Ricky Whittle

Richard "Ricky" Whittle (born 31 December 1981) is an English actor from Oldham, England,^[2] best known for his role as Calvin Valentine in the Channel 4 soap opera Hollyoaks. In 2009, he competed in the BBC reality series Strictly Come Dancing coming second to Chris Hollins.

In 2014, Whittle starred in the American television series Mistresses as Daniel Zamora, and also appeared in The CW's post-apocalyptic drama The 100 as Lincoln, a "Grounder".

Biography

The son of former Royal Air Force serviceman Harry, Whittle grew up travelling with his father's career around the world, with a home base at Burghfield Common near Reading, Berkshire.^[3] A keen sportsman, Whittle represented England and the United Kingdom at youth level in football, rugby, American football and athletics. After having been watched by Arsenal and Celtic, an injury brought about the pursuit of a degree in Criminology at the University of Southampton. Having recovered from a broken leg, Whittle spends his spare time playing running back for the Manchester Titans American Football team.^[4]

Career

Acting career

At university, Whittle began modelling, becoming the face of a Reebok campaign in 2000. This brought him to the attention of casting agents for Sky One's Dream Team who cast him as Ryan Naysmith. Whittle left university to pursue an acting career. Carrying on with his sports ambitions, in the third series, Whittle broke his leg in seven places and was forced into a long hospital stay. The writers wrote a broken leg into the Dream Team script, allowing Whittle a slower recuperation.

After playing his first gay character on BBC One's Holby City, Whittle played Calvin Valentine in the Channel 4 soap opera Hollyoaks until May 2010 when his character was killed off after Whittle decided to depart. In January 2008, Whittle appeared on a celebrity edition of The Weakest Link, reaching the final, but losing out to Crimewatch UK star, Rav Wilding.

In July 2012, Whittle appeared as Charles on season 2 of Single Ladies. He also appeared as Captain George East in Stephenie Meyer and Jerusha Hess's romantic comedy Austenland, which was completed in 2012. In March 2013, Whittle appeared in the American drama NCIS. In 2014, he has had a recurring role in The 100 as a "Grounder" named Lincoln. In Season 2,he has been promoted to series regular status.

Strictly Come Dancing

In August 2009, Whittle was announced as a contestant on the BBC One reality series Strictly Come Dancing, paired with Australian professional dancer Natalie Lowe.^[5] A fellow contestant on the programme, Ali Bastian, also starred with him in Hollyoaks. Whittle made it through to the final of the competition (beating Rav Wilding, to whom he had lost The Weakest Link in 2008), and competed against television presenter Chris Hollins and his dance partner Ola Jordan for the Strictly Come Dancing glitterball trophy. However, Whittle lost the battle and ended up taking second place, despite winning the judges' scores 190–186.

Filmography

References

External links

• Official website
• Ricky Whittle at the Internet Movie Database
• Ricky's Charity
• Ricky Whittle interview