Jack Carroll (born 18 October 1998) is an English comedian and actor. He competed in the seventh series of Britain's Got Talent at the age of 14, finishing as the runner-up. As an actor, he appeared in two series of the CBBC series Ministry of Curious Stuff and from 2014 to 2018, he starred in the Sky sitcom Trollied. Carroll, whose cerebral palsy is often a subject of his act,[3] won a Pride of Britain award in 2012. He returned to mainstream media in 2024, taking on a regular role in Coronation Street.
Comedy career
Carroll was born and raised in Bradford, West Yorkshire. In 2010, at the age of 12, Carroll came to comedian Jason Manford's attention when he saw a video of Carroll performing at his parents' wedding anniversary. At Manford's invitation, Carroll gave a short performance at the start of Manford's live show in front of more than 1,400 people at St. George's Hall in Bradford.[4] The performance was featured on a segment of BBC One's The One Show.[5][6] He performed with Manford again on
21 and 22 June 2013 at the Victoria Theatre in Halifax.[7]
Acting career
In early 2012, Carroll was cast as Mr. Frazernagle in Ministry of Curious Stuff on the CBBC channel, which starred Vic Reeves,[6] and has appeared in two series of the show.[8]
On 4 May 2014, it was announced that Carroll would appear in an episode of the BBC One sitcom Big School playing Dean, a new student at Greybridge School. He appeared in the fifth episode of the second series (broadcast 3 October 2014).[9]
On 6 June 2014, Carroll was cast in the fourth series of Sky1 comedy show Trollied, in the role of Harry.[10][11]
Carroll made a guest appearance in the BBC One daytime soap Doctors on 10 March 2015. He also made his acting debut on the 4 O'Clock Club as a pupil thinking of joining Elmsmere.
In August 2019, Carroll appeared in Episode 1 of series 7 of Father Brown, where he portrayed Tim Cudlip, the younger brother of two would-be train robbers.[13]
In 2020, it was announced Carroll had been cast to make his theatrical debut in Cured, a play about a religious pilgrimage. The play is expected to open in Liverpool's Royal Court theatre in 2022 before touring the UK.[14]
It was announced in October 2023 that Carroll would be joining the cast of Coronation Street.[15] He would be introduced as Bobby Crawford, the nephew of series veteran Carla Barlow, and son to Rob Donovan. He would live with Carla from early 2024 onwards, also working at her company. For his role as Bobby, Caroll was longlisted for "Best newcomer" at the 2024 Inside Soap Awards.[16][17]
In 2024, Carroll and the rest of the writing and production team for Mobility won the BAFTA for Short Form.[18]
Carroll was a contestant on the seventh series of Britain's Got Talent in 2013. At his first audition, screened on 13 April,[19] the judges unanimously voted him through to the next round.[20] He was later put through to the live semi-finals. Carroll appeared on the second live semi-final on 28 May,[21] winning the show with 42.5 per cent of the public vote.[22]
He performed once again at the final on 8 June. At the end of the competition, Carroll finished in second place after receiving 20.1 per cent of the vote, behind Hungarian shadow theatre group Attraction with 27 per cent.[22]
Other work
Following the Britain's Got Talent final, Carroll signed a deal with Simon Cowell's company Syco to write an autobiography.[23]
Carroll lives in West Yorkshire,[4] He is a Leeds United F.C fan and on 31 August 2013, he performed at Elland Road at the launch of the club's Families United initiative.[30]
