Antony Cotton

Antony Cotton
MBE
Greyscale photograph of a blond man with glasses
Cotton in 2006
Born
Antony Dunn

(1975-08-05) 5 August 1975 (age 49)
Bury, Greater Manchester, England
Occupations
  • Actor
  • comedian
Years active1994–present
Known forRole of Sean Tully in Coronation Street

Antony Cotton (born Antony Dunn; 5 August 1975) is an English actor and comedian, known for portraying the role of Sean Tully in Coronation Street, as well as portraying Alexander Perry in the original Queer as Folk series. In 2007, Cotton hosted his own talk show titled That Antony Cotton Show, which was cancelled after one series. In March 2013, he won Let's Dance for Comic Relief.

Early life

Cotton was born Antony Dunn in Bury, Greater Manchester, the son of actress Enid Dunn.[1] He attended Woodhey High School at Holcombe Brook, Ramsbottom, and the Oldham Theatre Workshop.[2] He has an elder brother, Andrew.

Career

Cotton portrays barman and factory worker Sean Tully on Coronation Street, a role which he has played since 2003.[3] His mother, Enid Dunn, also played several parts in Coronation Street between 2002 and 2014. Cotton played "Alexander" in the original UK version of Queer as Folk.[4] He has also appeared in episodes of Absolutely Fabulous as "Damon". In 2007, Cotton won the second series of ITV's Soapstar Superstar.[5] He donated his winning money, £200,000, to the Elton John Aids Foundation.[6]

In July 2007, it was announced that Cotton would be fronting his own teatime chat show on ITV. The show, That Antony Cotton Show, was filmed with a live studio audience at Granada Television studios in Manchester, and combined celebrity chat with topical humour. It was first broadcast on 13 August 2007. Following the end of the first series, ITV announced that the show was axed and would not return for a second series.[7] He appeared on Family Fortunes on 20 September 2008 winning £10,000 for his chosen charity. In December 2008, he appeared with co-star Suranne Jones on Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?.[8]

He also took part in the eleventh series of I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here! which began airing on 13 November 2011. He left on 2 December 2011, after 21 days in the jungle, placing fourth. Cotton also starred in an episode of Mad Mad World on ITV1 in Spring 2012. He won first place in a series of Let's Dance for Comic Relief in March 2013. Cotton was a contestant for the 2018 revamp of Dancing on Ice.

Cotton made his film debut opposite Daniel Craig and Derek Jacobi in the 1998 film Love Is the Devil: Study for a Portrait of Francis Bacon.[9] He also appeared in the 1998 film, The Wisdom of Crocodiles. Cotton has appeared in several shows at the Oldham Coliseum, including The Fifteen Streets and The Hobbit at Manchester's Palace Theatre and Opera House. He appeared in Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs at the Middlesbrough Theatre.[10]

Personal life

Cotton supports the Terrence Higgins Trust and is a patron of the LGF[11] The Albert Kennedy Trust and the 'Queer Up North' festival.

In August 2009, it was reported in Digital Spy that Cotton is "openly gay".[12] In March 2010, it was reported that Cotton had exchanged rings with his partner, Peter Eccleston.[13] In January 2012, footballer Michael Ball was fined by the Football Association for a homophobic rant on Twitter about Cotton.[14]

Cotton is a patron of military charities Help for Heroes and the Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Families Association (SSAFA).[15][16]

Honours, awards and recognition

In 2005, Cotton won the Most Popular Newcomer category at the National Television Awards for his role in Coronation Street.[17] Cotton won the 2005 Inside Soap Awards for Best Newcomer and Funniest Performance. In 2006, he won the award for Funniest Performance. At the 2007 British Soap Awards, Cotton was awarded the Best Actor award, which was voted for by the public. Also in 2007 he won Best Actor at the Inside Soap Awards.[18]

Cotton was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2022 Birthday Honours for services to the British Army, personnel and veterans.[19]

Filmography

Film
Year Title Role Notes
1998 Love Is the Devil: Study for a Portrait of Francis Bacon Brighton Rent Boy
The Wisdom of Crocodiles Gang Member
Television
Year Title Role Episodes
1995 Ain't Misbehavin' Pizza Man Season 2, episode 5
1998 The Cops Lad in Club Season 1, episode 4
1999 Love in the 21st Century Michael Unknown
1999–2000 Queer as Folk Alexander Perry 7 episodes
2000 Rhona Alex "The Happy Jeans"
The Bill Georgie Girl "Old Enemies"
"New Friends"
2001 Absolutely Fabulous Damon "Parallox"
"Menopause"
2002 Having It Off Guy La Trousse All 6 episodes
2003 Burn It Stephen Unknown
2003–present Coronation Street Sean Tully Series regular
2004 Children in Need Drinker/Policeman 2 episodes
2005 Twisted Tales Sam "Charlie's Angel"
Coronation Street: Pantomime Aladdin Television film
2007 That Antony Cotton Show Presenter 25 episodes
2010 East Street Sean Tully Charity crossover between Coronation Street and EastEnders

See also

References

  1. ^ "Mum's the Word for Superstar Antony". Archived from the original on 19 February 2007. Retrieved 25 February 2007.
  2. ^ McLean, Gareth (24 August 2007). "'I'm really proud of what I'm doing'". The Guardian. Retrieved 11 September 2016.
  3. ^ "Corrie's Antony: I'm Just a Lucky Fan". Archived from the original on 11 December 2006. Retrieved 25 February 2007.
  4. ^ Chase, Stephanie (26 March 2021). "Coronation Street's nod to Queer as Folk delights viewers". Digital Spy. Retrieved 7 May 2021.
  5. ^ "Antony Cotton". BBC. Retrieved 7 May 2021.
  6. ^ "Soapstar Superstar: Antony wins title". Manchester Evening News. 15 February 2007. Retrieved 8 May 2021.
  7. ^ Fletcher, Alex (24 January 2008). "Report: 'Antony Cotton Show' is axed". Digital Spy. Retrieved 3 June 2022.
  8. ^ "Bless his Cotton socks". Oldham Chronicle. 18 October 2010. Retrieved 19 April 2020.
  9. ^ "Cotton, Antony – HELLO! Who's Who on British TV". Retrieved 25 February 2007.
  10. ^ "Theatre Review: Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Middlesbrough Theatre". Northern Echo. 13 December 2011. Retrieved 19 April 2020.
  11. ^ Dunning, Joanne (28 August 2008). "Sir Ian McKellen & Antony Cotton say "Enough is Enough!"". Manchester: The Lesbian & Gay Foundation. Retrieved 24 April 2011.[dead link‍]
  12. ^ Kilkelly, Daniel (14 August 2009). "Corrie actor wants more gay characters". Digital Spy. London. Retrieved 24 April 2011.
  13. ^ Allcock, Beth (18 July 2018). "Inside Antony Cotton's 12 year relationship with Corrie co-worker". OK!. Retrieved 4 October 2019.
  14. ^ "Michael Ball fined for homophobic tweet to Coronation Street actor". The Guardian. 24 January 2012.
  15. ^ Green, Alex (19 September 2022). "Corrie star Antony Cotton hails armed forces after attending Queen's funeral". The Independent. Retrieved 24 April 2024.
  16. ^ "TV's Antony Cotton to become MBE for support to British soldiers and veterans". Ministry of Defence. 2 June 2022. Retrieved 23 April 2024.
  17. ^ "National TV Awards". Archived from the original on 9 February 2007. Retrieved 25 February 2007.
  18. ^ "Corrie stars at soap awards". Manchester Evening News. 25 September 2007. Retrieved 4 October 2019.
  19. ^ "No. 63714". The London Gazette (Supplement). 1 June 2022. p. B18.
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Preceded by Winner of Let's Dance for Comic Relief
2013 		Succeeded by
Programme Finished