Sam Retford, Joseph in Death in Paradise
TV

Joseph in Death in Paradise: Sam Retford’s TV career, from Ackley Bridge to Casualty

A familiar face to fans of the Channel 4 comedy drama

Joseph in Death in Paradise is played by Sam Retford, an actor who will be familiar to fans of Ackley Bridge.

Sam, who plays Cory in the Channel 4 comedy drama, is only 21 years old but he’s already building up an impressive acting CV.

Read on to find out more about the young TV star.

Sam’s biggest role to date is Cory in Ackley Bridge (Credit: Vision Cinema / YouTube)

Who is Sam Retford, the actor playing Joseph in Death in Paradise?

Actor Sam was born in Australia but moved to England as a child.

He told the website Northern Soul: “I’ve always called Manchester home. I love it over here and it’s where my family is. Also, there aren’t really the same arts career paths in Australia as there are in the UK.

“It all started for me at school. I was the loud kid, so teachers put me in the front for every assembly and school play. I just fell into it that way and started also doing plays outside of school.”

Read more: Ackley Bridge viewers ’emotional wrecks’ after surprise death of Missy

He added: “I never thought it was something I could make money out of though. I initially wanted to be something like a marine biologist believe it or not.”

His acting career kicked off with a role in the series Tom’s Life, a 2014 spin-off of the Channel 4 soap Hollyoaks.

That show centred on Tom Cunningham (Ellis Hollins) and Sam played a character called Nate.

Discussing Tom’s Life in his chat with Northern Soul, Sam revealed it gave him “a taste for [acting] as a viable career”.

Sam has been in all three seasons of the popular comedy drama (Credit: Channel 4 / YouTube)

Sam’s TV roles, including Cory Wilson in Ackley Bridge

Since Tom’s Life, Sam has been in several TV shows.

He has been in all seasons of Ackley Bridge, the Channel 4 comedy drama about an academy school in Yorkshire.

I initially wanted to be something like a marine biologist believe it or not.

Sam’s character, Cory Wilson, is the older brother of Sam Bottomley’s Jordan.

The young star was also in an episode of Casualty series 34, broadcast in 2019, in which he played a soldier on leave called Tyler Begbie.

Elsewhere, Sam was in a 2020 short film called S.A.M.

Actor Sam (centre) with Niamh Cusack and Luke Bailey in Death in Paradise (Credit: Red Planet / Denis Guyenon / BBC)

Sam as Joseph in Death in Paradise

In BBC crime drama Death in Paradise, Sam guest stars alongside Lia Williams, Niamh Cusack, Luke Bailey and Adrian Schiller

Sam plays Joseph, the son of renowned concert pianist Pasha Verdinikov (Adrian), who is shot dead in the first of a two-parter.

Read more: Death in Paradise season 10: Jason Manford episode divides viewers as some brand it ‘weak’

Lia plays Pasha’s wife, Grace, while Niamh portrays housekeeper Maggie and Luke a gardener called Delford.

It is the second series with former Royle Family star Ralf Little at the helm as lovable fusspot D.I Neville Parker.

Sam was also in an episode of Casualty and a short film called S.A.M. (Credit: Canal Street Online / YouTube)

Is Sam Retford on social media?

Yes, fans can find Sam on Instagram on the handle @samretford, where he likes to show off his love of the Great Outdoors.

Recent posts show him enjoying swimming, hiking and camping in some incredible settings.

He posts often and has an impressive follower count of over 110k.

Poster

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Nancy Brown
Associate Editor