Time's Daniel Ryan: Lookalike son's rare cancer diagnosis, disturbing role before finding fame, and huge weight loss
He plays a morally ambiguous prison guard in the returning drama
Daniel Ryan is probably best known for playing likeable, often comical, men in his TV roles – from The Bay, to Mount Pleasant – so prepare yourself to dislike his Time character.
Daniel returns to our screens in series 3 of the hard-hitting prison drama, and his alter-ego Fred Jennings will likely have you screaming at your screens.
But it’s not the first time the actor has tackled a difficult subject. One of his first ever TV appearances was far from endearing. In fact, it was so disturbing, it was difficult to watch.
Here’s Daniel Ryan in profile as he joins the cast of Time, including wife, TV and film roles, and recent three stone weight loss.
Who plays Fred Jennings in Time series 3 on BBC One?
Actor Daniel Ryan portrays Prison Officer Freddie Jennings in Time series 3, which is set in a Young Offender Institution. Working alongside David Tennant’s Bobby Bailey, and Siobhan Finneran’s Marie-Louise O’Dell, Freddie is the more cynical of the three.
Talking about his character, he told us: “Freddie Jennings is a hard-working prison officer. But I think, like many people who have been in jobs for a long time, they can become as institutionalised as the place they work. He’s looking to the end of the career rather than at helping anyone get through their time locked up.
“Jennings isn’t strictly a bad person, I think he just wants to get through the day. There is respect from the lads who are locked up, but I think sometimes that respect has been won by means that you would certainly hope didn’t happen to your son in an institution like this.”
What TV and film roles is Daniel Ryan famous for?
Daniel has been on our TV screens for more than three decades, ever since playing an animal activist on Screen Two in 1992.
After roles in Lipstick on Your Collar, Peak Practice, Soldier Soldier and Dangerfield, he joined the cast of Trial & Retribution. He portrayed DS Brown from 1997 to 1998. Daniel went on to play another copper – PC Busby – in Harbour Lights in 1999.
In 2004, he played Andy Coulson in Steel River Blues, and went on to play Kenny Reed in The Whistleblowers. He’s also starred in Vera, Casualty, Doctor Who, Midsomer Murders, The Reckoning, Candy Cabs and Home Fires. Between 2011 and 2017, he played Dan in Mount Pleasant. He famously received a torrent of abuse when his character cheated on his wife (Sally Lindsay) in the show.
In 2019, he joined the cast of The Bay as DI Tony Manning, a role he continues to play until this day. More recently, Daniel has portrayed Adam Whitworth in true crime drama Four Lives, Tom Watson in The Hack, David Andrews in The Lady, and Steve Holland in Dear England.
Who does Daniel Ryan play in The Bay?
Actor Daniel plays DI Tony Manning in The Bay, originally boss to Lisa Armstrong and DC ‘Med’ Kharim. Now he works alongside Marsha Thomason’s DS Jenn Townsend, who took over in 2022.
Tony is a dedicated, down-to-earth leader, who is trying to juggle his private life with his professional.
In season two, viewers saw that his marriage had broken down and his wife had asked for a divorce. Tony struggled to cope with the breakdown of his marriage.
However, in the more recent series 4, Tony Manning was secretly meeting up with his ex-wife (Kerrie Taylor) behind her new bloke’s back!
The character will return in the upcoming series 6.
Daniel Ryan’s hard-hitting TV advert
In 1995, in the very early days of his career, Daniel played a paralysed man in a Drinking and Driving Wrecks Lives advert.
The public information film was one of several hard-hitting short films that ran in the UK between 1987 and 1997. They were part of the Government’s Safety on the Move road safety campaign, addressing the problem of drink-driving.
The campaign was aimed at showing the devastation that drink-driving can cause to the victims and their families. Entitled Dave, Daniel played a young man paralysed following a drink driving accident.
The short film featured the voices of his friends encouraging him to have another drink. Alongside the sickening flashbacks to his friend’s taunts, viewers saw Dave’s mum preparing his dinner in the blender. We then saw her spoon feed him liquidised Christmas dinner. The damning film won the British Television Advertising Award in 1996.
Who is the wife of Time star Daniel Ryan?
Daniel is an actor who keeps his personal life out of the spotlight. He has never publicly talked about whether he is married. He rarely attends showbiz events or walks the red carpet.
Many TV fans gave the actor abuse when his Mount Pleasant character cheated on his wife. Daniel admitted at the time: “I’ll never forget my Twitter timeline when Dan had his little blip with Tanya in series three.
“I had a timeline full of abuse! We suddenly realised how much people wanted Dan and Lisa to be a strong couple.”
It is not known if Daniel is married or not. But we do know he has at least two sons.
Does Daniel Ryan have children
While Daniel has kept very schtum about his marital status, he’s not shy of praising his sons on his official Instagram page.
Just recently, his son Jimmy O’Brien took part in a running race for charity, and Daniel was only too keen to applaud his son’s efforts.
He’s also been vocal about his son Jimmy’s acting career, which he’s publicly supported on social media.
Jimmy has shared pictures of his son Mac, too – who is the spitting image of his dad Daniel!
View this post on Instagram
Daniel’s son Mac in rare cancer battle
On World Cancer Day in 2021, Daniel Ryan sent a message of thanks to Great Ormond Street Hospital for caring for his son Mac during his cancer battle.
In a film uploaded on YouTube, Daniel said: “Wow, what a year it’s been. Hello, I’m Daniel Ryan, and I just wanted to say a message of thanks to all the healthcare workers and the researchers working on cancer right now.
“My son’s been ill this year and has had the help of Great Ormond Street for his cancer and this is an opportunity for me to say thanks to all of you on this World Cancer Day. Thank you so much.”
In another film recorded for The Give A Duck Foundation, Daniel elaborated on Mac’s cancer. He said: “My son Mac was a patient at Great Ormond Street Hospital. He was diagnosed with a rare cancer called Rhabdomyosarcoma in 2019, and had his treatment there. He’s doing really well.”
Rhabdomyosarcoma is a rare type of cancer that starts as a growth of cells in soft tissue. Soft tissues support and connect organs and other parts of the body. Rhabdomyosarcoma most often starts in muscle tissue.
Diagnosis of rare cancer called Rhabdomyosarcoma
Mac’s cancer battle came at a particularly tough time for Daniel – during lockdown. Speaking to The Irish World, he said: “My son was unwell. He was undergoing chemotherapy, so we were completely and utterly isolated. And, if there had been work, I wouldn’t have been able to go to it anyway.
“I had 14 months out of work. I was skint; I was delivering for Amazon. It was possibly one of the worst times ever in my life in terms of financially, workwise, family, health. I lost a couple of relatives, it was a very, very difficult time.”
He added: “My son’s better. It was tough, but he’s doing great so we’re all out the other side.”
In June 12 2024, on X, Daniel wrote: “A week after losing someone very close to cancer I can also celebrate someone else very close making it through. Some get lucky.”
How old is Daniel Ryan? Where is he from?
Daniel was born in 1968, in Culcheth near Warrington, Cheshire. He is currently 58 years of age.
His parents owned a bingo hall, and he and his younger brother attended Culcheth High School. Daniel subsequently attended the Lancashire Schools Arts Workshop in North Wales.
He was then accepted into LAMDA, aka the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art.
Has Time actor Daniel Ryan lost weight?
If you think Daniel Ryan is looking more svelte these days, you’re not wrong. After appearing on James Martin’s Saturday morning cookery show last year, Daniel addressed fans who’d commented on his weight loss.
He said: “For the many people asking the answer is yes, I’m not about 3 stone less.” Sharing his methods, he added: “Less carbs. Regular exercise. It was a choice I made.”
Daniel went on to say: “I don’t judge people on their weight. My personal thing was I didn’t feel healthy. My father died at 59. I also lost my mum last year so I felt I needed to rethink.”
Looking good, Danny Boy!
