Actor Stephen Vincent McGann was born in Liverpool on 2nd February 1963, the son of Joseph and Clare McGann who lived in a terraced house in Kensington, 4 Birstall Road L7. He attended St Anne’s Catholic Primary School and Cardinal Allen Grammar School, where his older brother Paul was already a pupil.
He first became involved in acting at school and in a youth drama group based at the Everyman Theatre, his enthusiasm further fired when his brother Paul secured a place at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts. Studying music in the sixth form he took singing lessons and joined the Philharmonic Choir, but failed his A levels and was in limbo for some time after leaving school. In his autobiographical book Flesh and Blood he tells of the difficulties he faced in this period with agoraphobia and panic attacks. Leaving Liverpool for London to try to make it as an actor, his break came when performing with his three brothers (Paul, Joe and Mark) in a musical called Yakety Yak in the Half Moon Theatre in Mile End Road. The show was a major success and quickly moved to the West End, opening at the Astoria in Charing Cross Road in January 1983, the McGann brothers becoming household names in the process.
Since then Stephen McGann has appeared in a number of films and many TV programmes, most notably in the role of Dr Patrick Turner in the BBC drama series Call the Midwife, which was created and written by his wife Heidi Thomas.
He has also established a considerable reputation as a speaker and communicator on science, especially medicine, having gained a Master’s degree in science communication from Imperial College. In 2016 he published a book, Doctor Turner’s Casebook, in which he examined medical cases featured in Call the Midwife, discussing their historical and social contexts.
Stephen McGann's home from his birth until leaving Liverpool in the early 1980's.
McGann's autobiographical work Flesh and Blood: A History of My Family in Seven Sicknesses [Simon and Schuster 2017] is a primary source for his family background. The Wikipedia entry is a bit limited but dooes list his film and TV credits. There is an interesting Guardian interview with him about his autobiography.
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