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'{{Short description|English actor and television and radio presenter}}{{BLP sources|date=May 2016}} {{Use dmy dates|date=January 2021}} {{Infobox person | name = Mark Curry | image = th/id/AMMS_658bef65c53004046a012026ae33a250?pid=ImgDet&rs=1 | birth_name = Mark Preston Curry | birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1961|8|27|df=yes}} | birth_place = [[Stafford]], England | death_date = | death_place = | height = 6"1 (1.85 m) | television = Blue Peter (1986-1989) Catchphrase (2002) | spouse = {{marriage|Jeremy Sandle|2008}} | parents = Arthur Curry (Father) Lily Curry (Mother) | occupation = Television presenter and actor | years_active = 1968–present | nationality = British }} '''Mark Preston Curry''' (born 27 August 1961) is an [[English people|English]] actor as well as a television and radio presenter. He is an actor and writer, known for [[Bugsy Malone]] (1976) with his role of Oscar, [[Hollyoaks]] (1995) and [[Eartha Kitt]] Sings (1970). He is best known for his career on the British-television children's show [[Blue Peter]] (1986-1989) as a host, as well as his run as host on [[ITV (TV network)|ITV]] British gameshow [[Catchphrase]] (2002). ===Early years=== Born in [[Stafford]], Curry grew up in the mining village of [[Allerton Bywater]] near [[Castleford]] in the [[West Riding of Yorkshire]]. His father, Arthur, a physical training instructor and prison officer, died when Curry was five. His mother, Lily, was a maternity nurse. His television career began when he was seven, after he auditioned for [[Jess Yates]], the executive producer of [[ITV Yorkshire|Yorkshire Television]]'s ''[[Junior Showtime]]''. He was a regular performer on the show from 1969 to 1974. He attended the Jean Pearce School of Dancing in [[Leeds]] throughout the early 1970s.<ref name="autogenerated1">{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/cult/classic/bluepeter/presenters/curry.shtml |title=I Love Blue Peter - Mark Curry presenter biography |publisher=BBC |accessdate=2013-03-02}}</ref> During this time he appeared in the classic [[Alan Parker]] film, [[Bugsy Malone]], playing, "Oscar", the producer and performed in pantomimes and summer variety shows. Mark didn't enjoy school very much as he found it to be an annoying distraction for Mark as he enjoyed performing and acting to a great extent Curry has appeared in many pantomimes throughout the UK. His first was a television pantomime in 1972, ''Babes in the Wood'', starring [[Little and Large]] and [[Susan Maughan]], where Curry and [[Bonnie Langford]] were the two babes. In the late 1970s, Curry co-presented a Saturday morning TV show called ''[[Calendar Kids]]'', with [[Kathryn Apanowicz]], which was only shown in the [[ITV Yorkshire|Yorkshire Television]] region. He was also a main character in a six episode comedy/drama series about brass bands, ''[[Sounding Brass (TV series)|Sounding Brass]]'', for [[Associated Television|ATV]]. Curry joined the [[Harrogate]] Theatre Company and appeared in several plays over three years in the early 1980s. In 1981, he co-hosted the series ''[[Get Set For Summer]]'' on [[BBC One|BBC1]] with main host [[Peter Powell (DJ)|Peter Powell]] and [[Lucie Skeaping]]. The series returned the following year as ''Get Set'' but eventually became ''[[The Saturday Picture Show]]'' with Curry as main host, running until 1986. Curry's co-hosts over the years included [[Deborah Appleby]], [[Maggie Philbin]] and [[Cheryl Baker]]. Mark left [[Leeds]] and went to [[Manchester]] when he got the chance to present [[Saturday]] morning live TV shows for the BBC and then moved to [[London]] when he was invited to present, [[Blue Peter]], in the late 1980's. His theatre work has taken him all over the UK and to the [[West End of London]]. In 1984, Curry was the question master on the final series of ''[[Screen Test]]'', the [[BBC]]'s cinematic quiz show for children.<ref>[https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0403803/combined Screen Test on IMDb]</ref> ===''Blue Peter'': 1986–1989=== On 23 June 1986, Curry joined the children's television program ''[[Blue Peter]]''. During his time on the show, he did such things as being strapped to the sails of [[Outwood Windmill]] in [[Surrey]] and accidentally knocking the head off a man made of [[Lego]]. Curry spent three weeks in [[Malawi]] witnessing distressing scenes of people from surrounding villages suffering with blindness and chronic eye problems. He had an eye operation when he was two years old and has to wear spectacles due to only seeing clearly through one eye, so was enthusiastic about raising money for the charity, [[Sightsavers|SightSavers]], which was the ''[[Blue Peter]]'' appeal for 1986. He travelled across the [[Soviet Union]] for the 1987 summer expedition and was known for his history features on the show, his cooking disasters and his performing. Due to Curry's successful children's history program ''Treasure Houses'', created by Dorothy Smith and the head of children's programmes, Edward Barnes, he was invited to replace [[Simon Groom]] without auditioning for the show.{{Citation needed|date=May 2013}} Curry's co-hosts during his time with the program were [[Janet Ellis]], [[Peter Duncan (actor)|Peter Duncan]], [[Caron Keating]], [[Yvette Fielding]] and [[John Leslie (TV presenter)|John Leslie]]. Curry was very emotional in 2004 after the death of fellow presenter and close friend, [[Caron Keating]]. The team of Curry, Keating and Fielding during the 1980s was popular at the time{{Citation needed|date=August 2020}} and they worked together on the program's Christmas song and dance specials. Curry's trip with [[Yvette Fielding]] to the [[Blackpool Pleasure Beach|Pleasure Beach]] in [[Blackpool]] on ''[[Blue Peter]]'' was very well regarded by viewers. After leaving ''[[Blue Peter]]'' in June 1989, Curry was offered another BBC 1 Saturday morning show but turned it down.{{Citation needed|date=March 2013}} === Catchphrase (2002) === [[Mark Curry (television presenter)|Mark Curry]] had started to present Catchphrase in 2002, as previous host Nick Weir had left the series due to his unpopularity. Mark had done the final series of the show's original run (1986-2004), which moved to a daytime slot and ran from 24 June to 19 December 2002. Ultimately the show was cancelled after his first series and was revived on 7 April 2013, with [[Stephen Mulhern]] presenting the show and is still running currently, as of June 2022. ===1990–present=== Curry played the role of a TV host in a 1990 episode of the [[ITV (TV network)|ITV]] drama ''[[London's Burning (TV series)|London's Burning]]''. He appeared in an episode of the BBC comedy series, ''[[Bread (TV series)|Bread]]'', and when [[Roy Castle]] became ill during the mid-1990s, Curry was asked to co present ''[[Record Breakers]]'' for the BBC.{{Citation needed|date=May 2013}} Curry played one of the two leading roles in the London West End production of ''[[The Woman in Black (play)|The Woman in Black]]'', in 1994 and starred in the centenary production of ''[[Charley's Aunt]]''. Curry has appeared in a UK tour of ''[[Noises Off]]'' and in the stage musical version of ''[[Singin' in the Rain (musical)|Singin' in the Rain]]''. [[Victoria Wood]] cast Curry as 'The Compere' in a 2009 revival of her play ''[[Talent (play)|Talent]]'', which she also directed at the [[Menier Chocolate Factory]], London. He played the role of Larry in Sondheim's ''[[Company (musical)|Company]]'' and Andre Cassell in ''[[Victor/Victoria (musical)|Victor/Victoria]]'', at the London fringe venue [[Southwark Playhouse]] in 2011 and 2012. He has also appeared at the [[Theatre Royal, Windsor|Theatre Royal]], [[Windsor, Berkshire|Windsor]] in several [[Alan Ayckbourn]] plays. In 1998, Curry presented a [[DIY]] BBC 1 daytime series ''[[Change That]].'' He co-presented a daily, live food series on the [[Carlton Food Network]] with [[Ruth Langsford]] and later, [[Anthea Turner]]. This series saw Curry travel to [[Italy]], [[Cyprus]], [[India]] and [[Singapore]], covering food topics.{{Citation needed|date=March 2013}} Curry made a guest appearance in an episode of ''[[Last of the Summer Wine]]'', entitled "Will The Nearest Alien Please Come In", broadcast 19 August 2007, playing a character trying to get in touch with [[Extraterrestrial life|extra terrestrials]].<ref>BBC: [https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b007x9q4 Will the Nearest Alien Please Come In]</ref> He was also cast in an episode of the BBC daytime drama ''[[Doctors (2000 TV series)|Doctors]]''. From 9 January, until the late summer of 2012, he presented the breakfast radio show, ''[[Curry For Breakfast]]'' on Talk Radio Europe, the English language talk/variety network in southern [[Spain]], where he has a home.{{Citation needed|date=May 2013}} He played a leading role in ''[[Wife Begins at Forty]]'', for [[Ray Cooney]] at the [[Yvonne Arnaud Theatre]], [[Guildford]] and [[The Mill at Sonning|the Mill]], at [[Sonning]] in 2011 and 2012 and returned to [[Sonning]] in 2013 in the comedy, ''[[Who's Under Where?]]''. Curry is a keen tennis player and a qualified tennis coach, and due to his love for tennis he also joined the Radio 5 commentary team for their coverage of Wimbledon in the early 1990s. He is the regular Master of Ceremonies for the Aegon Classic, a pre-Wimbledon women's tennis tournament at the Priory Club, [[Edgbaston]].<ref name="autogenerated1" /> He has presented and performed in several BBC ''[[Children in Need]]'' television shows, once playing [[Cliff Richard]] in a Eurovision Song Contest tribute singing "Congratulations" and "Power To All Our Friends". He has commentated at Wimbledon for BBC Radio 5, Radio Wimbledon and for Talk Radio Europe. He has also contributed to ITV's ''[[Piers Morgan's Life Stories]]'', discussing his friendship with actress [[Beverley Callard]] known for her role in ''[[Coronation Street]]''. He featured on the [[BBC One]] quiz show ''[[Pointless (game show)|Pointless]]'' in December 2012 alongside [[Peter Duncan (actor)|Peter Duncan]] as contestants. He has also appeared as a celebrity guest on Celebrity [[Antiques Roadshow]], and he even won the BBC Children In Need [[Strictly Come Dancing]] special. From May to August 2014, he played "Siegfried Farnon" in the stage adaptation and UK tour of "[[All Creatures Great and Small (franchise)|All Creatures Great and Small]]".{{citation needed|date=December 2020}} In 2016 he played the role of the Wizard in the West End musical ''[[Wicked (musical)|Wicked]]''.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.londontheatredirect.com/news/1756/First-Look--Mark-Curry-As-The-Wizard-In-Wicked.aspx|title= First Look: Mark Curry As The Wizard in Wicked|publisher=London Theatre Direct|author=Porteous, Jacob|date= 29 March 2016}}</ref> As a fundraiser for the ‘Acting For Others’ YouTube channel in 2020, Mark recorded a series of in-depth virtual interviews with many well-known performers and creatives. He recorded a food and travel vlog from [[Bilbao]] and [[San Sebastián]] for [[The Wonderbirds Show]]. == Personal life == Curry had studied for a Diploma in Life Coaching and qualified in January 2014. === Civil Partnership & 'Coming Out' === Mark has been aware of his sexually since he was a teenager but said that he was 'advised early in the Eighties, by a seasoned ex-presenter, that it was best to keep quiet.' However he has never tried to deny his sexuality, he has said ‘I never told a lie, or took girls out to parties to throw people off. I was always true to myself and people who mattered knew. Still, there was always a worry I might lose my job if the public found out. But thankfully, times have changed and today no one is penalised for being who they are.’ In September 2008, Curry formed a [[Civil partnership in the United Kingdom|civil partnership]] with his long-term partner, Jeremy Sandle.<ref>{{cite web|last= Thornton|first= Michael|title= Mark Curry marries in civil ceremony|work=[[Digital Spy]]|date= 21 September 2008|url= http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/showbiz/a130764/mark-curry-marries-in-civil-ceremony.html|accessdate= 21 September 2008}}</ref>He had met Jeremy on a blind date, he stated ‘It was not exactly love at first sight. But it was pretty close. He’s a great bloke and my best friend. He’s brought incredible joy into my life.’ Due to his fears that his career in the eighties would be ruined if he had come out back then he called the ceremony his ‘coming out’ party. [[Kathryn Apanowicz]], partner of [[Countdown (game show)|Countdown]] host [[Richard Whiteley]], read a poem during the service at Marble Hill mansion in [[Twickenham]], South-West London. He had described it as a ‘joyous day’, although he was quite stressed on the day expressing ‘I’m a bit of a worrier. I get nervous just putting on a dinner party, so I was more than a little jittery about how things would go. Thankfully, there were no accidents or dramas.’ He also stated ‘Jeremy and I are both mature people, who care deeply for each other and decided to formalise our union simply for legal purposes.' He further expressed 'Our families are 100 per cent supportive. It’s not that we needed to make any kind of declaration of our love.’ Currently both Jeremy and Mark are still spouses and are living a happy life together. ==References== {{Reflist}} == External links == *{{IMDb name|id=0193106|name=Mark Curry}} {{S-start}} {{Succession box| before= [[Simon Groom]] and [[Peter Duncan (actor)|Peter Duncan]]| title=''[[Blue Peter]]'' Presenter No. 15| years=1986-89| after= [[John Leslie (TV presenter)|John Leslie]] }} {{Succession box| before= [[Nick Weir]]| title=Host of ''[[Catchphrase (UK game show)|Catchphrase]]''| years=2002| after= [[Stephen Mulhern]] }} {{S-end}} {{Blue Peter presenters}} {{DEFAULTSORT:Curry, Mark}} [[Category:1961 births]] [[Category:Living people]] [[Category:Blue Peter presenters]] [[Category:English television presenters]] [[Category:English game show hosts]] [[Category:LGBT people from England]] [[Category:People from Stafford]] [[Category:LGBT broadcasters from the United Kingdom]] [[Category:People educated at Lawnswood School]]'