Neil Morrissey

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Neil Morrissey (born in Stafford, July 4, 1962) is an English actor.

He shot to fame in the mid-1980s as dim biker Rocky in the ITV drama series Boon.

He then gained his most famous role - that of Tony in Men Behaving Badly, taking over from Harry Enfield. The series became the most popular sitcom of the 1990s and made Morrissey a national star and a target for the tabloid newspapers.

Morrissey also starred in the John Godber film about rugby league called Up & Under and voiced several characters in the cult children's television series Bob the Builder, including the lead character; therefore he also scored a UK Number 1 single at Christmas 2000 with Can We Fix It?. In addition, he provides the narration for Morph (in recent years) and Maisy.

He also appears in several advertisements for Homebase with Men Behaving Badly co-star Leslie Ash.

Morrissey trained at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama having spent much of his childhood in foster homes. He has invested his earnings successfully in various projects, including production companies and a hotel.

Morrissey's affair with actress Amanda Holden was the primary reason for her separation and subsequent divorce from her husband, comedian Les Dennis.

In 2004, Morrissey returned to TV screens with a starring role in the BBC sitcom Carrie and Barry. In 2006 he took on the role as presenter on the BBC Two car related game show Petrolheads.

From 6 March 2006 Morrissey will return to the West End stage having previously performed a starring role in Victoria Wood's musical adaptation of Acorn Antiques alongside Julie Walters, Celia Imrie, Duncan Preston and Josie Lawrence, in early 2005. He will takeover the role of Nathan Detroit from Nigel Lindsay in the current London revival of Guys and Dolls where he will stay until June 2006.

On April 1st 2006, a BBC3 spoof programme titled 'Neil Morrissey's Secret' documented sides of Morrissey's life that were previously unknown to the world at large. It alleged he has a house, wife and two children in Jordan as well as a degree in Botany which he had been studying for 20 years. These studies were integral in his motivation to find a breakthrough in anti-ageing. According to the documentary he has invented a cream called 'The Essence' which contains extracts of a plant found only in a remote Jordanian village. In the documentary the cream's acolytes include celebrities such as Jane Seymour (actress), Gloria Hunniford and Phillipa Forrester. The show followed Morrissey as he carried out his research which involved years of study and crossing continents, funded by his lucrative acting career. Ultimately Morrissey launches the cream only to have his friends concerned for his health, his laboratory broken into, and a trip to Jordan where he finds that the villagers whose trust he had gained through time spent with them, have abandoned their homes because of the fall-out of his discovery. This hoax was launched on April 1st and despite the suspicions caused by this date (April Fools Day), it still managed to convince some people that it was true. However, he does not have a PhD from King's College London or been involved in any research or company as depicted in the spoof documentary.

He has also appeared as the star in a 'reasonably priced car' on Top Gear.