A History Of Liverpool Thespians - Stephen McGann

 

Stephen Vincent McGann was born in Kensington, Liverpool on the 2nd of February 1963 to a metallurgist father, and a teacher mother named Clare, and is the youngest of the four brothers who have all made names for themselves as esteemed British actors. Stephen began his professional acting career in 1982, starring in the West End musical 'Yakety Yak' and his TV debut was in an episode of 'Juliet Bravo' (1983). There then followed 'Missing from Home'(1984), '2 episodes of 'Brookside' (1985), 'Boon' (1987), 'Business as Usual' (1988) whilst also appearing in 12 episodes of the TV series 'Help' (1986-1988). In 1989, he starred as Mickey in the West End hit musical 'Blood Brothers'. His next major role was as the son Johann 'Schani' Strauss in 'The Strauss Dynasty' (1991) alongside Edward Fox, John Gielgud and Cherie Lunghi and at the same time was playing Bob Street in 17 episodes of 'Streetwise' (1989-92), a drama about the lives of a team of bicycle couriers in London. Then in 1995 he played alongside his three brothers in 'The Hanging Gale', a drama series he created, co-produced and starred in, about how the four brothers of the Phelan family battle to save their farm and their family from the ravages of the Irish Potato Famine in 1846, and from an English land agent who takes a dislike to them.

The Reynolds family, Ollie, Sean, Angie and Marc.

On the 10th of March 1999 he made his first screen appearance as Sean, the patriarch of the Reynolds family in 'Emmerdale' 1999-2002), marking his return to television following an absence of several years. Sean settled down with his family in Emmerdale, and set up his own haulage firm. However, he found himself in stiff competition with rival businessman Chris Tate. In August 2002 he was nominated for an Echo Entertainment Award for his portrayal of Sean and Billy Sloan of the Sunday Mail said McGann's character "achieved notoriety when he had a steamy, marriage-wrecking affair with upper-crust Lady Tara Thornfield." In 2003, he starred with Jamie Theakston in the West End play 'Art' and in 2006, he played the role of the Reverend Shaw in the original West End cast of the musical 'Footloose'.

After roles in 'Casualty' (2006-07) and 'Doctors' (2006) he appeared in the very first episode of 'Call The Midwife' (2012 - present) as the loveable Dr Patick Turner. The first series, set in 1957, was created by his wife, Heidi Thomas, who he married in 1990 at an Anglican church in south Liverpool where her ancestors had married and where he had been christened. The show was originally based on the memoirs of Jennifer Worth who worked with the Community of St. John the Devine, an Anglican religious order, at their convent in the East End in London. 

as Dr. Patrick Turner in Call the Midwife

Stephen and Heidi had met in 1986 when he was a young actor, living in east London. One day his agent rang to say he'd been invited to audition for a play by a new writer at Liverpool Playhouse. Given the gritty themes in the script, he assumed the author, Liverpool born Heidi Thomas, would be a mature woman who had begun writing late, but when he met her he was speechless. She was also in her early twenties, but "with a complexion and elfin figure that made her look like a teenager." He got the job and in the following weeks they fell irredeemably in love, but with both having partners at the time, when the play concluded they went back to our separate lives. They met again while Stephen was filming a comedy series in Liverpool. She was also newly single then but was leaving for Siberia a few days later but came home eventually and within two years they were married. They have one son, Dominic and have a quiet life in rural Essex with Heidi collecting her OBE for services to drama from the King at a ceremony at Windsor Castle. Medicine comes as no surprise to Stephen as he graduated from Imperial College London with a master's degree in Science Communication and is a public speaker. In fact, he actually wrote an essay in the Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine in 2015 which discussed issues of medical accuracy and communication in 'Call the Midwife'. He was a guest speaker at the Cambridge Science Festival in March 2015. He published a guest essay in the Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine in April 2015, which discussed issues of medical accuracy and communication in 'Call the Midwife'. In January 2016, he published a companion book to 'Call the Midwife' called Doctor Turner's Casebook, in which he revisits key medical cases featured in the TV series and discusses their historical and social contexts. The BBC screened a documentary special based on the book, titled Call The Midwife: The Casebook, on the 15 of January 2017. In July 2017, he published Flesh and Blood: A History of My Family in Seven Maladies, a personal history of his family over a century and a half as told through the medical ailments they suffered. He was a member of the judging panel for the 2019 Royal Society Insight Investment Science Book Prize and holds an honorary doctorate from the University of Liverpool and the University of Chester in recognition of his contribution to public health communication and drama. 

see also :- http://www.thefootballvoice.com/2024/08/a-hisory-of-liverpool-thespians.html