10 Celebrities You Didn't Know Were Born in Swindon 

A few names that may surprise you!

 

Dean Ashton 
 
Born in Swindon in 1983. Premiership footballer with West Ham, who made his international debut for England against Trinidad & Tobago in June 2008. Likened to Alan Shearer and tipped to become an England regular, Ashton was unlucky with injuries, never recovering from a broken ankle sustained in a training ground tackle with Shaun Wright-Phillips in 2007, and eventually announcing his retirement from the game in 2009, aged just 26.

 

Nick Hewer

 

Born in Swindon in 1944. An on-screen advisor to Sir Alan Sugar, founder of Amstrad, in BBC’s The Apprentice. Hewer’s company handled Amstrad’s PR from 1983 until the late 1990s, but the pair became friends – hence Sugar’s invitation to Hewer to join him on screen. He appears in every episode of the highly popular reality TV programme, and also featured in a special Comic Relief version.

 

 

James Saxon

 

Born in Swindon in 1954, died 2003. A distinguished character actor, often cast as middle class or aristocratic men. He had 50 credits to his name, including many of Britain’s best-loved TV series, such as Poldark, Lovejoy, A Touch of Frost, Boon, Brass, Poirot, Sharpe and Jonathan Creek. He also featured in Doctor Who, opposite Patrick Troughton and Peter Davison, and was Darcey De-Farcey in Roland Rat: The Series.

 

Sophie Grigson

 

Born in Swindon in 1959. Celebrity chef and a best-selling writer of cookery books. Sophie has also written food columns for several national newspapers, but has a degree in mathematics and previously worked as a production manager on pop videos. Born Hester Grigson, she is the daughter of food writer Jane Grigson and poet/writer Geoffrey Grigson.

 

Tim Smith

 

Born in Swindon in 1961. Radio presenter, who appears daily with Steve Wright, on his Radio 2 programme on weekday afternoons, and sits in for other major Radio 2 presenters when they are on leave. He is best known for presenting the show’s ‘factoids’, but has also helped with interviewing the programme’s star guests, including Sir Paul McCartney, Tom Cruise and Tony Blair.

 

Tom Wisdom

 

Born in Swindon in 1973. Heart-throb actor, known for his film, TV and stage roles. He played Tom Ferguson in Coronation Street, featured in 24 episodes of Sky TV’s Mile High, but now has a reputation as a handsome film actor, capable of work in a range of genres. He appears in Richard Curtis’s 2009 comedy about pirate radio, The Boat That Rocked.

 

Ben Thatcher

 

Born in Swindon in 1975. Welsh international footballer with an uncompromising attitude to the game. Currently with Ipswich Town, he played seven times for Wales as a full back, but also made four appearances for England at Under-21 level. He has played for Millwall, Wimbledon, Tottenham, Leicester, Manchester City and Charlton. Spurs bought him for a fee believed to be around £5million.

 

Antony Micallef

 

Born in Swindon in 1975. Renowned contemporary artist who has exhibitied paintings and sculptures at Tate Britain and the Royal Academy of Arts in London, and other prestigious international galleries. He is best known for using cultural icons and corporate logos in his work, and his gritty and often dark style has led Micallef to be likened to Francis Bacon.

 

Angel Long

 

Born in Swindon in 1980. One of Britain’s best-known adult film actresses, and a presenter of late-night cable TV programmes. Her real name is Sarah Read. She has been nothing if not prolific. According to the Internet Movie Database, she featured in 168 different movies between 2000 and 2008 – none of them with titles suitable for a family oriented website!

 

Thaila Zucchi

 

Born in Swindon in 1981. Pop star turned actress and TV presenter. She was a member of allSTARS*, but since 2002 has been seen in a range of different TV programmes, including Balls of Steel, The IT Crowd and comedies Star Stories and Not Going Out. She also featured in Big Brother 8, when she posed as an Australian housemate while acting as a programme ‘mole’.

 

Lyndon Ogbourne

 

Born in Swindon in 1983. “Hunky telly star” (according to one celebrity website). Best known for playing Nathan Wylde in more than 30 episodes of Emmerdale, he landed the part after a selection process involving six auditions. He’s also appeared in Spooks and has had various small TV roles, including in Robin Hood and the daytime soap, Doctors.