Lewis, Anthony

Anthony was born in Leeds. He began acting at the age of nine, with roles in television shows including Heartbeat (1994), Cracker (1995), The Detectives (1995) and A Touch of Frost (1996). 

Regular TV roles followed: Scott Morris in Children’s Ward (1996 – 1998); Adam in Adam’s Family Tree (1997 – 1998); the lead in My Dad’s a Boring Nerd (1997).

He went on to play regular Marc Reynolds in Emmerdale (1999 – 2002 and May 2007) and after leaving the show, he performed in Broken Voices at the Tristan Bates Theatre in London.

Other TV acting appearances include:

• Dalziel and Pascoe (2004);
• Doctors (2004 and 2011);
• Holby City (2004 and 2011);
• Respectable (2006);
• Hollyoaks (2006);
• The Syndicate (2012);
• Casualty (2013);
• Ackley Bridge (2018).

He had a starring role in the science-fiction series Torchwood (2008), as the young World War I soldier, Tommy Brockless, who is charged with saving the universe.  He appeared in the TV movie Everything but the Ball (2009) and in two films, Girls’ Night (1998) and Boy A (2007).

Anthony appeared in A Passionate Woman at the Hull Truck Theatre (toured in 2011) and toured with the stage version of The Full Monty (2016/2017). In his spare time, he used to perform around the UK in the band The Good Die Young.

In 2012, working as a writer, director and producer, he set up IGUN Pictures with his brother, as a platform for developing shorts, music videos and feature films. This has since developed into the company Suave Squirrel, whose recent short film On My Own, had an award-winning run on the festival circuit.

Anthony joined the BBC TV network announcing team in April 2018. His first on air announcement was on BBC One.

He married actress Samantha Whaley in August 2019 and they have one child.

Anthony has two brothers – Chris and Matthew. Matthew is also an actor and is perhaps best known as Neville Longbottom in the Harry Potter films.

Correspondence

Paul R. Jackson corresponded with Anthony in January 2022.

How did you become an announcer?

“Honestly it was something I had never considered. My friend Andrew Hayden-Smith does it for ITV, but that was about as close to it as I had ever got. Casting director Andrew Davies came along to see The Full Monty in Manchester. I think he knew one of the cast and we went to the pub afterwards. I got chatting and mentioned I did voiceovers too.

“He obviously went away and did some research, listened to my reel and then contacted my voice agent regarding BBC continuity. They were looking for a Yorkshire/Northern voice at the time and I guess it was the right place/right time for me! That was in late-2016/early 2017 – so it was a good year-and-a-half before I finally started training and working.”

Who trained you and are you based in London or Salford?

“I was trained by a few people. Phil Vowels was my main point of contact and oversaw the details regarding writing and marketing. But in the studio, I did several training sessions with Dean Lydiate, Duncan Newmarch, Alyson Slorach and Ashleigh Whitfield.

“I started training at the end of April 2018, so my first broadcast would have been that month. I am based in London, although I was up seeing my family for New Year’s in Leeds, so the late BBC One shift I did on 3rd January, I did from Salford.”

On average, how far in advance do you know when you will be doing an announcing shift? And with so many freelancers now, do you get a guaranteed minimum number of shifts?

“We normally get offered shifts a couple of months in advance. We have no guarantees at all which can be tricky, and as new staff arrive that can be affected too. But there are so many variables like staff sickness, staff leave, COVID isolation etc. Those additional shifts do often come up nearer to the date.”

We’re compiling a list of all those who have done Christmas Day shifts – we have you down for Christmas morning BBC One in 2019?

“Yes, that’s correct. I am asked every year and will probably have to say yes this year!”

Any major events/anecdotes from working in BBC Presentation?

“As shifts are booked so far in advance, it can often be luck which events happen when you are on shift. I think the one that will always stick with me is introducing the Prime Minister to announce the first official lockdown.

“I got a lot of texts after that, and was one of the first times I was aware of just how many people are watching. You often don’t consider it at all when you are in the booth. It felt like a little slice of history and I think my intro appeared on Gogglebox and Charlie Booker’s Antiviral Wipe.

“Similar vibes with things like England v Germany at Euro 2020. I don’t know if I have made it clear enough on air how much I love football and Leeds, but I try to mention whenever I can!”

 

Personal information

Clips of Anthony on The TV Room

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Acknowledgements