BBC child star living completely new life years after hit show
Viewers will recognise him from starring on their TV screens, but now a former BBC child star has traded a life in front of the cameras for an entirely different path.
The former actor, now aged 24, looked unrecognisable 12 years after first hitting screens, donning an all-black outfit and body cam as he was filmed dancing on a bar last year.
He first found fame appearing on the Dumping Ground in 2013 as character Mo Michaels, a CBBC children's drama which documented the lives of children and teenagers living together in a children’s care home.
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He went on to later star in The Secret Life of Boys playing Robbie Hughes from 2015 to 2021, Holby City, So Awkward, One Night and an episode of Call The Midwife.
He also starred in Gangsta Granny, playing the main character of Ben in the adaptation of David Walliams’ hugely popular best-seller.
None other than Reece Buttery, the former actor now looks completely different after showcasing his former life as a nightclub bouncer in a video shared on TikTok, but eagle-eyed viewers were quick to notice.
The Sun reported that five years on from his last TV appearance, Reece was then working at Mossys Nightclub, in his hometown of Lowestoft, in East Suffolk, which announced just last year it was shutting down for good,
The child star could be seen dancing on the bar to Rhianna’s noughtie's hit SOS. He looked completely different to his days on-screen, with short black hair and a moustache.
The text on the TikTok clip read: “Door staff can be fun too," as he captioned the post: “Have a word @mossysnightclub.”
"No way": Viewers instantly spot TV star
But it didn't viewers on TikTok long to realise who it was. Although, in his account description, he wrote he was an 'actor, comedian and DJ' and a 'geezer from the east end'.
"Used to have a HUGE crush on this geezer in secret life of boys," one person said beneath the short clip.
Another user commented: "Really off topic but can you make a new gangsta granny pls." A third, who also noticed it was Reece, said: "No way mo,Robbie,Ben is now a bouncer."
After multiple TV appearances, and with the bar in the TikTok now having officially shut down, Reece is continuing to explore another career. According to his social media, he is now working as a community first responder within an NHS trust.
James Holt