Oliver Stokes, best known for playing Michael Garvey in the hit ITV sitcom Benidorm, has opened up about his life since leaving the show. The 25-year-old from Hull, now a father-of-one, has stepped back from acting to work as a tradesman and run a fish bait company.
Stokes, who was just 10 when he started on the show, recalls an obsessive elderly fan who would bring sweets to the set. 'There was this old woman, and she turned up to set on about three or four occasions with sweets for me,' he said at last year's Benicon fan convention. 'She was really odd... they used to just throw them away, because you don't know what's in them.'
During his time on the show, Stokes was looked after by his grandparents and had to complete three hours of schooling daily. He remembers finding the humour infectious, even when he didn't understand the jokes. 'When Adam Gillan turned up in those Y fronts and said 'I've come as a premature ejaculation'... Even at the age of 10 I found it funny,' he said.
Stokes now works as a tradesman for a stable income and runs Active Baits, a fishing bait company. He also has a toddler named Archie. 'It got to a point where I just thought I wanted an income every month guaranteed,' he explained. 'I'd love to get back into the future if the right thing came about.'
