{{short description|British actor (born 1957)}} {{For|those of a similar name|Michael Stark (disambiguation)}} {{Use dmy dates|date=March 2021}} {{BLP sources|date=March 2013}} {{Infobox person | name = Michael Starke | birth_date = {{birth date and age|df=y|1957|11|13}} | birth_place = [[Liverpool]], [[England]], [[United Kingdom]] | occupation = Actor | years_active = 1982–present | known_for = ''[[Brookside (television programme)|Brookside]]'' <br /> ''[[The Royal]]'' <br /> ''[[Coronation Street]]'' | spouse = Lynn Francis | children = 2 daughters }}
'''Michael Starke''' (Michael Clarke) (born 13 November 1957) is a British actor and singer from [[Liverpool]], England. He played [[Thomas 'Sinbad' Sweeney]] in ''[[Brookside (TV series)|Brookside]]'', the [[Channel 4]] [[soap opera]], for sixteen years.
He then appeared in a Christmas 2000 episode of the [[BBC]] drama ''[[Casualty (TV series)|Casualty]]''. In the episode, [[Casualty (series 15)|"A Turn of the Scrooge"]], broadcast on 16 December 2000, he played the part of Barry Dawson, a loner who is befriended by a widower neighbour (played by [[Kenneth Colley]]), following a rooftop accident with Christmas decorations.
Starke later appeared in the [[ITV (TV channel)|ITV]] drama ''[[The Royal]]'' as Kenneth Hopkirk, as policeman Arthur in the film ''[[The 51st State]]'' and as himself on ''[[Lily Savage's Blankety Blank]]''.<ref name="blanketyblank">{{cite episode|series=Lily Savage's Blankety Blank|network=[[ITV (TV network)|ITV]]|airdate=17 June 2001}}</ref> He is a patron of [[Zoe's Place Baby Hospice]], a charity for sick babies and young children.
He appeared in the [[pantomime]] ''[[Cinderella]]'' in [[Southport]] over Christmas 2005 and in a pantomime of ''[[Aladdin]]'' during Christmas 2006 in [[York]]. He also appeared in the play ''No Holds Bard''.
In March 2007, he joined the cast of ''[[Coronation Street]]'' as the patriarch of a new family, the Mortons, playing [[Jerry Morton]], a single father who opens a kebab shop. He, along with the majority of the Morton family, left the show in September 2008.
His daughter, Hayley Hampson, appeared on the ITV show ''[[Grease Is the Word]]'' finishing in sixth place. His other daughter, Jamie, is an actress and appeared in an episode of ''[[The Royal]]''.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.britishtheatreguide.info/otherresources/interviews/MichaelStarke.htm |title=The British Theatre Guide: Interview with Michael Starke |website=www.britishtheatreguide.info |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111108230617/http://www.britishtheatreguide.info/otherresources/interviews/MichaelStarke.htm |archive-date=2011-11-08}} </ref>
In later years, he has starred in touring productions of musicals, including as Edna Turnblad in the first UK tour of ''[[Hairspray (musical)|Hairspray]]'' and originating the role of Monsignor Howard in the first UK tour of ''[[Sister Act (musical)|Sister Act the musical]]''.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://hairspraythetour.com//cast-member.php?id=39|title=Cast|accessdate=4 June 2011}}</ref> He also made appearances in ''[[Anything Goes]]'' and ''[[Our Day Out (musical)|Our Day Out]]''.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.skelat.com/interviews/michael-starke-actor-interview |title=Michael Starke - Actor Interview - Intertainment Hub |accessdate=25 September 2014 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://archive.today/20140925131409/http://www.skelat.com/interviews/michael-starke-actor-interview |archivedate= 25 September 2014 }}</ref>
Starke appeared in the 2014 [[Kenneth Branagh]] directed action thriller film ''"[[Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit]]"''. Later he played a guest role in the soap opera ''[[Doctors (2000 TV series)|Doctors]]''.<ref>{{cite web|last=Kilkelly|first=Daniel|title=Doctors casts former Brookside actors in guest roles|url=http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/soaps/s16/doctors/news/a557168/doctors-casts-former-brookside-actors-in-guest-roles.html|work=[[Digital Spy]]|publisher=([[Hearst Magazines UK]])|accessdate=12 March 2014|date=12 March 2014}}</ref>
In 2017 he appeared at the [[Liverpool Playhouse]] in the musical "The Star". The next year Starke appeared in ''[[Benidorm (British TV series)|Benidorm]]'' and in the TV drama "Virtues". He also appeared in the Christmas 2018 episode of ''[[Casualty (TV series)|Casualty]]'' in the guest role of Joe Blake. Between 2021 and 2023, he appeared as a taxi driver in the [[Channel 4]] soap opera ''[[Hollyoaks]]''.
In 2025 he reprised his Hollyoaks role in a special crossover episode with Brookside, where it turned out that this and his Brookside characters were actually the same person.<ref>{{cite web|last=Crutchley |first=Joe|title=Brookside icon 'told off' while filming Hollyoaks crossover as he returns after 25 years|url=https://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/tv/brookside-icon-told-off-filming-32720578|accessdate=1 December 2025|date=21 October 2025|website=[[Manchester Evening News]]}}</ref>
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== *{{IMDb name|0823297|Michael Starke}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Starke, Michael}} [[Category:1957 births]] [[Category:Living people]] [[Category:English male soap opera actors]] [[Category:Male actors from Liverpool]] [[Category:Singers from Liverpool]]