Chris Ellison

Chris Ellison is best known for his role as Detective Chief Inspector Frank Burnside in the ITV series “The Bill” and the successful spin-off series “Burnside”.

Born in London he appeared in many guest roles on TV during the 1970’s and 80’s in massively popular TV shows including “The Sweeney” and “The Professionals” and in the feature film “Buster” based on the Great Train Robbery. He is keen to point out that although he usually plays pretty scary characters on screen he is not like that in real life

He has guest starred in a range of successful show and dramas including “Dr Who”, “EastEnders”, “Casualty”, “Judge John Deed”, “Birds of a Feather”, Dempsey and Makepeace”, “Brush Strokes” and “Bread”…….to mention just a few! At the same time he has worked steadily in the theatre, appearing in productions ranging from serious drama to light hearted farce such as “Catch Me If You Can”.

Although Chris is a familiar face on our TV screens it is not so well known that he is also an accomplished artist, having trained at both Wimbledon and Camberwell schools of art. He has always kept his artwork gently simmering in the background to his work as an actor but lately he has been concentrating more seriously on his painting and recently he held his own London exhibitions, sponsored by Fiat UK.

Chris explains what inspired him to become an actor: “It seemed like a good idea at the time! I've always been a big film buff, always loved going to the cinema, and I aspired to be an actor myself. Being an actor is one of those impossible dreams people have and I appreciate how very lucky I am that I managed to do it”.