# Dean Andrews

Dean Andrews (born 6 August 1963) is an English actor. He is known for his role as DS Ray Carling in the BBC drama series Life on Mars. He continued the role in the sequel series, Ashes to Ashes, until 2010. As of April 2019, he appeared as Will Taylor on ITV soap opera Emmerdale. Andrews left the show on 26 December 2024 when his character Will died of a heart attack.

## Early life and education

Born in 1963 in Rotherham, Andrews went to Sitwell Junior School on Grange Road and Oakwood Comprehensive School on Moorgate Road. He went to school with Top Gear presenter James May.

## Career

Dean Andrews started off as a mainstay of cruise ships as a talented entertainer and singer. He was discovered by film director Ken Loach, who was looking for people from Yorkshire to appear in the 2001 film, The Navigators. He then went on to play Barry Shiel in the Channel 4 drama Buried, which won the BAFTA Award for Best Drama Series in 2004. That year, he also had a small role, as Neil, in the Channel 4 series No Angels.
In 2005, Andrews appeared in one episode of the ITV drama Wire in the Blood. The following year, he appeared in another BBC drama, Life On Mars, as DS Ray Carling. He then had roles in two BBC dramas, True Dare Kiss and The Street, in 2007. Andrews again played DC Carling in Ashes to Ashes, a 2008 spin-off series of Life on Mars. During the same year, he recorded voiceovers for Currys television advertisements. He had a guest role in 2010 on the BBC One series Waterloo Road.
In 2011, Andrews appeared in: the BBC drama The Body Farm as Peter Collins; the BBC Two television film United, about the Manchester United "Busby Babes" team and the 1958 Munich air disaster; ITV's supernatural drama series Marchlands, playing one of the lead roles; and the five-part BBC One series The Case, in which he played the lead role as a man accused of murdering his terminally ill girlfriend.
In November 2012, Andrews appeared in all four series of the BBC drama Last Tango in Halifax as Robert "Robbie" Greenwood. The following year, he portrayed Pete Lewis in the BBC show Being Eileen. Andrews played local hotel and barman Tom Asher in a 2015 episode of the popular series Midsomer Murders on ITV. In 2019, the actor joined the cast of ITV soap opera Emmerdale. He left the soap on 26 December 2024 when his character Will died of a heart attack. He has stated that he was not told about the character's demise. He narrated the Channel 5 documentary series, Our Great Yorkshire Life, in 2022. He also narrates the UK TV show Casualty 24/7 which centres on Barnsley Hospital.

## Filmography

| Year | Title | Role | Other notes |
| 2001 | The Navigators | John | BAFTA-winning for screenwriter |
| 2002 | EastEnders | Dean | Episode dated 3 April 2002 |
| 2003 | Buried | Barry Sheil | 3 episodes |
| 2003 | Clocking Off | DS Hughes | Episode: "Colin's Story" |
| 2003 | Between the Sheets | Steve Ashby | 6 episodes |
| 2004 | No Angels | Neil | 3 episodes |
| 2004 | Casualty | Reg Summerston | Episode: "Don't Go There" |
| 2004 | Blue Murder | Will Harmon | Episode: "Lonely" |
| 2004 | My Summer of Love | Ricky | BAFTA-winning film |
| 2005 | Love + Hate | Derek | |
| 2005 | Wire in the Blood | Steve Maynard | Episode: "Bad Seed" |
| 2005 | Faith | Davey | Television film |
| 2006 | Shameless | Geoff Mulligan | Episode #3.1 |
| 2006 | Missing | Mark Lanser | 2 episodes |
| 2006 | New Street Law | Dennis Longwell | Episode: "Shock to the System" |
| 2006–2007 | Life on Mars | DS Ray Carling | Series 1–2; 16 episodes |
| 2007 | True Dare Kiss | Vinny | 2 episodes |
| 2007 | The Street | Cleggy | Episode: "The Letter" |
| 2008–2010 | Ashes to Ashes | DS Ray Carling | Series 1–3; 24 episodes |
| 2009 | Wish 143 | Bus Driver | Short film |
| 2010 | Waterloo Road | Gary Vale | Episode #5.11 |
| 2010 | Doctors | Jonty Stephens | Episode: "A Spoonful" |
| 2011 | Marchlands | Eddie Maynard | 5 episodes |
| 2011 | The Body Farm | Peter Collins | Episode: "No Peace for the Wicked" |
| 2011 | The Case | Tony Powell | 5 episodes |
| 2011 | Just Henry | Bill | Television film |
| 2012–2016 | Last Tango in Halifax | Robbie | Series 1–4; 20 episodes |
| 2013 | Being Eileen | Pete Lewis | 6 episodes |
| 2013 | The Security Men | Ray | Episode: "Pilot" |
| 2013 | Frankie | Joseph Corden | 3 episodes |
| 2013 | Vera | Jonah Regan | Episode: "Poster Child" |
| 2015 | Midsomer Murders | Tom Asher | S17E3: "The Ballad of Midsomer County" |
| 2015 | Banana | Alan | Episode #1.4 |
| 2015 | New Tricks | Barry Warnock | Episode: "The Russian Cousin" |
| 2016 | Silent Witness | Tony Hamilton | Episode: "After the Fall" |
| 2016 | Jericho | Jack Laggan | Episode #1.1 |
| 2016 | Father Brown | Michael Negal | Episode: "The Star of Jacob" |
| 2017 | The Moorside | PC Steve Kinchin | 2 episodes |
| 2018 | Agatha and the Truth of Murder | Wade | Television film |
| 2018 | Delicious | Steven Green | TV series, episode: "The Heart" |
| 2019 | London Kills | Jacob Holt | TV series, Episode: “Stag Night” |
| 2019–2024 | Emmerdale | Will Taylor | Series regular |

## Awards and nominations

| Year | Award | Category | Work | Result | Ref. |
| 2011 | TV Choice Awards | Best Actor | Marchlands | Nominated | |
| 2019 | Inside Soap Awards | Best Bad Boy | Emmerdale | Nominated | |