Andrew Hayden-Smith

Andrew Hayden-Smith (born in Gateshead, Tyne and Wear) is a British actor and television presenter best known for his work with CBBC.

Smith was brought up in Chester-le-Street in County Durham and attended the Pelton Roseberry Sports and Community College. He has an older half-sister, Kerri Rogan-Smith (who was a 3rd AD on Byker Grove), from his mother's first marriage. Auditions for popular CBBC children's serial drama Byker Grove were held at his school and he won the part of Ben Carter, making his first appearance in the eighth series of the show in 1995.

Initially just using the name Andrew Smith, his "bad boy" womanising character became a big hit with viewers. His good looks also gained him much attention and in 2000 he appeared as a guest on Saturday morning CBBC show Live & Kicking with several other characters from the show. Smith's shy and down-to-earth nature endeared him to viewers and he soon became a regular guest on the show. This led to appearances on other shows and also in teen-magazines, as well as two pantomime appearances. In 2001 he applied for Equity membership and was accepted under the name Andrew Hayden-Smith (Hayden being another surname in his family), as the name Andrew Smith was already taken.

Hayden-Smith appeared in the episodes "Rise of the Cybermen", "The Age of Steel" and "Doomsday" as Jake Simmonds in the 2006 series of Doctor Who. He returned to CBBC having completed the filming, but decided that he wished to concentrate on acting. His final day of presenting was on 7 July 2006, the day before his third and final Doctor Who appearance.

On leaving CBBC and after his final Doctor Who appearance, Hayden-Smith concentrated on his acting career. He played Romeo in Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet at the Jermyn Street Theatre, London, 21 April - 17 May 2008. His position as Jake Simmonds on Doctor Who earned him a spot on The Weakest Link. He placed fifth, despite being the strongest link several times. Hayden-Smith has also worked as a continuity announcer for ITV

_{Biography from the Wikipedia article, licensed under CC-BY-SA}