Soap actor Ben Gerrard to release debut single

Ben Gerrard

Soap actor Ben Gerrard, from Newhey, is set to release his debut solo single “With You” on Friday 13 October.

Known for his roles as carer Will Scott on Emmerdale and Cameron Clark on Hollyoaks, Ben says the track is "an acoustic guitar-driven love song with piano and string accompaniment" about ‘the one that almost got away.’

He said: “I would take my basic recording gear with me to my gigs and arrive early, find a nice quiet area in the car park and set my microphone up.

“I now have a number of songs, recorded, mixed and mastered from the comfort of my car. Rather than just letting them sit on a hard drive forever with only a few friends and family ever hearing them, I figured there was nothing stopping me releasing them on my own.”

The actor, who auditioned for this season of the X-Factor, grew up listening to bands like Genesis, Pink Floyd and King Crimson. After Ben found his dad’s old acoustic guitar in the loft and started to teach himself different chords and scales, his parents bought him his first guitar.

Completely hooked, Ben went on to study music tech and performing arts at Hopwood Hall College, where he had the chance to learn and play all different kinds of music with other musicians, an experience he says is “invaluable".

Ben fell into acting after he began modelling during college, which included walk-on roles for several television shows. He was then invited to audition for Hollyoaks, where he was offered the role of heartthrob and aspiring musician, Cameron Clark.

He said: “I was not expecting anything to come of that as I had next to no acting credentials to my name at the time. That said, I must have done something right because I ended up being offered a regular role. What was initially a one-month contract ended up being a series regular role of just shy of five years.”

The actor then left Hollyoaks to pursue a musical career with his band, ‘Chairmen of the Bored’, which was renamed ‘MirrorView’ later on. The band later separated on good terms.

Ben continued: “We toured successfully for a number of years but never pushed for record label recognition, we simply did what we did because we loved it.”

He returned to acting, working on commercials, theatre, musicals, pantos and guest drama roles before landing the part of Ashley Thomas’ carer Will Scott on Emmerdale. What was initially intended to be a three-episode appearance became a six-month role.

Throughout this, he carried on writing his own music and performing tribute shows across the country on a regular basis, featuring music from the Rat Pack and Michael Bublé.

Ben said: “Musically, I still wanted something out there that was completely my own, from start to finish, so I set myself a target of Halloween.

"I do not expect the releases to rocket up the charts, although that would be nice, and I have no record label to rely on.”

He added: “At the end of the day, I am still a normal, family orientated guy with a wife and kids and bills to pay, but I also believe that you should never give up on something you are passionate about, and, hopefully, this is proof of that.”

"With You" is released on Friday 13 October.