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 film Wide-Eyed and Legless with Julie Walters and Jim Broadbent. 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.