Marcus Patrick from Hollyoaks

Actor Marcus Patrick from Hollyoaks has enjoyed quite a fan following since he made his debut on the small screen. The famed soap opera catapulted him into the limelight, thanks in great part to his character's reputation as something of a playboy.

Get to know the rest of the Hollyoaks cast.

His real name is Patrick Henry Gosling, but to thousands of devoted fans he's better known as Marcus Patrick. The actor was born on August 17, 1979 in Portsmouth, England. The self-professed average young man, Patrick confesses an affinity for listening to Coldplay, watching his favorite football team, Liverpool, playing football himself and traveling with friends.

It was that very ordinary interest, in fact, that led to a rather extraordinary big break. The year was 2000, and Patrick had just returned home after a five-month trip to Brazil when he learned that the Hollyoaks team was holding an open audition called "On the Pull" (a play on an English slang term that refers to seeking someone to take home for the evening). Though he had no prior professional experience, Patrick was chosen from 40,000 fellow potential actors to play the role of Ben Davies.

It is safe to say that securing the role of Ben Davies essentially sealed Patrick's fate in the most positive way. Hollyoaks had been on the air for five years by the time Patrick hit screens in 2000, and his appearance in the village immediately garnered attention!

Though Ben made his debut as the dreamy new fireman in town, his real job seemed to be setting hearts on fire. He developed a near instant relationship with Cindy Cunningham (one of the program's stalwart characters). Of course, as so many soap opera relationships tend to be, it was a short-lived affair. No matter, though – Ben was ready to move on almost immediately, and began dating Mandy Richardson, his best friend's ex-girlfriend. This relationship grew cold, too, thanks in part to the fact that Ben couldn't deal with Mandy's attitude.

What's a soap opera hunk to do but move on to the next unwitting woman? Fresh from his breakup with Mandy, Ben moved on to…well, just about every woman in the village! His sexual appetite was voracious, and he went through a string of brief, meaningless affairs with various women. One of his more memorable relationships was with Dale Jackson, his father's colleague who had moved into the Davies home for a period. Despite his father's amorous feelings for Jackson, Ben couldn't resist the temptation of an older woman and eventually bedded her. And when Jackson left, Ben moved on to his next conquest, Emma Chambers.

This particular affair threw quite a wrench in Ben's life. Though he moved on rather quickly from Emma and shifted his attention to Izzy Cornwell (who he considered the love of his life and even proposed to), it was soon revealed that he had also impregnated Emma during their one night stand. Though she did marry him, Izzy couldn't handle her emotions after the baby was born, and she and Ben eventually split up.

More traumas followed for Ben, including the death of his best friend, Dan. Naturally, he grew closer to Dan's sister, Lisa Hunter, in the wake of the tragedy, and the two eventually developed a solid, lasting relationship. Despite several twists and turns, they left Hollyoaks for London together to start anew.

Chances are he'll always be known as Marcus Patrick from Hollyoaks, because after leaving the program he immediately entered the soap opera's spinoff program, entitled Hollyoaks: Let Loose. In this show, he and Lisa embarked on a new life in London. It eventually led to another program entitled Hollyoaks: In the City, which saw the two living together in Liverpool. It was eventually cancelled due to low ratings in late 2006 after a run of just a few months.

The future does seem bright for Patrick, particularly because he's continued to work even after In the City came to an end. He starred in Echo Beach, another soap opera that ran on ITV in England, and he most recently starred in We Need to Talk about Kieran, a romantic comedy.

Diehard Hollyoaks fans may be interested in obtaining some memorabilia of their favorite fireman. If so, head to eBay, where bids can be placed for autographed photographs of the soap opera star.

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