Tony O'Callaghan

Tony O'Callaghan
Born (1956-06-16) 16 June 1956 (age 68)
London, United Kingdom
OccupationActor
Spouse
Siobhan Gallagher
​
(m. 1999)​
Children1

Tony O'Callaghan (born 16 June 1956) is a British television actor from London, known for his role of Sergeant Matt Boyden in the ITV police procedural drama The Bill from 1991 to 2003. After leaving The Bill, O'Callaghan played Father Thaddeus in Fair City and Ollie Walters in EastEnders.

Career

O'Callaghan previously appeared as a villain in the fifth series of The Bill in 1989.[1] O'Callaghan played the "flawed", yet popular Sergeant Matthew Boyden in The Bill until 2003. His character's death led to big ratings for the show.[2]

In addition to his role on The Bill, he has also appeared in the television series The Magnificent Evans,[2] Family Affairs,[2] Holby City,[2] Doctors,[2] Shameless,[2] Three Up, Two Down, The Upper Hand and The Coven (in 2014).[3]

In 2007, O'Callaghan appeared in the UK "Let It Out" Kleenex television advertisement.[4]

He also appeared in the Irish television soap opera Fair City on RTÉ One, where he played the character Father Thaddeus, a British priest living in Dublin, Ireland, and who is having a relationship with a female character.[2] In 2013, he joined the cast of EastEnders, playing Ollie Walters. O'Callaghan said of his casting: "I am very excited to be joining a show with as much prestige as EastEnders and I'm looking forward to portraying the nice side and humour of Ollie".[5] He played the role on a recurring basis until 2016. On 10 June 2018, it was announced that O'Callaghan would make a "brief return" to EastEnders.[6]

O'Callaghan has also appeared in several plays.[1]

Personal life

O'Callaghan is the son of Irish immigrants. He married his partner Siobhan Gallagher in Gougane Barra, West Cork in May 1999.[7] The couple have one child, a daughter, born in 2002.[1]

References

  1. ^ a b c Driscoll, Rob (24 March 2003). "Marching to a different beat". Western Mail. Retrieved 26 January 2024.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g Taylor, Richie (10 November 2007). "Bless me Father". Evening Herald. p. 3. Retrieved 26 January 2024 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  3. ^ "Tony O'Callaghan Biography". IMDB. Retrieved 8 May 2014.
  4. ^ "Other works for Tony O'Callaghan". IMDB. Retrieved 8 May 2014.
  5. ^ Kilkelly, Daniel (13 June 2013). "'EastEnders' unveils new characters Ollie and Betty". Digital Spy. Hearst Magazines UK. Retrieved 13 June 2013.
  6. ^ EastEnders [@bbceastenders] (10 June 2018). "Tony O'Callaghan will be reprising his role as Ollie Walters when the character makes a brief return to the Square later this month. With Jean returning to Walford earlier this year, alone, and avoiding any questions about her marriage, are we about to learn the truth?" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  7. ^ Roche, Barry (31 May 1999). "Irish wedding for 'Bill' star". Irish Independent. p. 8. Retrieved 26 January 2024 – via British Newspaper Archive.


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