Christopher Fairbank

Biography:

Christopher Fairbank was born on 4 October 1953 in Hertfordshire and grew up in Essex, where his family ran a village shop. He attended boarding school in Canterbury. His father, a Freemason, was posthumously awarded the 33rd degree in Freemasonry by the Duke of Kent at Addenbrooke’s Hospital, a distinction usually reserved for the Duke himself.

Fairbank’s first exposure to acting came during primary school when he portrayed Mr. Brown in a stage version of Paddington Bear at Clavering County Primary School. When the student playing Paddington forgot a line, Fairbank improvised, marking his first unscripted performance and sparking his interest in theatre.

At seventeen, he was convicted of marijuana possession after his mother discovered cannabis in his room and his father reported it. He was placed on two years’ probation and sent to live in a Liverpool hostel. During a 1975 visit to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, he was arrested twice. After spending two years in Liverpool, he enrolled at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, graduating in April 1974.

Early in his career, Fairbank struggled to find roles due to his acne-scarred skin. Before landing his breakout role in Auf Wiedersehen, Pet, he appeared in smaller parts, including the series Z-Cars and The Old Curiosity Shop (1979), in which he played Kit Nubbles in seven of nine episodes. In 1981, he appeared in six episodes of Coronation Street as Ginger, a mechanic.

In 1983, his manager arranged an audition with Auf Wiedersehen, Pet director Roger Bamford. Fairbank used a Scouse accent and won the role of Albert Arthur “Moxey” — a Liverpool plasterer and reformed arsonist who initially struggled with a stutter. He portrayed Moxey through two original seasons (1985–1986) and returned for the show’s revivals in 2002 and 2004. The character ultimately relocates to Australia with his partner in the 2004 finale.

Fairbank has since appeared in numerous films, including Batman, where he played Nic, a mugger interrogated by Batman. His television credits include Doctor Who, Father Brown, and Shakespeare & Hathaway: Private Investigators. He also lent his voice to Aardman productions such as Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit and Flushed Away.

In 2010, he played a detective in Five Daughters and portrayed Alfred “Freddie” Lennon, John Lennon’s father, in Lennon Naked. He later appeared in the Marvel Cinematic Universe as The Broker in Guardians of the Galaxy (2014) and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 (2023).

In December 2023, it was announced that Fairbank would join EastEnders as Eddie Knight. He first appeared in the episode aired on 1 January 2024, alongside Elizabeth Counsell as his wife, Gloria. Their storyline centered on the issue of baby farming, concluding on 15 April 2024 with Eddie imprisoned for racially aggravated murder and Gloria dying of a heart attack.

Fairbank made his stage debut in 2013 after being encouraged by Susan Boyle to audition for A Christmas Carol at Edinburgh’s Royal Lyceum Theatre, where he won the role of Ebenezer Scrooge. In 2015, he returned to the same theatre to play Azdak in The Caucasian Chalk Circle.

Despite being one of Britain’s most accomplished and versatile actors, Fairbank keeps a low public profile, explaining, “I prefer the work to speak for me because that is what I do. I’m an actor and I prefer to be judged solely for my performances.”