Neil Morrissey

Biography: An English actor of Irish descent. He is best known for his role as Tony in Men Behaving Badly. He also gained fame for his role as Rocky in Boon; the voice of Bob, Lofty and Farmer Pickles in Bob the Builder; and deputy head Eddie Lawson in Waterloo Road. In August 2009 he promoted a national tour of the play Rain Man.

Morrissey was born in Stafford to Irish parents. He and his brother Stephen (died 1997) were placed under a care order after they went on multiple theft and burglary sprees. They were legally separated from their parents, Larry and May, psychiatric nurses who often left their sons at home without an adult for many hours at a time, as a result. The boys spent much of their childhood in separate foster homes, Morrissey spending most of his time at the Penkhull Children?s Home. While studying at Thistley Hough High School in Stoke, he advertised for foster parents and lived with his friend Mark Langston and his family for nearly two years after having left the children?s home at 17 and was fostered. He studied for his A levels at the City of Stoke-on-Trent Sixth Form College. During this time he was a member of the Stoke Repertory Theatre, Stoke Schools Theatre, and Stoke Original Theatre, and performed at the Edinburgh Fringe. He subsequently gained an unconditional scholarship allowing him to study at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama.

On leaving Guildhall, Morrissey paid off his student debts by landing parts in film productions. His first role in 1984 was Able Seaman Matthew Quintal in The Bounty alongside Mel Gibson, Anthony Hopkins and Laurence Olivier.

His role as Tony in Men Behaving Badly was created to replace the character of Dermot after Harry Enfield?s departure from the series, which became one of the most popular UK sitcoms of the 1990s and turned Morrissey into a national star and a target for the tabloid newspapers. His ongoing romance storyline with co-star Leslie Ash led to the pair appearing in several advertisements for Homebase. In 1997, he starred in the Comedy Premiere The Chest and in 1998 two TV series: My Summer with Des and The Vanishing Man.

Neil Morrissey married Amanda Noar in 1987 after meeting her when she guested in an episode of Boon; the couple have a son born in 1989. He also has five nieces and a nephew. The couple divorced in 1991. He then became engaged to actress Elizabeth Carling whom he had first met in 1989 when she too was working on Boon. They parted on good terms: she later guested alongside him on Men Behaving Badly. His subsequent affairs have been well documented by the British tabloids, including dating Rachel Weisz after starring together in My Summer with Des in 1998: they lived together at his flat in Crouch End.

The tabloid interest peaked with Morrissey?s affair with actress Amanda Holden at the height of his fame in 2000 and when her husband, comedian Les Dennis was taking part in Celebrity Big Brother. The affair was the primary reason for Holden?s and Dennis?s separation and subsequent divorce. At the story?s height, there were 35 photographers outside his home, and he had to ask a neighbour to buy him milk and other essentials - he later asked the police to help him get to his car.

Morrissey has numerous tattoos. According to one version of their origin, Morrissey applied them himself with needles and Indian ink. On his right arm is his first name and a blob which was going to be his initials before it became infected causing him to require an anti-tetanus injection. On his right is a squiggle which is a reversed version of The Saint logo. Morrissey himself says the tattoos were done by other boys at the children?s home. The boys there apparently saw that he did not have a tattoo and so gave him the option of a tattoo or a beating. He decided on the tattoo and now regrets not taking the other option.

He has also appeared as the "Star in a Reasonably Priced Car" on Top Gear, and admitted his current car was a BMW 745i