THE RAILS AT 19
Star tells of deep regret over his criminal past and how he turned his life around
happened when he was a teenager.” Cliff was raised in Crouch End, North London, after a traumatic start to life which landed him in care.
He was only a few months old when parents Irene and George were kicked out of their home in London’s East End. They lost their house after their landlady cooked up a scheme to “buy” Cliff and his one-year-old sister in exchange for rent.
Irene and George refused. The family ended up sleeping in Victoria Park, Hackney, before social services took the kids into care. They were eventually returned to the couple.
Cliff’s dad George Manley recalled just how tough it was.
He said: “Life was very hard in those days. I had a very poor upbringing and things were tough for most people. All the times were hard, we lived in one room in Crouch End. It was very, very hard.”
Cliff put his criminal past behind him after being released from jail.
He performed stand-up comedy then took up acting, appearing in Chancer and Kavanagh QC.
In 2002 he shot to fame as softhearted mechanic Minty in EastEnders. He left in 2010 and for the best part of a decade has played handyman Fred in Call the Midwife.
Cliff is married to BBC production assistant Tara Wyer and they live in Highgate, North London. They have a son, three, and Cliff has three grownup kids
from previous relationships. He was the third star to be voted off ITV’s I’m A Celeb – and during his stint viewers saw him held in a mock jail as an ‘Outlaw’.
He and Coronation Street’s Andy Whyment were taken to the jail in a fake prison cart after a task to survive on basic rations of rice and beans.
With two slipped discs, Cliff found it difficult to sleep on the hard ground.
Cliff admitted he really struggled in the jungle and said: “You will never, ever, ever have an idea what it’s like.”
Last week he joked how he feared he could also get the boot from Call the Midwife after losing almost two stone in the jungle.
He said: “I am planning to lose a bit more weight. I don’t know what my employers are going to think about that.
“I’m sure they don’t want me to lose too much because I’ve been in the series for 10 years and I’m the big, fat useless mechanic.”