Sidney Sloane

Sidney Sloane (born Gary Gibson; 7 June 1967) is a UK radio and television actor/presenter. Born to Afro-Caribbean parents, he grew-up on the Wimbledon and Wandsworth borders of South London. He attended Southmead Primary School and John Griffiths R.C. Secondary School. He took the stage name Sidney Sloane when he changed career from stockbroking to study acting in 1997 at the Academy of Creative Training in Brighton, England.

A successful audition landed him a main role in the Belgrade Theatre Company's production of The Twits which took on a No.1 theatre tour of the UK. After an invitation to meet with some BBC exec's and a screen-test for the possible role as a presenter, a formal job offer was made. Sloane helped to launch CBeebies, the British children's television channel in 2002.He was the channel's only remaining original presenter when he left the presentation team on 12 April 2013 . He had previously been a weekends presenter on BBC Southern Counties Radio.

His experiences since working for the BBC now also include many voice-over and radio dramas.

On 14 November 2012, Sloane appeared in a brand-new televised production entitled Let's Play which aired on CBeebies. The series inspires pre-schoolers to discover the world through creative role-play and dressing-up. ‘Let’s Play’ is co-presented by Rebecca Keatley.

Sloane toured with his own live production, 'Sid's Show' which was performed in venues across the UK until June 2013.

In Christmas 2012, Sloane appeared in pantomime as 'Jack' at the Ashcroft Theatre in Croydon for Evolution Productions. He also appeared in the Christmas edition of British television quiz show Celebrity Mastermind.

Sid left his presentation role on CBeebies on 12 April 2013, but continues to have a presence on the channel as one of the presenters of Let's Play, which continues to be shown.

Sid played Dandini in Cinderella at the Hawth Theatre in Crawley at Christmas 2013 alongside Stephen Mulhern, with Ian Smith and Michael J. Batchelor as the ugly sisters.