{{short description|British actor}} {{other people||William Ash (disambiguation)}} {{distinguish|William Rush (actor)}} {{Use dmy dates|date=March 2020}} {{Infobox person | name = William Ash | image = William Ash at ITV Studios in Leeds in 2025 (cropped).jpg | caption = Ash in 2025 | birth_date = {{Birth date and age|df=y|1977|1|13}} | birth_place = [[Chadderton]], [[Oldham]], England | occupation = Actor | years_active = 1987–present | children = | imagesize = | birthname = | relatives = }} '''William Ash''' (born 13 January 1977) is an English actor. He is known for roles in the television dramas ''[[Soldier Soldier]]'' (1993–1994), ''[[Where the Heart Is (British TV series)|Where the Heart Is]]'' (1997–1998), ''[[Clocking Off]]'' (2001–2002), ''[[Waterloo Road (TV series)|Waterloo Road]]'' (2009–2011), ''[[The Tunnel (TV series)|The Tunnel]]'' (2016–2017) and ''[[Emmerdale]]'' (2022–present). His film appearances include ''[[Mad About Mambo]]'' (2000) and ''[[Hush (2008 film)|Hush]]'' (2008).
==Career== Born in [[Chadderton]], [[Oldham]], Ash's first TV appearance was as Spike in ''[[Coronation Street]]'' aged 10. He then had a regular role as Nicky in ''[[Making Out (TV series)|Making Out]]'' (1989–1991), followed by a regular role in the ITV series ''[[Where the Heart Is (British TV series)|Where the Heart Is]]''. He has since appeared in ''[[Mad About Mambo]]'', ''[[Clocking Off]]'', ''[[Children's Ward]]'', ''[[Lilies (TV series)|Lilies]]'', ''[[Born to Run (TV series)|Born to Run]]'', ''[[Burn It (TV series)|Burn It]]'', ''[[All the King's Men (1999 film)|All the King's Men]]'', ''[[ShakespeaRe-Told|ShakespeaRe-Told (A Midsummer Night's Dream)]]'', ''[[42 (Doctor Who)|Doctor Who]]'', the miniseries ''Conviction'', ''[[Hush (2009 film)|Hush]]'', ''[[Waterloo Road (TV series)|Waterloo Road]]'' and ''[[Shameless (British TV series)|Shameless]]''. In 2006, he portrayed the [[Manchester United F.C.|Manchester United]] footballer [[Albert Scanlon]] in an edition of the BBC series ''Surviving Disasters'' about the [[Munich air disaster]] of 1958, of which Scanlon was a survivor.<ref>{{cite web|title='Munich Air Crash' (episode, 2006) ''Surviving Disaster''|url=https://imdb.com/title/tt0782589/fullcredits#cast|website=[[IMDb]]|access-date=27 March 2018}}</ref>
Ash's stage credits include the premiere productions of ''[[Presence (play)|Presence]]'' at the [[Royal Court Theatre]] in 2001<ref>''Presence'' by [[David Harrower]], London, [[Faber & Faber]], 2001, {{ISBN|9780571210596}}</ref> and of ''How to Disappear Completely and Never Be Found'' at [[Sheffield Theatres]] as well as ''[[Of Mice and Men (play)|Of Mice and Men]]'' at the [[Royal Lyceum Theatre]] in [[Edinburgh]].
In December 2011, Ash had a starring role in a BBC comedy drama, ''[[Being Eileen|Lapland]]'', as Ray, a role he is reprising for a new series, ''[[Being Eileen]]''.<ref name="second">{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/mediacentre/latestnews/2012/lapland-series.html|title=BBC One commissions new six-part comedy series, ''Lapland'' |date=4 October 2012|work=[[BBC Online]]|access-date=21 December 2012}}</ref><ref name="be">{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/mediacentre/proginfo/2013/06/being-eileen.html|title=Being Eileen|publisher=[[BBC]]|access-date=29 January 2013}}</ref> In 2013 he starred in the ITV comedy drama series ''[[Great Night Out]]'' as Beggsy. In 2015, Ash appeared as Frank Mellor in the BBC TV series ''[[Death in Paradise]]'' episode 4.4. In February 2016, he appeared in BBC drama series ''[[Moving On (TV series)|Moving On]]''. In 2016, he appeared in the [[ITV (TV channel)|ITV]]/[[Netflix]] series ''[[Paranoid (TV series)|Paranoid]]''. He also appeared as the character BB in the second and third series of [[Sky Atlantic]]'s [[The Tunnel (TV series)|''The Tunnel'']]. In 2017, Ash played Leighton Thomas in ITV's serial killer drama ''[[The Loch (TV series)|The Loch]]''. In 2018, he played the role of Marvin in a British TV drama series, ''[[Wanderlust (British TV series)|Wanderlust]]''.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Griffiths Bley |first1=Eleanor |title=Meet the cast of Wanderlust |url=https://www.radiotimes.com/tv/entertainment/wanderlust-cast-actors-bbc-toni-collette-steven-macintosh-drama/ |work=Radio Times |date=25 September 2018}}</ref>
Ash played a central character in the 2020 film ''[[Perfect 10 (film)|Perfect 10]]''.<ref>{{cite web|title=Perfect 10|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m000pb58|access-date=26 February 2021|website=BBC}}</ref>
==Filmography== ===Film=== {| class="wikitable sortable" ! Year ! Film ! Role ! class="unsortable"|Notes |- | 1987 | ''[[List of Sherlock Holmes episodes|The Sign of Four]]'' | Jack Smith | Television film |- | 1993 | ''[[Raining Stones]]'' | Joe | |- | 1996 | ''The Bare Necessities'' | Tony | rowspan="2" | Television film |- | 1998 | ''Anorak of Fire'' | Tim Bixton |- | rowspan="2"|1999 | ''Fanny and Elvis'' | Rick | |- | ''[[All the King's Men (1999 film)|All the King's Men]]'' | Sergeant Ted Grimes | Television film |- | 2000 | ''[[Mad About Mambo]]'' | Danny Mitchell | |- | rowspan="2"|2002 | ''Daddy's Girl'' | DC Neil Hallam | Television film |- | ''[[Nicholas Nickleby (2002 film)|Nicholas Nickleby]]'' | Frank Cheeryble | |- | 2003 | ''[[Standing Room Only (2003 film)|Standing Room Only]]'' | Simon | Short |- | 2006 | ''Magnolia'' | Ed | Television film |- | 2007 | ''[[Until Death]]'' | Serge | |- | 2008 | ''[[Hush (2008 film)|Hush]]'' | Zakes Abbot | |- | 2011 | ''[[Being Eileen|Lapland]]'' | Ray Cooper | rowspan="2" | Television film |- | rowspan="3"|2013 | ''The Last Witch'' | Howard Greenwood |- | ''The Flea'' | Brooke/Essex | |- | ''Man in the Moon'' | Joe | |- | rowspan="2"|2017 | ''Habit'' | Ian | |- | ''Sophie's Lights'' | Alan | rowspan="2" | Short |- | 2018 | ''Playing Dead'' | Liam |- | rowspan="2"|2019 | ''[[Perfect 10 (film)|Perfect 10]]'' | Rob | |- | ''The Invisible'' | Cal | |- |}
===Television=== {| class="wikitable sortable" ! Year ! Title ! Role ! class="unsortable"|Notes |- | rowspan="2"|1987 | ''[[How We Used to Live]]'' | Peter Hodgkins | Episode: "1957: Commercial Breaks" |- | ''[[Coronation Street]]'' | Spike | 1 episode |- | 1988 | ''[[Screen Two]]'' | Marlene's Kid | Episode: "Love Birds" |- | 1989–1991 | ''[[Children's Ward]]'' | Darren Walsh | rowspan="2" | Series regular |- | 1989–1991 | ''[[Making Out (TV series)|Making Out]]'' | Nicky |- | 1992 | ''[[Heartbeat (British TV series)|Heartbeat]]'' | Paul Allenby | Episode: "Nowt But a Prank" |- | 1993–1994 | ''[[Soldier Soldier]]'' | Jack Stubbs | 7 episodes |- | 1995 | ''[[Heartbeat (British TV series)|Heartbeat]]'' | Joe Norton | 2 episodes |- | 1996 | ''[[Beck (British TV series)|Beck]]'' | Ralph | Series regular |- | 1997 | ''[[Born to Run (TV series)|Born to Run]]'' | Sammy Fitch | 1 episode |- | 1997–1998 | ''[[Where the Heart Is (British TV series)|Where the Heart Is]]'' | Stephen Snow | Recurring role |- | 2001 | ''[[Dark Realm]]'' | Eric Phillips | Episode: "Organizer 2000" |- | 2001–2002 | ''[[Clocking Off]]'' | Nick Anderson | Series regular |- | rowspan="2"|2002 | ''[[Coronation Street]]'' | Johnny James | 1 episode |- | ''[[Having It Off]]'' | David | rowspan="3" | Series regular |- | 2003 | ''[[Burn It (TV series)|Burn It]]'' | Jon Moore |- | 2004 | ''[[Conviction (2004 TV series)|Conviction]]'' | Chrissie Fairburn |- | rowspan="2"|2005 | ''[[Jericho (British TV series)|Jericho]]'' | Johnny Swan | Episode: "The Killing of Johnny Swan" |- | ''[[ShakespeaRe-Told]]'' | James | Episode: "A Midsummer's Night Dream" |- | 2006 | ''[[Surviving Disaster]]'' | Albert Scanlon | Episode: "Munich Air crash" |- | rowspan="3"|2007 | ''[[Lilies (TV series)|Lilies]]'' | Nazzer | Episode: "The Sea" |- | ''[[Doctor Who]]'' | Riley Vashtee | Episode: "[[42 (Doctor Who)|42]]" |- | ''[[Sold (TV series)|Sold]]'' | Gavin | 1 episode |- | 2009–2011 | ''[[Waterloo Road (TV series)|Waterloo Road]]'' | Christopher Mead | Series regular (2009–2011) |- | rowspan="3"|2011 | ''[[Shameless (British TV series)|Shameless]]'' | Jesus O'Toole | Episode: "Comebacks" |- | ''Legacy: High Green Walls'' | Dan | |- | ''[[Casualty (TV series)|Casualty]]'' | Harry Reynolds | Episode: "System Error" |- | 2012 | ''Life Stories'' | Davey | Episode: "Toby's Dad" |- | rowspan="3"|2013 | ''[[Great Night Out]]'' | Matthew "Beggsy" Begg | rowspan="2" | Series regular |- | ''[[Being Eileen]]'' | Ray Cooper |- | ''[[Scott & Bailey]]'' | Craig | 1 episode |- | rowspan="2"|2014 | ''[[Inspector George Gently]]'' | Mark Tanner | Episode: "Gently with Honour" |- | ''[[Vera (TV series)|Vera]]'' | Linus Campion | Episode: "The Deer Hunters" |- | rowspan="3"|2015 | ''[[Father Brown (2013 TV series)|Father Brown]]'' | RSM Reginald Davis | Episode: "The Sign of the Broken Sword" |- | ''[[Death in Paradise]]'' | Frank Mellor | Episode: "Until Death Do You Part" |- | ''The Embrace'' | Charlie | |- | rowspan="2"|2016 | ''[[Moving On (TV series)|Moving On]]'' | John | Episode: "Scratch" |- | ''[[Paranoid (TV series)|Paranoid]]'' | Henry Appley | rowspan="3" | Series regular |- | 2016–2018 | ''[[The Tunnel (TV series)|The Tunnel]]'' | Boleslaw 'BB' Borowski |- | 2017 | ''[[The Loch (TV series)|The Loch]]'' | Leighton Thomas |- | 2018 | ''[[Wanderlust (British TV series)|Wanderlust]]'' | Marvin Walters | Recurring role |- | rowspan="2"|2020 | ''[[Silent Witness]]'' | Major Mark Sealy | 2 episodes |- | ''The Accidental Medium'' | Frank | Series regular |- | rowspan="3"|2021 | ''[[Casualty (TV series)|Casualty]]'' | Kevin Eccles | rowspan="2" | 1 episode |- | ''[[War of the Worlds (2019 TV series)|War of the Worlds]]'' | Mark |- | ''[[Wolfe (TV series)|Wolfe]]'' | Jeff | 2 episodes |- | rowspan="2"|2022 | ''[[The Rising (TV series)|The Rising]]'' | Michael Wyatt | Series regular; 8 episodes |- | ''The Window'' | John Maslin | Recurring role; 4 episodes |- | 2022–present | ''[[Emmerdale]]'' | [[Caleb Miligan]] | Series regular |- | 2023 | ''[[Significant Other (2023 TV series)|Significant Other]]'' | Paul | Episode: "Episode 6" |}
===Stage=== {| class="wikitable sortable" |- ! Year ! Title ! Role ! Venue ! Notes |- | 1999 | ''[[Juno and the Paycock]]'' | Johnny Boyle | [[Donmar Warehouse]], [[Covent Garden]], [[London]] | |- | 2001 | ''[[Presence (play)|Presence]]'' | Paul | [[Royal Court Theatre]], [[Sloane Square]], [[London]] | |- | 2002 | ''[[Simon Stephens|Port]]'' | Danny Miller | [[Royal Exchange, Manchester|Royal Exchange Theatre]], [[Manchester]] | |- | 2003 | ''[[The Sugar Syndrome]]'' | Lewis | [[Royal Court Theatre]], [[Sloane Square]], [[London]] | |- | 2005 | ''[[Electra (Sophocles play)|Electra]]'' | Restes | rowspan="2" | [[Royal Exchange, Manchester|Royal Exchange Theatre]], [[Manchester]] | |- | rowspan="2"|2007 | ''[[Mary Barton]]'' | Jem Wilson | |- | ''[[How to Disappear Completely and Never Be Found]]'' | Charlie/Adam | [[Crucible Theatre]], [[Sheffield]] | |- | 2008–2009 | ''You Can See the Hills'' | Adam | [[Royal Court Theatre]], [[Sloane Square]], [[London]] & [[Young Vic]], [[The Cut, London|The Cut]], [[London]] | |- | 2011 | ''[[Mystery play|The Globe Mysteries]]'' | Jesus | [[Shakespeare's Globe]], [[London Borough of Southwark|Southwark]], [[London]] | |- | 2012 | ''[[Of Mice and Men]]'' | George Milton | [[Royal Lyceum Theatre]], [[Edinburgh]] | |}
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== * {{IMDb name|0038673|William Ash}} * [https://www.bbc.co.uk/manchester/arts/2004/01/29/little_malcolm_interview.shtml BBC Interview on Little Malcolm] * [http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/movies/interviews/a148815/william-ash-hush.html Digital Spy Interview on Hush]
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Ash, William}} [[Category:English male film actors]] [[Category:English male television actors]] [[Category:Living people]] [[Category:1977 births]] [[Category:People from Chadderton]] [[Category:English male child actors]] [[Category:20th-century English male actors]] [[Category:21st-century English male actors]] [[Category:Male actors from Greater Manchester]] [[Category:English male stage actors]] [[Category:Actors from the Metropolitan Borough of Oldham]]