Who is the Pilgrimage: The Road to Istanbul narrator?
DOCUMENTARY series Pilgrimage returns to BBC Two tonight with seven celebrities backpacking 2,200km across Eastern Europe on The Sultans Trail.
Fans of the show will recognise the northern tones of actor and narrator Lee Ingleby, who returns to voice the third series titled Pilgrimage: The Road to Istanbul. Here’s all you need to know about star behind the voice…
Who is Lee Ingleby?
You might recognise the 44-year-old actor from Harry Potter Prisoner of Azkaban or BBC drama series Life on Mars.
He was born Lee David Ingleby on January 28, 1976, in Burnley, Lancashire.
Lee grew up in nearby Brierfield and was a pupil at Edge End High School and then went on to study at Accrington and Rossendale College.
Lee developed a passion for drama at secondary school which was encouraged by his drama teacher – who also taught Life on Mars co-star John Simm.
After graduating from the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Arts, Lee landed small parts in TV shows such as Soldier Soldier, The Bill, Cadfael and Jonathan Creek.
How did Lee Ingleby become famous?
In 2000, Lee was cast in his first major role in the BBC series Nature Boy alongside Paul McGann before going on to play Craig in Fat Friends.
Smaller roles followed in shows including Spaced, Clocking Off, No Angels and Hustle.
In 2001 he played Smike in a TV film adaptation of The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby.
Two years later, his big break came when he was cast as Hollom in the Russell Crowe movie Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World and in 2004 he landed the role of Knight Bus conductor Stan Shunpike in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban.
What else has Lee Ingleby been in?
Lee starred as Mole in the 2006 live-action TV adaptation of The Wind in the Willows alongside Bob Hoskins, Matt Lucas and Mark Gatiss.
That same year he starred in the BBC drama series Life on Mars as Vic Tyler, father of Sam played by John Simm. The following year he was cast alongside Martin Shaw in Inspector George Gently in which he played John Bacchus for 10 years.
More guest roles followed on shows such as Luther, White Heat, Marple and Being Human before he was cast in the lead role of BBC drama series Our Zoo in 2014.
MORE TV EXPLAINERS
He took over from Neil Morrissey as the voice of Bob the Builder in 2015, played the father of an autistic boy in The A Word and was one of the lead cast members in the Sky 1 crime drama series The Five.
In March 2017 Lee starred in BBC drama series Line of Duty, then took the lead role in ground-breaking drama Innocent in May 2018, as a man who was sent to jail for the murder of his wife despite proclaiming his innocence.
When is Pilgrimage: The Road to Istanbul on TV?
The show kicks off TONIGHT (March 27, 2020) on BBC Two.
You can catch it from 9pm.
After each episode has aired you can watch it on the BBC iPlayer.