Wil Johnson

Born in London, England, Wil Johnson had a speech impediment and panic attacks as a child and young man. Training as a tech at a theater school, Johnson filled in for an absent actor and his love of the craft was born. His first professional acting role came in the play "Four Seasons" at the influential Edinburg Fringe Festival in 1985. His first on screen role came two years later, with a supporting role on an episode of "Casualty" (BBC One, 1986-). His first series regular role was on the show "Anna Lee" (LWT, 1993-94), playing a private detective working with the title character (who is also a private detective, played by Imogen Stubbs). The show was made up of five two-hour programs, each based on a novel by the author Liza Cody. His next series regular role was playing a police detective for two seasons on the show "Cracker" (ITV, 1993-2006). In 2000 Johnson appeared in regular roles in two series. One was "Clocking Off" (BBC One 2000-03), a drama that followed the lives of a group of workers at a textile factory. The other was "Waking the Dead" (BBC One, 2000-2011). On the long-running cold-case investigation series, Johnson played Detective Inspector Spencer Jordan, one of the key investigators of the team. After his long run on the show, Johnson appeared in three seasons of the long running soap opera "Emmerdale" (ITV, 1972-). In 2016, it was announced that Johnson would take a role in the upcoming season of "Outlander" (Starz, 2014-).