Listed: 12 celebrities which have links to Colchester

Our town is the birth place of a number of big names from TV stars to artists and musicians.

And dozens others have connections to Colchester having lived there – and some may surprise you.

Test your knowledge with the list below.

Blur's Damon Albarn and Graham Coxon

Colchester is famously the home town to Britpop group Blur.

Damon Albarn, the group's lead singer and guitarist Graham Coxon went to Stanway School.

They formed Blur with Alex James and Dave Rowntree whilst studying together at Goldsmith's College, London.

Originally known as ‘Seymour' they performed at venues across the town, later moving to London and changing their name to Blur in the process.

Dermot O'Leary

Born in Colchester in 1973 he attended Colchester 6th Form College.

He went on to gain a BA degree in Media & Television and worked as a DJ for BBC Radio Essex.

His career has included presenting Big Brother's Little Brother and the X Factor.

Margaret Thatcher

Dubbed the Iron Lady because of her uncompromising leadership style, 'Maggie' was the longest-serving British Prime Minister of the 20th century, serving from 1979 to 1990.

But did you know that she had strong north Essex connections?

After graduating from university, she spent two years here embarking on her career as a chemist.

In 1947, Margaret Roberts, as she was then known, worked at BX Plastics, in Manningtree, and each day she would catch the bus from her lodgings in Colchester.

Mrs Thatcher, who died in 2013, aged 87, made numerous trips to north Essex during her time as Prime Minister.

Vic Keeble

Keeble is widely regarded as one of Colchester United's greatest-ever players.

The prolific centre-forward hit an incredible 89 goals in just 130 appearances for his hometown club between 1947 and 1952, prior to leaving them for Newcastle United.

Vic sadly died in January 2018 at the age of 87 - but his legacy as Colchester’s first local hero lives on.

Chris Morris

The writer, director and actor was born in the town in 1962.

He was found to be the most searched person from Colchester on Wikipedia back in 2019.

Morris, is famous for his controversial TV series Brass Eye as well as indie film Four Lions.

If you are a fan of Channel 4 show the IT Crowd you may also recognise him as Denholm Reynholm, the eccentric managing director of the company.

Robert Baden-Powell

Baden-Powell is the man behind the now world-famous Scouting movement.

He had a long military career, including the period from 1886-87 when he was stationed at Cavalry Barracks in Colchester where he was a Captain in the 13th Hussars.

A statue of the Scouts founder was temporarily removed from a spot in Dorset amid concerns it could be targeted by protesters as pressure to take down controversial monuments.

Read more >> Who was Scouts founder Robert Baden-Powell and why is he controversial?

The statue had been targeted by campaigners due to his associations with the Nazis and the Hitler Youth programme, as well as his actions in the military.

In 2010 newly declassified MI5 files revealed that Lord Baden-Powell was invited to meet Adolf Hitler after holding friendly talks with Hartmann Lauterbacher, chief of staff of the Hitler Youth, about forming closer ties with the organisation.

There is no evidence that Baden-Powell’s meeting with Hitler ever took place.

Ann and Jane Taylor

In 1806, while living in the town, Jane published a children’s poem which today is known throughout the world as Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star.

The Taylor family lived in what is now West Stockwell Street, where their father was a minister at the since demolished independent chapel in St Helen’s Lane.

Sir Roger Penrose

Sir Roger, who was born in the town in 1931, was jointly awarded the Nobel Prize for physics for his work advancing our understanding of black holes.

Sir Roger, a University of Oxford professor, used ingenious mathematical methods in his proof that black holes are a direct consequence of Albert Einstein’s general theory of relativity.

Read more >> Colchester scientist is jointly awarded the Nobel Prize for physics

Einstein did not himself believe black holes really exist.

In January 1965, ten years after Einstein’s death, Sir Roger proved black holes really can form and described them in detail.

He shares the award alongside fellow scientists Reinhard Genzel and Andrea Ghez.

Sir Roger received half of the 10 million Swedish kronor prize money.

Darren Day

Darren, 53, was born in the town and went to school here.

Darren, who made his name on the West End stage, starring in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, has appeared on I’m A Celebrity and Celebrity Big Brother.

Last year he attempted to get a Christmas number one with reality star Gemma Collins.

Jeff Brazier

TV and radio presenter Jeff, 42, was born and grew up in nearby Tiptree.

He has appeared on Dancing on Ice and Celebrity Masterchef and also an ambassador for People's Postcode Lottery.

He has in recent times spoken out about mental health after helping his two boys through the devastating death of their mother, Jade Goody, in 2009.