Being thirty, Michael is one of the elder statesmen in the team. He likes to think of himself as an intellectual. He prefers the broadsheets to the tabloids, he takes a keen interest in politics and he doesn’t watch South Park. Because of this others might see him as being stuck up, he’s not, he’s just different to most footballers. Michael puts his success down to hard work, maturity and judgement, these are all important attributes for a defender. The game doesn't come easy to Michael, he has to constantly work at it. He has managed to carve out a successful career in professional football despite lacking in technical ability. However, he does have a lot of good qualities, including his ability to lead.

Michael has spent most of his career playing in the lower leagues. He has shown a lot promise but for one reason or another, he has never quite fulfilled it. He started off with Bristol Rovers as an apprentice. Within the space of a year he had become a household name with the Rovers fans. After a couple of years in Bristol, it was time for Michael to move on. Swindon made an offer that was too good for Bristol Rovers to turn down. Michael excelled during his time at Swindon which earned him a big money move to high flying First Division outfit Wolverhampton Wanderers. After a couple of failed promotion attempts, Michael moved onwards and upwards, Blackburn Rovers came in for him and the chance of Premiership football was too good to turn down. After his first season, Rovers were relegated from the Premiership but Michael’s displays managed to catch the eye of several Premiership managers. He had a host of Premiership clubs chasing his signature which would have been music to the ears of his girlfriend, turn agent - Ann Paterson.

Michael arrived in Harchester at during the summer of 1999 for £4m from Blackburn Rovers. He preferred to play as a central defender but if need be, he could play anywhere across the back line. Luis Amor Rodriguez liked what he saw in Michael, which prompted him to hand him the captains armband, he took over the role from John Black who had died during the Wembley shootings. As captain, it was Michael's responsibility to make sure the other players were united and given his age, he was the figure of authority on the pitch. This led to many arguments Michael with the clubs star striker, Scott Lucas, the two had a fierce dislike for one another. Michael's early performances at Harchester weren’t up to his usual standard and his confidence suffered as a result, this gave Scott the upper hand in any dressing room argument and he would often humiliate Michael, calling him 'the English teacher'. It soon became apparent to the management that both players couldn't remain at the club. When Luis & Ray learned that Didier Baptiste might be interested in a move to Harchester, they accepted an offer from Charlton for Michael, it would solve the dispute between Michael and Scott whilst in raising the funds for the Baptiste transfer at the same time. Michael didn't take the news well but he eventually accepted the offer from Charlton. Charlton called the deal off at the last minute because Michael failed the medical, this left Harchester with both Didier and Michael fighting for the same position. During this time, Scott appointed Michael's girlfriend Ann as his agent to help clean up his public image and despite letting her down on several occasions, they had a brief fling – which Ann later regretted. After the Charlton deal fell through, Michael faced facts, he was never going to be able to compete with Didier so he settled for a place at right back. Michael performances improved a lot during this period which gained him more respect within the club – he was now an asset to the team. Things were looking good for Michael and after being awarded the man of the match award, he proposed to his girlfriend Ann, live on TV – She accepted. Michael was on top of the world at this stage and he even bought a house in Harchester. This joy was short lived for Michael, on his wedding day he found out that his fiancée was having an affair with Scott Lucas. Michael was outraged by this and he wanted to get out of Harchester as soon as possible. Ray Wyatt went out of his way to get Charlton to reconsider their bid. They eventually came in with a reduced offer considering that he failed the original medical. His ex-fiancée Ann remained in Harchester to pursue her career as an agent.

Statistics

First Appearance: Episode 3.01
Final Appearance: Episode 3.39

Season 3 Character Popularity: 1.05% (12th)

Filmography

I Shouldn't Be Alive - Trapped Under a Boulder (2006) TV Episode .... Warren MacDonald
The Afternoon Play - Your Mother Should Know (2006) TV Episode .... Gary
The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (2005) .... Older Peter ... aka The Chronicles of Narnia (International: English title: short title)
Holby City .... Will Curtis (2004-2005)
The Inspector Lynley Mysteries: Deception on His Mind (2003) (TV) .... Cliff Hegarty
28 Days Later... (2002) .... Mark... aka 28 Days Later (UK: closing credits title) ... aka 28 jours plus tard (France) ... aka 29 Days Later (USA: longer version)
Where the Heart Is - Don't Let Go (2002) TV Episode .... Davey Ludford
Midsomer Murders - Who Killed Cock Robin? (2001) TV Episode .... Noel Wooliscroft
Megiddo: The Omega Code 2 (2001) .... Stone Alexander (Age 21)... aka Megiddo (USA: short title)
The Mists of Avalon (2001) (TV) .... Gawain... aka Nebel von Avalon, Die (Germany)
Tom's Midnight Garden (1999) .... James (20 years)
The Cyberstalking (1999) (TV) .... Jack
Birds of a Feather - Can't Judge a Book (1998) TV Episode .... Dominic
Event Horizon (1997) .... Burning Man/Edward Corrick
True Blue (1996) .... Nick Bonham... aka Miracle at Oxford (USA: DVD title)
Moonacre (1994) TV Series .... Robin
Emmerdale Farm (1972) TV Series .... Luke McAllister (1993-1995)... aka Emmerdale (UK: new title)
Nice Town (1992) (mini) TV Series .... Nigel Dobson
The Best Man to Die (1990) (TV) .... John Burden... aka Ruth Rendell Mysteries: The Best Man to Die (UK: series title)
Some Lie and Some Die (1990) (TV) .... John Burden
No More Dying Then (1989) (TV) .... John Burden
Tom's Midnight Garden (1989) (mini) TV Series .... James
No Crying He Makes (1988) (TV) .... John Burden
A Guilty Thing Surprised (1988) (TV) .... John Burden
Wolf to the Slaughter (1987) (TV) .... John Burden... aka Ruth Rendell Mysteries: Wolf to the Slaughter (UK: series title)

Last updated June 2006. For more up-to-date information, please visit IMDb.

Short Interview

WHAT'S THE BEST THING ABOUT BEING IN DREAM TEAM? You get to look like you can play football.

WERE YOU A FAN OF DREAM TEAM BEFORE YOU JOINED? Nope. Never watched it before.

WHAT SORT OF RESEARCH (IF ANY) DID YOU DO FOR YOUR PART? No.

WHAT DO YOU LIKE BEST ABOUT YOUR CHARACTER? He was quite tragic, but had a lot of dignity.

WHAT DO YOU DISLIKE MOST ABOUT YOUR CHARACTER? His inability to play football.

ARE YOU LIKE YOUR CHARACTER AT ALL?No.

HOW DID YOU GET THE PART ON DREAM TEAM AND WHAT WAS YOUR AUDITION LIKE? Mine was pretty normal. I read some stuff for them, had a little footy session. Then I was called a couple of days later and told I had the job.

WHAT SCENE HAVE YOU MOST ENJOYED OR HATED FILMING SO FAR? Fight with Luke.

DO YOU THINK YOU'D LIKE TO LIVE YOUR CHARACTERS SORT OF LIFESTYLE? Probably not – Footballers have such a short career. Then what can they do?

HAVE YOU EVER MET ANY REAL FOOTBALLERS? Quite a few on Dream Team, but not outside the show.

WHAT FOOTBALL TEAM DO YOU SUPPORT AND WHY? England…occasionally…

WERE YOU GOOD AT FOOTBALL AT SCHOOL? Yes. I was the captain of my school team at one point.

WHAT IS THE HARDEST THING ABOUT THE TRAINING YOU GO THROUGH FOR DREAM TEAM? Actually, it was quite easy.

WHAT DO YOU DO IN YOUR FREE TIME? What free time?

WHERE DO YOU COME FROM – HOME TOWN? A little village called Whiston in West Sussex

WHERE DO YOU SEE YOURSELF IN 10 YEARS TIME? Hopefully in films, and maybe some production.

WHAT OTHER JOBS HAVE YOU DONE APPART FROM ACTING? Packed CDs over-night. Worked in a restaurant.

IF YOU COULD APPEAR IN A REALITY TV SHOW, WHICH WOULD IT BE AND WHY? The Osbournes. They rock. (don't know what as though)

IF YOU WERE TO APPEAR ON THE FRONT PAGE OF THE SUN THIS WEEKEND WHAT WOULD THE HEADLINE BE? No idea.

DO YOU GET RECOGNISED IN THE STREET? Yep.

WHAT WILL YOU USUALLY DO ON CHRISTMAS DAY? Opening pressies. Won't all of us?

NOW THAT YOU HAVE LEFT DREAM TEAM.... WHAT HAVE YOU BEEN DOING SINCE YOUR DEPARTURE? Filming mostly… (28 Days Later, Holby etc)

IF YOU GOT THE OPPORTUNITY TO RETURN TO DREAM TEAM EITHER AS A SHORT TERM OR LONG TERM ROLE, WOULD YOU GO BACK? Possibly

DO YOU THINK YOUR CHARACTER COULD HAVE CONTINUTED FOR ANOTHER SEASON? Yeah.

WERE YOU PLEASED WITH THE WAY YOUR CHARACTER WAS PORTRAYED OR DO YOU FEEL YOUR CHARACTER COULD HAVE BEEN PORTRAYED BETTER? Better. Don't know how though…

WERE YOU PLEASED WITH THE EXIT YOUR CHARACTER WAS GIVEN? It was very dramatic, but the dialogue was pathetic. I would definitely have changed that.

DO YOU KEEP IN TOUCH WITH ANY OF THE DREAM TEAM CAST YOU WORKED WITH? Yeah - Luke Mably, Ali King and Campbell Morrison.

WHAT OTHER DREAM TEAM CHARACTER WOULD YOU LIKE TO HAVE PLAYED? Someone random. Someone who for once isn't in the for-ground of a shot.

HAVE YOU CONTINUED TO WATCH DREAM TEAM AND KEEP UP WITH EVENTS AT HARCHESTER SINCE YOUR DEPARTURE? No (Don't have Sky)

DO YOU EVER VISIT OUR FORUM TO SEE WHAT PEOPLE THINK ABOUT YOUR CHARACTER? No

MARS OR SNICKERS either
CORRIE OR ENDERS neither
JORDAN OR JODIE MARSH Jodie marsh (because she's climbing across the alps or something in feb)
CAT OR DOG dog
PORSCHE OR FERRARI ferrari
WINE OR BEER don't drink
TOO HOT OR TOO COLD too hot (no one likes to be cold!!)
SUMMER OR WINTER both
HOMER OR BART bart
ADIDAS OR VALSPORT adidas (what's the other one?)
VODKA OR WHISKY don't drink
CHINEESE OR PIZZA pizza
NIGHT-IN OR NIGHT-OUT night out after a night in
SUNBATH OR SKI ski

External Web Links

Noah Huntley Official Website