My full name is Gareth Adam Bennett-Ryan, and I was born in 1984 in Grimsby, a small fishing town on the East coast of England, where you can get the best fish ‘n’ chips in the world.

My mum was adamant that I wouldn't be the sort of kid who hung around on street corners, so from a young age I was sent to every after school club in town (although I still managed to find time to hang around on street corners). I tried my hand at everything from archery to ice skating to trampolining, but acting was the one that stuck, and I soon found myself rehearsing most evenings for one thing or another.

At 18 I went to work at a hire centre and scaffold yard, then moving on to carpet fitting, as well as working in various bars in the evenings. Then at 20 I left Grimsby to train for three years at Birmingham School of Acting, where I gained a 1st class BA (hons) in Acting. More importantly though, I left with technique, confidence and knowledge, some wonderful experiences and a lot of very close friends.

Since moving to London, I have found myself playing a host of different characters all over England. Roles have been as varied as Osama Bin Laden and Barry Scott during my time on the topical sketch show 'News Revue', to an imaginary boyfriend in Sudden Productions 'Tell Me Lies'. I've performed in venues such as The Theatre Royal Haymarket, Birmingham Hippodrome and Shakespeare's Globe, and I have also performed in open fields and people's living rooms! I was especially excited to return to the Globe to perform in Lucy Bailey's Macbeth earlier this year, and I am looking forward to working at The Theatre Royal in Bury St. Edmunds over Christmas.