Andrew Lancel was born on 3 August 1970 in Rufford, Lancashire. He started his acting career in local theatre and as a cabaret singer. In 1993, he appeared in the TV film "Wide-Eyed and Legless" with Julie Walters, Jim Broadbent and Thora Hird. He gained fame as the lead role in the ground breaking medical series "Cardiac Arrest" with Helen Baxendale. Since then, he has become a well-established theatre and television actor with a reputation for seeking controversial roles and projects. He was described as the most realistic doctor on TV and sporadically was TV's most hated man, after roles in "City Central", "Bad Girls" and "Queer as Folk".