Joseph Elliott

Originally from Bristol, Joseph studied English Literature and Drama at the University of Manchester, before doing an MA in performance at Central School of Speech and Drama.

For the last twelve years, he has worked as an actor, predominantly in comedy and children’s television. He is best known for playing pirate ‘Cook’ in the BAFTA-winning CBeebies series, Swashbuckle, for which he also writes many of the scripts.

In 2020, he co-created, wrote and starred in Big Fat Like, a comedy sketch show commissioned by the BBC, which parodies the bizarre world of YouTube. He is also part of the writing team for The Amelia Gething Complex and CBBC's Class Dismissed.

His award-winning debut novel, The Good Hawk, was released in 2020, followed by the sequel,

The Broken Raven, in 2021. His poetry has been featured in Popshot Magazine, and his short story,

Bag For Life, was published in The Book of Hopes, which was shortlisted for Waterstones' Book of the Year as well as Children's Book of the Year at the 2021 British Book Awards.

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When not writing or acting, Joseph loves painting, snorkelling and playing board games. He is a firm believer that houmous goes well with everything. 

Children with special educational needs have always been a part of Joseph’s life. His mother is a primary school teacher specialising in SEN and, as a young child, his parents provided respite foster care for children with additional needs. One of Joseph’s first jobs was working in a holiday playscheme for children with learning difficulties and disabilities, and he then went on to work as a teaching assistant at Westminster Special Schools for over four years. Agatha, the heroine in The Good Hawk, was inspired by some of the incredible children he worked with during that time, particularly those with Down syndrome.