Paul Higgins is a Scottish actor, best known for appearing in the British television series The Thick of It, Utopia and Line of Duty.
Early life Higgins was born in Wishaw, Lanarkshire, Scotland. He was raised as a Roman Catholic, but now he considers himself a lapsed Catholic. As a teenager, he trained to be a priest, but gave his training up aged 17 when he began dating. Career Higgins has appeared onstage in Paul and Black Watch, and in the film Complicity. He played Alan in Staying Alive, a hospital drama on ITV. He has also played Jamie McDonald, an aggressive press officer, in the BBC show The Thick of It and its spin-off feature-length film, In the Loop. In 2009, he appeared as Gil Cameron on the BBC drama Hope Springs. He played Michael Dugdale in Channel 4's acclaimed conspiracy thriller Utopia. In 2013 he appeared in series 1 of the BBC series Line of Duty and returned for season 4 in 2017. He wrote a play titled Nobody Will Ever Forgive Us, which was performed at the Traverse Theatre, Edinburgh in a co-production with the National Theatre of Scotland in November 2008.
Personal life Higgins is married to actress Amelia Bullmore, whom he met in 1992 while co-starring with her in A View from the Bridge in Manchester. Since December 2019 he has been Chair of ACT, the Actors' Children's Trust, and since September 2021 a Trustee of The Vegan Society.
Filmography Year Film Role Notes 1986-90 Taggart Alastair Finn/ David Crawford TV series: 4 episodes1988A Very Peculiar PracticeAdie ShawTV series: 1 Episode 1988 The Play on One Murdo Caldwell TV series: 1 Episode ("A Wholly Healthy Glasgow") 1990 Boon Simon TV series: 1 Episode 1994 Being Human Soldier 1996-1997 Staying Alive Alan McPherson TV series: 12 episodes 1998 Bedrooms and Hallways John 2000 Complicity Andy Beautiful Creatures Aidan 2005-2007 The Thick of It Jamie McDonald TV series: 3 episodes 2006 Red Road Avery 2008 The Last Enemy Professor Lawrence Cooper TV series: 3 episodes2009 Hope Springs Gil Cameron TV series: 8 episodes In the Loop Jamie McDonald Silent Witness DS Nick Wallace TV series: 2 episodes ("Safe")2011 Vera Clive Stringer TV series: 1 Episode2013 The Wrong Mans PC Hennessy TV series: 1 Episode 2012-2017 Line of Duty ACC Derek Hilton TV series: 11 episodes 2013-2014 Utopia Michael Dugdale TV series: 11 episodes2015 Couple in a Hole John 2016 Raised by Wolves Sean TV series: 4 episodes2017 Victoria & Abdul Sir James Reid Decline and Fall Prison Officer TV series: 1 Episode2018 Apostle Frank The Party's Just Beginning Liusaidh's Dad 2019 Cold Call Kirk Wiley TV series: 4 episodes Greed Jim McBride 2021 Beep Father Sydney TV movie 2022-2026 Slow Horses Struan Loy TV series: 4 episodes2023BetrayalDon 2025 Brian and Maggie Geoffrey Howe TV series: 2 episodes
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