Paul Junior Medford is a British actor. He is best known for playing the role of Kelvin Carpenter 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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

'' from 1985-87. His character Kelvin was one of the original characters on the show, and Medford has since appeared in numerous West End

musicals Musical theatre is a form of theatrical performance that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance. The story and emotional content of a musical – humor, pathos, love, anger – are communicated through words, music, movement ...

, including a long stage show '' Five Guys Named Moe''.

Early life

Medford is from

Ealing Ealing () is a district in west London (sub-region), west London, England, west of Charing Cross in the London Borough of Ealing. It is the administrative centre of the borough and is identified as a major metropolitan centre in the London Pl ...

, west London and is of Barbadian descent. He attended the Barbara Speake Stage School and the Italia Conti Academy for ten years.

Career

Medford appeared in several feature films and television programmes, including '' Return of the Saint'' (1978) and '' The Professionals'' (1983). In 1985, Medford became one of the original cast of the BBC's new soap opera, ''EastEnders''. He played Kelvin, the son of

Tony Carpenter Tony Carpenter is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'', played by Oscar James, from 28 February 1985 until 28 May 1987. Happy-go-lucky Tony tries to carve himself a successful business and steady home for his family, b ...

( Oscar James), for over two years. During his time on ''EastEnders'' Medford managed minor musical chart success with fellow ''EastEnders'' actor

Letitia Dean Letitia Jane Dean (born 14 November 1967) is an English actress. She is best known for her portrayal of Sharon Watts in the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders''. An original cast member from 1985 to 1995, she reprised the role from 2001 to 2006, and ag ...

, who played Sharon Watts. A song written for the pair as part of a storyline on the programme prompted them to release a single entitled " Something Outa Nothing", which reached #12 in the UK singles chart in November 1986. Kelvin was one of the characters in the show's early years and Medford remained in the serial following the departures of all of his on-screen family. He eventually quit the role in 1987 in order to follow his ambition of becoming a singer/dancer. His character left Walford to attend a computing course at college, but was not present for his own leaving party; as Medford's contract had already ended and the reason given for this on-screen was that Kelvin "dislikes goodbyes". Kelvin has been mentioned several times over the years but has never reappeared on the show since his departure. Medford is a trained singer with a "high baritone" range and his dancing repertoire includes tap,

ballet Ballet () is a type of performance dance that originated during the Italian Renaissance in the fifteenth century and later developed into a concert dance form in France and Russia. It has since become a widespread and highly technical form of ...

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

contemporary Contemporary history, in English-language historiography, is a subset of modern history that describes the historical period from about 1945 to the present. In the social sciences, contemporary history is also continuous with, and related t ...

and

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

. After leaving ''EastEnders'', he appeared in several West End musicals, including ''

The Lion King ''The Lion King'' is a 1994 American animated musical coming-of-age drama film directed by Roger Allers and Rob Minkoff, produced by Don Hahn, and written by Irene Mecchi, Jonathan Roberts, and Linda Woolverton. Produced by Walt Disney ...

'' as Banzai the Hyena; as Little Mo in ''Five Guys Named Moe''; as Fitzroy in ''The Queen And I'' and as Hud in ''

Hair Hair is a protein filament that grows from follicles found in the dermis. Hair is one of the defining characteristics of mammals. The human body, apart from areas of glabrous skin, is covered in follicles which produce thick terminal and ...

'' among others. He played Mr Beauregarde in '' Charlie and the Chocolate Factory the Musical'' at Drury Lane in May 2013. Medford's other television credits include: '' This Life'' (1997), '' Invasion: Earth'' (1998); ''

Casualty Casualty may refer to: *Casualty (person), a person who is killed or rendered unfit for service in a war or natural disaster **Civilian casualty, a non-combatant killed or injured in warfare * The emergency department of a hospital, also known as ...

'' (2003) and as the presenter 'Blake Wordsworth' in the children's BBC programme '' The Story Makers'' (2004). In June 2019, Medford was named Vice President of Unscripted, Current Series at

Nickelodeon Nickelodeon (nicknamed Nick) is an American pay television channel and the flagship property of the Nickelodeon Group, a sub-division of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Launched on April 1, 1979, as the first ca ...

References

Bibliography

* Holmstrom, John. ''The Moving Picture Boy: An International Encyclopaedia from 1895 to 1995''. Norwich, Michael Russell, 1996, p. 369.

External links

*
Agency Profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Medford, Paul J. Living people Alumni of the Italia Conti Academy of Theatre Arts BBC Records artists Black British male actors English male child actors English male musical theatre actors English male soap opera actors English people of Barbadian descent Male actors from London Actors from the London Borough of Ealing Year of birth missing (living people) People from Ealing