Five famous celebrities who were born or grew up in Ilford

From cinematic icons to international cricket captains, here are five celebrities who were born or grew up in Ilford.

Dame Maggie Smith

Dame Maggie Smith is one of the few performers to earn the Triple Crown of Acting (Image: PA) Born on December 28, 1934 in Ilford was Dame Maggie Smith who would go on to become one of the nation’s most recognisable actresses.

A recent list using YouGov’s ratings ranked more than 2,600 celebrities based on popularity and Dame Maggie placed tenth overall.

Some of her most notable roles include Professor McGonagall in the Harry Potter Franchise and Violet Crawley in Downton Abbey.

Multiple award-winner Dame Maggie died last September.

Noel Edmonds

Noel Edmonds presented Deal or No Deal for many years (Image: PA) Noel Edmonds who was born in Ilford on December 22, 1948 and attended Glade Primary School and Brentwood School.

After presenting children’s programme Multi-Coloured Swap Shop and other BBC TV shows like Top of the Pops and Top Gear during the 1970s, he hosted Noel’s House Party from 1991 to 1999.

After a break in broadcasting, Noel returned to present Deal or No Deal from 2005 to 2016.

Noel was the first contestant voted out in I’m a Celebrity Get Me Out of Here 2018.

Nasser Hussain

Nasser Hussain captained the England cricket team from 1999 to 2003 (Image: PA) Former cricketer Nasser Hussain’s family moved from Madras, India to Ilford when he was six-years-old.

Nasser played for Essex and went on to captain England in 45 test matches between 1999 and 2003.

Since retiring, Nasser has become a staple part of Sky Sports’ cricket commentary and punditry team.

Dev Hynes

Dev Hynes has produced songs with Kylie Minogue, Britney Spears and Mariah Carey (Image: PA) Born in Ilford on December 23 1985 was Devonte ‘Dev’ Hynes, also known as Blood Orange and formerly Lightspeed Champion.

He attended the Chadwell Heath Foundation School, now know as Chadwell Heath Academy.

Dev was known as Lightspeed Champion from 2007 to 2010 before giving the act up to focus on his R&B music under the name of Blood Orange.

Across his career, Dev has produced songs with some of music’s biggest names: Britney Spears, Florence and the Machine, Kylie Minogue and Mariah Carey amongst others.

Jane Leeves

Jane Leeves played Daphne Moon in American sitcom Frasier (Image: PA/ PA Archives) Jane Leeves was born in Ilford on April 18, 1961 and is best known for her role as Daphne Moon in American sitcom Frasier.

For this, Jane was nominated for an Emmy for outstanding supporting actress in a comedy series in 1998 and a Golden Globe for best supporting actress in a series, miniseries or television film in 1995.

She voiced Mrs Ladybug in James and the Giant Peach in 1996 and later Lulu, a chimpanzee in The Penguins of Madagascar series.