List of people from Oldham

This is a list of people from Oldham, in North West England. The demonym of Oldham is Oldhamer; however, this list may include people from Chadderton, Failsworth, Lees, Royton, Saddleworth, and Shaw and Crompton, all from the wider Metropolitan Borough of Oldham. This list is arranged alphabetically by surname:

A

• Sir Elkanah Armitage (1794–1876) – industrialist and Mayor of Manchester; born in Failsworth^[1]
• Mike Atherton – broadcaster, journalist and retired cricketer for Lancashire and England; born in Failsworth^[2]

B

• Vera Baird QC – Labour politician, author and barrister^[3][4]
• Bobby Ball – one half of comedy double act Cannon and Ball; born in Boundary Park General Hospital^[5][6]
• Lydia Becker – leading 19th-century suffragette, born in Chadderton's Foxdenton Hall^[7]
• Hannah Beswick – woman who was so afraid of being buried alive that she insisted on her body being embalmed and kept above ground^[8][9]
• Christopher Biggins – television presenter, pantomime actor and winner of 2007's I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here!^[10]
• Lally Bowers – actress, and next door neighbour to Dora Bryan
• Helen Bradley – 20th-century oil painter born in Lees in 1900^[11]
• Benjamin Brierley – Failsworth-born weaver, poet and writer in Lancashire dialect^[7]
• Louise Brown – world's first baby conceived by in vitro fertilisation; born in Oldham General Hospital^[5][12]
• Dora Bryan – Parbold-born actress, best known for her role as Roz in Last of the Summer Wine^[5]
• Will Buckley – footballer for Sunderland

C

• Tommy Cannon – one half of comedy double act Cannon and Ball^[5][6]
• Ronald Castree – murderer convicted for the killing of Lesley Molseed^[13][14][15]
• Laurence Chaderton – one of the original translators of the Authorized King James Version of the Bible^[16]
• Brian Clarke – Oldham-born artist known for his work in stained glass^[5][17]
• J. R. Clynes – Labour politician, Leader of the Labour Party, 1921–22^[18]
• Olivia Cooke – TV and film actress known for Bates Motel, "Ouija" and "Me and Earl and the Dying Girl"; from Oldham^[19]
• Jodie Connor – recording artist, lyricist, fashion model and goodwill ambassador for The Prince's Trust; from Shaw and Crompton^[20]
• Nicholas Connor – film director, born in Oldham, Manchester
• Brian Cox – Chadderton-born television presenter, particle physicist, Royal Society research fellow, and professor at the University of Manchester^[21][22]
• Bernard Cribbins – character actor and musical comedian^[23]

D

• Agyness Deyn – Failsworth-raised supermodel^[24][25]

E

• Paul Edwards – ex-association footballer who played for Manchester United, Oldham Athletic and Stockport County^[26]
• Karen Elson – Chadderton-raised supermodel and singer-songwriter^[27][28][29]

F

• Kate Fenton (born 1954) – Failsworth-born novelist and former BBC radio producer
• Siobhan Finneran (born 1966) – Oldham-born television, film and theatre actress; Happy Valley and The Loch
• Des Foy – Oldham and international rugby league player; Director of Rugby League Ireland^[30][31]
• Roy Fuller (1912–1991) – Failsworth-born writer, known mostly as a poet

G

• Ian Greaves – Shaw and Crompton-born association football player and manager; one of the Busby Babes^[32][33]
• Emma Greenwood – one of the thirteen 2004 Big Brother housemates^[34]
• Nick Grimshaw – television presenter and DJ; raised in Oldham^[35]
• Shobna Gulati – Oldham-born actress, writer and dancer^[6]

H

• Terry Hall – pioneering ventriloquist and early children's television entertainer^[36][37]
• Philip Gilbert Hamerton – etcher, painter and art critic; born in Crompton in 1834^[38]
• Paul Harrison – Oldham-born writer on environment and development; founder of the World Pantheist Movement^[39]
• John Hogan – Royton-born recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest military decoration awarded for valour "in the face of the enemy" to members of the British and Commonwealth forces^[40]
• Prof Arthur Cyril William Hutchinson FRSE – professor of dentistry
• Nicole Holmes – funny kid from Oldham

I

• Inspiral Carpets – Madchester/indie rock band^[5]

J

• Lee Jasper – race equality activist and champion of over 30 years
• Suranne Jones – Chadderton-born actress who played Karen McDonald in Coronation Street^[41]
• William Joyce – Brooklyn-born fascist politician and Nazi propagandist; short-term resident of Glodwick in Oldham^[42]

K

• Annie Kenney – one of the first suffragettes to be imprisoned for protesting for women's suffrage^[5][7]
• Anne Kirkbride – soap opera actress best known for playing Deirdre Barlow in Coronation Street^[23][43]
• Jack Kirkbride – acclaimed cartoonist who worked for the Oldham Evening Chronicle^[43]
• Barbara Knox – soap opera actress best known for playing Rita Sullivan in Coronation Street^[23]

L

• Sarah Lancashire – Oldham-born television actress^[44]
• John Lees – Royton-born inventor who made a substantial improvement to machinery for carding cotton in 1772^[45]
• John Lees – founder member of rock group Barclay James Harvest; born in Oldham in 1947
• Joseph Lees (1748–1824) – regional dialect poet from Glodwick; wrote Jone o Grinfilt^[46][47]
• Ralf Little – television actor, best known for his roles in The Royle Family and Two Pints of Lager and a Packet of Crisps^[48]
• Eric Longworth – Shaw-born actor, best known for his semi-regular part in sitcom Dad's Army, as the town clerk of Walmington-on-Sea^[49][50]

M

• Michelle Marsh – glamour model and page 3 girl^[51]
• Matthew Maynard – former England Test cricketer^[52]
• William McDougall – Chadderton-born psychologist and writer of several highly influential textbooks^[53]
• Fergus Mills – member of the Wisconsin State Assembly^[54]

N

• N-Trance – dance music producers^[5]

O

• Kieran O'Brien – actor who gained notoriety for his role in the 2004 film 9 Songs^[55]
• Mark Owen – member of boyband Take That; born and raised in Oldham^[34][56]
• Stevi-Leigh Owens – (1992) Oldham born comedian and stuntman

P

• David Platt – association footballer, formerly captain of the England national football team; born in Chadderton^{[5][56][57][58]}
• Tony Prince – British radio disc jockey and businessman

R

• Alan Rankle – artist^[59]
• Jim Ratcliffe – founder and CEO of Ineos, raised in Failsworth
• Hervey Rhodes, Baron Rhodes – Greenfield-born Labour party politician and life peer^[60]
• Andy Ritchie – former Oldham Athletic player and manager^[6]
• Roy Rolland – comedian and stage actor who appeared as Old Mother Riley from the 1950s to 1980s^[61]
• Alan Rothwell – actor and television presenter

S

• Sahil Saeed – British Pakistani from Shaw and Crompton who was kidnapped for ransom in Pakistan in 2010^{[62][63][64][65]}
• Phillip Schofield – Oldham-born television presenter^[5][56]
• Paul Sculthorpe – England and St Helens RLFC player and captain
• Edward Sinclair – television actor, Dad's Army
• Kevin Sinfield – England and Leeds RLFC player and captain
• Nicola Stephenson – television actress^[56]
• Philip Sydney Stott, 1st Baronet – Chadderton-born architect, civil engineer and surveyor of cotton mills^[66]
• William Stott – impressionist painter^[67]
• Eric Sykes – comedy writer and actor^[68]

T

• Henry Taylor – British Olympic freestyle swimming triple gold medallist and champion^[69][70][71]
• Kevin Thaw – alpinist, climber; many first and notable ascents, member of the North Face climbing team, Altitude Everest Expedition 2007
• Geoff Tootill – Chadderton-born scientist helped create the Manchester Baby in 1948, the world's first wholly electronic stored program computer^[72]
• Dame Eva Turner, DBE – soprano opera singer; born in Werneth^[73]
• Twisted Wheel – punk rock trio; reside in Oldham

W

• Jane Walsh – writer^[74]
• Paul Walsh – Chadderton-born Chief Executive of Diageo^[75]
• Sir William Walton – composer and conductor^[76]
• Darren Wharton – keyboardist for rock band Thin Lizzy
• Nicola White – hockey player for England and Team GB
• Annie Whitehead – jazz trombone player^[77]
• Ricky Whittle – Oldham-born model and actor^[78]
• Jack Wild – Royton-born Academy Award-nominated actor, best known for his role as the Artful Dodger in the 1968 musical film Oliver!^[79][80]
• Woolly Wolstenholme – Chadderton-born vocalist and keyboard player with progressive rock band Barclay James Harvest^[81]
• Phil Woolas MP – Lincolnshire-born politician representing Oldham East and Saddleworth; lives in Lees^[82]
• Arthur Worsley (1920–2001) – Failsworth-born ventriloquist; appeared regularly on British television from the 1950s to the 1970s

References

External links

• Famous Sons & Daughters, a page from visitoldham.co.uk