English actor and filmmaker Leon Lopez was BOTD in 1979. Born in Liverpool to a working-class family, he struggled with chronic obesity as a teenager. He began his professional career in 1988 with a recurring role in TV soap opera Brookside, remaining with the show for four years. His subsequently appeared in TV series Merseybeat, The Bill and Hollyoaks, with occasional forays into modelling. After a brief career as a sex worker, he revived his career in the 2010s with appearances in West End revivals of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, Rent, Piaf and The Color Purple, and a Paris production of Stephen Sondheim’s A Little Night Music. He studied filmmaking at the University of East London, writing and directing the critically-acclaimed film Soft Lad, a love story between two young men of colour. His documentary Let’s Talk About Gay Sex And Drugs, premiered on the LGBTQ film festival circuit in 2016, and returned to TV drama with a seven-episode stint in Eastenders. He now works as a director for Hollyoaks, Emmerdale and Coronation Street. Openly gay since forever, his current relationship status is unknown.