Sam Retford

Sam Retford (born 22 June 1999) is an Australian-English actor, known for portraying the role of Cory Wilson on the Channel 4 drama Ackley Bridge (2017–2019). As well as starring in various stage productions, he has also made appearances in television series such as Casualty (2019) and Death in Paradise (2021). In 2021, he joined the cast of the ITV soap opera Coronation Street as Curtis Delamere.

Sam Retford
Retford in 2025
Born	(1999-06-22) 22 June 1999 (age 26)[citation needed] Gosford, New South Wales, Australia
Education	Brine Leas High School The Lowry Actors Company
Occupation	Actor
Years active	2014–present
Television	Ackley Bridge Coronation Street

Early life

Retford was born on 22 June 1999 in Gosford, New South Wales, Australia. His family then relocated to Crewe, England.^[1] He attended Brine Leas High School,^[2] and later studied acting at The Lowry Actors Company.^[1] Before he began acting professionally, Retford aspired to be a marine biologist.^[3]

Career

Retford began acting in fringe productions around the Manchester theatre scene, such as Lord of the Flies and The Newspaper Boy. He made his television debut in Hollyoaks: Tom's Life, a Hollyoaks spinoff series.^[3] The series premiered in 2014 on All 4, and Retford portrayed the role of Nate for four episodes.

From 2017 to 2019, he portrayed the role of Cory Wilson in the Channel 4 school drama Ackley Bridge.^[4][5][6] His storylines in the series revolved around the subject of domestic abuse, coming to terms with his sexuality, and engaging in an illicit relationship with a teacher.^[7][8]

In August 2018, he co-starred in the musical Closets alongside Lloyd Daniels.^[9] In February 2019, Retford made his London theatre debut when he starred in Kings of Idle Land as Michael, at Vaults festival.^[10][11] Later that year, Retford appeared at Diana Award anti-bullying events in Blackpool and London.^[12][13] In December 2019, he portrayed the role of Tyler Begbie in an episode of the BBC medical drama Casualty.^[14]

In 2020, Retford starred in the short film S.A.M.^[15][16] Later that year, it was announced that he would appear in the tenth series of Death in Paradise.^[17]

In May 2021, Retford joined the cast of the ITV soap opera Coronation Street as Curtis Delamere.^[18] Later that year, he was cast in the musical film White Wedding as Hunter.^[19]

In February 2024, it was announced that Retford had been cast as Dougal MacKenzie in the Outlander prequel series Outlander: Blood of My Blood.^[20]

Filmography

Year	Title	Role	Notes	Ref.
2014	Hollyoaks: Tom's Life	Nate	Main role	[3]
2017–2019	Ackley Bridge	Cory Wilson	Main role	[21]
2019	Casualty	Tyler Begbie	1 episode	[22]
2020	Granada Reports	Himself	Guest	[23]
	S.A.M	Sam	Short film	[24]
2021	Death in Paradise	Joseph Verdinikov	2 episodes	[25]
	Coronation Street	Curtis Delamere	Series regular	[26]
	White Wedding	Hunter	Film	[19]
	The Boleyns: A Scandalous Family	George Boleyn	Miniseries	[27]
2022	Ralph & Katie	Gary	Recurring role	[28]
2023	All Creatures Great and Small	FO Woodham	Episode: "On a Wing and a Prayer"	[29]
	Hoard	Sean	Film	[30]
2024	Grace	Jamie Brown	Episode: "You Are Dead"
TBA	Outlander: Blood of My Blood	Dougal MacKenzie	Post-production	[20]

Stage

Year	Title	Role	Venue	Ref.
2014	The Wardrobe	George	National Theatre Connections	[31]
	At Night	Jake	Royal Exchange	[32]
2015	Lord of the Flies	Ralph	The Lowry	[33]
2016	Henry V	Bardolph	Open Air Theatre	[34]
2018	The Newspaper Boy	Max	53Two	[35]
	Closets	Henry	Hope Mill Theatre	[21]
2019	Kings of Idle Land	Michael	The Vault Theatre	[36]