Ricky Whittle
In 2009 Ricky Whittle partnered Natalie Lowe in Strictly Come Dancing. They came second.
Ricky Whittle was born in Oldham.
His father Harry was in the RAF and consequently the Whittle family lived in various places around the world.
Ricky Whittle was scouted by Arsenal and Celtic, but an injury put paid to his hopes of becoming a footballer.
He then studied a Law with Criminology degree at Southampton University.
Whilst there he began modelling.
In 2002, Ricky Whittle was cast as Ryan Naysmith in Sky One's Dream Team.
After breaking his leg in a charity football game, he then suffered a lung embolism and nearly died.
Ricky Whittle was able to get back into acting initially because he returned to Dream Team in a storyline where his character broke his leg.
In 2006 he was cast as Calvin Valentine in Hollyoaks.
His partner is Carley Stenson, who plays Steph Dean in Hollyoaks, however in November 2009, there were reports that Ricky Whittle and Carley Stenson had split up.
