Sam Retford (born 22 June 1999) is an Australian-English actor, known for portraying the role of Cory Wilson on 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 ...

drama ''

Ackley Bridge ''Ackley Bridge'' is a British comedy drama series set in a multicultural academy school of the same name. The series is set in the fictional town of Ackley, and filmed in Halifax, West Yorkshire and it began broadcasting on Channel 4 on 7 Jun ...

'' (2017–2019). As well as starring in various stage productions, he has also made appearances in television series such as ''

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 ...

'' (2019) and ''

Death in Paradise ''Death in Paradise'' is a crime drama, crime television series created by Robert Thorogood, starring Ben Miller (Series 1–3), Kris Marshall (Series 3–6), Ardal O'Hanlon (Series 6–9), Ralf Little (Series 9–13) and Don Gilet (2024 Speci ...

'' (2021). In 2021, he joined the cast of the ITV soap opera ''

Coronation Street ''Coronation Street'' (colloquially referred to as ''Corrie'') is a British television soap opera created by ITV Granada, Granada Television and shown on ITV (TV network), ITV since 9 December 1960. The programme centres on a cobbled, terraced ...

'' as Curtis Delamere.

Early life

Retford was born on 22 June 1999 in

Gosford Gosford is a waterfront city at the northern end of Brisbane Water on the Central Coast in the state of New South Wales, Australia. The Gosford Waterfront is known for its boating and scenic views on the shores of Brisbane Water. Gosford is ...

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

, Australia. His family then relocated to

Crewe Crewe () is a railway town and civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire East in Cheshire, England. At the 2021 United Kingdom census, 2021 census, the parish had a population of 55,318 and the built-up area had a population of 74,120. ...

, England. He attended Brine Leas High School, and later studied acting at The Lowry Actors Company. Before he began acting professionally, Retford aspired to be a

marine biologist Marine biology is the scientific study of the biology of marine life, organisms that inhabit the sea. Given that in biology many phyla, families and genera have some species that live in the sea and others that live on land, marine biology clas ...

Career

Retford began acting in fringe productions around the Manchester theatre scene, such as ''

Lord of the Flies ''Lord of the Flies'' is the 1954 debut novel of British author William Golding. The plot concerns a group of prepubescent British boys who are stranded on an uninhabited island and their disastrous attempts to govern themselves that led to ...

'' and ''The Newspaper Boy''. He made his television debut in ''Hollyoaks: Tom's Life,'' a ''

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 ...

'' spinoff series. The series premiered in 2014 on

All 4 Channel 4 (previously 4oD and All 4) is a video on demand service from Channel Four Television Corporation, free of charge for most content and funded by advertising. The service is available in the UK and Ireland; viewers are not required to ...

, and Retford portrayed the role of Nate for four episodes. From 2017 to 2019, he portrayed the role of Cory Wilson in the

school drama ''

.'' His storylines in the series revolved around the subject of

domestic abuse Domestic violence is violence that occurs in a domestic setting, such as in a marriage or cohabitation. In a broader sense, abuse including nonphysical abuse in such settings is called domestic abuse. The term "domestic violence" is often use ...

, coming to terms with his sexuality, and engaging in an illicit relationship with a teacher. In August 2018, he co-starred in the musical ''Closets'' alongside

Lloyd Daniels Lloyd "Swee'Pea" Daniels (born September 4, 1967) is an American former professional basketball player who played in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Early life Daniels grew up in Brooklyn, and was raised by his relatives from the age ...

. In February 2019, Retford made his London theatre debut when he starred in ''Kings of Idle Land'' as Michael, at Vaults festival. Later that year, Retford appeared at

Diana Award The Diana Award is an international award that honours young people who work to improve the lives of others. Named after Diana, Princess of Wales, the Diana Award was established in 1999 by a board chaired by Gordon Brown. History The award w ...

anti-bullying events in Blackpool and London. In December 2019, he portrayed the role of Tyler Begbie in an episode of 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 ...

medical drama ''

''. In 2020, Retford starred in the short film ''S.A.M''. Later that year, it was announced that he would appear in the tenth series of ''

''. In May 2021, Retford joined the cast of the ITV soap opera ''

'' as Curtis Delamere. Later that year, he was cast in the musical film ''White Wedding'' as Hunter. In February 2024, it was announced that Retford had been cast as Dougal MacKenzie in the '' Outlander'' prequel series '' Outlander: Blood of My Blood''.

Filmography

Stage

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Retford, Sam 1999 births 21st-century Australian male actors 21st-century British male actors Australian emigrants to England Australian expatriates in England Australian male child actors Australian male film actors Australian male stage actors Australian male soap opera actors Australian male television actors English male child actors British male film actors British male soap opera actors British male stage actors English male television actors Living people People from Crewe People from Gosford Male actors from Cheshire