birth_place name birth_date yearsactive article_title birth_name occupation
wythenshawe , manchester , cheshire , england nicholas cochrane 16 december 1973 1989 -- 2004 , 2009 nicholas cochrane
 nicholas marc cochrane actor
nicholas cochrane

nicholas cochrane -lrb- born nicholas marc cochrane ; 16 december 1973 -rrb- is an english actor , best known for his role as andy mcdonald in long-running soap opera `` coronation street '' .
cochrane had appeared as an extra on tv for `` coronation street '' 's production company , granada tv , prior to his successful audition in 1989 for the role of andy mcdonald .
a schoolfriend from the year below , simon gregson , was hired to play twin brother steve .
cochrane 's character stayed in the programme for seven years before he was axed , along with several other cast members , in a high-profile cull by a new producer in 1997 .
his character took a job as an english teacher in spain , but has since returned for two short spells so that andy mcdonald could be seen attending the remarriage of his parents and later being best man at his brother 's wedding .
after `` coronation street '' , cochrane co-launched a short-lived magazine about soap operas and has also co-hosted a show on peak fm in chesterfield , derbyshire .
cochrane 's other television roles have included playing the golf pro ` barry scripps ' in itv1 ′ s ` heartbeat ' .
other television guest appearances have included ` loose women ' -lrb- itv1 -rrb- , ` canada am ' -lrb- national breakfast tv -rrb- ` the south bank show ' -lrb- itv1 -rrb- , ` live and kicking ' -lrb- bbc1 -rrb- , ` to me to you ' -lrb- cbbc -rrb- , ` confessions ' -lrb- itv -rrb- , ` win lose or draw ' -lrb- itv1 -rrb- and most recently cochrane recorded ` celebrity eggheads ' for bbc2 to air in late 2013 .
in addition cochrane has contributed to many coronation street related entertainment shows and documentaries over the years to most recently include ` farewell liz ' , a tribute to beverly callard in 2011 .
other shows all for itv stations or for commercial dvd release have included ; ` a nightmare on coronation street ' , ` the kids from coronation street ' , ` women of coronation street ' , ` coronation street through the keyhole ' , ` the stars of the street 50 years 50 classic characters ' , ` happy birthday coronation street ' , ` classic coronation street ' , ` coronation street secrets ' and ` coronation street the mcdonald family album ' .
he has also turned his hand at television presenting with appearances on granada tv and mutv where cochrane interviewed football legend roy keane and the footballer david beckham obe .
in addition to giving many radio interviews cochrane has also presented and guest presented on radio for a number of commercial stations including nationally on talksport .
cochrane starred in the no. 1 nationwide tour of ` spring and port wine ' with the middle ground theatre company touring venues including london , oxford , manchester , crewe and brighton amongst others .
the tour received critical acclaim and was a manchester evening news theatre award winner .
cochrane has appeared in pantomime productions , raising the roof on hundreds of performances and playing to sell out audiences around the country .
he has appeared in the fairy tale stories `` jack and the beanstalk '' , `` aladdin '' and `` cinderella '' playing many panto roles like buttons , genie of the lamp and prince charming .
cochrane has topped the bill in pantomime at several venues including cannock , cambridge corn exchange , the mansfield palace , pomegranate theatre chesterfield , st helens , leamington spa and llandudno .
in 2012 cochrane participated in a sold out canadian theatre tour ` tales from the street ' which saw him and other coronation street stars talk candidly about the nation 's longest running soap coronation street .
cochrane starred with other coronation street actors at several venues across the country and was an executive producer of the tour which earned rave reviews .
in spring he starred in a 2-week half term run of aladdin in billingham .
in autumn viewers got a chance to see some coronation street footage of cochrane as andy mcdonald on itv 's `` the corrie years '' .
cochrane also recorded a guest appearance on bbc2 's celebrity eggheads which aired over christmas 2013 before finishing the year off starring as buttons in cinderella at the st helens theatre royal .
2013 will see him star as the scarecrow in the wizard of oz also at the st helens theatre royal and a short run of musical heart and soul at liverpool 's epstein theatre .
2014 saw nick appear on piers morgans life stories in an episode about his on screen mum in coronation street , bev callard .
he will next appear at st helens theatre royal in snow white for xmas 2014 .
he is currently making his first movie ' a study in red : the secret journal of jack the ripper ' .
in his spare time cochrane enjoys playing and watching most sports , he lives in manchester with his wife denise and two children sam and lucia .
