FACE IS FAMILIAR: Lee Ingleby

Currently sharing top billing in series two of The A Word (9pm, BBC1), Lee, 41, has been appearing in British television dramas for nearly 20 years…

Natural talent: Born in Lancashire in 1976, Lee developed a passion for acting while at school. Encouraged by a drama teacher, he went on to Lamda in London, and after graduating was soon winning small roles in the likes of Soldier Soldier (1997) and The Bill (1998). In 2000, he took the lead in the BBC series Nature Boy, after which the parts started coming thick and fast – Fat Friends (2002), Hustle (2005), The Street (2006), Luther (2011) and White Heat (2012), to name a few. Small-screen star: Though he has appeared in films such as Master

And Commander (2003) and

Harry Potter And The Prisoner Of Azkaban (2004), it is on television that Lee has flourished. In 2006, he was Mole in The Wind In The Willows, with Bob Hoskins, Matt Lucas and Mark Gatiss. The following year, he made his debut as DS John Bacchus in Inspector George Gently, alongside Martin Shaw; he was to play Bacchus for the next ten years. Other major roles include BBC series Our Zoo (2014), The A Word, The Five (both 2016) and season four of Line Of Duty (2017). His next starring role is alongside Hermione Norris in ITV’s new crime drama, Innocent.

Sounds familiar: Lee has been the voice of Bob The Builder since 2015, when he took over from Neil Morrissey, and he will next be heard as part of the all-star vocal cast of the BBC’s animated adaptation of Watership Down.