Richard Fleeshman - best known as baby-faced Craig Harris - is almost unrecognisable compared to when he played secretly gay man Tony Amos in popular BBC show Call The Midwife, which is set in London in the 1950s.
At the age of just 12, the soap star arrived on the famous cobbles after the Harris family moved to the area as part of the witness protection programme, originally living under the surname of Nelson. He soon became the boyfriend of Rosie Webster, played by Helen Flanagan.
Craig waved goodbye to Corrie in 2006 when he decided to run away to Berlin with Rosie changing her mind to stay in Weatherfield. Now 16 years later, TV star Richard has ditched his on-screen character’s goth image complete with black eyeliner, chains, and long indie-style hair, and is almost unrecognisable.
Since leaving the ITV soap, Richard, now 33, went on to pursue his dreams of being a West-End star and secured a highly sought-after supporting role in Legally Blonde and lead roles in Ghost: The Musical and Urinetown. Call the Midwife fans will know Craig as Tony Amos from an episode of the BBC period drama that moved viewers to tears.
As a secretly gay man, Tony became a victim of homophobia and tried to take his own life in a harrowing storyline. It was a stark reminder of the injustices gay people faced less than a century ago.
The actor is also a singer-songwriter and it seems the stage is his first love; an established West End and Broadway performer, he was nominated for a Laurence Olivier Award In 2018. But another passion has attracted a new legion of fans. Richard has transformed his image and shares his fitness journey with his 48k Instagram followers.
Nowadays Richard can be seen sporting a more toned and chiselled look and favours working out and maintaining his gym physique. His hard work paid off as he has landed the role of Nick on the ITV sitcom Deep Heat, which follows the story of a wannabe wrestler.
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