# Ciarán Griffiths
**Ciarán Griffiths** (born 1983) is an English actor from Manchester, England, best known for playing PC/DC Gary Best in the police drama *The Bill* and the gay gangster [Mickey Maguire](https://www.edgepedia.org/mickey-maguire-shameless) in the comedy drama *Shameless*.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0341647/bio/) • [2](https://www.bustle.com/entertainment/ciaran-griffiths-instagram-age-career-returning-corrie-actor) His full birth name is Ciaran Joseph Griffiths, and he has appeared in British television since childhood.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0341647/bio/)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born | 1983, Manchester, England, UK; birth name Ciaran Joseph Griffiths[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0341647/bio/) |
| Breakthrough role | PC/DC Gary Best in *The Bill*, a series regular for about five years after joining at age 18[2](https://www.bustle.com/entertainment/ciaran-griffiths-instagram-age-career-returning-corrie-actor) • [3](https://ilovemanchester.com/shameless-and-the-bill-actor-ciaran-griffiths-on-returning-to-theatre-with-all-i-see-is-you) |
| Signature role | Mickey Maguire in *Shameless* (Channel 4), 2007 to 2012[2](https://www.bustle.com/entertainment/ciaran-griffiths-instagram-age-career-returning-corrie-actor) • [4](https://coronationstreet.fandom.com/wiki/Ciaran_Griffiths) |
| Coronation Street | Two roles: Dean Sykes in 2000, then Damon Hay from December 2022 to 2024[4](https://coronationstreet.fandom.com/wiki/Ciaran_Griffiths) • [5](https://www.rte.ie/entertainment/2022/1118/1336865-corrie/) |
| First credit | Children's drama series *Children's Ward*, at age 13[2](https://www.bustle.com/entertainment/ciaran-griffiths-instagram-age-career-returning-corrie-actor) |
| Theatre | Bobby in Katherine Smith's *All I See Is You*, a two-hander about queer life in 1967, 2018 to 2019[6](https://aboutmanchester.co.uk/ciaran-griffiths-from-itvs-the-bay-stars-in-award-winning-drama-all-i-see-is-you-at-hope-mill-from-27th-may/) |
## Early career
Griffiths grew up in inner-city Manchester and attended St Mary's RC High School in Astley, where he landed his first acting role in the children's drama *Children's Ward* at the age of thirteen.[4](https://coronationstreet.fandom.com/wiki/Ciaran_Griffiths) He has said that he mimicked people at school and that his mother suggested theater workshops.[3](https://ilovemanchester.com/shameless-and-the-bill-actor-ciaran-griffiths-on-returning-to-theatre-with-all-i-see-is-you) At 16 he attended the Oldham Theatre Workshop and later workshops in Salford, and was then cast in the film *[There's Only One Jimmy Grimble](https://www.edgepedia.org/theres-only-one-jimmy-grimble)* (2000) opposite [Robert Carlyle](https://www.edgepedia.org/robert-carlyle); the casting call sought normal kids from workshops rather than drama-school students.[3](https://ilovemanchester.com/shameless-and-the-bill-actor-ciaran-griffiths-on-returning-to-theatre-with-all-i-see-is-you) The film's producer helped him get an agent in London, and soon afterward he joined *The Bill* as PC Gary Best.[3](https://ilovemanchester.com/shameless-and-the-bill-actor-ciaran-griffiths-on-returning-to-theatre-with-all-i-see-is-you)
In 2000 he also appeared on *Coronation Street* as Dean Sykes, the younger brother of Linda Sykes/Baldwin, a character shot dead by a police markswoman after an attempted armed robbery at a Freshco supermarket.[4](https://coronationstreet.fandom.com/wiki/Ciaran_Griffiths)
## Shameless and later television
After *The Bill*, Griffiths moved to [Jimmy McGovern](https://www.edgepedia.org/jimmy-mcgovern)'s *The Street* and then joined *Shameless*, where he played Mickey Maguire from 2007 to 2012.[3](https://ilovemanchester.com/shameless-and-the-bill-actor-ciaran-griffiths-on-returning-to-theatre-with-all-i-see-is-you) • [2](https://www.bustle.com/entertainment/ciaran-griffiths-instagram-age-career-returning-corrie-actor) In the BAFTA-winning series, Mickey Maguire was a gay gangster who had feelings for [Ian Gallagher](https://www.edgepedia.org/ian-gallagher) and kept his sexuality hidden from his family.[7](https://www.thepinknews.com/2024/01/08/GAY-CHARACTER-CIARAN-GRIFFITHS-GAY-CHARACTER/) Griffiths described the character as larger than life and tiring at times, and he recalled working with [David Threlfall](https://www.edgepedia.org/david-threlfall) and Sean Gilder as a learning experience.[3](https://ilovemanchester.com/shameless-and-the-bill-actor-ciaran-griffiths-on-returning-to-theatre-with-all-i-see-is-you)
His film work includes *There's Only One Jimmy Grimble* (2000), *Clubbed* (2007), *Dead Cert* (2010), *Svengali* (2014) alongside [Martin Freeman](https://www.edgepedia.org/martin-freeman), Vicky McClure, and [Maxine Peake](https://www.edgepedia.org/maxine-peake), and *Big Fat Gypsy Gangster* (2011).[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0341647/bio/) • [2](https://www.bustle.com/entertainment/ciaran-griffiths-instagram-age-career-returning-corrie-actor) Other television credits include *Waterloo Road* (Dylan Hodge), *Atlantis* (Cyrus), *The Mill* (Matthew Boon), *Vera*, *The Bay* (Lee Ward), *Shakespeare & Hathaway: Private Investigators* (Billy 'the Brick' Porter), and *Riptide* (Michael Lane).[4](https://coronationstreet.fandom.com/wiki/Ciaran_Griffiths) • [8](https://www.tvmaze.com/people/40863/ciaran-griffiths) He was cited as a [Royal Television Society](https://www.edgepedia.org/royal-television-society) award winner for best performance in a drama.[9](https://elitehairclinic.com.au/ciaran-griffiths-original-interview/)
## Coronation Street return and Australia
Twenty-two years after playing Dean Sykes, Griffiths rejoined *Coronation Street* in December 2022 as Damon Hay, the troublemaker father of Jacob Hay.[4](https://coronationstreet.fandom.com/wiki/Ciaran_Griffiths) • [5](https://www.rte.ie/entertainment/2022/1118/1336865-corrie/) He returned to the role intermittently through 2023 and 2024; in the character's final storyline, Damon was arrested for armed robbery after being blackmailed by his brother Harvey Gaskell and chose to plead guilty and accept a prison sentence.[4](https://coronationstreet.fandom.com/wiki/Ciaran_Griffiths) • [10](https://coronationstreetnews.com/coronation-street-star-marries-stunning-girlfriend-weeks-after-itv-soap-exit/)
Griffiths first came to Australia in 2019 while performing in the world tour of *All I See Is You*, a play about a gay relationship in 1967 Bolton and Manchester in which he played Bobby; the production was joint winner of the 2017 Octagon National Prize.[9](https://elitehairclinic.com.au/ciaran-griffiths-original-interview/) • [6](https://aboutmanchester.co.uk/ciaran-griffiths-from-itvs-the-bay-stars-in-award-winning-drama-all-i-see-is-you-at-hope-mill-from-27th-may/) He met his partner there, started a family, and now lives in Australia; he married in 2024 after leaving the soap.[9](https://elitehairclinic.com.au/ciaran-griffiths-original-interview/) • [10](https://coronationstreetnews.com/coronation-street-star-marries-stunning-girlfriend-weeks-after-itv-soap-exit/) In a 2023 interview he said his home is in Australia and that he would consider regular work near his family, while contrasting the more laid-back pace and warmer weather of Australian filming with working on the Manchester cobbles.[11](https://www.yahoo.com/news/coronation-streets-ciar-n-griffiths-085300173.html)
## References
1. [Ciaran Griffiths - Biography, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0341647/bio/)
2. [Ciarán Griffiths: Instagram, Age, Career, & More On Returning 'Corrie' Actor, Bustle](https://www.bustle.com/entertainment/ciaran-griffiths-instagram-age-career-returning-corrie-actor)
3. [Shameless and The Bill actor Ciaran Griffiths on returning to theatre with All I See Is You, I Love Manchester](https://ilovemanchester.com/shameless-and-the-bill-actor-ciaran-griffiths-on-returning-to-theatre-with-all-i-see-is-you)
4. [Ciaran Griffiths, Coronation Street Wiki](https://coronationstreet.fandom.com/wiki/Ciaran_Griffiths)
5. [Ciarán Griffiths is to join the cast of Coronation Street as Damon, RTÉ](https://www.rte.ie/entertainment/2022/1118/1336865-corrie/)
6. [Ciarán Griffiths from ITV's The Bay stars in award winning drama All I See Is You at Hope Mill from 27th May, About Manchester](https://aboutmanchester.co.uk/ciaran-griffiths-from-itvs-the-bay-stars-in-award-winning-drama-all-i-see-is-you-at-hope-mill-from-27th-may/)
7. [Corrie star shares cheeky go-to response when questioned about gay character, PinkNews](https://www.thepinknews.com/2024/01/08/GAY-CHARACTER-CIARAN-GRIFFITHS-GAY-CHARACTER/)
8. [Ciaran Griffiths, TVmaze](https://www.tvmaze.com/people/40863/ciaran-griffiths)
9. [Ciaran Griffiths Original Interview, Elite Hair Clinic](https://elitehairclinic.com.au/ciaran-griffiths-original-interview/)
10. [Coronation Street star marries stunning girlfriend weeks after ITV soap exit, Corrie News](https://coronationstreetnews.com/coronation-street-star-marries-stunning-girlfriend-weeks-after-itv-soap-exit/)
11. [Coronation Street's Ciarán Griffiths on if he'd move to Neighbours, Digital Spy via Yahoo](https://www.yahoo.com/news/coronation-streets-ciar-n-griffiths-085300173.html)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Screen people and creators › Screen actors of the Anglosphere and Europe › English actors: 2000s onward › Surnames F to Gu*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 12, 2026; Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
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License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license