Paul Opacic is an English

English people

The English are a nation and ethnic group native to England, who speak English. The English identity is of early mediaeval origin, when they were known in Old English as the Anglecynn. England is now a country of the United Kingdom, and the majority of English people in England are British Citizens...

 actor. He is currently best known for his role as Carl Costello

Carl Costello

Carl Costello, is a fictional character from the British Channel 4 soap opera Hollyoaks, played by Paul Opacic. The character was introduced by executive producer Paul Marquess and debuted onscreen during the episode airing on 19 July 2010. He came to the village as the new owner of The Dog in the...

 in Channel 4

Channel 4

Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...

 soap opera

Soap opera

A soap opera, sometimes called "soap" for short, is an ongoing, episodic work of dramatic fiction presented in serial format on radio or as television programming. The name soap opera stems from the original dramatic serials broadcast on radio that had soap manufacturers, such as Procter & Gamble,...

 Hollyoaks

Hollyoaks

Hollyoaks is a long-running British television soap opera, first broadcast on Channel 4 on 23 October 1995. It was originally devised by Phil Redmond, who has also devised shows including Brookside and Grange Hill...

.

Career

After racking up several minor television credits in the early 90s, including comedies Only Fools and Horses

Only Fools and Horses

Only Fools and Horses is a British sitcom, created and written by John Sullivan. Seven series were originally broadcast on BBC One in the United Kingdom between 1981 and 1991, with sporadic Christmas specials until 2003...

 and Birds of a Feather

Birds of a Feather

Birds of a Feather was a British sitcom that was broadcast on BBC1 from 1989 until 1998. Starring Pauline Quirke, Linda Robson and Lesley Joseph, it was created by Laurence Marks and Maurice Gran, who also wrote some of the episodes along with many other writers.The first episode sees sisters...

, it was in 1997 that Opacic got his big break when he was cast in Emmerdale

Emmerdale

Emmerdale, is a long-running British soap opera set in Emmerdale , a fictional village in the Yorkshire Dales. Created by Kevin Laffan, Emmerdale was first broadcast on 16 October 1972...

 as Steve Marchant

Steve Marchant

Steven "Steve" Marchant was a fictional character on the British soap opera Emmerdale, played by Paul Opacic. He was introduced as an old university friend of Rachel Hughes, whose husband Chris was jealous of him. When Chris and Rachel split up, Steve and Rachel dated, but Steve soon got bored and...

, a new love interest for Kim Tate

Kim Tate

Kimberly Jane 'Kim' Tate is a fictional character on the ITV soap opera Emmerdale. who appeared between 1989 and 1999, She was played by actress Claire King. Kim Tate is seen as one of the most iconic characters in the history of British soap opera, having been dubbed The Soap Superbitch...

. Opacic enjoyed several high-profile storylines in his time on the show, before his character was axed by producer Kieran Roberts in 1999.

Opacic's successful stint in Emmerdale led to later appearances in Heartbeat, Doctors and Peak Practice

Peak Practice

Peak Practice is a British drama series about a GP surgery in Cardale — a small fictional town in the Derbyshire Peak District — and the doctors who worked there. It ran on ITV from 10 May 1993 to 30 January 2002 and was one of their most successful series at the time...

 before he joined ITV

ITV

ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...

 prison drama Bad Girls

Bad Girls (TV series)

Bad Girls is an award-winning British television drama series that was broadcast on ITV from 1999 to 2006. It is produced by Shed Productions, the company which later produced Footballers' Wives and Waterloo Road...

 in 2001 at the beginning of its third series playing officer Mark Waddle. Opacic quit the series the following year and last appeared at the end of the fourth series. In the ensuing years he appeared in several minor roles, such as Cold Feet

Cold Feet

Cold Feet is a British comedy-drama television series produced by Granada Television for the ITV network. The series was created and principally written by Mike Bullen as a follow-up to his award-winning 1997 Comedy Premiere of the same name. The storyline follows three couples experiencing the...

, The Bill

The Bill

The Bill is a police procedural television series that ran from October 1984 to August 2010. It focused on the lives and work of one shift of police officers, rather than on any particular aspect of police work...

 and Totally Frank

Totally Frank

Totally Frank was a comedy drama series with a real life band as its stars on Channel 4. It followed a band, Frank, who were struggling to make it in the music industry.-Frank:...

.

In 2006, he joined the cast of the new BBC

BBC

The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...

 drama The Chase

The Chase (TV series)

The Chase is a BBC drama series that first aired on 16 July 2006. The Chase centered around a family run veterinary practice.It was co-written by Gaynor Faye , the daughter of the show's creator, Kay Mellor...

 in a supporting role and remained with the show until it was cancelled in 2007. Further television credits include The Royal

The Royal

The Royal is a British medical drama series produced by ITV. The show comprises one hour episodes which were normally first aired on ITV in the Sunday early evening slot....

, Holby City

Holby City

Holby City, stylised as Holby Ci+y, is a British medical drama television series that airs weekly on BBC One.The series was created by Tony McHale and Mal Young as a spin-off from the established BBC medical drama Casualty, and premiered on 12 January 1999...

 and most recently Waterloo Road

Waterloo Road (TV series)

Waterloo Road is an award-winning British television drama series, first broadcast in the United Kingdom on BBC One on 9 March 2006. Set in a troubled comprehensive school in Rochdale, Greater Manchester, the series focuses on the lives of the school's teacher and students, and confronts social...

, in which he portrayed the neglectful father of one of the school pupils Finn Sharkey.

In early 2010, it was stated that Lucy Allan

Lucy Allan (producer)

Lucy Jane Allan is a British television producer, best known for her work on Channel 4 soap opera Hollyoaks.Allan's other credited work include a script editor for Dream Team and assistant to director in Chica de Río....

 had quit the position of executive producer

Executive producer

An executive producer is a producer who is not involved in any technical aspects of the film making or music process, but who is still responsible for the overall production...

 of Hollyoaks and that Paul Marquess

Paul Marquess

Paul Marquess is a Northern Irish-born British television producer.-Television career:His credits include Brookside, The Bill and Family Affairs. He also originated the idea for the series Footballers' Wives...

 had taken over the role. It was soon announced that Marquess planned to give Hollyoaks a "shake up", changing the productions team and beginning a cast cull by axing established characters. He cast Opacic in a new central family in the soap opera, also stating he would play the role of Carl Costello. an ex-footballer and the new landlord of the show's fictional pub. He made his first appearance on the show on 19 July 2010.

Filmography

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1991	Only Fools and Horses Only Fools and Horses Only Fools and Horses is a British sitcom, created and written by John Sullivan. Seven series were originally broadcast on BBC One in the United Kingdom between 1981 and 1991, with sporadic Christmas specials until 2003...	Jules
1991	4 Play	Biker
1991	Birds of a Feather Birds of a Feather Birds of a Feather was a British sitcom that was broadcast on BBC1 from 1989 until 1998. Starring Pauline Quirke, Linda Robson and Lesley Joseph, it was created by Laurence Marks and Maurice Gran, who also wrote some of the episodes along with many other writers.The first episode sees sisters...	Hairdresser
1992	Lovejoy Lovejoy Lovejoy is a TV series about the adventures of Lovejoy, a British antiques dealer and faker based in East Anglia, a less than scrupulous yet likeable rogue. The episodes were based on a series of picaresque novels by John Grant...	Andrew
1992	Screen Two	Jeff
1992	Sam Saturday	DC Knights	4 episodes
1992	The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles is an American television series that aired on ABC from March 4, 1992, to July 24, 1993. The series explores the childhood and youth of the fictional character Indiana Jones and primarily stars Sean Patrick Flanery and Corey Carrier as the title character, with...	French Officer
1992	Screen One	Policeman 1
1993	Love Hurts Love Hurts (UK TV series) Love Hurts is a British situation-comedy television series that was broadcast from 1992 to 1994 on the BBC. It was scripted by Laurence Marks and Maurice Gran and starred Adam Faith, Zoë Wanamaker and Jane Lapotaire as Frank Carver, Tessa Piggott and Diane Warburg, respectively....	Musician
1993	All in the Game	Weeks
1994	Men of the World	Young Man from Top Clothes
1996	Element of Doubt	Traffic Policeman
1996	A Secret Slave	Kumari's Solicitor
1997–1999	Emmerdale Emmerdale Emmerdale, is a long-running British soap opera set in Emmerdale , a fictional village in the Yorkshire Dales. Created by Kevin Laffan, Emmerdale was first broadcast on 16 October 1972...	Steve Marchant Steve Marchant Steven "Steve" Marchant was a fictional character on the British soap opera Emmerdale, played by Paul Opacic. He was introduced as an old university friend of Rachel Hughes, whose husband Chris was jealous of him. When Chris and Rachel split up, Steve and Rachel dated, but Steve soon got bored and...	Series regular
1999	Triple Exposure
2000, 2008	Doctors	Rick Simon Amley
2000	Heartbeat	Graham Rysinski	3 episodes
2001	Peak Practice Peak Practice Peak Practice is a British drama series about a GP surgery in Cardale — a small fictional town in the Derbyshire Peak District — and the doctors who worked there. It ran on ITV from 10 May 1993 to 30 January 2002 and was one of their most successful series at the time...	Mark Kershaw
2001–2002	Bad Girls Bad Girls (TV series) Bad Girls is an award-winning British television drama series that was broadcast on ITV from 1999 to 2006. It is produced by Shed Productions, the company which later produced Footballers' Wives and Waterloo Road...	Mark Waddle	Series regular; 19 episodes
2003, 2008	Holby City Holby City Holby City, stylised as Holby Ci+y, is a British medical drama television series that airs weekly on BBC One.The series was created by Tony McHale and Mal Young as a spin-off from the established BBC medical drama Casualty, and premiered on 12 January 1999...	Carl Jeffries Kevin Mathers
2003	Cold Feet Cold Feet Cold Feet is a British comedy-drama television series produced by Granada Television for the ITV network. The series was created and principally written by Mike Bullen as a follow-up to his award-winning 1997 Comedy Premiere of the same name. The storyline follows three couples experiencing the...	Howard Trigg
2003	The Bill The Bill The Bill is a police procedural television series that ran from October 1984 to August 2010. It focused on the lives and work of one shift of police officers, rather than on any particular aspect of police work...	Nikitsa Severic	3 episodes
2004	In Denial of Murder	Detective
2004	Murder in Suburbia Murder in Suburbia Murder in Suburbia was a British detective drama that ran for two series in 2004 and 2005.-Plot summary:The series focused on various murders in the fictional suburban England town of Middleford; filming took place in North West London, including Northwood.-Regular cast and characters:-Episode...	Matt
2004	A Thing Called Love	Rich Allen
2005	Vincent Vincent (TV series) Vincent is an ITV drama series. An initial series was made and aired in 2005 and starred Ray Winstone, in the title role, and Suranne Jones as two members of a team of private eyes hired by people to spy on their partners or indeed anyone else they need to keep tabs on. The four part series also...	Andrew McCormack
2005–2006	Totally Frank Totally Frank Totally Frank was a comedy drama series with a real life band as its stars on Channel 4. It followed a band, Frank, who were struggling to make it in the music industry.-Frank:...	Thom	5 episodes
2006–2007	The Chase The Chase (TV series) The Chase is a BBC drama series that first aired on 16 July 2006. The Chase centered around a family run veterinary practice.It was co-written by Gaynor Faye , the daughter of the show's creator, Kay Mellor...	Adrian Huby	Series regular; 16 episodes
2007	The Royal The Royal The Royal is a British medical drama series produced by ITV. The show comprises one hour episodes which were normally first aired on ITV in the Sunday early evening slot....	Gideon Bradley
2008	Sofia's Diary Sofia's Diary Sofia's Diary was produced and created by Nuno Bernardo and Triona Campbell with their company beActiveSofia's Diary is a drama that is shown online through the social networking site Bebo, which is the same site that hosts KateModern....	Simon Taylor
2009	Salvage	Corporal Simms
2010	Waterloo Road Waterloo Road (TV series) Waterloo Road is an award-winning British television drama series, first broadcast in the United Kingdom on BBC One on 9 March 2006. Set in a troubled comprehensive school in Rochdale, Greater Manchester, the series focuses on the lives of the school's teacher and students, and confronts social...	Ryan Sharkey
2010–11	Hollyoaks Hollyoaks Hollyoaks is a long-running British television soap opera, first broadcast on Channel 4 on 23 October 1995. It was originally devised by Phil Redmond, who has also devised shows including Brookside and Grange Hill...	Carl Costello Carl Costello Carl Costello, is a fictional character from the British Channel 4 soap opera Hollyoaks, played by Paul Opacic. The character was introduced by executive producer Paul Marquess and debuted onscreen during the episode airing on 19 July 2010. He came to the village as the new owner of The Dog in the...	Former Series regular

External links