Raymond Arthur Quinn (born 25 August 1988) is an English actor, singer, and dancer. He is best known for his role as Anthony Murray in '' Brookside'' from 2000 to 2003. He achieved more public recognition when he auditioned for the third series of ''

The X Factor ''The X Factor'' is a television music competition franchise created by British producer Simon Cowell and his company Syco Entertainment. It originated in the United Kingdom, where it was devised as a replacement for '' Pop Idol'' (2001–200 ...

'' in 2006, finishing in second place behind

Leona Lewis Leona Louise Lewis (born 3 April 1985) is a British singer, songwriter, actress, model, and activist. Born and raised in Islington, Inner London, she later attended the BRIT School for Performing Arts and Technology in Croydon. Lewis achieve ...

. Quinn won the fourth series of '' Dancing on Ice'' in 2009 and the 'All Stars' series in 2014. On 22 February 2015, he was the winner of the first series of '' Get Your Act Together''.

Early life

Raymond Arthur Quinn was born on 25 August 1988 in Childwall, Merseyside. Later he attended the Merseyside Dance and Drama College, where he had singing lessons from the age of nine. He cites his vocal coach, Suzanne Taylor, as a major influence in his career.

Career

2000–2005: Early Career

From 2000 to 2003, Quinn portrayed the victimised and tormented child Anthony Murray in the

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by Channel Four Television Corporation. It is state-owned enterprise, publicly owned but, unlike the BBC, it receives no public funding and is funded en ...

soap opera '' Brookside''. He performed and was credited as Raymond Quinn. Murray's featured storylines on the programme included

bullying Bullying is the use of force, coercion, Suffering, hurtful teasing, comments, or threats, in order to abuse, aggression, aggressively wikt:domination, dominate, or intimidate one or more others. The behavior is often repeated and habitual. On ...

and

murder Murder is the unlawful killing of another human without justification (jurisprudence), justification or valid excuse (legal), excuse committed with the necessary Intention (criminal law), intention as defined by the law in a specific jurisd ...

. After his appearance on ''Brookside'' ended he guest starred in an episode of '' Merseybeat'' in which he played criminal Leon Marsh. He also appeared in the episode "The Singing Cactus" for 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 ...

series, '' The Afternoon Play'' as John Reilly, who grieves after his mother's death and flees into his own world with his "singing

cactus A cactus (: cacti, cactuses, or less commonly, cactus) is a member of the plant family Cactaceae (), a family of the order Caryophyllales comprising about 127 genera with some 1,750 known species. The word ''cactus'' derives, through Latin, ...

2006: ''The X Factor''

Quinn rose to further prominence when he auditioned for the third series of ''

'', singing a medley of " Ain't That a Kick in the Head?" and " Devil in Disguise". Prior to appearing on the show, he was a performing arts student at the Merseyside Dance and Drama College, where he previously received some vocal training. He received three yeses from the judges, and progressed through to bootcamp. Quinn was placed in the 16-24s category, with

Simon Cowell Simon Phillip Cowell (; born 7 October 1959) is an English television personality and businessman. He has judged on the British television talent competition shows ''Pop Idol'' (2001–2003), ''The X Factor (British TV series), The X Factor UK ...

as his mentor. However, whilst singing in front of Cowell and Sinitta, he partially stumbled and forgot the lyrics to " Easy" by

Commodores Commodores, often billed as The Commodores, are an American funk and Soul music, soul group. The group's most successful period was in the late 1970s and early 1980s when Lionel Richie was the co-lead singer. The members of the group met as m ...

. Initially, he was told he wasn't progressing through to judges' houses, but a change within the series format allowed him to successfully continue with the competition. He later sang "

Smile A smile is a facial expression formed primarily by flexing the muscles at the sides of the mouth. Some smiles include a contraction of the muscles at the corner of the eyes, an action known as a Duchenne smile. Among humans, a smile expresses d ...

" for his judges' houses performance, and afterwards was granted a place as one of the four acts through to the live shows. During the live shows, many of Quinn's song choices and performances were old-fashioned and swing-based.

Louis Walsh Michael Louis Vincent Walsh (born 5 August 1952) is an Irish music manager and television personality. He has managed Johnny Logan (singer), Johnny Logan, Boyzone, Jedward and Westlife, four of Ireland's most successful pop acts in the 1990s an ...

and

Sharon Osbourne Sharon Rachel Osbourne (; born 9 October 1952) is an English-American television personality, music manager, and author. She is married to heavy metal singer Ozzy Osbourne and came to prominence while appearing on '' The Osbournes'' (2002–2 ...

, in the earlier stages of the competition, queried him over his ability as a pure singer rather than a 'song-and-dance' man. However, in the later stages, he widened the range of his performances more into singing pop songs, and to which the judges were satisfied with Quinn's ability to do so. In week five, he was placed in the bottom two against Nikitta Angus, but survived elimination. He managed to progress through the competition up to week 10, where he was the series runner-up, losing to eventual winner

2007: ''Doing It My Way'', breakthrough and label drop

In December 2006, two days after finishing on ''The X Factor'', Quinn signed a record deal with Cowell's label SYCO to release a debut swing album. Recording process for the album began through January 2007 at the Capitol Records Tower in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

, where he was accompanied by a 48-piece orchestra. His debut album, '' Doing It My Way'' was released on 12 March 2007. Coincidentally, another ''X Factor'' finalist Ben Mills released his album on the same day. The album became a critical and commercial success. It entered the UK Album Chart at number one, and sold 127,000 copies in its first week of release, before being certified platinum. The album also featured covers of old swing and

vocal jazz Vocal jazz or jazz singing is a genre within jazz music where the voice is used as an instrument. Vocal jazz began in the early twentieth century. Jazz music has its roots in blues and ragtime and can also traced back to the Dixieland jazz, New Or ...

classics, some of which were recorded by

Frank Sinatra Francis Albert Sinatra (; December 12, 1915 – May 14, 1998) was an American singer and actor. Honorific nicknames in popular music, Nicknamed the "Chairman of the Board" and "Ol' Blue Eyes", he is regarded as one of the Time 100: The Most I ...

himself. Quinn made British music history as he was the youngest male solo artist and the first person to have a number one album without releasing a single. During the summer of that year, he was a judge on the ITV dance competition show ''Baby Ballroom'', alongside

Bonnie Langford Bonita Melody Lysette Langford (born 22 July 1964) is an English actress, dancer and singer. She came to prominence as a child star in the 1970s, when she had a notable role in the TV series '' Just William''. In the 1980s, she played companio ...

and Pierre Dulaine. The programme centered on finding the best junior ballroom dancers. Quinn embarked on his own solo tour from September to November 2007, where he performed within 30 cities across the UK. However, on 6 November 2007, it was announced that he had been subsequently dropped by Sony BMG.

2009–2015: Television and Stage

Quinn participated as a contestant on the fourth series of '' Dancing on Ice''. He paired with professional skater Maria Filippov. Throughout the series, the couple earned high scores and praise from the ice panel each week. On 22 March 2009, he and Filippov won the competition over Donal MacIntyre and Jessica Taylor. From 11 May to 28 November that year, he played Danny Zuko in the West End production of '' Grease'' at Picadilly Theatre. He starred alongside his future wife Emma Stephens, who played Sandy. Quinn previously played the role of Doody during the first production of the musical in 2008. In 2011, he reprised the role of Danny for two weeks at the Liverpool Empire. Other stage acting credits that Quinn has mainly featured in include: Jack Trott in ''Jack in the Beanstalk'', the Prince in ''Sleeping Beauty'' and ''Cinderella'', Warner Huntington III in '' Legally Blonde'', and Billy Kosteki in ''

Dirty Dancing ''Dirty Dancing'' is a 1987 American romance film, romantic drama film, drama Dance in film, dance film written by Eleanor Bergstein, produced by Linda Gottlieb, and directed by Emile Ardolino. Starring Patrick Swayze and Jennifer Grey, it tel ...

''. In December 2012, Quinn was cast as the title character in the ''Aladdin'' musical, alongside comedian and presenter Don Maclean and actor

Tim Flavin Tim Flavin (born January 13, 1959) is an American actor. Flavin was the first American to be presented with a Laurence Olivier Awards, Laurence Olivier Award, for his 1984 performance in Rodgers and Hart's ''On Your Toes'' at the Palace Theatre i ...

. He played the role at the Poole Lighthouse Theatre until 6 January 2013. He also portrayed Peter Pan in '' Peter Pan'' at the Liverpool Empire from December 2013 to January 2014, which also starred Stephens as

Wendy Darling Wendy Moira Angela Darling is a fictional character and one of the main protagonists of the 1904 play and 1911 novel ''Peter and Wendy'' by J. M. Barrie, as well as in most adaptations in other media. Her exact age is not specified in the origina ...

. Quinn later returned to participate on ''Dancing on Ice'', for the final and All-Star series of the show. He was paired with Maria Filippov again. On 9 March 2014, he and Filippov were crowned the champions of the series, and ultimate winners of the programme. He beat out

Hayley Tamaddon Hayley Soraya Tamaddon (born 24 January 1977) is a British actress. She is known for her roles in the ITV (TV network), ITV soap operas as Del Dingle in ''Emmerdale'' and Andrea Beckett in ''Coronation Street''. Tamaddon won the Dancing on Ice ...

and

Beth Tweddle Elizabeth Kimberly Tweddle (born 1 April 1985) is a retired English Artistic gymnastics, artistic gymnast. Renowned for her uneven bar and floor routines, she was the first female gymnast from Great Britain to win a medal at the Rhythmic Gymnas ...

for the title. He reprised his role as Aladdin again at the Liverpool Empire, from 13 December 2014 to 4 January 2015, alongside Claire Sweeney as the Genie and Pete Price as the Emperor. In January 2015, he was a contestant on the celebrity talent show, '' Get Your Act Together''. His mentor was actress and impressionist Debra Stephenson, whom he learned and mastered the craft of impressions from. Quinn was announced as the winner of the series, with James Bolam and Claire Richards in second and third place respectively.

2015–2018: ''Dare to Dream'' and ''Judy: The Judy Garland Songbook''

In September 2014, Quinn announced that he was planning to return to music, and had already started working on material for a second studio album. He released his first single in eight years, "They Say Love" on 23 February 2015. Later that month, it was revealed that the title for the upcoming studio album would be called ''Dare to Dream'', which was scheduled for an April 2015 release and promoted on a tour of the same name but was ultimately not released. In May 2015, Quinn was part of the cast of ''Judy: The Judy Garland Songbook'', alongside Lorna Luft and Louise Dearman. The show featured never before seen clips and interviews of Garland herself, as well as live performances of her original songs.

2018–2019: ''Hollyoaks''

On 26 November 2018, Quinn joined

soap opera ''

Hollyoaks ''Hollyoaks'' is a British soap opera which originally began airing on Channel 4 on 23 October 1995. It was created by Phil Redmond, who had previously conceived the soap opera ''Brookside (TV series), Brookside''. From 2005 to 2023, episodes h ...

'' as character Jonny Baxter. His character is an employee at The Bean and part of a

right wing Right-wing politics is the range of Ideology#Political ideologies, political ideologies that view certain social orders and Social stratification, hierarchies as inevitable, natural, normal, or desirable, typically supporting this position b ...

extremist group. He left the show in November 2019 when the story arc surrounding the far right came to an end.

2020-2021: ''Undeniable'' and Coronavirus pandemic

Quinn's second album, Undeniable, was released on 28 August 2020. During the

Coronavirus 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 ...

, Quinn revealed that he had been working as a delivery driver for courier company

Hermes Hermes (; ) is an Olympian deity in ancient Greek religion and mythology considered the herald of the gods. He is also widely considered the protector of human heralds, travelers, thieves, merchants, and orators. He is able to move quic ...

. In April 2021, Quinn announced he had begun a new career laying carpets at his family firm, alongside brothers Robin and Darren.

2024: ''Limelight Club - P&O Cruises''

He is currently headlining each night at the Limelight Club on P&O cruise ships with his own show.

Personal life

Quinn married actress Emma Stephens in

Barbados Barbados, officially the Republic of Barbados, is an island country in the Atlantic Ocean. It is part of the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies and the easternmost island of the Caribbean region. It lies on the boundary of the South American ...

on 31 March 2012. The couple also announced at the time that Stephens was expecting their first child. Their son was born in August 2012. In February 2015, the couple announced their separation. In September 2022, he and his partner, Emily Ashleigh, announced the birth of their daughter; Ashleigh has a son from a previous relationship. In March 2021, Quinn spoke publicly about losing his father, also called Ray, to

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving Cell growth#Disorders, abnormal cell growth with the potential to Invasion (cancer), invade or Metastasis, spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Po ...

in November 2020.

Filmography

Film and television

Theatre

Ray Quinn played the title role of ‘Aladdin’ at Albert Halls, Bolton for Polka Dot Pantomimes in 2019.

Radio

*''The Lost Boys'' – Narrator of book for Big Toe Radio, September 2004 *''Millions'' – Narrator of the film for Big Toe Radio, November 2004 *''The Believers'' – Actor playing part of James, April 2010

Discography

Bibliography

Tours

*''X Factor 2006'' Tour 2007 *Ray Quinn Solo Tour 2007 *''Dancing on Ice'' Tour 2009 *''Dancing on Ice'' Tour 2010 *''Dancing on Ice'' Tour 2014 *''Dare to Dream'' Tour 2015 *''No Mans Land'' Tour 2016 *''Dancing On Ice'' Tour 2018

Awards

* 2002 – Best Dramatic Performance, The British Soap Awards * 2002 – Best Storyline, The British Soap Awards * 2002 – Best Young Actor, ''Inside Soap'' Awards * 2002 – Best Performance in a Network Soap, Royal TV Society * 2005 – Manchester Talent Competition, Search for a Star – £5000 prize * 2007 – Scouseology Award, Best Personality * 2007 – Liverpool Local Hero Awards, Contribution to Music

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Quinn, Ray 1988 births Living people English male television actors English male child actors English male stage actors English male dancers English male musical theatre actors English male singers English crooners English people of Irish descent The X Factor (British TV series) contestants Sony BMG artists Reality show winners Male actors from Liverpool Musicians from Liverpool People from Knowsley, Merseyside