ENU acting graduate lands Scottish BAFTA – as fellow alumni land starring roles

An Edinburgh Napier acting alumnus has won a major honour at the 2023 BAFTA Scotland Awards 2023 for playing the lead role in an acclaimed Channel 4 drama.

Lewis Gribben took home the Actor Television award for his performance in Somewhere Boy, a poignant story of a young man coming to terms with the world, after being locked inside by his father since childhood.

Lewis graduated from BA (hons) Acting for Stage and Screen programme in 2019, after splitting his studies between ENU and Queen Margaret University. Reacting to the win - he described the role of Danny in Somewhere boy as 'a gift'.

He follows fellow BA Acting graduate Marli Siu, who won Best Actress in a Film BAFTA in 2021 for her performance in Run. She has since followed that with roles in Netflix series Alex Rider and Everything I Know About Love for the BBC.

Dr. Donna Soto-Morettini, Senior Lecturer at Edinburgh Napier's School of Arts and Creative Industries said: "This is our second Best Actor Scottish BAFTA for a student graduate of ours and we're incredibly excited about Lewis's success.

"It's been a good year for our students on television, with so many familiar faces on screen.

"We continue to be so proud and amazed at what our ex-students are achieving and at the impact they have had on the industry in such a short space of time!"

Aside from Lewis's award win, other recent ENU acting students landing significant roles include:

• Isla Campbell, who recently finished filming Float for the BBC and is returning for another season next year
• Danielle Jam is finishing a national tour as the lead in the National Theatre of Scotland's Dracula and last year played the lead for the National Theatre's production of Rona Munro's James IV: Queen of the Fight
• James Boal played the lead in last summer's Bard in the Botanics productions of Julius Caesar and The Importance of Being Earnest
• Natalie Mae Kelly has recently filmed an episode of Annika for the BBC
• Lana Phuetan has recently featured in BBC's Scot Squad, OMC! sketch show and is currently filming new show for BBC Alba
• Charlie West has just returned from a tour of America with The Strange Undoing of Prudencia Hart and will head straight up to Dundee Rep to work on A Christmas Carol, which will also feature ENU graduate Kirsty Findlay.
• Clare Wootton is about to open at the Traverse in Framework Theatre's Play Pretend

Picture credit: Getty Images for BAFTA