is a BAFTA Award-winning comedy short about three boys from Huddlesfield, Yorkshire, who get on each other's nerves as they ride the mobility bus to school.
Surly Dan (Ruben Reuter) insults everyone, most by references to the romantic interests of "your Mum."
Upbeat Sonny (Zak Ford-Williams) announces that "the only disability is a bad attitude," and chastises Dan: his behavior is not in keeping with the spirit of the Duke of Edinburgh award.
Entrepreneur Mike (Jack Carroll) claims to be the future Wolf of Wakefield; he's going to make a fortune on the stock
I researched Ruben and Zak, and discovered that they are both gay in real life. Coincidence, or a deliberate casting decision?
Time to check out the third, Jack Carroll who also co-wrote the script.
He has the longest resume of the three: Born in 1998 in Bradford, Yorkshire, started his career at age 12, when comedian Jason Manford saw a video of Jack performing at his parents' wedding anniversary, and invited him to perform at a show at St. George's Hall.
A film of his comedy bit aired on The One Show,leading to Britain's Got Talent, where he was runner-up, and 13 episodes of the sketch comedy show The Ministry of Curious Stuff (2012). Episodes of 4 O'Clock Club, Katy, Big School, and Ministry of Justice followed.
And the feature film
Eaten by Lions (2018). After their Gran dies, half-brothers Pete and Omar (Jack, Antonio Aakeel) go off in search of Omar's estranged dad. They find him in the tawdry, seedy tourist trap of Blackpool (for Americans, think Atlantic City). Pete gets a girlfriend, and shows his backside. I reviewed it several years ago. It got a low grade for heteronormativity and lack of beefcake.
Next came 25 episodes of Trollied (2014-18), about the workers in a run-down supermarket (for Americans, a trolly is a shopping cart). Mark Addy, who stripped down in The Full Monty (1997), played head butcher Andy, and perennial n*de dude Joel Fry played nice guy Leighton.
Jack's character, 16-year old Harry, is the brightest of the group: he received 9 A-grades in his GCSEs (tests taken during Year 11 of secondary school). He's heterosexual.
In the short
Newbie (2023), a new teacher is worried that students won't accept him because of his disability. Weird-- the guy played a high school student that same year. But Cole Sprouse was 30 when he finished playing high schooler Jughead on
Riverdale.
Jack's biggest role to date is playing Bobby Crawford in 69 episodes of the soap Coronation Street (2023-25).
In 2023, the teenage Bobby argues with his mum's boyfriend, and gets kicked out. He looks up his birth dad, Rob Donovan (Marc Bayliss), who is in prison, and gets a referral to live with his Aunt Carla on....Coronation Street.
Ulp...maybe a soap opera community is not the best home. Aunt Carla has a life-threatening illness, then disowns him due to his friendship with his birth dad. Bobby is kidnapped, becomes a hostage, is accused of murder....
His crush Lauren disappears, presumably murdered; then she reappears, is accused of murder, is blackmailed. Am I getting this right? It seems rather repetitive. Finally Jack has had enough; he runs away to Majorca to work on a fishing boat with a male friend.
Jack explains that he had to leave the show to prepare for a national tour, but maybe he was getting tired of the angst. He's primarily a comedian, after all.
He has performed on Britain's Got Talent, Britain's Got More Talent, Loose Ladies, Pointless Celebrities, Sunday Brunch, This Morning, The Stand Up Sketch Show, and Would I Lie to You?, as well as many live venues. In 2026 his "The Fall Guy" tour will be in Edinburgh.
More after the break