James William Baxter (born 3 August 1990) is an English actor known for his roles as Jake Doland 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 ...

'', Anthony in '' Alma's Not Normal'', Leroy in ''

Still Open All Hours ''Still Open All Hours'' is a British sitcom (2013–2019) created for the BBC by Roy Clarke, and starring David Jason and James Baxter. It is the sequel to the sitcom '' Open All Hours'' (1976–1985), which both Clarke and Jason were invol ...

'' and Jesus in ''

Red Dwarf A red dwarf is the smallest kind of star on the main sequence. Red dwarfs are by far the most common type of fusing star in the Milky Way, at least in the neighborhood of the Sun. However, due to their low luminosity, individual red dwarfs are ...

''. Since 2023, he has portrayed deputy head teacher Joe Casey in '' Waterloo Road''.

Early life

Baxter was born and brought up in

Sunderland Sunderland () is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. It is a port at the mouth of the River Wear on the North Sea, approximately south-east of Newcastle upon Tyne. It is the most p ...

Tyne and Wear Tyne and Wear () is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in North East England. It borders Northumberland to the north and County Durham to the south, and the largest settlement is the city of Newcastle upon Tyne. The county is ...

and educated at Farringdon Community Sports College. He attended weekly classes at NADA (the Northern Academy Of Dramatic Arts) held at the city's Royalty Theatre. Whilst there, he appeared in various productions, including ''Some Like It Hot'' and 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 ...

'' (Christmas 2006).

Career

Stage

In the Fiona Evans stage play ''Scarborough'' at the 2007

Edinburgh Festival __NOTOC__ This is a list of Arts festival, arts and cultural festivals regularly taking place in Edinburgh, Scotland. The city has become known for its festivals since the establishment in 1947 of the Edinburgh International Festival and the ...

, his performance as a teenager embarking upon an illicit affair with his PE Teacher won him a best-actor nomination for a Festival Fringe Award, and favourable reviews. He has played in the North East musical ''Fine Fine Fine'' based on a story by Denise Robertson. Baxter created the role of Bruce Blakemore in ''Silk Road'' by

Alex Oates Alex Oates (born 1987 in Newcastle) is an English playwright from the North East. Background Born in Newcastle, Oates was born to a nurse and policeman and raised in Whitley Bay in the North East of England. He moved to London to attend Middl ...

at Assembly Studios as part of the Edinburgh Festival 2014.

Television

In 2007, Baxter landed the role of Jake Doland, in the long running ITV

soap opera A soap opera (also called a daytime drama or soap) is a genre of a long-running radio or television Serial (radio and television), serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term ''soap opera'' originat ...

''. Baxter left the soap in 2009, together with his on-screen family, at the conclusion of their storyline. In 2012, Baxter played Jesus (of Caesarea) in the episode "Lemons" of the sci-fi sitcom ''

''. He also had a bit part in the BBC's ''

The Revenge Files of Alistair Fury ''The Revenge Files of Alistair Fury'' is the name of a series of children's books, written by Jamie Rix, and of the TV series based on the books. The book series was originally entitled ''The War Diaries of Alistair Fury'', but new releases of ...

'', filmed on Tyneside, and played Alan Maddison in the ITV World War II drama '' Joe Maddison's War''. In November 2013, he joined the cast of ''

Hebburn Hebburn is a town in the South Tyneside borough of Tyne and Wear, England. It was formerly in County Durham until 1974 with its own urban district from 1894 until 1974. It is on the south bank of the River Tyne between Gateshead and Jarrow and ...

'' as a guest in series two. Since 2013, Baxter has played the role of Leroy in the

BBC1 BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's oldest and Flagship (broadcasting), flagship channel, and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includ ...

series ''

'', the revival series of ''

Open All Hours ''Open All Hours'' is a British television sitcom created and written by Roy Clarke for the BBC. It ran for 26 episodes over four series, which aired in 1976, 1981, 1982, and 1985. The programme was developed from a television pilot broadcast ...

''. In 2021, Baxter played the role of Anthony in '' Alma's Not Normal'' on BBC2. In 2022, Baxter was cast as Joe Casey in the new series of ''Waterloo Road''.

Radio

''Imaginary Boys'': As part of BBC Radio 4's ''Afternoon Play'' strand, Baxter played 17-year-old schoolboy David in a

Paul Magrs Paul Magrs (pronounced "Mars"; born 12 November 1969) is an English writer and lecturer. He was born in Jarrow, England, and now lives in Manchester with his partner, author and lecturer Jeremy Hoad. Early life Magrs was born in Jarrow, Tyne & W ...

play. David is followed by, and falls in love with, an alien called Lawrence. Lawrence is a noveliser from Verbatim 6, a species that is also featured in Magrs' Big Finish audio book ''Find and Replace'' and '' Ringpullworld''.

Filmography

Personal life

In 2018, he began dating actress

Chelsea Halfpenny Chelsea Halfpenny (born 26 September 1991) is an English actress, known for her roles as Amy Wyatt in the ITV soap opera ''Emmerdale'' and Alicia Munroe in the BBC drama ''Casualty''. She played Jenna Hunterson in the 2022 UK tour of ''Waitre ...

, and they announced their engagement on 13 June 2021. In April 2023, Baxter and Halfpenny announced that they were expecting their first child together. In June 2023, Halfpenny announced the birth of her and Baxter's daughter.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Baxter, James 1990 births Living people Male actors from Sunderland 21st-century English male actors English male radio actors English male soap opera actors English male stage actors