Born in Wiltshire in 1991, Joe Sugg is a former roof thatcher turned social media star, actor and author. Inspired by his vlogging sister Zoe, otherwise known as Zoella, he won a place in the Brit Crew – a cohort of UK content creators who dominated YouTube in the 2010s – thanks to his peppy personality and pranks on his long-suffering roommate. With more than 26 million followers across his social media platforms, he has since become a finalist on Strictly Come Dancing, launched emerging talent agency Margravine Management, and performed in London’s West End and the BBC drama Syndicate. His book Grow, about the importance of connecting to nature in a digital world, is released on 15 September.
This is me on set for the BBC period drama Cranford. My aunty or mum must have taken the photo. We’d heard that the film crew was coming to our village, Lacock, and wanted extras for the show, so my whole family went back to the 1800s for the day. I was only in one scene, standing in the background looking shocked as a man with a broken arm walked in to see a doctor, but it was very exciting. Especially as Harry Potter was also filmed in our village a few years before – I’d tried to get picked as an extra for that, too, but didn’t make the cut.
