21 Celebrities from Nottingham - from athletes to actors including Vicky McClure and Richard Bacon

Nottingham is a city known for many things including the legend of Robin Hood, Nottingham Castle and Wollaton Hall.

It is also famed for the host of celebrities that have come from the city, including actors and sportsmen.

Some celebrities have proudly voiced that they are from Nottingham, while others you might be surprised to find out that they grew up in the city.

Celebrities like Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean from Dancing on Ice have hailed from Clifton and Calverton.

In no particular order, here are 21 celebrities that are from Nottingham and the surrounding areas.

Vicky McClure

Vicky (Victoria) McClure is an actress, model and presenter who is most known for her role as Detective Inspector Kate Fleming in BBC’s Line of Duty.

She was born on 8 May 1983 in Wollaton and attended the Fernwood school in the area.

Vicky has previously won a BAFTA for Best Actress in her role as Lol Jenkins in This is England ‘86 and went on to reprise her role in This is England ‘88 and ‘90.

Jayne Torvill & Christopher Dean

Jayne Torvill was born in Clifton and Christopher Dean hails from Calverton. The pair are most known as their ice dancing duo Torvill and Dean.

The duo are British, European, Olympic and World champions and are most known for their infamous Boléro routine at the 1984 Sarajevo Olympics.

Torvill and Dean achieved 16 gold medals across their 22 year career before their retirement in 1998 and then they subsequently joined the ITV figure skating competition Dancing on Ice as the lead judges in 2006.

Bruce Dickinson

Bruce Dickinson was the lead vocalist in heavy metal band Iron Maiden from 1981 to 1993 and then 1999 to the current day.

He was born on 7 August 1958 in Worksop and attended Manton Primary before moving to Sheffield to be with his parents at the age of six.

Despite predominantly being a musician, Bruce has tried his hand at a few other careers including as a commercial pilot for Astraeus Airlines, a radio presenter on BBC Radio 6 Music, hosting television documentaries, writing novels and film scripts, creating his own beer with Robinsons Brewery and competing internationally at fencing.

Robert Lindsay

Robert Lindsay was born in Ilkeston on 13 December 1949 and attended Clarendon College with the intention of becoming a drama teacher.

However, he became an actor who is now known for playing Ben Harper in BBC sitcom My Family alongside on-screen wife Zoë Wanamaker.

His acting has seen him awarded a number of accolades including a BAFTA, a Tony Award and two Laurence Olivier Awards.

Rebecca Adlington

Rebecca Adlington is a former competitive swimmer who specialised in freestyle events and achieved two gold medals at the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games.

The sportswoman was born on 17 February 1989 in Mansfield and attended The Brunts School in the area.

Rebecca retired from swimming in 2013 at 23-years-old and has since worked for the BBC as a swimming pundit for various sporting events including the Olympic Games and World Aquatics Championships.

Jay McGuiness

Jay McGuiness was born in Newark on 24 July 1990 with his fraternal twin Thomas and attended the All Saints RC School.

Jay is a singer, songwriter and actor and is most known as one of the members of boy band The Wanted.

In 2015, the singer appeared on BBC’s Strictly Come Dancing and was crowned the winner of the series.

Matthew Horne

Matthew Horne is an actor and comedian, most known for being half of comedy duo Horne and Corden with James Corden.

Born on 6 September 1978 in Burton Joyce, Matthew is known for playing Gavin Shipman in BBC comedy Gavin and Stacey.

Matthew was first spotted by Catherine Tate at the Edinburgh Fringe in 2000, who then invited him to appear on The Catherine Tate Show which launched his television career.

Jake Bugg

Jake Bugg was born in Nottingham on 28 February 1994 and grew up in Clifton where he attended the Farnborough School Technology College.

Jake is a singer/songwriter who rose to fame in 2012 with his song Two Fingers, which reached 28 on the UK charts and was followed by his hit Lightning Bolt.

The singer has not released an album since 2021 and spent last year playing tenth anniversary performances for his debut self-titled album.

Richard Bacon

Richard Bacon is a television and radio presenter who found fame as a presenter on Blue Peter in 1997, and has since worked on The Big Breakfast, Good Morning Britain and BBC Radio 2.

Born on 30 November 1975 in Mansfield, the presenter attended St Peter’s Church of England Primary School.

Richard Bacon is now living in Los Angeles, California with his wife Rebecca McFarlane and now works in American television.

Alice Levine

Alice Levine is a television and radio presenter who is most known for her previous role on BBC Radio 1 and one of the three hosts of hit comedy podcast My Dad Wrote A Porno.

Alice was born in Beeston on 8 July 1986 and attended the Alderman White School in Bramcote.

The presenter has also made a host of television appearances including Taskmaster, Would I Lie To You and The Circle.

Paul Smith

Paul Smith was born on 5 July 1946 in Beeston and hoped to become a cyclist when he was younger, but at 17 was involved in a major cycling accident.

Paul then became a fashion designer and built a career on men’s clothing before expanding into other areas and was made a Royal Designer for Industry in 1991.

The fashion designer has won many accolades throughout his career, including being awarded the Freedom of the City of Nottingham in 1997.

Mark Hoyle

Mark Hoyle is most known by his online social media username LadBaby, and has achieved five years of consecutive Christmas number one singles.

Born in Nottingham on 12 April 1987, Mark is married to wife Roxanne and the couple create video content on YouTube, Facebook and Instagram.

Mark is a big fan of Nottingham Forest football club with their two sons having names with references to the club, Phoenix Forest and Kobe Notts.

Lennie James

Lennie James was born in Nottingham on 11 October 1965, before moving to South London as a child.

He is an actor, screenwriter and playwright who is most known for playing Morgan Jones in The Walking Dead and DCI Tony Gates in Line of Duty.

At the age of 10, Lennie’s mother passed away, with the actor and his brother Kester, choosing to live in a children’s home instead of being sent to America, and now as an adult he has moved to Los Angeles with his wife Giselle Glasman.

MistaJam

Peter Dalton, who is otherwise known by his stage name MistaJam, is a DJ and radio presenter with a show on Capital and Capital Dance.

He was born on 19 January 1983 in Nottingham and began DJing at local events in the area at the age of 14, before going on to DJ for hip hop crew Out Da Ville.

MistaJam previously presented radio shows on BBC Radio 1 and BBC Radio 1Xtra, as well as appearing as the DJ on the Horizon Block Party radio station in the 2018 racing game Forza Horizon 4 and the 2021 sequel Forza Horizon 5.

Jason Statham

Jason Statham was born in Shirebrook on 26 July 1967 and is most known for his acting roles in the Fast and Furious movies.

Before acting, Jason began practising Chinese martial arts, kickboxing and karate and then moved on to football and diving.

Jason was previously a member of Britain’s national diving team and in 1990 competed for England in the Commonwealth Games.

Samantha Morton

Samantha Morton is an actress and director, who is most known for her work in independent cinema.

She was born in the Clifton area on 13 May 1977 and has won several awards including a BAFTA and a Golden Globe, as well as being nominated for two Academy Awards and a Primetime Emmy Award.

Samatha is most known for her role as Myra Hindley in HBO’s Longford but also starred in Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them.

Su Pollard

Su Pollard was born in Nottingham on 7 November 1949 and attended local schools Berridge Road School, Hyson Green and Peveril Bilateral School and Robin’s Wood Road.

She is an actress and singer with a career that has spanned over 45 years and has made over 35 appearances in stage plays and musicals.

The star is most known for her role in sitcom Hi-de-Hi! and previously achieved a number-two hit with the song “Starting Together” In 1986.

Chris Gascoyne

Chris Gascoyne is an actor, most known for his role as Peter Barlow on ITV soap Coronation Street.

The actor was born on 31 January 1968 in Huthwaite and attended the Ashfield School in Kirkby.

Chris has been nominated for numerous awards including Best Actor and Best Dramatic Performance at the British Soap Awards.

Georgia Groome

Georgia Groome was born in Nottingham on 11 February 1992 and trained at Nottingham Television Workshop.

The actress is most known for her role in 2008 teen movie Angus, Thongs and Perfect Snogging.

Georgia made her acting debut in A Fish Out of Water in 2001 and has been with her partner, Harry Potter actor Rupert Grint since 2011.

Sherrie Hewson

Sherrie Hewson is an actress and television presenter, who is most known for her role as Maureen Holdsworth in Coronation Street and Joyce Temple-Savage in Benidorm.

She was born on 17 September 1950 in Beeston and attended Dorothy Grants High School for Girls.

Sherrie was a regular panellist on Loose Women for 14 years, before announcing she was leaving the show in 2016.

Robert Harris

Robert Harris was born in Nottingham on 7 March 1957 and attended Belvoir High School.

He is a novelist and journalist, who started his career writing non-fiction before penning historical fiction novels.

The Fatherland author previously worked on BBC’s Panorama and Newsnight before becoming the political editor of The Observer.