Julian Ovenden, new star of ITV’s Trigger Point, has come a long way since his days portraying the Diet Coke man.
He portrays new character Commander John Francis on the bomb disposal drama, but his real life is even crazier than that.
Here’s everything we know about actor, singer, and Diet Coke man Julian Ovenden.
How old is Julian Ovenden?
Julian was born in Sheffield on November 29, 1976. At the time of writing, he is 47 years old.
He sang in the choir at St. Paul’s Cathedral as a child and later gained a music scholarship to Eton. Julian followed that up with a choral scholarship to read music at New College, Oxford.
Speaking about his schooling, Julian said: “I don’t think you can go to boarding school and come out without feeling a little repressed – yes, it does leave its mark on you.”
What TV shows and films has Julian Ovenden been in?
Julian first rose to television fame in 2002, when he starred in TV film Come Together, as well as two major TV roles. He played Val Dartie in the Forsyte Saga until 2003, alongside Damian Lewis and Rupert Graves. He also played Andrew Foyle, the pilot son of series lead DCS Christopher Foyle (Michael Kitchen), until 2008.
Julian next took the lead role of Dr. David Cheriton in Heartbeat spin-off The Royal, which he played for three seasons.
He then tried his luck in the US, portraying Jason in female-led WB comedy Related (2005-2006). By 2008, he was rubbing shoulders with Hollywood’s finest in Cashmere Media, which also starred Lucy Liu and Miranda Otto.
In 2010 he portrayed Ernest Hemingway in the star-studded Channel 4 drama Any Human Heart. He starred alongside Jim Broadbent and Matthew Macfadyen on the series. That same year, he made his first film appearance in opera-themed comedy 1st Night.
By 2013, Julian was starring in Downton Abbey as Charles Blake. Charles was a government official studying large estates like Downton in the post-war era who fell in love with Mary Crawley (Michelle Dockery).
Julian next put his musical theatre skills to good use in ITV‘s live production of The Sound of Music in 2015. He played Captain Georg von Trapp, while EastEnders star Kara Tointon was Maria.
He next played the recurring role of Jeremy Lambert in Person of Interest (2014-2016), before landing the major role of William de Nogaret in History channel drama Knightfall (2017-2019). The drama told the story of the fall of the Knights Templar in 1307.
Christmas 2018 saw him starring in British festive flick Surviving Christmas with the Relatives, alongside Gemma Whelan.
Most recently, you might have seen Julian in hit Netflix drama Bridgerton (2020), playing artist Sir Henry Granville. He’s also had roles in Adult Material (2020) and HBO drama Avenue 5 (2022).
Why did Julian Ovenden leave The Royal?
Julian portrayed GP David Cheriton in the first three seasons of seaside-set medical drama The Royal. The Heartbeat spin-off aired from 2003-2011, but Dr David Cheriton was killed off in the second episode of season three.
The episode saw Dr David fall victim to a vicious tackle in a charity rugby match, which ended in tragedy.
Neither Julian nor ITV have stated why he left The Royal, but the character’s popularity probably means it was Julian’s decision to leave.
Julian Ovenden the musical theatre star
For Julian Ovenden, TV and film is only one side of the coin. He’s also a talented musical theatre performer and singer, for which he’s scored some big hits.
He starred in the multi award-winning Merrily We Roll Along (2002), in the lead role of Franklin Shepard. It would be the first of many times performing the works Stephen Sondheim, and he also performed as George in Sunday In The Park With George in 2013.
He’s also well-known for his role in Annie Get Your Gun at The Young Vic in 2009. He reprised the role in 2023 for performances at the London Palladium.
Julian’s theatre work also includes West End productions of Marguerite (2008) and All About Eve (opposite Gillian Anderson in 2018). He also starred as Butley on Broadway (2006), as well as Death Takes A Holiday (2011) and Show Boat (2016) in New York.
He’s also regularly performed musical theatre songs at BBC Proms and other concerts.
Those Diet Coke ads
If you’re thinking that’s not quite everything Julian’s famous for, you’re right. Julian also starred as a Diet Coke Man in the era of sexy Diet Coke Man adverts.
In his particular advert, Ovenden played the hot newbie at the office who gets a lot of attention from his female co-workers.
In real life, Julian admits he didn’t have the same luck: “People who know that I’ve done that were nice, but I never really get recognised from it. The only female attention I got was my sister getting very excited when I told her I was doing it.”
Who is Julian Ovenden’s father?
Julian is the son of Canon John Ovenden, the former chaplain to the late Queen Elizabeth II.
Canon John Ovenden became the Queen’s Chaplain in 1997, shortly after the death of Princess Diana. Though they expected the planned trip to Balmoral to meet the royals to be cancelled, it went ahead.
Julian said: “When they got up there, it was the week the whole Royal family were congregated. My parents were party to an extraordinary weekend. Years later, I took them to the cinema to watch The Queen with Helen Mirren. There’s a scene of that Balmoral weekend, with Tony Blair on the phone, and everyone sitting around the lunch table. My mother turned to me and said: ‘I don’t know who researched this film, but we didn’t have chicken, we had salmon.'”
Canon John Ovenden left his role at the Royal Chapel on September 16, 2012, thereafter he and his wife moved to Oxford. In Oxford, he took the position of Chaplain at Harris Manchester College. Between 2014 to 2019, he was the Chaplain of Mansfield College at Oxford University.
Is Julian Ovenden married?
Julian married opera singer Kate Royal on December 20, 2010. The pair have two children, Johnny Beau and Audrey.
The couple first met at Glyndebourne. Kate apparently had a crush on Julian after seeing his Diet Coke advert, but they didn’t begin dating until they met up again a year later in New York.
Julian said: “One of the first things she invited me to was a rehearsal of a piece of work she was doing for Paul McCartney at Carnegie Hall. I sat next to Paul McCartney, listening to her sing, and thinking: ‘There is something special going on here.’ You get a lot of information from a person’s voice.”
Where does Julian Ovenden live?
Julian lives in London with his family, although he and his wife regularly travel internationally for work.
As a child, Julian lived in Sheffield for two years before moving to Ely, Cambridgeshire. The family uprooted and moved to North London when his father was appointed Chaplain to the Queen at Windsor Castle.
Are Julian and Jeremy Ovenden related?
As they share the same surname and links to the world of opera, it’s easy to see why people wonder if Julian and Jeremy Ovenden are related.
However, neither of them have publicly declared a relationship of any kind.
Jeremy Ovenden is a legendary English tenor who is famous for his interpretations of Mozart’s work. He performs all over the world.
Read more: Trigger Point series 2 cast: Vicky McClure and Mark Stanley return alongside some new faces
Trigger Point starts on Sunday, January 28, at 9pm on ITV1. That’s also when all episodes will be available on ITVX.
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