Ray, aged 38, made his name in the 80s as the midfield rock of Everton and enjoyed a distinguished career until serious injury wrecked his chances of progressing any further at just 27. After being told that he'd never play football again, he turned his hand to coaching. Brought to Harchester by his friend Luis, after he worked out in Monaco as a coach, he's a great believer in the latest health and fitness techniques. He knows the game inside out and his main strength as a coach would be his man-management and motivational techniques, he is firm but reasonable, a disciplinarian with a sense of humour. He shares a joke when the time is right and cracks the whip when the time is right. He is a family man at heart and he is not happy unless he has his wife Kitty and son William by his side.

After the plane crash which killed several members of the Harchester United first team, Luis realises that he needs some help if he is going to get the club back on track. Luis is a big fan of Ray, having worked with him at Monaco and he also knows that he lives locally. Luis travels to Ray's farm in an attempt to convince him to join him at the club. Ray is reluctant to accept the offer but after some persuasion, he joins on a temporary basis. He immediately notices that Wes Kingsley is struggling to compete and he gives him some advice on how to improve. After the signing of Ray's old friend, Didier Baptiste, there is no place at the club for club captain Michael Dillon so Ray does his best to find him a new club. Michael doesnt take kindly to the news but he still appreciates all that Ray has done for him. When Luis picks up an injury, Gordon Gallagher takes over as caretaker manager. During this period, Gordon begins to leak stories to the press, these stories include how Ray's wife used to work as a prostitute. The teams form suffers while Gordon is in charge and after its proved that hes the link, he has his contract terminated by the club. Jerry appoints Ray as his replacement. With only a few games left to avoid relegation, Ray has to make some very tough decisions. One of which is to leave Luis on the bench. Luis reacts angrily to being dropped and the two have a major falling out which ends in Luis signing a pre-contractual agreement with Boca Juniors. After going out of the UEFA Cup to Karl Fletchers Mallorca, Ray convinces the club to make a £1.5m bid for Fletch. The bid is accepted by Mallorca and Fletch is glad to be back at Harchester. The signing paid off, as Ray eventually steered the club clear of relegation.

The first problem of the new season is to sort out Didier, who has admitted to match fixing. Ray is disgusted with Didier but after Didier tries to take his own life, Ray is the man who comes to his rescue. After this, Didier is transferred to Marseille. Harchester start the season in poor form and the media start to call for Ray to be sacked. It's at this point that his wife and son leave for Thailand to be with her dying father. This leaves Ray feeling like they've abandoned him at the time he needs them most. Lynda convinces the directors to give him more time. During this time, the teams form improves drastically. In order to take the club to the next level, Ray identifies Monday Bandele as a transfer target. Lynda agrees and the pair travel to Paris to negotiate a deal but after a few drinks, they end up sleeping together. Ray makes it perfectly clear that he has no interest in her and that he's still in love with his wife. PSG accept Harchesters offer for Monday and he travels back to Harchester with them to undergo a medical, which he fails. Ray informs him that he will come in for him again as soon as the injury heals. A few weeks later, Lynda finds out that she's pregnant and she informs Ray that he's the father. He has no choice but to take responsibility so he ends up having to tell his wife about the affair. She isn't too happy but she understands that he needs to be there for the baby. On the field, Harchester are flying high. When it was clear that Monday had overcome his injury, the club made another move for him and this time it was successful, it was hoped that with his goals, the club could reach the Champions League. As time went on, Lynda found it increasingly hard trying to juggle her pregnancy with the running of a football club. Prashant Dattani was trying to exploit her situation by heaping the pressure on her, this culminated in her have a miscarriage. Lynda is distraught but tries her best to continue on. In the end, Dattani wins and he gains control of the club. Ray resigns, knowing that he's responsible for Lynda's miscarriage. After player intervention, Ray agree's to see out the last game of the season, where he helps Harchester to third place and Champions League qualification. After the match, Ray resigns having been offered the managers job at Bordeaux.

Statistics

First Appearance: Episode 3.09
Final Appearance: Episode 4.26

Season 3 Character Popularity: 8.43% (7th)
Season 4 Character Popularity: 2.44% (10th)

Filmography

Where the Heart Is - Home Grown (2006) TV Episode .... Mark
Holby City .... Owen Davis (2001-2005)
Casualty @ Holby City .... Owen Davies
Close & True (2000) TV Series .... Steve Sheedy
Real Women (1998) (TV) .... Jonathan
Peak Practice (1996) TV Episode .... Phil Young
London's Burning (1988) TV Series .... D.O. Eddie Quinn (1995)
Harry Enfield and Chums (1994) TV Series .... Barry Scouser (1994-1997)
Heartbeat - Going Home (1993) TV Episode .... Luke
Boon - Cab Rank Cowboys (1991) TV Episode .... Wayne
Waterfront Beat (1990) TV Series .... Det. Sgt. Macker McVay
Shoot to Kill (1990) (TV) .... Special Branch Constable
The Laughter of God (1990) .... Worker 2
Brookside (1982) TV Series .... Karl Trevor (1989)/Colin Lambert (1991)/Greg Shadwick (1998-1999)
Help! - We Are Sailing (1988) TV Episode .... Ferryman
Just the Two of Us (2006) TV Episode .... Himself
The Weakest Link - TV Medics Special (2006) TV Episode .... Himself
The Paul O'Grady Show - Episode #2.42 (2005) TV Episode .... Himself
Beat the Nation - Episode dated 15 June 2004 (2004) TV Episode .... Himself
Night Fever TV Episode .... Himself

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

Interviews

Harchester United Vs Real Mallorca - March 2000

Short Interview

FULL NAME Mark Moraghan
NICK NAME Sparky
HOME TOWN Liverpool
DATE OF BIRTH Jan 1963
STAR SIGN Aquarius
MARITAL STATUS Married
CHILDREN 2 Daughters
SIBLINGS 1 Brother, 1 Sister
FAVOURITE FOOD Chinese
FAVOURITE DRINK Vodka Red Bull / Wine
FAVOURITE SMELL Coco Butter
FAVOURITE FILM A matter of life and death / Deer Stalker
FAVOURITE MUSIC Garage Steely Dance / Classical Pop
FAVOURITE GAME Driver - Playstation
FAVOURITE CITY Dublin
FAVOURITE SPORT Football / Boxing / Badmington
FAVOURITE TRAINERS Nike
DREAM CAR BMW M3 Convertible / Merc CLK
FAVOURITE HOLIDAY DESTINATION Seychelles / Cyprus
FAVOURITE ICE CREAM Vanilla
MORNINGS OR NIGHTS? Nights
ONE PILLOW OR TWO? One
ANY HOBBIES Playing Football , Badmington , Gym
FIRST MEMORY Kicking a football outside my house after the 1966 world cup final.
MOST HUMILIATING MOMENT Throwing up under a dinner table at the Grovsnor house hotel , London

External Web Links

Mark Moraghan Official Website