Craig Charles

Craig Charles
Charles in October 2009
Born
Craig Joseph Charles

(1964-07-11) 11 July 1964 (age 60)
Liverpool, England
Occupations
  • Actor
  • presenter
  • comedian
  • author
  • poet
  • DJ
Years active1981–present
Known forRed Dwarf
Coronation Street
Robot Wars
Takeshi's Castle
Spouses
(m. 1984; div. 1989)
Jackie Fleming
(m. 1999)
Children3

Craig Joseph Charles (born 11 July 1964) is an English actor, comedian, DJ, and television and radio presenter. He is best known for his roles as Dave Lister in the science fiction sitcom Red Dwarf and Lloyd Mullaney in the soap opera Coronation Street (2005–2015). He presented the gladiator-style game show Robot Wars from 1998 to 2004, and narrated the comedy endurance show Takeshi's Castle. As a DJ, he appears on BBC Radio 6 Music.

Charles first appeared on television as a performance poet, which led to minor presenting roles. After finding fame in Red Dwarf, he regularly featured on national television with celebrity appearances on many popular shows while he continued to host a wide variety of programmes. From 2017 to 2022, Charles hosted The Gadget Show for Channel 5. His acting credits include playing inmate Eugene Buffy in the ITV drama The Governor, and leading roles in the British films Fated and Clubbing to Death.

Charles has hosted The Craig Charles Funk and Soul Show on BBC radio since 2002, and performs DJ sets at numerous clubs and festivals, nationally and internationally. In September 2015, he left Coronation Street after ten years of acting, to film new episodes of Red Dwarf and to continue his BBC Radio 6 Music and BBC Radio 2 broadcasting.