musical film ''Les Misérables''. Brammer performed as ...

. In March 2019, Witts appeared in an episode of the BBC daytime soap ''

Doctors Doctor, Doctors, The Doctor or The Doctors may refer to: Titles and occupations * Physician, a medical practitioner * Doctor (title), an academic title for the holder of a doctoral-level degree ** Doctorate ** List of doctoral degrees awarded b ...

''. Witts appeared in the pantomime ''

Cinderella "Cinderella", or "The Little Glass Slipper", is a Folklore, folk tale with thousands of variants that are told throughout the world.Dundes, Alan. Cinderella, a Casebook. Madison, Wis: University of Wisconsin Press, 1988. The protagonist is a you ...

'' at the Theatre Royal, Norwich over the Christmas/New Year period of 2019/20. In 2021, Witts appeared in the second series of ''

Manhunt Manhunt may refer to: Search processes * Manhunt (law enforcement), a search for a dangerous fugitive * Manhunt (military), a search for a high-value target by special operations forces or intelligence agencies Social organisations * Manhun ...

'' alongside

Martin Clunes Alexander Martin Clunes (born 28 November 1961) is an English actor, director and television presenter. He is best known for portraying Martin Ellingham in the ITV comedy-drama series '' Doc Martin'', Gary Strang in the BBC sitcom ''Men Behavin ...

. Witts played DC Adam Spier for four episodes.

Filmography

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Witts, David 1991 births Living people 21st-century English actors Male actors from Southend-on-Sea People educated at Southend High School for Boys English male stage actors British male soap opera actors National Youth Theatre members British male models Models from Essex