Don Gilet

Don Gilet (born 17 January 1967) is a British actor, best known for his roles in BBC productions Babyfather, EastEnders and 55 Degrees North. Gilet's surname is actually pronounced 'Gillit' but takes the stage name 'Jillay'.

Personal life

He was brought up in Caldmore, Walsall, with two older sisters. He trained at the Mountview Academy of Theatre Arts, and also attended a Sunday school at Caldmore Gospel Hall in Caldmore. He now resides with his family in Bedfordshire. Gilet is close friends with former EastEnders co-star Diane Parish, both having been in Babyfather together.

Gilet appears in an early episode of British TV series, Streetmate as the house mate of one of the daters.

Career

Gilet's first television appearance was on the Channel 4 dating show Streetmate, where he was interviewed as the friend of a participant. His first major role was playing Johnny Lindo in Babyfather (opposite future EastEnders co-star Diane Parish), before landing the lead role in the detective series 55 Degrees North, as Detective Sergeant Nicky Cole. In 2006, he played Leo Charles in The Line of Beauty and had a prominent role in the Doctor Who Christmas episode "The Runaway Bride". He often performs his own stunts on set.

In 2001, Gilet appeared in a commercial for Apple's iMac G4 Computer. The commercial was named "Window Shopping" and displayed Gilet making certain gestures towards the iMac, which the computer later copied. He also appeared as a store manager in a staff training video for Sainsbury's supermarkets. He has had minor appearances in Casualty, Holby City, Silent Witness and The Bill.

Gilet featured in the music video for 2001 hit "Out of Reach" by Gabrielle. In 2011, he featured in a music video for the song 'I Want You to Remember' by solo artist I Am Spartacus.

In theatre, he has appeared in As You Like It and The Alchemist.

In April 2008, he joined the popular BBC television soap opera EastEnders playing serial killer Lucas Johnson.^[1] Gilet's character left EastEnders on 30 July 2010.

In 2010, he appeared as Abanazar in the Churchill Theatre Bromley's Christmas pantomime Aladdin alongside Melinda Messenger. He followed up this performance in 2011 by appearing at the Grove Theatre,^[2] Dunstable in Jack and the Beanstalk, which also featured his EastEnders co-star Gemma Bissix.

In May 2013, Gilet played the roles of Fuliginous, Ruislip & Blackfriar in a BBC radio adaptation of Neil Gaiman’s Neverwhere, adapted by Dirk Maggs.

In 2014, Gilet joined the cast of BBC medical drama Holby City in the role of Consultant Anaesthetist Jesse Law.^[3]

In 2015, Gilet re-joined the cast of BBC soap opera EastEnders to reprise his role of Lucas Johnson. The first episode that Gilet was featured in was aired on 1 January 2016. He made a temporary return later that year in which he planned to escape from prison. When his plan went wrong he returned to his dark side before departing again during the episode aired on 10 March 2016.

Filmography

• Desmond's (1993)
• The Imaginatively Titled Punt & Dennis Show (1994)
• Now What (1995)
• Brothers and Sisters (1998)
• The Return Of Nick Cotton (2000) - Biscuit
• Casualty (2001)
• Babyfather (2001)
• Holby City (2002)
• Time Gentlemen Please (2002)
• Cutting It (2002)
• Single Voices (2002)
• Silent Witness (2003)
• The Bill (2003)
• Belly Button (2004)
• 55 Degrees North (2004–2005)
• The Line of Beauty (2006)
• Doctor Who: "The Runaway Bride" (Christmas special, 2006)
• Cape Wrath (2007)
• EastEnders (2008–10, 2016) - Lucas Johnson
• EastEnders: E20 (2010) - Lucas Johnson
• Wizards vs Aliens (2012) - Richard Sherwood
• Father Brown (2013) - Douglas Taylor
• What Does the K Stand For? (2013) - Vincent Amos (Radio Comedy)
• Holby City - Jesse Law (2014–16)
• Death in Paradise (2015) - Guest Appearance
• Brief Encounters (2016) - Kieren

References

External links

• Don Gilet at the Internet Movie Database