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

Gray Atkins Gray Atkins is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'', played by Toby-Alexander Smith. He was introduced by executive producer Kate Oates in episode 5893, broadcast on 29 March 2019, as the patriarch of the Atkins family, whi ...

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 2019 to 2022.

Early life and education

Smith was born on 26 February 1991 in

Lichfield Lichfield () is a city status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and Civil parishes in England, civil parish in Staffordshire, England. Lichfield is situated south-east of the county town of Stafford, north-east of Walsall, north-west of ...

Staffordshire Staffordshire (; postal abbreviation ''Staffs''.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England. It borders Cheshire to the north-west, Derbyshire and Leicestershire to the east, ...

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 in Chiswick, West London, England. Overview ArtsEd provides specialist vocational training at secondary, further and higher education level in musical theatre an ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, where he trained as an actor.

Career

His first television appearance was in an episode of the American

Epix MGM+ (formerly known as Epix; pronounced ''epics'' and stylized as eᴘix), is an American premium cable and satellite television network owned by the MGMPlus Entertainment subsidiary of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM), which is itself a subsidiary ...

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

soap opera ''

Doctors Doctor, Doctors, The Doctor or The Doctors may refer to: Titles and occupations * Physician, a medical practitioner * Doctor (title), an academic title for the holder of a doctoral-level degree ** Doctorate ** List of doctoral degrees awarded b ...

'' as Jason Carswell. In 2019, Smith appeared as Terry in the series '' Flack'' and later in the DC universe's ''

Krypton Krypton (from 'the hidden one') is a chemical element; it has symbol (chemistry), symbol Kr and atomic number 36. It is a colorless, odorless noble gas that occurs in trace element, trace amounts in the Earth's atmosphere, atmosphere and is of ...

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

'' as

, the husband of

Chantelle Atkins Chantelle Atkins is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'', played by Jessica Plummer. She first appears in episode 5991, originally broadcast in the United Kingdom on 26 March 2019. Chantelle is introduced as the eldest da ...

, 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 is ...

. 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, 3 for each of the countries of the United Kingdom, and one for 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 The British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA, ) is an independent trade association and charity that supports, develops, and promotes the arts of film, television and video games in the United Kingdom. In addition to its annual awa ...

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 ''Casualty' ...

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 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 ...

'' actress Amy Walsh, sister of

Kimberley Walsh Kimberley Jane Scott ( Walsh; born 20 November 1981) is an English singer, dancer, television presenter and actress. She rose to fame in late 2002 when she auditioned for the reality series ''Popstars: The Rivals'' on ITV (TV network), ITV. Th ...

, since 2020, having met in the ''

Strictly Come Dancing ''Strictly Come Dancing'' (commonly referred to as ''Strictly'') is a British dance contest show in which celebrities partner with professional dancers to compete in mainly Ballroom dance, ballroom and Latin dance, Latin dance. Each couple is ...

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

East London East London is the part of London, England, east of the ancient City of London and north of the River Thames as it begins to widen. East London developed as London Docklands, London's docklands and the primary industrial centre. The expansion of ...

. Smith married Walsh in September 2023. His friend and ''EastEnders'' co-star

Shona McGarty Shona Bernadette McGarty (born 14 October 1991) is an English actress and singer, known for her portrayal of Whitney Dean in the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'' from 2008 to 2024. Early life Shona Bernadette McGarty was born on 14 October 1991 ...

, performed a song at the wedding. 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 male television actors English male soap opera actors Actors educated at the Arts Educational Schools Actors from Lichfield Male actors from Staffordshire 21st-century English male actors