Craige Els was born in Wavertree, Liverpool on the 18th of July 1978, although in an interview for Broadway Buzz in 2017, when asked about the spelling of his name he replied, "I was born in South Africa because my dad is Afrikaans and my mom was from Liverpool, so I’m Scouse-African, which is unusual. I don’t know if 'Craige' is traditional Afrikaans."
He says that he was always the class clown at school and enjoyed making people laugh so knew pretty early on that he wanted to perform and decided that when he was about 15 or 16 that he wanted to do acting which was a bit of a shock to his family as there were no drama clubs nearby and his school didn’t even offer it as a subject at GCSE or A Level. Having found pleasure in entertaining family and friends he decided he wanted to pursue that career so went to university and studied drama at Aberystwyth University for 3 years and then did a 1 year postgraduate at Drama Studio London, where he was able to concentrate more on the practical side of it all. After that, like the thousands of others, he left drama school and joined the big wide world and started to audition for things.
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| as Derek Milligan in Coronation Street |
With his 6’4″ frame often seeing him cast as intimidating figures, his television credits include 'Call the Midwife' (2013), 'Endeavour' (2013), 'Chickens' (2013), 'Ripper Street' (2013), 'The Bletchley Circle' (2014), Chris Chibnall’s 'Law & Order:UK' (2014) and 'Hailmakers' (2017). On our TV screens, many will know Craig best for his appearances on 'Coronation Street' (2019) as Derek Milligan in 18 episodes, playing a beleaguered businessman who became
a pawn in loan shark Gary Windass' plot to seize control of the
Underworld factory. Following 2 episodes in 'Sliced' (2021) he took on the role of the
terrier faced alien Karvanista in 'Doctor Who' (2021-22) who menaces
the Doctor and her friends new and old in 'The Halloween Apocalypse'. He had previously appeared in 'Revolution of the Daleks' at the start of the year as Dan’s workmate reading the horoscope. Later roles included Coach Phil in 'Fool Me Once' (2024), Mark in 'Coma' (2024) and Inspector Johnson in 'The Responder' (2024).
Outside of 'Coronation Street' and 'Doctor Who', Craige is best known for this theatre work, including a minor role in the National Theatre’s 'Antigone', supporting Jodie Whittaker as the heroine willing to die on a point of principle, and Christopher Eccleston as her uncle, a ruthless dictator, so frustrated she won’t allow him a pretext to spare her life. While, at the completely opposite end of the scale in every possible way, he took the central role of Miss Trunchbull in 'Matilda: The Musical', and after playing her for three years in the West End, in 2018 he jumped at the chance to tour and bring his alter ego to Manchester as 'Matilda the Musical' took over the city for 10 weeks. It was a role that saw him crowned Best Long-running West End Show performer (male) in the Broadway World UK awards! It’s a contrast repeated throughout his career on stage – moving back and forth from minor roles in the likes of 'Timon of Athens' and 'The Cherry Orchid' to playing Dean Martin in the 'Rat Pack' musical and Jud in 'Oklahoma!' On stage, he has also appeared in successful West End runs of 'Spamalot', 'Never Forget' and other productions include 'Trench Kiss', 'Charley's Aunt', 'The Real Monty', 'Jekyll and Hyde', 'Mamma Mia', 'Once Upon a Time in Wigan', '65 Miles, 'Timon of Athens', 'Just for One Day', 'Chess in Concert', 'That Day We Sang' and 'Blood and Gifts'.
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| as Miss Trunchbull in 'Matilda: The Musical' |
Film roles include: 'RIPD.2: Rise of the Damned' (2022), 'The Imitation Game' (2014), 'Leave to Remain' (2013), 'Anna Karenina' and 'Never Forget: The Musical' (2007).
In January 2024 performer Craige and director Luke Sheppard discussed bringing the iconic 1985 Live Aid concert to life onstage in 'Just For One Day' at London's Old Vic. Representing a fusion of music- making and fundraising on a truly global scale, the benefit concert has now spawned a musical boasting a cast of 26 performers with Craige leading the company as Bob Geldof. Craige says, "I was 7 or 8 back then and living in Liverpool, and I do remember the national feeling when everything stopped and an entire community came together to stand still for something."
see also :- http://www.thefootballvoice.com/2025/03/a-history-of-liverpool-thespians-diane.html
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