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Stephen McGann

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Stephen McGann
McGann in 2017
Born
Stephen Vincent McGann

(1963-02-02) 2 February 1963 (age 61)
Kensington, Liverpool, England
Alma materImperial College London
OccupationActor
Years active1983–present
Spouse
​
(m. 1990)​
Children1
Family

Stephen Vincent McGann (born 2 February 1963) is a British actor, best known for portraying Dr Patrick Turner in the BBC One medical period drama series Call the Midwife. He is one of a family of acting brothers, the others being Joe, Paul, and Mark.[1]

McGann was born in Kensington, Liverpool, and began his professional acting career in 1982, starring in the West End musical Yakety Yak. He has since worked extensively in British theatre and on screen.[2]

Early life

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Stephen's father Joe was a Royal Naval Commando who died in 1984, and his mother Clare was a teacher. Along with his acting brothers Paul, Mark, and Joe who's named after his father, he also has a younger sister named Clare after their mother.[3][4]

Career

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Acting

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In 1989, he starred as Mickey in the West End hit musical Blood Brothers. In 1990, he played Johann Strauss in the international mini-series, The Strauss Dynasty.[5] In 1993, he created, co-produced and starred in the award-winning BBC drama The Hanging Gale. He portrayed the character of Sean Reynolds in Emmerdale from 1999 to 2002.[6]

In 2003, he starred with Jamie Theakston in the hit West End play 'Art'.[7][8] In 2006, he played the role of the Reverend Shaw in the original West End cast of the musical Footloose.[9] He can currently be seen playing Dr. Turner in BBC TV series Call the Midwife.[10]

Science communicator

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Stephen McGann explaining herd immunity at the 2015 Cambridge Science Festival

In addition to his acting, McGann is a public speaker and science communicator. He graduated from Imperial College London with a Master's degree in Science Communication.[11]

He was a guest speaker at the Cambridge Science Festival in March 2015.[12] He published a guest essay in the Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine in April 2015, discussing issues of medical accuracy and communication in Call the Midwife.[13]

In January 2016, McGann 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.[14] The BBC screened a documentary special based on the book, titled Call The Midwife: The Casebook, on 15 January 2017.[15]

In July 2017, McGann 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.[16][17]

McGann was a member of the judging panel for the 2019 Royal Society Insight Investment Science Book Prize.,[18] 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[19][20]

Personal life

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Stephen McGann is married to screenwriter and Call the Midwife creator Heidi Thomas. They have one son, Dominic.[21]

Filmography

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Film performances
Year Title Role Notes
1987 Business As Usual Terry Flynn
1998 Milk Ralph Short
1999 The Harpist Henry Kennedy
2006 Turning Shadows Son Short
2016 Game Day Jeremy Short
Television performances
Year Title Role Notes
1983 Juliet Bravo Simon Bailey 1 episode: "Simple Simon"
1984 Missing from Home Butch TV mini-series, 1 episode
1985 Brookside David Hargreaves 2 episodes
1985 & 1989 Bergerac Harry / Pepe Mendoza 2 episodes
1986 & 1988 Help! Tex 8 episodes
1987 Boon Kevin McGillivray 1 episode: "Fiddler on the Roof"
1988 Screenplay Brendan 1 episode: "Home Front"
1989 & 1992 Streetwise Bob Street 17 episodes
1991 Stay Lucky Dylan Jones 1 episode: "The Food of Love"
1991 The Strauss Dynasty Johann 'Schani' Strauss, Jnr. TV mini-series, 8 episodes
1994 The Lifeboat Mark Cowley 1 episode: "Three Men in a Boat"
1994 Grushko Andrei 3 episodes
1994 Where the Buffalo Roam Jimmy Dunn TV movie
1995 The Hanging Gale Daniel Phelan TV mini-series, all 4 episodes
1995 Catherine the Great Alexis Orlov TV movie
1997 Melissa Waiter (uncredited) TV mini-Series, 1 episode
1999–2002 Emmerdale Sean Reynolds 298 episodes
2004 & 2007 Casualty Garry Lesser / Sam Roach 2 episodes
2006 Doctors Bernard Stephenson 1 episode: "Sacrifice"
2007 The Bill Simon Winstanley 1 episode: "Identity Fraud"
2012–Present Call the Midwife Dr. Patrick Turner 104 episodes
Documentary/Self Appearances
Year Title Role Notes
1999 Melinda's Big Night In Himself Episode: "Not Melinda's Big Night In 3"
2000 The Richard Whiteley Show Himself (Guest) Episode: #3.6
2000 Live Talk Himself Episode: #1.4
2000–2017 Loose Women Himself 5 episodes
2001 Open House with Gloria Hunniford Himself Episode: 3 August 2001
2001 Kelly Himself Episode: 21 September 2001
2015 Children in Need Himself (Contestant) On Strictly Come Dancing
2017 Call the Midwife: The Casebook Himself (Host) TV movie documentary
2018 Sunday Brunch Himself (Guest) Episode: #7.1
2018 Strictly Come Dancing Himself (Audience member) The Quarter-Final: Musicals Week & Results
2019 This Morning Himself Episode: 8 February 2019
2021 This Morning Himself Episode: 12 November 2021

[22]

References

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  1. ^ "The McGann Brothers". 8 May 2013. Retrieved 8 May 2013.
  2. ^ "Associated International Management". 8 May 2013. Retrieved 8 May 2013.
  3. ^ Shennan, Paddy (30 July 2017). "Surviving famine, the Titanic and D-Day - the amazing story of the McGanns". Liverpool Echo. Retrieved 19 March 2021.
  4. ^ Dwyer, Ciara (21 August 2017). "McGann: 'I have their blood in my veins - but I own my story'". Independent Ireland. Retrieved 19 March 2021.
  5. ^ "IMDb:The Strauss Dynasty". IMDb. 8 May 2013. Retrieved 8 May 2013.
  6. ^ "The Guardian:Happy days - Stephen McGann". TheGuardian.com. 21 April 1999. Retrieved 8 May 2013.
  7. ^ Smith, Deirdre (24 February 2002). "Jamie Theakston Joins Art in London". Playbill. Retrieved 22 April 2020.
  8. ^ "BBC Entertainment:Theakston joins Art cast". 2 February 2002. Retrieved 8 May 2013.
  9. ^ Morris, Anne (7 January 2006). "McGann in fast-paced musical". Salisbury Journal. Retrieved 22 April 2020.
  10. ^ "Patrick Turner". PBS. Retrieved 22 April 2020.
  11. ^ "Call the Midwife actor Stephen McGann describes steps taken to depict accuracy and authenticity in medical TV drama". 22 April 2015. Retrieved 16 August 2015.
  12. ^ "Cambridge Science Festival Speaker spotlight - Stephen McGann". 22 March 2015. Retrieved 16 August 2015.
  13. ^ "From how to who: accuracy and authenticity in the portrayal of the medic in TV drama". 22 April 2015. Retrieved 16 August 2015.
  14. ^ "Actor McGann pens Dr Turner book for S&S". 22 October 2015. Retrieved 30 January 2016.
  15. ^ "BBC - Call the Midwife: The Casebook - Media Centre". BBC. Retrieved 6 January 2017.
  16. ^ Stephen McGann - official publisher page. Simon & Schuster. 27 July 2017. ISBN 9781471160806. Retrieved 27 July 2017.
  17. ^ Mohaupt, Hillary (13 November 2018). "Family Practice". Distillations. 4 (3). Science History Institute: 44–45. Retrieved 6 February 2020.
  18. ^ "2019 Royal Society Insight Investment Science Book Prize". Royal Society. Retrieved 26 June 2020.
  19. ^ "Honorary graduates for 2019 announced". University of Liverpool. 30 May 2019. Retrieved 18 August 2019.
  20. ^ "Call the Midwife star and Paralympian to be honoured alongside Chester graduates". The Chester Standard. 1 November 2022. Retrieved 5 November 2022.
  21. ^ Eden, Jenny (4 August 2001). "Interview: Steve McGann". Daily Mirror. Trinity Mirror. Retrieved 9 April 2012.
  22. ^ Stephen McGann Filmography
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