Michael Starke

Michael Starke (born 13 November 1957) is a British actor and singer from Liverpool, England. He was best known for his role as Thomas 'Sinbad' Sweeney, which he played for sixteen years in the Channel 4 soap opera Brookside (initially credited as Mickey Starke). After his departure from Brookside, in October 2000, he appeared in a Christmas 2000 episode of the BBC drama Casualty. In the episode, "A Turn of the Scrooge", broadcast on 16 December 2000, he played the part of Barry Dawson, a loner who is befriended by a widower neighbour (played by Kenneth Colley), following a rooftop accident with Christmas decorations. Starke later appeared in the ITV drama The Royal as Kenneth Hopkirk, as policeman Arthur in the film The 51st State and as himself on Lily Savage's Blankety Blank. He is a patron of Zoe's Place Baby Hospice, a charity for sick babies and young children. He appeared in the pantomime Cinderella in Southport over Christmas 2005, alongside Stuart Wade from Emmerdale and in Aladdin during Christmas 2006, along with comedian Syd Little, in York. He also appeared in the play No Holds Bard, alongside Andrew Schofield.