Ian Reddington

In 2017, he appeared in the BBC series Father Brown as Samuel Jacobs in the fifth-season episode "The Penitent Man", and played Harry Tomkins in the third season of Outlander.

Reddington is a supporter of the Labour Party and was involved in the planning campaign for the South Northamptonshire Labour candidate Sophie Johnson in the 2017 UK general election, which included helping to make her election video.

For Sheffield Wednesday F.C. he has written and recorded : "Move on up for steel city" – The Hillsborough Crew "If it's Wednesday it must be Wembley" – The Hillsborough Crew (Blue Wave SWFCP1) "Oh yes" – The Wednesday Kop Band (Blue Wave Kop Band 1) "Euromania" – Elevenveeeleven (Cherry Red Records cdgaffer6)

He played the part of Joe's dad in the Olivier Award-winning musical Our House. He played Pop in the hit musical We Will Rock You in 2011.

Reddington married Lynda Ford on 18 October 2009 in Sheffield. He is a supporter of the Bobby Moore Fund, which raises money for research into bowel cancer and is also a patron of Ali's Dream and Brain Tumour Research. He was guest star at one of the first Wii charity tennis events to be held in the United Kingdom. He is an active participant and supporter of the National Student Drama Festival.

Between 1992 and 1994, he had a recurring role as Richard Cole (aka Tricky Dicky) in EastEnders. He later became one of only two actors to portray a major role in the UK's two biggest soap operas (the other being Michelle Collins) after his portrayal of Vernon Tomlin, the hapless drummer, in Coronation Street from 2005 until 2008.

Although mostly known for his work on stage and in television, Reddington made his film debut as Bassett in the cult fantasy film Highlander in 1986, duelling with Christopher Lambert.

Reddington's earliest television appearances were in Sharon and Elsie (1984), Doug Lucie's Hard Feelings in Play for Today (1984), Three Up, Two Down (1986) and Casualty (1987). In 1989, he was voted Best Villain of the 25th anniversary season by Doctor Who Magazine readers for his portrayal of the Chief Clown in the serial The Greatest Show in the Galaxy, which starred Sylvester McCoy as the Seventh Doctor. In 2015, author Cameron K. McEwan described it as "a superb performance and, still to this day, one of Who's finest villains". Reddington reprised this role for the Big Finish audio drama The Psychic Circus in 2020.

Ian Reddington was born in Walkley in Sheffield. He was educated at Frecheville Comprehensive. He had no formal drama training at school but became a leading figure in the Meatwhistle youth theatre project run by youth workers in the city. This gave him his first appearance as the Herald in Peter Weiss's Marat/Sade at the Sheffield Crucible in 1973 directed by Glen Walford. He also played percussion and sang backing vocals in proto-punk band Musical Vomit alongside Glenn Gregory, who later went on to become lead singer with Heaven 17. Reddington then went on to study Drama at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London (1976–1979), at the time one of their youngest ever entrants. While there, he won The William Poel Prize and The Arthur Talbot Smith Award.

Ian Reddington (born 25 September 1957) is an English actor with many stage and television credits since the early 1980s. He became widely known for television roles such as the Chief Clown in the Doctor Who serial The Greatest Show in the Galaxy, Richard Cole in EastEnders and Vernon Tomlin in Coronation Street.