Antony Cotton (born Antony Dunn on 5 August 1975, Bury, Greater Manchester) is an English actor best known for his roles in Coronation Street and the original UK version of Queer as Folk.
Cotton was born in Bury, in Greater Manchester. He is the son of actress Enid Dunn. He went to Woodhey High School at Holcombe Brook in Ramsbottom. He has an elder brother, Andrew (born 29 December 1973). Antony is a passionate supporter of the Terrence Higgins Trust where he is a patron. He is also a patron of the LGF charity in Manchester and also the Queer Up North festival.
Cotton currently plays barman and factory worker Sean Tully in Coronation Street. Cotton asked for a part on the show, and created the character with some of the show’s writers.
Cotton played Alexander in the original UK version of Queer as Folk. On 13 January 2007, Cotton won the second series of ITV's Soapstar Superstar.
In July 2007, it was announced that Cotton would be fronting his own tea time chat show on ITV. The show, That Antony Cotton Show, was filmed in front of a live studio audience at Granada Television studios in Manchester, and combined celebrity chat with topical humour. It was first broadcast on Monday 13 August 2007 at 5pm on ITV; however, following the end of the first series, ITV announced that the show would not return for a second. He is developing several new ideas with ITV.
Cotton made his film debut opposite Daniel Craig and Derek Jacobi in the 1998 film Love Is the Devil: Study for a Portrait of Francis Bacon. He also appeared in the 1998 film The Wisdom of Crocodiles.
Cotton has appeared in several shows Oldham Coliseum. He appeared in 15 Streets and the Hobbit at Manchester's Palace Theatre and Opera House. The part of Flynn was written for him by his friend Jonathan Harvey in the original version of Closer To Heaven.
In 2005, Cotton won the Most Popular Newcomer category at the National Television Awards for his role in Coronation Street. Cotton also won the 2005 Inside Soap Awards for Best Newcomer and Funniest Performance. 2006 he won (again) the award for Funniest Performance. In the 2007 British Soap Awards, Cotton was awarded the Best Actor award, which was voted for by the public. Also in 2007 he won Best Actor at the Inside Soap Awards, again voted for by the public.
