Marc Bannerman
Encyclopedia
Marc Bannerman is a UK based actor
. His most notable role has been his portrayal of Gianni di Marco
in the BBC
soap opera
, EastEnders
. Bannerman's character was introduced in 1998, but was axed three years later by the executive producer of EastEnders, John Yorke. Bannerman has since appeared on various television and reality television
programmes, most notably I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here! in 2007. His appearance on I'm a Celebrity… made headlines in the UK due to his flirtations with singer Cerys Matthews
, which publicly ended his two year relationship with actress Sarah Matravers
.
to performing in Nosferatu. This diversity followed him into his career with television performances as Paul in The Stalkers Apprentice, Gangster in On the Eighth Ball, Phil in The Bill
and Malcolm in Chalk
for the BBC.
In 1997, Bannerman auditioned for the role of Gianni di Marco
, a member of a new Italian family introduced to the BBC's award winning serial drama EastEnders. He got the part by telling the producers he was half-Italian and half-Sardinia
n. He first appeared on screen in January 1998 and remained in the role until 2000, when all his character's family, bar his on-screen brother Beppe
(Michael Greco), were axed by executive producer John Yorke.
Since his departure, Bannerman irregularly appeared in two series of the comedy series Time Gentlemen Please
alongside Julia Sawalha
, Phil Daniels
and Al Murray
. He also appeared as his idol Elvis Presley
in Celebrity Stars in their eyes
. He has presented Wish You Were Here...?
for ITV
, and has also played guest leads in The Grimleys
and Dream Team
on Sky One
. He has made appearances in the BBC hospital drama Holby City
, in the ITV2
drama Footballers' Wives: Extra Time
, the ITV game-show Celebrity Wrestling
and Hotel Babylon
(2008).
Stage appearances include King Rat in Dick Whittington at Eastbourne
, and David Freeman in In Two Minds at the Theatre Royal, Windsor
and the Churchill Theatre
, Bromley. Bannerman has also appeared as the Beast in Spillers Pantomimes productions of Beauty and the Beast
at the Woodville Halls, Gravesend.
In November 2007, Bannerman was a contestant on the 7th series of the ITV reality show, "I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here!
", a popularity contest that transports various celebrities to the Australian jungle to undergo unpleasant trials. He was persuaded to enter by his former EastEnders co-star Dean Gaffney
, who appeared in the 2006 series of "I'm a Celebrity...". Bannerman polled the least votes from viewers and was the first celebrity to be evicted from the show. It has been suggested that he failed to garner support from the voting public due to "his dalliance" with fellow contestant Cerys Matthews
, whom he openly flirted with despite being in a long-term relationship with actress Sarah Matravers
.
Bannerman has recently completed filming the series, Steel Marios for UK Cable channel Bravo. Bannerman will reunite with former EastEnders
co star, Michael Greco
.
he spent his childhood growing up in North London
. A keen boxer
, Bannerman boxed for Islington Boys Club
in his youth.
He has admitted to suffering from depression and turning to alcohol as a result of being axed from EastEnders in 2000. In 2005 he commented, "I just didn't know what was happening to me. The axeing came like a bolt out of the blue and it hit me very badly. I suffered depression and turned to the bottle to get me out of it. I also started eating all the wrong things. As a result, my weight ballooned to 17½ stone...I remember feeling very bitter, especially at the way they got rid of us. There was no warning - we were just out. The way it was done just wasn't very nice. I mean, you are given some sort of job security with a part in a popular show and you think you are set up for a while at least. But then it's just taken from you...I struggled financially for a time."
Bannerman dated his EastEnders co-star Nadia Sawalha
, who played Gianni's love interest Annie Palmer
, for nearly four years. Despite reports in 2001 that they were planning to marry, they split in 2002. Bannerman dated Coronation Street
star Suranne Jones
early in 2005 before beginning a relationship with actress Sarah Matravers
later that year. Their relationship came under media scrutiny following Bannerman's appearance on the reality television show I'm a Celebrity… in 2007. While participating in the show, Bannerman formed a flirtatious relationship with the Welsh
singer, Cerys Matthews
and, following his eviction from the show, Bannerman confessed that he and Matthews had connected on a "very deep level" and that he had struggled with his emotions whilst being in the camp with her. As a result of his closeness to Matthews, Bannerman and Matravers split, and Matravers has since alleged that Bannerman had beaten her on a number of occasions. On 11 December 2007, the BBC reported that Bannerman had been arrested following a confrontation with photographers outside a Welsh pub whilst visiting Matthews.
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
. His most notable role has been his portrayal of Gianni di Marco
Gianni di Marco
Gianni di Marco is a fictional character from the BBC serial drama EastEnders, played by Marc Bannerman from 1998 to 2000.-Storylines:Gianni arrived in Walford along with the rest of the di Marco family in 1998. Gianni was the younger of the two brothers in the family, the other being Beppe di Marco...
in 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...
soap opera
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,...
, EastEnders
EastEnders
EastEnders is a British television soap opera, first broadcast in the United Kingdom on BBC One on 19 February 1985 and continuing to today. EastEnders storylines examine the domestic and professional lives of the people who live and work in the fictional London Borough of Walford in the East End...
. Bannerman's character was introduced in 1998, but was axed three years later by the executive producer of EastEnders, John Yorke. Bannerman has since appeared on various television and 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...
programmes, most notably I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here! in 2007. His appearance on I'm a Celebrity… made headlines in the UK due to his flirtations with singer Cerys Matthews
Cerys Matthews
Cerys Elizabeth Matthews is a Welsh singer and songwriter. She is known as the lead singer of the Welsh rock band Catatonia, her more recent bilingual solo career, and for a 1998 Christmas duet with Tom Jones.-Biography:...
, which publicly ended his two year relationship with actress Sarah Matravers
Sarah Matravers
Sarah Matravers is an English model and actress. Born in the New Forest, Hampshire and brought up in Kent, she lives in Fulham, London.She first came to public attention when she won The Great British Beauty Competition on ITV's This Morning television show. She also appeared in the 90's revival of...
.
Career
Whilst training at 'The Courtyard Theatre Company', he played a variety of roles ranging from Palamon in The Canterbury TalesThe Canterbury Tales
The Canterbury Tales is a collection of stories written in Middle English by Geoffrey Chaucer at the end of the 14th century. The tales are told as part of a story-telling contest by a group of pilgrims as they travel together on a journey from Southwark to the shrine of Saint Thomas Becket at...
to performing in Nosferatu. This diversity followed him into his career with television performances as Paul in The Stalkers Apprentice, Gangster in On the Eighth Ball, Phil in 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...
and Malcolm in Chalk
Chalk (TV series)
Chalk is a British television sitcom set in a comprehensive school named Galfast High. Two series, both written by Steven Moffat, were broadcast on BBC1 in 1997...
for the BBC.
In 1997, Bannerman auditioned for the role of Gianni di Marco
Gianni di Marco
Gianni di Marco is a fictional character from the BBC serial drama EastEnders, played by Marc Bannerman from 1998 to 2000.-Storylines:Gianni arrived in Walford along with the rest of the di Marco family in 1998. Gianni was the younger of the two brothers in the family, the other being Beppe di Marco...
, a member of a new Italian family introduced to the BBC's award winning serial drama EastEnders. He got the part by telling the producers he was half-Italian and half-Sardinia
Sardinia
Sardinia is the second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea . It is an autonomous region of Italy, and the nearest land masses are the French island of Corsica, the Italian Peninsula, Sicily, Tunisia and the Spanish Balearic Islands.The name Sardinia is from the pre-Roman noun *sard[],...
n. He first appeared on screen in January 1998 and remained in the role until 2000, when all his character's family, bar his on-screen brother Beppe
Beppe di Marco
Beppe di Marco is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Michael Greco.Beppe was his family's pride and joy, so it was a big shock to them when he was fired from the police force for attempting to frame local hardman Grant Mitchell...
(Michael Greco), were axed by executive producer John Yorke.
Since his departure, Bannerman irregularly appeared in two series of the comedy series Time Gentlemen Please
Time Gentlemen Please
Time Gentlemen Please is a British sitcom. Commissioned by Sky One, it was primarily written by Richard Herring and Al Murray and ran for two series between 2000 and 2002.- Premise and characters :...
alongside Julia Sawalha
Julia Sawalha
Julia Sawalha is an English actress well known for her roles as Saffron Monsoon in Absolutely Fabulous, Lynda Day, editor of The Junior Gazette in Press Gang and Lydia Bennet in the 1995 television miniseries of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice. She also played Dorcas Lane in the BBC's costume...
, Phil Daniels
Phil Daniels
Philip W. "Phil" Daniels is an English actor, most noted for film and television roles as "cockneys" such as Jimmy in Quadrophenia, Richards in Scum, Stewart in The Class of Miss MacMichael, Mark in Meantime, Kevin Wicks in EastEnders, DCS Frank Patterson in New Tricks and Edward Kitchener "Ted"...
and Al Murray
Al Murray
Alastair James Hay "Al" Murray , is a British comedian best known for his stand-up persona, The Pub Landlord, a stereotypical xenophobic public house licensee. In 2003, he was listed in The Observer as one of the 50 funniest acts in British comedy...
. He also appeared as his idol Elvis Presley
Elvis Presley
Elvis Aaron Presley was one of the most popular American singers of the 20th century. A cultural icon, he is widely known by the single name Elvis. He is often referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll" or simply "the King"....
in Celebrity Stars in their eyes
Stars In Their Eyes
Stars in Their Eyes is a British television talent show that ran on Saturdays nights from 21 July 1990 until 23 December 2006 in which contestants impersonate showbiz stars...
. He has presented Wish You Were Here...?
Wish You Were Here...?
Wish You Were Here...? is a British television show that was first broadcast on 7th January 1974 on ITV. It was a series of 30 minute shows about travel and holidays. The show was broadcast during peak viewing hours and had gained a significant viewing audience in the UK...
for 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...
, and has also played guest leads in The Grimleys
The Grimleys
The Grimleys is a nostalgic comedy-drama television series set on a council estate in Dudley, West Midlands, England in the mid-1970s. It was first broadcast by Granada TV for ITV in 1999, following a pilot in 1997, and concluded in 2001 after three series....
and Dream Team
Dream Team (TV series)
Dream Team is a British television series produced by Hewland International which aired on Sky1 and Sky3 from 1997 to 2007; it chronicled the on-field and off-field affairs of the fictional Harchester United Football Club....
on Sky One
Sky One
Sky1 is the flagship BSkyB entertainment channel available in the United Kingdom and Ireland.The channel first launched on 26 April 1982 as Satellite Television, and is the fourth-oldest TV channel in the United Kingdom, behind BBC One , ITV and BBC Two...
. He has made appearances in the BBC hospital drama Holby City
Holby City
Holby City, stylised as Holby Ci+y, is a British medical drama television series that airs weekly on BBC One.The series was created by Tony McHale and Mal Young as a spin-off from the established BBC medical drama Casualty, and premiered on 12 January 1999...
, in the ITV2
ITV2
ITV2 is a 24 hour, free-to-air entertainment television channel in the United Kingdom owned by ITV Digital Channels Ltd, a division of ITV plc. It was launched on 7 December 1998, and is available on digital television via satellite, cable, IPTV and terrestrial platforms. The channel has the...
drama Footballers' Wives: Extra Time
Footballers' Wives: Extra Time
Footballers' Wives: Extra Time is a British drama programme. A spin-off of Footballers' Wives, the programme aired on ITV2 for two series...
, the ITV game-show Celebrity Wrestling
Celebrity Wrestling
Celebrity Wrestling is a British television programme, broadcast on ITV in 2005. It involved two teams of celebrities, competing against each other in wrestling style events. The series was presented by Kate Thornton and Rowdy Roddy Piper...
and Hotel Babylon
Hotel Babylon
Hotel Babylon was a BBC television drama series based on the book of the same name by Imogen Edwards-Jones, that aired from 19 January 2006 to 14 August 2009, produced by independent production company Carnival Films for BBC One...
(2008).
Stage appearances include King Rat in Dick Whittington at Eastbourne
Eastbourne
Eastbourne is a large town and borough in East Sussex, on the south coast of England between Brighton and Hastings. The town is situated at the eastern end of the chalk South Downs alongside the high cliff at Beachy Head...
, and David Freeman in In Two Minds at the Theatre Royal, Windsor
Theatre Royal, Windsor
The Theatre Royal, Windsor is located in the town of Windsor, Berkshire, England, directly across the road from Windsor Castle.The present building was opened on 17 December 1910 after the previous theatre had burned down on 18 February 1908, under the ownership of Sir William Shipley.With the...
and the Churchill Theatre
Churchill Theatre
The Churchill Theatre in Bromley, south east London was built by the London Borough of Bromley to designs by its borough architect's department.It is carefully integrated into the central library complex overlooking Church House Gardens and Library Gardens...
, Bromley. Bannerman has also appeared as the Beast in Spillers Pantomimes productions of Beauty and the Beast
Beauty and the Beast
Beauty and the Beast is a traditional fairy tale. The first published version of the fairy tale was a rendition by Gabrielle-Suzanne Barbot de Villeneuve, published in La jeune américaine, et les contes marins in 1740...
at the Woodville Halls, Gravesend.
In November 2007, Bannerman was a contestant on the 7th series of the ITV reality show, "I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here!
I'm a Celebrity... Get Me out of Here! (UK)
I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here! is a British reality television show, first screened in 2002, in which celebrities live in jungle conditions with few creature comforts. The show is filmed in Australia and broadcast on ITV in the UK and on TV3 in Ireland. The show is one of the largest in the...
", a popularity contest that transports various celebrities to the Australian jungle to undergo unpleasant trials. He was persuaded to enter by his former EastEnders co-star Dean Gaffney
Dean Gaffney
Dean Martin Gaffney is an English actor most notable for his role as Robbie Jackson on the BBC1 soap opera Eastenders from 1993 to 2003, when his character was axed. He has since made guest appearances in the soap in 2004 and 2010. Gaffney went on to appear in various reality television shows,...
, who appeared in the 2006 series of "I'm a Celebrity...". Bannerman polled the least votes from viewers and was the first celebrity to be evicted from the show. It has been suggested that he failed to garner support from the voting public due to "his dalliance" with fellow contestant Cerys Matthews
Cerys Matthews
Cerys Elizabeth Matthews is a Welsh singer and songwriter. She is known as the lead singer of the Welsh rock band Catatonia, her more recent bilingual solo career, and for a 1998 Christmas duet with Tom Jones.-Biography:...
, whom he openly flirted with despite being in a long-term relationship with actress Sarah Matravers
Sarah Matravers
Sarah Matravers is an English model and actress. Born in the New Forest, Hampshire and brought up in Kent, she lives in Fulham, London.She first came to public attention when she won The Great British Beauty Competition on ITV's This Morning television show. She also appeared in the 90's revival of...
.
Bannerman has recently completed filming the series, Steel Marios for UK Cable channel Bravo. Bannerman will reunite with former EastEnders
EastEnders
EastEnders is a British television soap opera, first broadcast in the United Kingdom on BBC One on 19 February 1985 and continuing to today. EastEnders storylines examine the domestic and professional lives of the people who live and work in the fictional London Borough of Walford in the East End...
co star, Michael Greco
Michael Greco
Michael Greco is an English actor and poker player. He was educated in Surrey, England at Reigate College. Internet rumours claim he was born in Dunbar, Scotland, but Greco himself states that this is false, and that he grew up in London....
.
Personal life
Although Bannerman was born in Dublin, IrelandIreland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
he spent his childhood growing up in North London
North London
North London is the northern part of London, England. It is an imprecise description and the area it covers is defined differently for a range of purposes. Common to these definitions is that it includes districts located north of the River Thames and is used in comparison with South...
. A keen boxer
Boxing
Boxing, also called pugilism, is a combat sport in which two people fight each other using their fists. Boxing is supervised by a referee over a series of between one to three minute intervals called rounds...
, Bannerman boxed for Islington Boys Club
Islington Boxing Club
Islington Boxing Club also known as Islington Boys Club and Islington Amateur Boxing Club is an amateur Boxing Club based in Islington, North London.-History:...
in his youth.
He has admitted to suffering from depression and turning to alcohol as a result of being axed from EastEnders in 2000. In 2005 he commented, "I just didn't know what was happening to me. The axeing came like a bolt out of the blue and it hit me very badly. I suffered depression and turned to the bottle to get me out of it. I also started eating all the wrong things. As a result, my weight ballooned to 17½ stone...I remember feeling very bitter, especially at the way they got rid of us. There was no warning - we were just out. The way it was done just wasn't very nice. I mean, you are given some sort of job security with a part in a popular show and you think you are set up for a while at least. But then it's just taken from you...I struggled financially for a time."
Bannerman dated his EastEnders co-star Nadia Sawalha
Nadia Sawalha
Nadia Sawalha is an English actress and television presenter.Sawalha is perhaps best known for her role as Annie Palmer in the BBC soap opera EastEnders during the 1990s, although most of her television work is now as a presenter rather than an actress...
, who played Gianni's love interest Annie Palmer
Annie Palmer
Annie Palmer is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Nadia Sawalha. Annie was portrayed as a hard-nosed businesswoman, who wasn't averse to dabbling on the wrong side of the law...
, for nearly four years. Despite reports in 2001 that they were planning to marry, they split in 2002. Bannerman dated Coronation Street
Coronation Street
Coronation Street is a British soap opera set in Weatherfield, a fictional town in Greater Manchester based on Salford. Created by Tony Warren, Coronation Street was first broadcast on 9 December 1960...
star Suranne Jones
Suranne Jones
Suranne Jones is an English actress. She first rose to prominence playing the role of Karen McDonald in ITV1's soap opera Coronation Street over a period of four years...
early in 2005 before beginning a relationship with actress Sarah Matravers
Sarah Matravers
Sarah Matravers is an English model and actress. Born in the New Forest, Hampshire and brought up in Kent, she lives in Fulham, London.She first came to public attention when she won The Great British Beauty Competition on ITV's This Morning television show. She also appeared in the 90's revival of...
later that year. Their relationship came under media scrutiny following Bannerman's appearance on the reality television show I'm a Celebrity… in 2007. While participating in the show, Bannerman formed a flirtatious relationship with the Welsh
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
singer, Cerys Matthews
Cerys Matthews
Cerys Elizabeth Matthews is a Welsh singer and songwriter. She is known as the lead singer of the Welsh rock band Catatonia, her more recent bilingual solo career, and for a 1998 Christmas duet with Tom Jones.-Biography:...
and, following his eviction from the show, Bannerman confessed that he and Matthews had connected on a "very deep level" and that he had struggled with his emotions whilst being in the camp with her. As a result of his closeness to Matthews, Bannerman and Matravers split, and Matravers has since alleged that Bannerman had beaten her on a number of occasions. On 11 December 2007, the BBC reported that Bannerman had been arrested following a confrontation with photographers outside a Welsh pub whilst visiting Matthews.