Neil Morrissey

Neil Morrissey
Born	(1962-07-04) July 4, 1962 Stafford, Staffordshire, England
Occupation(s)	Actor, entrepreneur, narrator, television host
Years active	1984–present
Known for	Rocky in Boon, Tony in Men Behaving Badly, Eddie Lawson in Waterloo Road, Nigel Morton in Line of Duty, voice of Bob in Bob the Builder

Neil Anthony Morrissey (born 4 July 1962) is a multifaceted English professional known for his work as an actor, entrepreneur, narrator, and television host. His most notable performances include portraying Rocky in Boon, Tony in Men Behaving Badly, Deputy Head Eddie Lawson in Waterloo Road, and Nigel Morton in Line of Duty. Additionally, Morrissey provided the voice for the main character and various others in the children's series Bob the Builder.

Early life

Born in Stafford, Staffordshire, on 4 July 1962, Morrissey was the third son among four brothers to Irish parents who both worked as psychiatric nurses. At the age of ten, following a minor theft incident involving his brother, they were separated and placed into different children's homes. Morrissey spent six years residing at Penkhull Children's Home, where he was cared for by Margaret Cartlidge.

"We were somewhat wild, left largely unsupervised, often involved in trouble, including burglary and vandalism around Stafford."

He attended Thistley Hough Academy, successfully passing all nine CSEs at grades equivalent to O-Levels despite difficulties stemming from his upbringing. Subsequently, he pursued A-level studies at the City of Stoke-on-Trent Sixth Form College. Morrissey honed his acting abilities through participation with Stoke Schools Theatre and Stoke Repertory Theatre, performing at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in 1979. He later secured an educational grant to train at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, supporting himself during his initial year through street theatre performances and couch surfing.

Acting

Morrissey's cinematic debut occurred in 1984 when he portrayed Able Seaman Matthew Quintal in the historical film The Bounty, acting alongside Mel Gibson, Anthony Hopkins, and Laurence Olivier. By 1987, he became well-known for playing the biker Rocky in ITV’s drama series Boon, sharing the screen with Michael Elphick. Many cast members from Boon appeared together again in the 1990 British horror spoof I Bought a Vampire Motorcycle, where Morrissey took on the leading role of Noddy.

In 1992, Morrissey achieved widespread fame starring as Tony in the sitcom Men Behaving Badly, which was developed to succeed Harry Enfield. The show became one of Britain's most beloved sitcoms throughout the 1990s and firmly established him as a household name.

During the early '90s, he also featured as "Sammy the Chamois" on Noel Edmonds' entertainment program Noel's House Party. In 1998, Morrissey appeared in the rugby league-themed film Up 'n' Under. He lent his voice to characters Wilfred Toadflax and Dusty Dogwood in Brambly Hedge (1997), produced by HIT Entertainment. From 1999 until 2011, he voiced multiple characters including the protagonist Bob in HIT Entertainment’s children's series Bob the Builder. During this time, he also achieved two UK number one singles with "Can We Fix It?"—the UK Christmas No.1 of 2000—and "Mambo No 5" in 2001. His narration work extended to programs featuring characters like Morph and Maisy.

In 2000, Morrissey starred alongside Amanda Holden, Les Dennis, and Freddie Highmore in the television comedy film Happy Birthday, Shakespeare. He returned to television drama with appearances in Paradise Heights (2002) and led BBC's sitcom Carrie and Barry between 2004 and 2005.

His stage career includes West End performances such as Speed, Robin Hood, The Daughter In-Law, and a critically praised role in A Passionate Woman. In 2005, he featured in Victoria Wood's musical adaptation of Acorn Antiques alongside prominent actors. From March to June 2006, he assumed the role of Nathan Detroit in London's revival of Guys and Dolls.

In 2007, Morrissey appeared as Marcus Ainsworth on British TV's Skins and reprised this character for the 2013 spin-off series Skins Pure. He also portrayed deputy headmaster Eddie Lawson on BBC One’s drama series Waterloo Road until his departure after its fourth season in 2009.

January 2012 saw him take on the role of Fagin in Lionel Bart's musical production of Oliver at Manchester's Palace Theatre. In autumn 2014, he starred with Adrian Edmondson, Robert Webb, and Miles Jupp in the play Neville's Island at London’s Duke of York's Theatre.

In 2015, he guest-starred as Keith on CBBC’s sitcom The Dumping Ground and appeared in BBC Two’s comedy-drama special A Gert Lush Christmas.

By 2016, Morrissey joined ITV’s second series of Grantchester portraying Harding Redmond and took part in ITV’s reality show Bear Grylls: Mission Survive. Between 2017 and 2022, he played Greg McConnell on ITV’s medical drama series The Good Karma Hospital. His other roles include Peter Carr on Series 3 of Unforgotten (2018) and Frank Stevenson on Series 4 of BBC’s The Syndicate (2021). In 2023, he appeared alongside Adrian Dunbar on the program DNA Journey.

Also in 2023, Morrissey performed as Captain Perrot—an associate of Colonel Blood—in the comedic play The Crown Jewels staged at London’s Garrick Theatre. This production featured distinguished actors such as Aidan McArdle, Al Murray, and Mel Giedroyc.

Spoof show

On 1 April 2006, BBC Three aired a parody programme named Neil Morrissey's Secret that fabricated elements of Morrissey's life, such as a hidden family residing in Jordan and a two-decade-long botanical research project. The programme alleged he created an anti-ageing product called The Essence, derived from an uncommon plant, with endorsements from celebrities including Jane Seymour, Gloria Hunniford, and Philippa Forrester. Although broadcast on April Fool's Day, the satire managed to deceive some viewers.

Business

Morrissey made significant investments in properties associated with the Welsh poet Dylan Thomas located in Laugharne. In April 2004, he acquired the Hurst Hotel, the New Three Mariners pub, and Brown's Hotel for £670,000. By October 2006, Brown's Hotel was placed on the market to generate funds for renovating the Hurst Hotel and expanding Hurst House, a private members' club based in Covent Garden, London.

In July 2008, delays in completing the upscale Hurst House-at-the-Mill hotel project in Hertfordshire resulted in the Laugharne properties entering administration. Subsequently, new investors took over these assets, marking the end of Morrissey's connection with Laugharne.

Morrissey also held a co-lease on Ye Olde Punch Bowl Inn in Marton, North Yorkshire, where he collaborated with chef Richard Fox to create the Morrissey Fox real ale series. Nevertheless, after only eighteen months, the lease was surrendered back to the owner in October 2009. Around this period, his Welsh pub enterprise also ceased operations.

Despite these challenges, Morrissey avoided insolvency by entering into an Individual Voluntary Arrangement (IVA) to address debts amounting to £2.5 million. He later managed a group of pubs in Staffordshire including The Plume of Feathers in Barlaston and The Old Bramshall Inn in Bramshall. The latter opened under his name as a Neil Morrissey pub on 28 June 2018 but was sold and renamed 'The Butchers Arms' by December 2021.

Personal life

Morrissey married Amanda Noar in 1987; they had a son born in 1989 but divorced two years later in 1991. He subsequently became engaged to actress Elizabeth Carling, whom he met while working on Boon in 1989. Their relationship ended amicably, with Carling later appearing alongside him in Men Behaving Badly. His romantic involvements, including dating Rachel Weisz following their collaboration on My Summer with Des (1998), have frequently been featured by British tabloids. Morrissey and Weisz lived together in his flat located in Crouch End. In 2000, during the filming of Happy Birthday, Shakespeare, he had an affair with Amanda Holden that contributed to her divorce from comedian Les Dennis in 2003.

Morrissey's elder brother Stephen passed away from a drug overdose in 1997. He has multiple tattoos; some were self-inked early in life while others were applied by boys at a children's home where he spent part of his childhood. Morrissey has expressed remorse over one particular tattoo choice.

In 2006, Staffordshire University awarded Morrissey an honorary degree. A supporter of Crystal Palace F.C., he also launched a branded beer named Palace Ale in 2011 reflecting his enthusiasm for real ale.

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1984	The Bounty	Seaman Matthew Quintal	Screen debut
1987	Playing Away	Ian
1990	I Bought a Vampire Motorcycle	Noddy, also known as Nick Oddie
1992	The Ballad of Kid Divine: The Cockney Cowboy	Cass Malone
1994	Staggered	Jeff the Videographer
1995	Trafford Tanzi	Dean Rebel	Television film
1996	Roger Roger	Phil
1997	The Vanishing Man	Nick Cameron
	The Chest	John Croft
1998	Jack and the Beanstalk	Jack
	Up 'n' Under	Steve
	My Summer with Des	Martin	Television film
1999	Hunting Venus	Charlotte
	The Match	Piss Off (Mr. Doris)
	The Flint Street Nativity	Adrian Atherton / Wise Man 3	Television film
	The Nearly Complete and Utter History of Everything	Director
2000	Happy Birthday Shakespeare	Will Green
2001	Bob the Builder: A Christmas to Remember	Bob (UK)/ Lofty (UK)/ Roley (UK)/ Farmer Pickles (UK)/ Drummer (UK/US)/ Scruffty (UK/US)/ Cockerel/Rooster (UK/US)/ Baby Reindeer (UK/US)/ Some Fans (UK)	Direct-to-video animated production (voice only)
	Another World	Captain Ronald Brimstone	Live stage performance (voice only)
2002	Triggermen	Pete Maynard
	Bob the Builder: Live!	Bob (UK)/ Lofty (UK)/ Roley (UK)	Live stage production (voice only)
2003	Bob the Builder: The Knights of Can-A-Lot	Bob (UK)/ Lofty (UK)/ Roley (UK)/ Farmer Pickles (UK)/ Angelo Sabatini (UK)/ Falcon (UK/US)/ Guard (UK/US)	Animated television film (voice only)
	Monkey Trousers	Various characters	Television film
2004	Bob the Builder: Snowed Under: The Bobblesberg Winter Games	Bob (UK)/ Lofty (UK)/ Roley (UK)/ Skier (UK/US)	Direct-to-video animated production (voice only)
2005	The Adventures of William Shakespeare	Richard III
2006	Acorn Antiques: The Musical	John / Tony	Direct-to-video release
	Bob the Builder: Built to Be Wild	Bob (UK)/ Lofty (UK)/ Roley (UK)	Direct-to-video animated production (voice only)
2008	Clubbed	Simon
	Bob the Builder: Race to the Finish	Bob (UK)/ Lofty (UK)/ Roley (UK)/ Angelo Sabatini (UK)/ David Dixon (UK)/ Micky Picker (UK)	Direct-to-video animated release (voice only)
2010	Inn Mates	Brian	Television film
2011	The Adventures of William Shakespeare Vol. 2	Richard III
2012	Run for Your Wife	Gary Gardner
2015	I Am Urban	Doc
	A Gert Lush Christmas || Dave Colman|| Television film
2016	As One	Douglas	Short film
2017	Diana and I	Colin Taylor	Television film
2019	Crucible of the Vampire	Robert

Television

Year	Title	Character	Details
1984	Juliet Bravo	Oliver	Single-episode guest role, series 5; episode "No Peace"
	Hammer House of Mystery and Suspense	Policeman	Guest appearance in one episode; "Paint Me a Murder"
	Ellis Island	Sean	Featured in one episode of this miniseries
1985	Roll Over Beethoven	Youth	Guest role for one episode
	Travellers by Night	Flick	Appeared in two episodes of this miniseries
1986	C.A.T.S. Eyes	Trevor	Single-episode guest spot in series 2
1987	Pulaski	Tarquin Taylor	Guest star in one episode titled "The Price of Fame"
1987–1995	Boon	Rocky Cassidy	Recurring character across 74 episodes
1988	Gentlemen and Players	Terry	Guest appearance in one episode: "Stags at Bay"
	Crossbow	Peter	Also known as William Tell. Featured in one episode: "Masterplan"
1992	Cluedo	Gordon Ferrar	One-episode guest role in series 3
1992–1999	Men Behaving Badly	Tony Smart	Principal role spanning 38 episodes
1993	Comedy Playhouse	Danny	Guest star for an episode titled "Stuck on You"
	The Smell of Reeves and Mortimer	Ozzy Osbourne / Himself	Appeared as guest in one episode: "Food and Drink"
	A Woman's Guide to Adultery	David	Featured in three episodes
1993–1997	Noel's House Party	Sammy the Chamois / Himself	Participated in eight episodes
1994	Paris	Rochet	Role across six episodes
1995	The Morph Files	Narrator	Voice-only recurring role over 25 episodes
1996–1997	Soul Music	Mort	Provided voice for seven episodes
1997–1998	The Enchanted World of Brambly Hedge	Wilfred Toadflax	Voice role in two episodes
1999–2011	Bob the Builder	Bob (UK)/ Roley (UK)/ Lofty (UK)/ Farmer Pickles (UK)	Lead voice roles and theme song performer across 250 episodes
1998	The Vanishing Man	Nick Cameron	Recurring character featured in six episodes
1999	Maisy	Narrator (UK version)	Voice-only role for three episodes
	The Comedy Trail: A Shaggy Dog Story	Tony Smart	Television special appearance
2001	Look and Read	Zzaap	Voice guest role in one episode
2002–2003	Paradise Heights / The Eustace Bros.	Charlie Eustace	Recurring part over six episodes
2003	Murder in Mind	Stephen Kite	Guest appearance in one episode, series 3
2004	Unsolved History	Narrator	Voice guest for one episode: "Aztecs: Temple of Blood"
	Bob the Builder: Bob's Mini Projects	Bob/ Roley/ Micky Picker/ Lofty	Voice roles across seventeen short segments
2004–2005	Carrie & Barry	Barry	Recurring character appearing in twelve episodes
2005	Bob the Builder: Bob's Big Plan	Bob/ Lofty/ Roley/ Scruffty	Special voice-only episode
	Bob the Builder: When Bob Became a Builder' '|| Bob/ Lofty/ Roley/ Farmer Pickles|| Direct-to-video special with voice roles
2006'|| Petrolheads|| Host|| Presented six episodes
rowspan=3 |2007'|| Skins' '|| Marcus Ainsworth|| Guest star for one episode, season 1
' 'Neighbours' '|| Vicar|| Guest appearance in one episode titled "Births, Deaths and Marriages"
2007'|| Bob the Builder: Scrambler to the Rescue' '|| Bob/ Lofty/ Roley/ Farmer Pickles/ Angelo Sabatini' '|| Direct-to-video special voice roles
2007–2009'|| Waterloo Road' '|| Eddie Lawson|| Recurring role across forty episodes
2010–2011'|| The Cat in the Hat Knows a Lot About That!' '|| Aurillia / Elmore / Gary' '|| Voice roles spanning eleven episodes
2011'|| Inspector George Gently' '|| Tony Hexton|| Guest star for one episode, season 4
2012'|| Me and Mrs. Jones' '|| Jason' '|| Appeared in six episodes
2012–2016'|| Line of Duty' '|| DC Nigel Morton' '|| Featured over nine episodes
2013'|| Skins Pure' '|| Marcus Ainsworth' '|| Two-episode guest role
rowspan=2 |2014'|| Comedy Playhouse' '|| Jez' '|| Guest appearance for an episode titled "Over to Bill"
Men Behaving Badly' '|| Tony Smart' '|| Participated in Stand Up to Cancer & Feeling Nuts Comedy Night Specials
rowspan=2 |2015'|| The Dumping Ground' '|| Keith' '|| Single-episode guest spot, season 3
Death in Paradise (TV series)' '|| Disco Biscuit / Duncan Roberts' '|| Guest appearance for one episode, season 4
rowspan=3 |2016'|| Grantchester' '|| Harding Redmond' '|| Appeared in five episodes, season 2
Bear Grylls: Mission Survive' '|| Himself - Participant' '|| Featured as participant for one episode, season 2
The Night Manager (British TV series)' '|| Harry Palfrey' '|| Miniseries role across three episodes
2017'|| Midsomer Murders' '|| Mitch McAllister' '|| One-episode guest role: “Crime and Punishment”
2017–2018'|| Striking Out' '|| Vincent Pike, QC' '|| Recurring character over ten episodes
2017–2022'|| The Good Karma Hospital' '|| Greg McConnell' '|| Regular role spanning twenty-four episodes
rowspan=2 |2018'|| Moving On' '|| Frank Barton' '|| Guest star in single episode: "The Registrar"
Unforgotten' '|| Peter Carr' '|| Appeared across six episodes
2019'|| The Trial of Christine Keeler' '|| Colin Keeler' '|| Featured in episode six
rowspan=2 |2020'|| Penance' '|| Luke Douglas' '|| Lead role throughout all three episodes of this miniseries
Finding Joy' '|| Young Man' '|| Guest appearance for one episode: "Reborn"
rowspan=2 |2021'|| The Syndicate' '|| Frank Stevenson' '|| Role across six episodes
The Long Call' '|| Christopher Reasley' '|| Featured over four episodes
rowspan=3 |2023'|| DNA Journey' '|| Himself' '|| Appeared as himself for one episode: "Neil Morrissey and Adrian Dunbar"
The Chelsea Detective' '|| Ross Pickard' '|| Single-episode guest role: "The Reliable Witness"
Love Rat' '|| Pete' '||(Miniseries) - Four episodes featured role
2024'|| Finders Keepers' ' Martin Stone ' - Principal character appearing throughout all four episodes.
2025'|| Neil & Martin’s Bon Voyage - Travel documentary miniseries co-starring Martin Clunes.

Studio albums

Album Title	Release Information	Highest Chart Rankings				Certifications
		UK	AUS	IRE	NZ
Bob the Builder: The Album (credited as Bob the Builder)	Released on: 3 October 2001 Record label: BBC Records Available formats: CD	4	1	59	32	ARIA: Double Platinum BPI: Gold
Never Mind the Breeze Blocks (credited as Bob the Builder)	Released on: 8 December 2008 Record label: Universal Music Group Available formats: CD, digital download	87	—	—	—
"—" indicates albums that did not enter the charts

Singles

Single Title	Release Year	Peak Chart Positions			Certifications	Associated Album
		UK	AUS	IRE
"Can We Fix It?" (credited as Bob the Builder)	2000	1		3	ARIA: Double Platinum BPI: Gold	Bob the Builder: The Album
"Mambo No. 5" (credited as Bob the Builder)	2001	1	2	4	ARIA: Platinum BPI: Gold
"Big Fish Little Fish" (credited as Bob the Builder)	2008	81	—	—		Never Mind the Breeze Blocks
"—" indicates singles that did not chart