Tony Clay
Clay in 2018
Born
Tony David Clay

(1991-08-08) 8 August 1991 (age 32)
Bexley, Kent, England
OccupationActor
Years active2012–present
TelevisionEastEnders

Tony David Clay (born 8 August 1991) is an English actor. He is known for portraying the role of Callum "Halfway" Highway in the BBC soap opera EastEnders since 2018. Prior to his tenure on EastEnders, Clay appeared in various stage productions and had minor roles in British films and programmes.

Early and personal life

Clay was born in Bexley, Greater London on 8 August 1991 to Christopher and Suzanne Clay.[1] He attended the Arts Educational Schools, London and graduated with a BA in acting in 2013.[2] Clay has been in a relationship with Olivia Griffin since August 2016.[3]

Career

Clay's first role was in a short film called An Ordinary Life in 2012. In 2017, he played the role of Woody Gilbert in the show Stan Lee's Lucky Man.[4] He has also appeared in Foyle's War and several theatre productions.[5][4]

In January 2018, Clay joined the cast of EastEnders as Callum "Halfway" Highway and is introduced as a friend of the Carter family.[4] During his initial stint on the show, the character is depicted as a "happy-go-lucky" character who wears shabby clothing and beanie hats. Originally contracted for two months, Clay reprised the role in April 2018 and since then the character's storylines have included a relationship with Whitney Dean (Shona McGarty),[6] the introduction of the Halfway's brother Stuart Highway (Ricky Champ)[7] and the character coming out as gay and beginning a relationship with Ben Mitchell (Max Bowden).[8][9]

Filmography

Television and film

Year Title Role Notes
2012 An Ordinary Life Kieran Short film
2014 Second Coming Cash-4-Gold Sign Man Film
2015 Foyle's War Rex Carter Episode: "Elise"
2017 Stan Lee's Lucky Man Woody Gilbert Episode: "The Trojan Horse"
2018–present EastEnders Callum "Halfway" Highway Regular role
2020 EastEnders: Secrets from the Square Himself Episode: "Ben and Callum"

Stage

Year Title Role Venue Director Author/Playwright
2009 The Machine Wreckers Ned Lud Miskin Theatre Nick Bagnall Ernst Toller
2014 Albion Jason Bush Theatre Ria Parry Chris Thompson
2015 Lines Locke The Yard Theatre Jay Miller Pamela Carter
2016 The Plough and the Stars Sergeant Tinley Abbey Theatre / US Tour Sean Holmes Seán O'Casey
Un­known Fifteen Minutes With You Un­known Wimbledon College of Arts Dan Bird Un­known
The Wonderful World of Dissocia Goat/Violinist Arts Educational Schools Will Oldroyd Anthony Neilson
A Midsummer Night's Dream Lysander Arts Educational Schools John Abbott William Shakespeare
Earthquakes in London Colin Arts Educational Schools Dan Bird Mike Bartlett
Promise Jay 2 Arts Educational Schools Cressida Brown Un­known
All My Sons Keller Arts Educational Schools Janette Smith Arthur Miller
Ivanov Lvov Arts Educational Schools Gareth Farr Anton Chekhov
Someone Who'll Watch Over Me Edward Arts Educational Schools John Abbott Frank McGuinness

Awards and nominations

Year Award Category Result Ref.
2018 Inside Soap Awards Funniest Male Nominated [10]
2018 Inside Soap Awards Best Newcomer Shortlisted [11]
2018 I Talk Telly Awards Best Soap Newcomer Nominated [12]
2018 Digital Spy Reader Awards Best Soap Newcomer Seventh [13]
2020 Inside Soap Awards Best Partnership (shared with Max Bowden) Nominated [14]
2020 I Talk Telly Awards Best Soap Partnership (shared with Bowden) Nominated [15]
2020 Digital Spy Reader Awards Best Couple (shared with Bowden) Won [16]
2021 The Version Soap Awards Best Couple (shared with Bowden) Won [17]
2021 26th National Television Awards Serial Drama Performance Nominated [18]
2021 I Talk Telly Awards Best Soap Partnership (shared with Bowden) Nominated [19]

References

  1. ^ "10 True Facts About Tony Clay (Eastenders' Callum)". Inside Soap. (Hearst Communications). 3 September 2019. Retrieved 27 June 2023 – via Pressreader.
  2. ^ Haynes, Tom (24 June 2021). "EastEnders actor Tony Clay's stunning girlfriend and life away from being Callum Highway". MyLondon. Retrieved 2 July 2021.
  3. ^ Corner, Natalie L (7 September 2020). "Who is Tony Clay? Inside 'Ballum' actor's life away from BBC EastEnders". OK!. Archived from the original on 7 September 2020. Retrieved 3 July 2021. Things are a little different for Tony's own love story in real life and has been dating girlfriend Olivia Griffin since August 2016.
  4. ^ a b c Crick, Claire (24 January 2018). "EastEnders: Who is Tony Clay? 8 things you didn't know about Callum 'Halfway' Highway". Digital Spy. United Kingdom: Hearst Corporation. Retrieved 2 May 2020.
  5. ^ "Tony Clay". Waring and McKenna. United Kingdom. 2 May 2020. Retrieved 2 May 2020.
  6. ^ Haynes, Tom (24 June 2021). "Tony Clay's life away from EastEnders with stunning girlfriend". MyLondon. Retrieved 7 July 2021.
  7. ^ Kilkelly, Daniel (28 March 2018). "EastEnders casts Him & Her star Ricky Champ as Halfway's brother Stuart". Digital Spy. Retrieved 29 March 2018.
  8. ^ "EastEnders stars reveal they filmed in a bubble for Ballum wedding scenes". Digital Spy. 11 May 2021. Retrieved 3 July 2021.
  9. ^ "EastEnders' Max Bowden shares post celebrating 'magical' Ballum wedding and fans 'bawl their eyes out'". MyLondon. 13 May 2021. Retrieved 3 July 2021.
  10. ^ Davies, Megan (24 July 2018). "Inside Soap Awards 2018 full longlist revealed: Which Corrie, EastEnders, Emmerdale and Hollyoaks stars are up?". Digital Spy. Retrieved 21 November 2018.
  11. ^ Kilkelly, Daniel (16 October 2018). "Coronation Street tops Inside Soap Awards 2018 shortlist with 18 nominations". Digital Spy. Retrieved 21 November 2018.
  12. ^ Gonzalez, Elliot (3 November 2018). "I TALK TELLY AWARDS Nominations 2018". I Talk Telly.
  13. ^ Robinson, Abby (28 December 2018). "Emmerdale wins big at the Digital Spy Reader Awards 2018". Digital Spy. Hearst Magazines UK. Retrieved 31 December 2018.
  14. ^ "Inside Soap Awards reveals full longlist for 2020's ceremony". Digital Spy. 14 September 2020.
  15. ^ Gonzalez, Elliot (8 November 2020). "I TALK TELLY AWARDS 2020 Nominees". I Talk Telly.
  16. ^ Robinson, Abby (25 December 2020). "EastEnders triumphs at Digital Spy Reader Awards 2020". Digital Spy. Archived from the original on 29 December 2020. Retrieved 29 December 2020.
  17. ^ "The Version 2021 Soap Awards winners announced! — The Version". theversion.co. Archived from the original on 21 April 2021.
  18. ^ Lovejoy, Hannah (25 May 2021). "Coronation Street, EastEnders, Emmerdale and Hollyoaks stars land National Television Award nominations". Digital Spy. Archived from the original on 28 June 2021. Retrieved 31 August 2021.
  19. ^ Gonzalez, Elliot (14 November 2021). "I TALK TELLY AWARDS 2021 Nominations". I Talk Telly. Retrieved 22 January 2022.

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