# Michael McKell

Michael McKell (born 10 February 1959) is an English actor. He is best known for playing Inspector Trevor Hands in Murder Investigation Team (2003–2005), Dr. Nick West in Doctors (2006–2008) and DS Nicholas "Nick" Henshall in Emmerdale (2008–2011).

## Television

McKell is best known for appearing in two British soap operas, Doctors, in which he played Dr. Nick West from 2006 until the character was run over and killed in 2008, and Emmerdale, in which he played DC Nick Henshall over two separate periods from 2008 to 2011, until the character committed suicide. He has also appeared in a third soap opera, EastEnders, as the hitman Carter who supposedly killed Paul Trueman under the orders of Andy Hunter. For his role as Nick in Doctors, McKell received nominations for Sexiest Male at the 2006, 2007 and 2008 British Soap Awards. His exit storyline later saw a nomination at the 2009 ceremony.
He is also known for playing D.S./D.I. Trevor Hands in two seasons of the ITV drama Murder Investigation Team, two seasons of Channel 4's Totally Frank and the BBC One series Blessed, playing Ronnie, a Jaggeresque musician. He came to prominence in the mid-1990s as the character Tony in a series of British television commercials for the Peugeot 106 car, alongside Julie Graham and Annie Dunkley. He was the face of Ancestry in their national campaign 2019.
He appeared in the final episode of BBC2's Cradle to Grave in October 2015. He also appeared in the ITV drama Vera in 2019.
He appeared in an episode of BBC afternoon drama-comedy Shakespeare & Hathaway: Private Investigators entitled "The Rascal Cook", in which he played Len Tekler. The episode first aired on 8 March 2018 and was repeated on 21 March 2019.

## Film

McKell starred in the cult film Essex Boys alongside Sean Bean as drug dealer Wayne Lovell. Other films include Beneath Still Waters, Acts of Godfrey, The Low Down, Blood, Bar, Death, Freight, Shouting Men, Outpost: Rise of the Spetsnaz, Hatton Garden: the Heist, and Who Needs Enemies.
He has appeared in more than thirty films, including Allied with Brad Pitt and Where Hands Touch, directed by Amma Asante. McKell co-produced and starred in Winter Ridge, The Guard of Auschwitz, Abatement, 13 Graves, Once Upon a Time in London, Pentagram, The Angel of Auschwitz and Irish Stand Down, all of which were released in 2019. He co-stars with his daughter, Claudia Grace McKell, in both The Guard of Auschwitz and Lucas & Albert.
Recently, McKell played the titular roles in Steve Lawson's 2021 film Jekyll and Hyde, and appeared in 2022's Prizefighter with Matt Hookings, Ray Winstone and Russell Crowe. In 2023's Trafficking he played the Duke.

## Theatre

From January to July 2015, McKell co-starred with Tina Hobley, Jamie Lomas, Rik Makarem and Gray O'Brien in a nationwide touring production of Peter James's Dead Simple.
From September to October 2015, McKell appeared with Nick Moran in Roaring Trade at the Park Theatre.
From 7 December 2015 to 3 January 2016, McKell appeared in his first pantomime as Abanazar in Aladdin at the Derby Arena. McKell went back to his roots to play Paul in Irvine Welsh's play Creatives at the Edinburgh Festival 2017. McKell embarked on a UK and Ireland tour with Queen and Ben Elton's '"We Will Rock You" in 2019–20. The tour resumed in 2022 after COVID-19.

## Music

McKell started his working life as a musician. He was the singer/songwriter for the band The Park, penning hits for Toyah, Dollar and Julien Clerc. His solo career after deals with Phonogram, WEA and EMI was cut short by a near fatal car crash in August 1991. McKell returned to the stage in Macbeth at the Lyric Hammersmith in the late 1990s. He has appeared in West End musicals, including Blood Brothers and the Rod Stewart musical Tonight's the Night, written and directed by Ben Elton. Elton later went on to write the character Ronnie for McKell in his BBC comedy Blessed. McKell played "Lank" in the double Olivier winning production of Crazy for You in 2012 and returned to the role he created "Stoner" in the 2014 production of Tonight's the Night.
In 1985, he toured as Michael St James with French star Julien Clerc and worked with French singer–songwriter Serge Gainsbourg.
McKell released an EP, Shower over Moon Street, in 2009 and performed tracks from his album Shower over Moon Street at the Royal Albert Hall in November 2009. "Save Me", the first single from the album, was released on 25 July 2010. In 2022 Michael was back on the road with "We Will Rock You", and was due to release a new album, The Last Picture Show.