From the Milkybar Kid to the Hovis biker boy and the Dairylea lads
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Many children dream of ending up on stage or screen and for many stars of the future their first jobs are in famous advertisements.
From the baker boy from Hovis to the infamous Milkyway boy, children in advertisements often capture the imagination of millions.
With witty one-liners and catchy slogans, popular ads stay in the national psyche for decades as people frequently quote their favorites.
But while some child stars make big names as actors, others choose quieter lives after finding fame early on.
Here MailOnline finds out where some of the child actors appearing in the nation’s favorite commercials ended up a few decades later…
Nestle: Milkybar Kid
The former child actor is now a photographer who got behind the lens in 2016 to pursue a new career.
He rides into town on horseback to save the townspeople from an evil sheriff before handing out Milkybars, yelling, ‘The Milkybars are on me!’
The real-life Milkybar Kid, Conrad Coleby, 43, the son of British actor Robert Coleby, has enjoyed a varied acting career since his stint at Nestlé.
The character has been played by a succession of blonde child stars in Australia, with Conrad in the title role throughout the 1990s.
Saving the day! The Conrad spots took place in a Wild West setting, with the Milkybar Kid breaking into a saloon to buy Milkybars for everyone as customers cheered.
The character has been played by various blonde child stars since it was created (Pictured, Conrad in the iconic role)
Following his time in Western-inspired commercials, Conrad launched a successful acting career, starring in Sabrina Down Under and Disney’s Home And Away.
He played heartthrob Dylan ‘Dutchy’ Mulholland on Sea Patrol and even shared the screen with Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine.
Conrad said in 2020 that there was a downside to being so famous.
Conrad pictured with his partner, Natalia Ladyko in 2021. The actor enjoyed a successful career on screen before taking up a camera.
Conrad played heartthrob Dylan ‘Dutchy’ Mulholland on Sea Patrol in a successful acting career that spanned all of Australia’s major networks.
“As a Milkybar Kid in my youth, I endured quite a bit of bullying for being one of the few kids in my neighborhood to appear on TV,” he said.
“Obviously I enjoyed the taunts so much that I decided to give everyone more ammunition and become a professional actor later on!”
He left acting in 2016 to pursue a life as a photographer taking action sports, portraiture and property photography.
Hovis: ‘Kid on the bike’
Carl Barlow returned to the Dorset hill in 2017 to try the climb on an electric bike, which he said was much easier.
The Hovis advert was filmed on Gold Hill in Shaftebury in Dorset and poor Barlow had to haul the bike uphill over 20 times during filming.
The toils of hard-working Hovis Boy, pushing his bicycle up a seemingly endless hill, were featured in an iconic 1973 ad for baked goods, directed by Ridley Scott.
The advert, which is set in an industrial town but was actually filmed on Gold Hill in Shaftesbury, Dorset, has been voted the nation’s all-time favourite.
In 2017, 63-year-old Carl Barlow conquered the steep hill with the help of an electric bike, just 44 years after the short’s original airing.
Barlow, who enjoyed a thirty-year career as a firefighter after starring in the ad, said it was “strange” to be back after so long.
The 1973 ad, which was directed by Ridley Scott, who would go on to direct such classics as Gladiator and Alien.
“I remember having to push the bike uphill many times during most of the two days of shooting on Gold Hill.
This time it was much easier. I slid up the hill,” explained the former child actor.
The ad had such an impact when it was first released that it was later spoofed by The Two Ronnies.
Barlow was asked to audition when he was 13 and got the job because he knew how to ride a bike and was happy to cut his hair.
‘After the ad I got some teasing at school about the pudding haircut, but mostly it was fun.
“Every time I see the ad it’s quite mesmerizing to see my younger self, and it feels kind of surreal.”
Dairylea: Would you kiss Veronica Dribblethwaite?
Chris Hoyle plays the ringleader of the ad and would get a continuing role on Coronation Street as Mark Redman.
He would later be fired from Corrie after he was found with a small amount of cannabis, but he found fame again later as a playwright.
The actor and playwright has recently been cast in a new BBC drama, Boat Story, which is being made by the studio that produced Fleabag.
Kids would do anything for Dairylea, this ad reads, as three toddlers sleeping in a tent look over their haul of food for a midnight snack.
One says he’d even kiss Veronica Dibblethwaite for the cheese sandwich, though he seems much less enthusiastic when his friends tell him they’ll watch him do it.
Chris Hoyle, formerly known as Chris Cook, was the ringleader for the ad and would get a continuing role on Coronation Street as Mark Redman.
He said i love manchester in 2018 that his life had been “completely changed” by instant fame.
“I went from being a shy guy to being a bit confident. I had never received a Valentine’s card in my life, and the year I was in Corrie I suddenly received a ton of fan mail.
But the teenager got into trouble after he was caught with cannabis, making national headlines and losing his role in Coronation Street.
The advert features three young men who claim they’d do anything to get their hands on some Dairylea, though they don’t seem too pleased with the idea of kissing Veronica Dibblethwaite.
‘I was devastated. It was a lot to handle. And it was hard at the time to shake off the drug thing. People used to yell things at me walking down the street. It went on for years.
The actor found a second calling as a playwright, and his play The Newspaper Boy debuted in 2009 and was revived in a production for Queer Contact 2018.
“I was trained as an actor and I love being in rehearsals, but writing gives me a lot more creative freedom and control,” he said.
“Also, writing means I can play all the characters I have in my head.”
Chris is currently filming in Yorkshire for a BBC drama, Boat Story, which is being made by the studio behind The Tourist and Fleabag.
Nestlé: dissident child
The Breakaway Boy thinks the candy bar is ‘evil’. Played by Matthew Shaw, the boy has stolen his sister’s chocolate
Matthew Shaw has had a varied career after his stint in Breakaway commercials, including appearances on Shameless and Children In Need.
The Breakaway bar, with its chocolate and cookie layers, was launched in 1970 and has been a staple in families’ pantries ever since.
And in a 1986 ad, Matthew Shaw plays a young man who has stolen one of his sister’s chocolates.
“It’s wicked,” says the child actor at the end of the ad.
But Mr. Shaw has continued to act since his turn as the hat-wearing chocolate thief and has had an extensive career in smaller productions.
She attended the Elliot Clark School of Dance and Drama before landing jobs with Children in Need and Shameless.
The Merseyside-based singer has appeared in countless pantomimes and starred in cruise productions of West End favorites, including Cinderella.