Welsh actor Callum Scott Howells was BOTD in 1999. Born in Pontypridd, he was educated in Treorchy, and attended the National Youth Music Theatre. After being talent-spotted by an agent, he became a professional actor in his teens, performing at the Royal National Theatre, the Menier Chocolate Factory and on youth TV. He later studied at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama, graduating in 2020. He shot to fame in 2021, playing a young AIDS victim in Russell T. Davies‘ TV drama It’s A Sin. Screened in Britain during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, it was watched by 18.9 million people, sparking national conversations about homophobia and prompting a spike in HIV testing. Howells’ performance was cited as one of the highlights of the series, earning him a BAFTA television nomination. In 2022, he played the Emcee in the long-running West End revival of the musical Cabaret, and starred in the National Theatre’s 2023 production of Romeo & Julie, a modern-day retelling of Shakespeare‘s Romeo & Juliet. His upcoming projects include playing Frankie Goes to Hollywood singer Holly Johnson in the biopic Relax, and starring as Henry Paget, 5th Marquess of Anglesey in the film Madfabulous. Howells identifies as queer, and has been in a relationship with model and TV presenter Anaïs Gallagher since 2023.