
Dean Andrews
Born
August 6, 1963 (61 years old)
Known For
Acting
Place of Birth
Rotherham, Yorkshire, UK
Dean Andrews is an English actor. He is known for his role as DS Ray Carling in the BBC drama series Life on Mars. He continued the role in the sequel series, Ashes to Ashes, until 2010. As of April 2019, he appeared as Will Taylor on ITV soap opera Emmerdale. Andrews left the show on 26 December 2024 when his character Will died of a heart attack.
Born in 1963 in Rotherham, Andrews went to Sitwell Junior School on Grange Road and Oakwood Comprehensive School on Moorgate Road. He went to school with Top Gear presenter James May.
Dean Andrews started off as a mainstay of cruise ships as a talented entertainer and singer. He was discovered by film director Ken Loach, who was looking for people from Yorkshire to appear in the 2001 film, The Navigators. He then went on to play Barry Shiel in the Channel 4 drama Buried, which won the BAFTA Award for Best Drama Series in 2004. That year, he also had a small role, as Neil, in the Channel 4 series No Angels.
In 2005, Andrews appeared in one episode of the ITV drama Wire in the Blood. The following year, he appeared in another BBC drama, Life On Mars, as DS Ray Carling. He then had roles in two BBC dramas, True Dare Kiss and The Street, in 2007. Andrews again played DC Carling in Ashes to Ashes, a 2008 spin-off series of Life on Mars. During the same year, he recorded voiceovers for Currys television advertisements. He had a guest role in 2010 on the BBC One series Waterloo Road.
In 2011, Andrews appeared in: the BBC drama The Body Farm as Peter Collins; the BBC Two television film United, about the Manchester United "Busby Babes" team and the 1958 Munich air disaster; ITV's supernatural drama series Marchlands, playing one of the lead roles; and the five-part BBC One series The Case, in which he played the lead role as a man accused of murdering his terminally ill girlfriend.
In November 2012, Andrews appeared in all four series of the BBC drama Last Tango in Halifax as Robert "Robbie" Greenwood. The following year, he portrayed Pete Lewis in the BBC show Being Eileen. Andrews played local hotel and barman Tom Asher in a 2015 episode of the popular series Midsomer Murders on ITV. In 2019, the actor joined the cast of ITV soap opera Emmerdale. He left the soap on 26 December 2024 when his character Will died of a heart attack. He has stated that he was not told about the character's demise. He narrated the Channel 5 documentary series, Our Great Yorkshire Life, in 2022. He also narrates the UK TV show Casualty 24/7 which centres on Barnsley Hospital.

Torvill & Dean
Colin Dean
2018

Agatha and the Truth of Murder
Wade
2018

Dark River
Matty
2017

The Moorside
PC Steve 'Kinchie' Kinchin · (2 episodes)
2017

Delicious
Steven Green · (1 episode)
2016

Jericho
(1 episode)
2016

Banana
Alan · (1 episode)
2015
Original Drama Shorts
Nick · (1 episode)
2014

Frankie
(3 episodes)
2013

The Security Men
Ray
2013

Being Eileen
Pete Lewis · (6 episodes)
2013

Father Brown
Michael Negal · (1 episode)
2013

Last Tango in Halifax
Robbie · (24 episodes)
2012
Girl Shaped Love Drug
Her Father
2012

Elfie Hopkins
Villager
2012

Just Henry
Bill
2011

Weekender
Sergeant Thompson
2011

Vera
Jonah Regan · (1 episode)
2011

Marchlands
Eddie Maynard · (5 episodes)
2011

United
Bert Whalley
2011

Wish 143
Bus Driver
2009

Kandahar Break
Steve Delamore
2009

Salvage
Clive
2009

The Making of... Ashes to Ashes
Himself
2009

Chris Moyles' Quiz Night
Self · (1 episode)
2009

Ashes to Ashes
Ray Carling · (24 episodes)
2008

True Dare Kiss
Vinny · (2 episodes)
2007

The End of 'Life on Mars'
Self
2007

New Street Law
(1 episode)
2006

Missing
Mark Lanser
2006

Life on Mars
Ray Carling · (16 episodes)
2006

Missing: All Secrets Have a Price
(2 episodes)
2006

Love + Hate
Derek
2005

My Summer of Love
Ricky
2005

Faith
Davey
2005

No Angels
(3 episodes)
2004

Shameless
Geoff Mulligan · (1 episode)
2004

Between The Sheets
Steve Ashby · (6 episodes)
2003

Blue Murder
Will Harmon · (1 episode)
2003

Buried
Barry Shiel · (2 episodes)
2003

Wire in the Blood
(1 episode)
2002

The Navigators
John
2001

Clocking Off
(1 episode)
2000

Midsomer Murders
Tom Asher · (1 episode)
1997
My Wonderful Life
(24 episodes)
1996

Silent Witness
(2 episodes)
1996

Soccer AM
Self · (1 episode)
1995

GMTV
Self · (2 episodes)
1993

Heartbeat
(1 episode)
1992

This Morning
Self · (2 episodes)
1988

Casualty
Reg Summerston · (1 episode)
1986

Emmerdale
Will Taylor · (249 episodes)
1972