Only gay in the village actor

Actor Neil Ashton grew up in Kendal where, as a former member of the Cumbria Youth Theatre, his love of performance began. Back then, living above a Highgate newsagents owned and run by his parents, he was known as Neil Smith - his stage name is a nod to the Lancashire town were his mum was born.

After school he landed a job as a fashion editor for teen magazine Just Seventeen, only gay in the village actor turning to professional acting. These days, his roles in the groundbreaking Russell T Davies drama It's A Sin and hit Sky series Brassic have brought him to the attention of millions of TV viewers - yet the two roles could not be further apart.

The year-old, who now lives in Manchester, is currently filming the sixth series of comedy drama Brassic, in his role as local villain Davey MacDonagh. As baddie Davey, Neil first appeared in the show in series three. At the time, he was contracted to star in just one episode of the show.

Much of his screen time revolves around the shenanigans of Davey and his brother Barry, played by Greg Wood. I don't know, you'll have to watch it and find out," he laughs. His debut in Brassic came the same year as his memorable turn as pub landlady Grizzle in Channel 4's critically-acclaimed drama series It's a Sin.

Many of the leading actors in younger roles were not born in the s, but Ashton was growing up in the period portrayed on screen, so he was able to share his experiences with his fellow cast members. Neil's family is still based in Cumbria, and although he now lives in Manchester, he believes he will end up back there one day.

In July, Kendal hosted its first Pride celebrations. Organisers had initially planned a small-scale event, but thanks to support from the town and local businesses, it turned into a three-day festival. How brilliant is that! He remembers his dad finding homophobic graffiti daubed in big white letters outside their home in Highgate, which Neil was tasked to scrub off.

The bullying led him to grow up believing being gay must be "really bad": "I am being bullied for it, so I can't be gay because it must be really terrible," he remembers thinking.

Matt Lucas sorry for ‘only gay in the village’

We didn't have the internet, there was nowhere you could go and find out anything about it - especially living in Cumbria, in the Lakes - I really did think I was 'the only gay in the village'". There's no gay people in Kendal! That it has got so open now - a place where I had such negativity and a terrible time trying to be who I was, [and] now we are celebrating that.

Send your story ideas to northeastandcumbria bbc. Skip to content. Share Save. Neil Ashton. Channel 4. Neil very far left and members of the cast of Our Day Out. Neil grew up in Kendal, living in a flat above the newsagents' Wolstenholmes, on Highgate. He reflects on his own astonishment at the change in attitudes.

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