Ray Ashcroft

{{Short description|English actor}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}

{{Infobox person

| name = Ray Ashcroft

| birth_name = Raymond John Ashcroft

| occupation = Actor

}}

Raymond John Ashcroft is an English actor. He is best known for his roles as DS Geoff Daly in The Bill from 1996 to 2000, and Ronnie Marsden on Emmerdale from March to December 2003.

Career

In the late 1970s Ashcroft was the frontman of The Push, a Sheffield band.{{Cite web |title=Thirty years since Sheffield's legendary Limit club closed its doors |url=https://www.thestar.co.uk/heritage-and-retro/retro/thirty-years-since-sheffields-legendary-limit-club-closed-its-doors-3105121 |access-date= |website=The Star|date=19 January 2021 }} He started acting in repertory theatre before working in television and film productions.

He played Ringo Starr in the biopic TV film Birth of the Beatles (1979),{{Cite web |last=Lifton |first=Dave|date=2019-11-23 |title=40 Years Ago: 'Birth of the Beatles' Is the Band's First Biopic |url=https://ultimateclassicrock.com/birth-of-the-beatles-biopic/ |access-date=2024-01-10 |website=Ultimate Classic Rock}} and he has also appeared in various television productions including Coronation Street.

Ashcroft played DS Geoff Daly in The Bill from 1996 to 2000{{Cite web |title=Ray Ashcroft |url=https://www.tvguide.com/celebrities/ray-ashcroft/3000048095/ |access-date=2024-01-10 |website=TVGuide.com}}{{Cite web |title=I was made to be hard-nosed cop; INTERVIEW Ray Ashcroft. - Free Online Library |url=https://www.thefreelibrary.com/I+was+made+to+be+hard-nosed+cop;+INTERVIEW+Ray+Ashcroft.-a061313797 |access-date=2024-01-10 |website=www.thefreelibrary.com}} before portraying Ronnie Madsen in Emmerdale (2003).{{Cite web |title=My life as a love cheat; Rugged Emmerdale star Ray Ashcroft talks about the similarities between himself and the womanising soap character he plays. - Free Online Library |url=https://www.thefreelibrary.com/My+life+as+a+love+cheat;+Rugged+Emmerdale+star+Ray+Ashcroft+talks...-a0101090965 |access-date=2024-01-10 |website=www.thefreelibrary.com}}

In 2018, he portrayed Tom Jackson, a Yorkshire miner, in the play On Behalf of The People.{{Cite web |title=Sheffield TV star and city writer join forces to tell mining family story |url=https://www.thestar.co.uk/news/sheffield-tv-star-and-city-writer-join-forces-to-tell-mining-family-story-434975 |website=The Star|date=June 2018 }}{{Cite web |last=admin |date=2018-06-04 |title=On Behalf of The People |url=https://socialistworker.co.uk/news/on-behalf-of-the-people/ |access-date=2024-01-10 |website=Socialist Worker}}{{Cite web |title=On Behalf Of The People - Ray Ashcroft (George Mason). Credit Tom Jackson |url=https://www.northernsoul.me.uk/theatre-review-on-behalf-of-the-people-burgess-foundation-manchester/on-behalf-of-the-people-ray-ashcroft-george-mason-credit-tom-jackson/ |access-date=2024-01-10 |website=Northern Soul}}{{Cite web |title=New play's tour launches in Derbyshire |url=https://www.derbyshiretimes.co.uk/arts-and-culture/new-plays-tour-launches-in-derbyshire-291712 |website=Derbyshire Times|date=20 May 2018 }}{{Cite web |last=Wood |first=Lizzie |date=2018-07-04 |title=Theatre Review: On Behalf of the People, Burgess Foundation, Manchester |url=https://www.northernsoul.me.uk/theatre-review-on-behalf-of-the-people-burgess-foundation-manchester/ |access-date=2024-01-10 |website=Northern Soul}}

In 2021, he played the lead role of Horace in the short film Mr Wong's Lullaby.{{Cite web |date=2022-06-18 |title=How we made an award-winning short film with no official funding during a pandemic |url=https://nowthenmagazine.com/articles/how-we-made-an-award-winning-short-film-mr-wongs-lullaby |access-date=2024-01-10 |website=Now Then Sheffield}}

Filmography

References

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