Nicholas Cochrane | |
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Born |
Nicholas Marc Cochrane 16 December 1973 Wythenshawe, Manchester, England |
Occupation | Actor |
Years active | 1989–2004, 2009 - present |
Nicholas Cochrane (born Nicholas Marc Cochrane; 16 December 1973) 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 character of a golf professional Barry Scripps in ITV1′s Heartbeat.
Other television guest appearances have included Loose Women (ITV1), Canada AM (national breakfast TV) The South Bank Show (ITV1), Live and Kicking (BBC1), To Me To You (CBBC), Confessions (ITV), Win Lose or Draw (ITV1) and most recently Celebrity Eggheads’ for BBC2 in late 2013.
In addition Cochrane has contributed to many Coronation Street-related entertainment shows and documentaries. These 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. In 2012, he participated in a sold-out Canadian theatre tour, Tales from the Street, which saw him and other Coronation Street stars talk candidly about the soap. He was an executive producer of the tour which earned rave reviews.