'Tina And Bobby' Cast: Meet Lorne MacFadyen, Who Plays Bobby Moore In The ITV Drama

While the hype surrounding ‘Tina And Bobby’ has largely centred around Michelle Keegan - who is adding yet another string to her dramatic bow after leaving ‘Coronation Street’ three years ago - that could all be about to change, thanks to her co-star, Lorne MacFadyen.

The ITV drama will see Lorne taking on the potentially daunting role of Bobby Moore, one of the most important figures in the history of British football, following his journey up to the 1966 World Cup and beyond.

But although Michelle is one of the brightest stars in Britain right now, so far little is known of Lorne - so why not get to know him a little better with our 9 Facts In 90 Seconds...?

1. Lorne is a relative unknown, but still had 5.5 million people watching him over Christmas

He’s best known for his portrayal of the young DC Phil Young in period detective drama ‘Grantchester’, which managed to draw in an impressive amount of viewers over the festive season.

2. He wasted no time in making a name for himself after finishing drama school

He told the Scotsman: “I only graduated a year ago, and ‘Grantchester’ was my first job.

“I filmed ‘Shetland’ in my summer holiday when I was a student, so I’m still quite new to it all. And working in London, it’s a very different experience, even just living in London.”

3. However, it didn’t look like he’d be breaking into acting when he was growing up 

In fact, it was only when he was at university, studying media design, that he fell in love with theatre, and wound up dropping out of his degree, and pursuing a career in acting instead - a risk that has certainly paid off now.

4. He originally hails from the Isle Of Skye

He joked that returning to Skye from London was like “going back in time”, before adding: “It’s very important to get that space, the quiet and the calm of the scenery. I’m lucky to have somewhere like that to go to.”

5. Playing national treasure Bobby Moore is Lorne’s biggest role to date, a fact that isn’t lost on him

Lorne told The Rake: “I think that I chose just to approach him as a person first because I’d have scared myself if I’d kept reminding myself of that fact that he’s so iconic.

“It’s more the buzz around the show that’s the daunting thing. People have been coming up to me in the street and saying, ‘you know, Bobby was a hero, you’d better do him justice’, but I felt that so long as I just stuck to what I was trained to do – to play the part to the best of my ability – it reminded me that I was just playing a part like any other and doing my work.”

6. And while he’s playing one of the most important figures in British football, he’s confessed the sport isn’t actually important to him personally

He admitted to Hunger TV he doesn’t play football “at all”, adding: “I played a little bit in school but it’s never been a part of my adult life.”

7. Despite hailing from Scotland, one aspect of his job that Lorne has never struggled with is accents

Lorne revealed: “I think initially before filming when [Tina Moore] heard my Scottish accent she was a little bit unnerved, but when she visited the set and heard me doing the voice she seemed to approve. She kept pointing at my dimples and saying ‘it’s just like him’.”

8. He’s no one-trick pony

In past interviews, Lorne has admitted he almost pursued a career in music, and has said he’d be keen to use his guitar-playing abilities in a future acting role.

9. He got some sage advice from Michelle Keegan on the set of ‘Tina And Bobby’

Discussing fame and success, Keegs told him: “Just be yourself and you’ll be fine.”

Lorne continued: “So I try not to overthink it too much. I think that’s a good way to be.”

‘Tine And Bobby’ airs on Friday, 13 January at 9pm on ITV.