Toby-Alexander Smith (born 26 February 1991) is an English actor, known for portraying the role of Gray Atkins in the

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soap opera A soap opera, or ''soap'' for short, is a typically long-running radio or television serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term "soap opera" originated from radio dramas originally being sponsored ...

'' EastEnders'' from 2019 to 2022.

Early life and education

Smith was born on 26 February 1991 in

Lichfield Lichfield () is a cathedral city and civil parish in Staffordshire, England. Lichfield is situated roughly south-east of the county town of Stafford, south-east of Rugeley, north-east of Walsall, north-west of Tamworth and south-west ...

, Staffordshire and developed a passion for acting whilst at school. He went to

Arts Educational Schools Arts Educational Schools, or ArtsEd, is an independent performing arts school based in Chiswick in the London Borough of Hounslow. Overview ArtsEd provides specialist vocational training at secondary, further and higher education level in mu ...

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

, where he trained as an actor.

Career

His first television appearance was in an episode of the American

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drama series '' Berlin Station'' in 2016. He then appeared in the

soap opera '' Doctors'' as Jason Carswell. In 2019, Smith appeared as Terry in the series ''

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'' and later in the DC universe's ''

Krypton Krypton (from grc, κρυπτός, translit=kryptos 'the hidden one') is a chemical element with the symbol Kr and atomic number 36. It is a colorless, odorless, tasteless noble gas that occurs in trace amounts in the atmosphere and is often ...

'' as Lo-Ran. On 11 March 2019, it was announced that Smith had joined the cast of '' EastEnders'' as Gray Atkins, the husband of

Chantelle Atkins The following is a list of characters introduced to the BBC soap opera '' EastEnders'' in 2019, by order of first appearance. The characters are introduced by the show's executive consultant, John Yorke, or his successors, senior executive pr ...

, played by

Jessica Plummer Jessica Kate Plummer (born 16 September 1992) is an English actress and singer. From 2013 to 2015, she was a member of the British girl group Neon Jungle, with whom she released an album that peaked at number eight on the UK Albums Chart. She i ...

. His first appearance was in the episode broadcast on 29 March 2019. In episodes broadcast in July 2019, it is revealed that Smith's character Gray has been domestically abusing his wife Chantelle. Smith alongside Plummer and the ''EastEnders'' team, worked closely with

Women's Aid Women's Aid Federation of England, commonly called Women's Aid within England, is one of a group of charities across the United Kingdom. There are four main Women's Aid Federations, one for each of the countries of the United Kingdom. Its aim is t ...

and Refuge to ensure that the domestic abuse storyline had been told accurately. Commenting on the storyline, Smith said: "I just hope that anyone experiencing any sort of behaviour like that will talk about it and relate to it. I’ve already been told by Woman’s Aid that people have contacted them and said they think their friend is in a similar situation to Gray and Chantelle in EastEnders." This led to Smith becoming an ambassador for Women's Aid. In September 2020, the storyline ended with Gray murdering Chantelle. In February 2022, it was announced that Smith would be leaving the series, and his character departed in March 2022. For their portrayal of domestic violence, Smith and Plummer were nominated for a BAFTA award in 2021, and Smith was also shortlisted for "Best Villain" at the

Inside Soap Awards The ''Inside Soap'' Awards is a yearly British award ceremony run by ''Inside Soap'' magazine since 1996. The awards celebrate both British and Australian soap operas and their actors. The current soap operas nominated for awards are '' Casualt ...

in 2020 and longlisted in 2021.

Personal life

Smith has been in a relationship with ''

Emmerdale ''Emmerdale'' (known as ''Emmerdale Farm'' until 1989) is a British soap opera that is broadcast on ITV1. The show is set in Emmerdale (known as Beckindale until 1994), a fictional village in the Yorkshire Dales. Created by Kevin Laffa ...

'' actress Amy Walsh, sister of

Kimberley Walsh Kimberley Jane Scott (née Walsh; born 20 November 1981) is an English singer, fashion designer, model, variety performer, television presenter, actress and dancer. She rose to fame in late 2002 when she auditioned for the reality series '' Po ...

, since 2020, having met in the ''

Strictly Come Dancing ''Strictly Come Dancing'' (informally known as ''Strictly'') is a British dance contest show in which celebrities partner with professional dancers to compete in mainly ballroom and Latin dance. Each couple is scored by a panel of usually 4 ...

'' audience in 2019. They have a daughter, Bonnie-Mae, born in December 2021. The couple live in

East London East or Orient is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sun rises on the Earth. Etymology As in other languages, the word is formed from the fa ...

.Sue Crawford, ''I feared my traumatic Emmerdale plot would affect our unborn baby''. Daily Mirror, London, 14 January 2022, page 15. Smith plays rugby and can also sing and dance.

Filmography

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Toby-Alexander 1991 births Living people English television actors English male soap opera actors People educated at the Arts Educational Schools People from Lichfield Actors from Staffordshire 21st-century English male actors