My Name Is Leon actor Cole Martin nominated for TV Times Award

Cole Martin, the lead actor in the BBC Two Birmingham-based drama My Name is Leon has been nominated for a prestigious award. Cole plays Leon in the show, a film adaptation of the best selling novel by Brummie Irish author Kit De Waal, produced by Lenny Henry.

The film features around Leon, a mixed-race boy, and Jake, his white baby brother, are separated after their mother has a breakdown. Leon is determined to find him and gets unexpected support along the way.

Cole’s performance earned rave reviews, and he has now been nominated for the TV Times awards 2022. Cole has been nominated in the Favourite Young Performer category.

The Birmingham-born star is up against a number of other young stars. They are: Amelia Flanagan (Emmerdale)Isabella Flanagan (Coronation Street) Jayden Fox (Hollyoaks) Billy Jenkins (Dodger) Sonny Kendall (EastEnders) Cole Martin (My Name Is Leon) Jude Riordan (Coronation Street) and Lillia Turner (EastEnders).

Talented Cole is also a multi-trained athlete in various disciplines like acrobatics, boxing, gymnastics, kickboxing, martial arts, parkour, and tennis.

How to vote, who else is in the running and where can I watch the film?

The TV Times Awards celebrate the best of British television and film every year.

In the Favourite Young Performer, Cole is up against seven other young stars. They are: Amelia Flanagan in Emmerdale, Isabella Flanagan in Coronation Street, Jayden Fox in Hollyoaks, Billy Jenkins in Dodger, Sonny Kenall in Eastenders, Jude Riordan in Coronation Street and Lillia Turner in Eastenders.

But you don’t have long left to decide as voting closes today (Friday, October 14). You can vote for Cole to win the Favourite Young Performer award, here.

The film is available to stream over on BBC iPlayer right now.

What is My Name is Leon about?

The film is set in 1980s Birmingham against the backdrop of the Handsworth race riots and tells the uplifting and moving story of nine-year-old Leon - a mixed-race boy with a quest to reunite his family after being taken into care and separated from his blonde and blue-eyed baby brother.

The BBC film is adapted from Kit De Waal’s best-selling book which is an international bestseller, shortlisted for the Costa First Novel Award, longlisted for the for the Desmond Elliott Prize and winner of the Kerry Group Irish Novel of the Year Award for 2017.

Kit De Waal grew up in Moseley and went to school in Small Heath. My Name Is Leon is recommended as a heart-breaking story of love, identity and learning to overcome unbearable loss, the fierce bond between siblings and finding your way home.

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