Darren Day
Encyclopedia
Darren Day is an English
actor
, singer and television
presenter
, well known for his West End theatre
starring roles.
. Day attended Sir Charles Lucas Arts College), and undertook drama classes at evenings and weekends until he was 13, when he turned his attention to snooker
.
Day became a professional snooker player at 17, but found himself drawn to entertainment. When maverick snooker genius Alex Higgins
failed to complete an exhibition match, Day got up and sang songs and did impressions to entertain the crowd.
as the new Bobby Davro
.
After five years with a career that spanned being a Butlins
redcoat, doing stand-up comedy, and singing with bands, Day made his breakthrough as a singer and dancer in London's West End theatre
, starring in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat
, replacing the departing Phillip Schofield
. He then developed his career as a television presenter and has presented programmes such as You Bet!
, and Don't Try This at Home!
He appeared in the first series of the reality television
show I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here! He finished third.
In 1991, Day presented the Classic Nursery Rhymes video.
Day has appeared in many touring stage musicals, including Summer Holiday, Grease
, The Rocky Horror Show
, and Hellbreeder
. In the Pantomime
season of 2005/06, Day appeared in the Derby
Assembly Rooms production of Cinderella
, where he played the part of Buttons. This is also were he first met his wife Stephanie, as she was appearing in the production.
Day worked in November 2006 on the Celebrity Scissorhands project for the BBC
in aid of Children in Need
. From there, he returned to pantomime for the 2006/07 season as 'Jack' in Jack and the Beanstalk
at the Billingham Forum Theatre.
In 2007, Day toured the UK with a brand new theatre show The Music of Manilow and More, and made a guest appearance in July on ITV
's police drama The Bill
, playing a photographer who is the prime suspect in the death of a supermodel.
Autumn 2007 saw him take over from Mark Little in the UK tour of Defending the Caveman
before returning to pantomime at The Lowry, Salford as King Rat in Dick Whittington co starring his wife and actress Stephanie Dooley, and Chesney Hawkes
.
More recently, Day has been outspoken in a grass roots campaign to ban the magician Paul Daniels
from his beloved Blackpool.
In 2009/10 he was part of the cast of the musical, We Will Rock You
, alongside Kevin Kennedy
whihch toured the UK. In March 2010, Day took part in Celebrity Come Dine with Me
on Channel 4
, alongside Claire Sweeney
, Kim Woodburn
and Tom O'Connor. This episode was repeated in December 2010. From July 2010 to March 2011, Day played soap
villain, Danny Houston, in the popular soap Hollyoaks
.
From April 2011 to June 2011, Day starred in the UK in the musical Brother Love's Travelling Salvation Show, alongside co-star Brian Conley
.
and sex; resulting in a colourful private life that has often overshadowed his performing career.
On 18 June 2008, while appearing in a production of Hello, Dolly!
in Cardiff
, Day was arrested for being over the drink drive limit
after police had observed his car travelling at speed. On 27 August, Day was banned from driving for 18 months after admitting to Cardiff magistrates that he had been over the limit.
Day was arrested again for being over the drink-drive limit after crashing his Mercedes-Benz
car in Edinburgh
on 18 December 2009,
and went on trial related to this charge on 23 March 2010 at Edinburgh Sheriff Court, further accused of possessing an offensive weapon in public (a kubotan
). Day admitted drink-driving and failing to stop at the scene of an accident, but denied the offensive weapon charge. Ultimately, he was found guilty of possessing an offensive weapon, banned from driving for five years and fined £1,250.
In early 2010, Day gave up drinking, and bought a house in the Yorkshire countryside; where he now lives with his wife, daughter and step-son. Day also has a son with actress Suzanne Shaw
. In November 2011 he had another son with wife Stephanie Dooley.
English people
The English are a nation and ethnic group native to England, who speak English. The English identity is of early mediaeval origin, when they were known in Old English as the Anglecynn. England is now a country of the United Kingdom, and the majority of English people in England are British Citizens...
actor
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
, singer and television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
presenter
Presenter
A presenter, or host , is a person or organization responsible for running an event. A museum or university, for example, may be the presenter or host of an exhibit. Likewise, a master of ceremonies is a person that hosts or presents a show...
, well known for his West End theatre
West End theatre
West End theatre is a popular term for mainstream professional theatre staged in the large theatres of London's 'Theatreland', the West End. Along with New York's Broadway theatre, West End theatre is usually considered to represent the highest level of commercial theatre in the English speaking...
starring roles.
Early life
His paternal grandfather was a support and warm-up act for George FormbyGeorge Formby
George Formby, OBE , born George Hoy Booth, was a British comedy actor, singer-songwriter, and comedian. He sang light, comical songs, accompanying himself on the banjo ukulele or banjolele...
. Day attended Sir Charles Lucas Arts College), and undertook drama classes at evenings and weekends until he was 13, when he turned his attention to snooker
Snooker
Snooker is a cue sport that is played on a green baize-covered table with pockets in each of the four corners and in the middle of each of the long side cushions. A regular table is . It is played using a cue and snooker balls: one white , 15 worth one point each, and six balls of different :...
.
Day became a professional snooker player at 17, but found himself drawn to entertainment. When maverick snooker genius Alex Higgins
Alex Higgins
Alexander Gordon "Alex" Higgins , also known by his nickname of Hurricane Higgins, was a Northern Irish professional snooker player who was twice World Champion and twice runner-up. Higgins earned the nickname The Hurricane because of his speed of play...
failed to complete an exhibition match, Day got up and sang songs and did impressions to entertain the crowd.
Career
Day auditioned for BBC's talent show Opportunity Knocks in 1987 and appeared on the show in 1988, introduced by host Bob MonkhouseBob Monkhouse
Robert Alan "Bob" Monkhouse, OBE was an English entertainer. He was a successful comedy writer, comedian and actor and was also well known on British television as a presenter and game show host...
as the new Bobby Davro
Bobby Davro
Bobby Davro is a British actor and comedian. He is mainly known for his work as an impressionist...
.
After five years with a career that spanned being a Butlins
Butlins
Butlins is a chain of large holiday camps in the United Kingdom. Butlins was founded by Billy Butlin to provide affordable holidays for ordinary British families....
redcoat, doing stand-up comedy, and singing with bands, Day made his breakthrough as a singer and dancer in London's West End theatre
West End theatre
West End theatre is a popular term for mainstream professional theatre staged in the large theatres of London's 'Theatreland', the West End. Along with New York's Broadway theatre, West End theatre is usually considered to represent the highest level of commercial theatre in the English speaking...
, starring in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat
Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat
Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat is an Andrew Lloyd Webber musical with lyrics by Tim Rice. The story is based on the "coat of many colors" story of Joseph from the Hebrew Bible's Book of Genesis. This was the first Lloyd Webber and Rice musical to be performed publicly...
, replacing the departing Phillip Schofield
Phillip Schofield
Phillip Bryan Schofield is an English broadcaster and television personality best known for presenting shows such as This Morning, Dancing on Ice, and various game shows including The Cube.-Early life and career:...
. He then developed his career as a television presenter and has presented programmes such as You Bet!
You Bet!
You Bet! was a British game show based around the format of the German show Wetten, dass..? developed by Frank Elstner. You Bet! ran on ITV, mostly on Saturday nights but sometimes on Fridays, between 20 February 1988 and 12 April 1997, initially hosted by Bruce Forsyth from 1988 to 1990, then by...
, and Don't Try This at Home!
Don't Try This at Home (TV series)
Don't Try This At Home was a reality show produced by LWT with Golden Square Pictures and broadcast on ITV between 16 May 1998 and 1 September 2001. It took up the slot of the Saturday challenge game show slot left by its long running and more sedate predecessor You Bet!...
He appeared in the first series of the reality television
Reality television
Reality television is a genre of television programming that presents purportedly unscripted dramatic or humorous situations, documents actual events, and usually features ordinary people instead of professional actors, sometimes in a contest or other situation where a prize is awarded...
show I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here! He finished third.
In 1991, Day presented the Classic Nursery Rhymes video.
Day has appeared in many touring stage musicals, including Summer Holiday, Grease
Grease (musical)
Grease is a 1971 musical by Jim Jacobs and Warren Casey. The musical is named for the 1950s United States working-class youth subculture known as the greasers. The musical, set in 1959 at fictional Rydell High School , follows ten working-class teenagers as they navigate the complexities of love,...
, The Rocky Horror Show
The Rocky Horror Show
The Rocky Horror Show is a long-running British horror comedy stage musical, which opened in London on 19 June 1973. It was written by Richard O'Brien, produced and directed by Jim Sharman. It came eighth in a BBC Radio 2 listener poll of the "Nation's Number One Essential Musicals"...
, and Hellbreeder
Hellbreeder
Hellbreeder is a 2004 horror/mystery film directed by James Eaves and Johannes Roberts and starring Lyndie Uphill.-Premise:Hellbreeder centers on a killer clown from Hell on a murderous rampage...
. In the Pantomime
Pantomime
Pantomime — not to be confused with a mime artist, a theatrical performer of mime—is a musical-comedy theatrical production traditionally found in the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Jamaica, South Africa, India, Ireland, Gibraltar and Malta, and is mostly performed during the...
season of 2005/06, Day appeared in the Derby
Derby
Derby , is a city and unitary authority in the East Midlands region of England. It lies upon the banks of the River Derwent and is located in the south of the ceremonial county of Derbyshire. In the 2001 census, the population of the city was 233,700, whilst that of the Derby Urban Area was 229,407...
Assembly Rooms production of Cinderella
Cinderella
"Cinderella; or, The Little Glass Slipper" is a folk tale embodying a myth-element of unjust oppression/triumphant reward. Thousands of variants are known throughout the world. The title character is a young woman living in unfortunate circumstances that are suddenly changed to remarkable fortune...
, where he played the part of Buttons. This is also were he first met his wife Stephanie, as she was appearing in the production.
Day worked in November 2006 on the Celebrity Scissorhands project for the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
in aid of Children in Need
Children in Need
Children in Need is an annual British charity appeal organised by the BBC. Since 1980 it has raised over £500 million. The highlight of the Children in Need appeal is an annual telethon, held in November. A teddy bear named "Pudsey Bear" fronts the campaign, while Terry Wogan is a long...
. From there, he returned to pantomime for the 2006/07 season as 'Jack' in Jack and the Beanstalk
Jack and the Beanstalk
Jack and the Beanstalk is a folktale said by English historian Francis Palgrave to be an oral legend that arrived in England with the Vikings. The tale is closely associated with the tale of Jack the Giant-killer. It is known under a number of versions...
at the Billingham Forum Theatre.
In 2007, Day toured the UK with a brand new theatre show The Music of Manilow and More, and made a guest appearance in July on ITV
ITV
ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...
's police drama The Bill
The Bill
The Bill is a police procedural television series that ran from October 1984 to August 2010. It focused on the lives and work of one shift of police officers, rather than on any particular aspect of police work...
, playing a photographer who is the prime suspect in the death of a supermodel.
Autumn 2007 saw him take over from Mark Little in the UK tour of Defending the Caveman
Defending the Caveman
Defending the Caveman is a comedy written by American actor and comedian Rob Becker about the misunderstandings between men and women. Defending the Caveman has been seen in theaters around the world by more than eight million people in forty-five countries. It has been performed in over thirty...
before returning to pantomime at The Lowry, Salford as King Rat in Dick Whittington co starring his wife and actress Stephanie Dooley, and Chesney Hawkes
Chesney Hawkes
Chesney Lee Hawkes , is an English pop singer, songwriter, and occasional actor. He is best known for his 1991 single "The One and Only", which topped the charts in the UK and reached the Top 10 in the U.S.-Life and career:...
.
More recently, Day has been outspoken in a grass roots campaign to ban the magician Paul Daniels
Paul Daniels
Paul Daniels, born Newton Edward Daniels on 6 April 1938, is a British magician and television performer. He achieved international fame through his television series The Paul Daniels Magic Show, which ran on the BBC from 1979 to 1994.-Early life:...
from his beloved Blackpool.
In 2009/10 he was part of the cast of the musical, We Will Rock You
We Will Rock You
"We Will Rock You" is a song written by Brian May and recorded and performed by Queen for their 1977 album News of the World. Rolling Stone ranked it #330 of "The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time" in 2004, and the RIAA placed it at #146 on its list of Songs of the Century...
, alongside Kevin Kennedy
Kevin Kennedy (actor)
Kevin Kennedy is an English actor, writer, producer, singer, and guitarist, best known for playing the bottle-lensed Curly Watts in ITV's long running soap opera Coronation Street between 1983 and 2003.-Early life:Kennedy was born in Manchester. He attended St Paul's RC Secondary High School...
whihch toured the UK. In March 2010, Day took part in Celebrity Come Dine with Me
Come Dine With Me
Come Dine With Me is a popular Channel 4 television programme shown in the United Kingdom, produced by Granada Television and first broadcast in January 2005. The show has either four or five amateur chefs competing against each other hosting a dinner party for the other contestants...
on Channel 4
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...
, alongside Claire Sweeney
Claire Sweeney
Claire Jane Sweeney is an English actress, singer and television personality best known for playing the role of Lindsey Corkhill in the Channel 4 soap opera Brookside and her appearance on the first series of the Reality TV show Celebrity Big Brother.-Early Life:Sweeney was born in Walton, Liverpool...
, Kim Woodburn
Kim Woodburn
Kim Woodburn is an English television presenter and expert cleaner who is best known for co-presenting the British television programme How Clean Is Your House? and in 2007, starred in the Canadian series Kim's Rude Awakenings.-Early career:Woodburn undertook many jobs in her adult life...
and Tom O'Connor. This episode was repeated in December 2010. From July 2010 to March 2011, Day played soap
Soap opera
A soap opera, sometimes called "soap" for short, is an ongoing, episodic work of dramatic fiction presented in serial format on radio or as television programming. The name soap opera stems from the original dramatic serials broadcast on radio that had soap manufacturers, such as Procter & Gamble,...
villain, Danny Houston, in the popular soap Hollyoaks
Hollyoaks
Hollyoaks is a long-running British television soap opera, first broadcast on Channel 4 on 23 October 1995. It was originally devised by Phil Redmond, who has also devised shows including Brookside and Grange Hill...
.
From April 2011 to June 2011, Day starred in the UK in the musical Brother Love's Travelling Salvation Show, alongside co-star Brian Conley
Brian Conley
Brian Conley is an English comedian, television presenter, singer and actor. At the peak of his television career, he was the highest-paid male television personality in the UK. Outside of television, he is best known for his frequent portrayals of Buttons in pantomime versions of...
.
Personal life
Up to 2008, Day's name had become almost synonymous with short-lived tabloid fame. He has had many celebrity partners, been linked in the tabloids to taking drugs and confirmed being treated for addiction both to cocaineCocaine dependence
Cocaine dependence is a psychological desire to regularly use cocaine. It can result in cardiovascular and brain damage such as constricting blood vessels in the brain, causing strokes and constricting arteries in the heart, causing heart attacks specifically in the central nervous system.The use...
and sex; resulting in a colourful private life that has often overshadowed his performing career.
On 18 June 2008, while appearing in a production of Hello, Dolly!
Hello, Dolly! (musical)
Hello, Dolly! is a musical with lyrics and music by Jerry Herman and a book by Michael Stewart, based on Thornton Wilder's 1938 farce The Merchant of Yonkers, which Wilder revised and retitled The Matchmaker in 1955....
in Cardiff
Cardiff
Cardiff is the capital, largest city and most populous county of Wales and the 10th largest city in the United Kingdom. The city is Wales' chief commercial centre, the base for most national cultural and sporting institutions, the Welsh national media, and the seat of the National Assembly for...
, Day was arrested for being over the drink drive limit
Drunk driving (United Kingdom)
Drink-driving laws in the United Kingdom govern driving, attempting to drive, or being in charge of a motor vehicle when either over the prescribed limits of alcohol in the body, or unfit to drive as a result of consuming alcohol or other intoxicating substances.-Offences:There are three main types...
after police had observed his car travelling at speed. On 27 August, Day was banned from driving for 18 months after admitting to Cardiff magistrates that he had been over the limit.
Day was arrested again for being over the drink-drive limit after crashing his Mercedes-Benz
Mercedes-Benz
Mercedes-Benz is a German manufacturer of automobiles, buses, coaches, and trucks. Mercedes-Benz is a division of its parent company, Daimler AG...
car in Edinburgh
Edinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...
on 18 December 2009,
and went on trial related to this charge on 23 March 2010 at Edinburgh Sheriff Court, further accused of possessing an offensive weapon in public (a kubotan
Kubotan
The Kubotan self-defense keychain is a close-quarter self-defense weapon developed by Takayuki Kubota. It is essentially a derivation of the stick, usually 5.5 inches long and 0.56 inch in diameter, slightly thicker or the same size as a marker pen...
). Day admitted drink-driving and failing to stop at the scene of an accident, but denied the offensive weapon charge. Ultimately, he was found guilty of possessing an offensive weapon, banned from driving for five years and fined £1,250.
In early 2010, Day gave up drinking, and bought a house in the Yorkshire countryside; where he now lives with his wife, daughter and step-son. Day also has a son with actress Suzanne Shaw
Suzanne Shaw
Suzanne Shaw is an English actress, singer and television personality...
. In November 2011 he had another son with wife Stephanie Dooley.
Singles
- "Young Girl" - (1994), #42 UKUK Singles ChartThe UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
- "Summer Holiday Medley" - (1996), #17 UK
- "How Can I Be Sure?" - (1998), #71 UK