Bash Croft, best known for his roles in Heartstopper and Game of Thrones, is releasing his debut EP The Great Forever in October. The lead single, Pretty People, arrives September 24.
From stage and screen to songwriting
Croft, 24, has been performing since age eight, with a West End debut in Sam Mendes's Oliver! and a critically acclaimed role in Trevor Nunn's King John before turning 20. He also played a young Ned Stark in Game of Thrones and stars in Heartstopper. Yet his ambitions always pointed elsewhere.
“My heroes were all musicians,” he recalls. “David Bowie. Freddie Mercury. George Michael. Elton John. I remember watching Freddie Mercury’s Live Aid performance and just seeing one person hold so many people in the palm of his hand and thinking, ‘I don’t know what that is, but that is what I want to do.’”
A personal debut shaped by heartbreak
Croft has written songs since he was young, mostly for himself. At 16, he performed in front of his school despite being badly bullied. “It was just before I left the school I was at, and there was a boy who I’ve been having a secret relationship with,” he says. “I’d written loads of songs about him, but no one knew they were about him.”
Songwriting remained private until his first major break-up. “I used to joke when I was in my first relationship that I would either be with that person forever, or I’d go and write an album about it,” he laughs. The EP's title reflects that relationship. “My ex used to say, ‘It’s going to be a Great Forever being together.’ But I kind of realised that The Great Forever is really that person will forever be my first love,” he explains.
Pop girl ambitions and live plans
For Pretty People, Croft drew on Robyn's 2010 track Dancing on My Own. “There’s something about a dance song where it’s like… You’re hurt, but you’re also gonna make damn sure that you’re still dancing, because if you stop you’ll cry,” he says.
His influences have shifted from pop icons to artists like Chappell Roan, Charli XCX and Sabrina Carpenter, and he jokingly calls himself a “pop girl pending” online. “I just think it’s more interesting to shoot for being a pop girl,” he laughs. “I think the fully realised version of what I want to do is being a pop girl.”
Croft, who has already performed at BST Hyde Park and The Lower Third, hopes to “really put on a show” in 2027 and is open to a rough start. “I want to tread the boards. I want to make mistakes,” he says. “I’m not trying to arrive being like, look, I’m this perfect pop star.”
