Outnumbered child star returns to TV after ‘struggling to find work’

A star of Outnumbered is making his return to screens (Picture: Sky History)

Nearly 20 years after he first appeared on screens in Outnumbered, Tyger Drew-Honey is returning to screens in a brand-new role.  

In 2007 the actor was introduced to viewers as Jake Brockman in the BBC sitcom, which starred Hugh Dennis and Claire Skinner as his parents Pete and Sue, while Daniel Roche and Ramona Marquez played his siblings Ben and Karen.

Tyger appeared on the show for seven years, later reprising the role for a special in 2016 and another last year.

He’s also appeared on The Amstrong & Miller Show, Doctors and Cuckoo, as well as Midsomer Murders, Death in Paradise and even Celebs Go Dating.

However, four years after appearing on Grantchester, Tyger is taking on his next role outside of Outnumbered.

Next week he will be seen as journalist Ernest Parke in the Sky drama-documentary series, Jack the Ripper: Written in Blood.

Tyger Drew-Honey starred as Jake in the BBC sitcom, which aired from 2007 until 2014 (Picture: BBC/ Hat Trick)

The ‘bold new series’ investigates the killings of Jack the Ripper and the media circus it created in 1800s London.

First-look images from series show Tyger in character, in which he’s wearing a striped shirt and khaki waistcoat, accessorised with a cravat and glasses, while his hair is slicked back into that period’s style.

According to the synopsis of the show, Parke led much of the press around the Ripper killings, and ‘theorised in the 31st August 1888 edition that Jack The Ripper was a single killer’.

Earlier this year he posted a photo on set from soon after filming finished.

‘Sometimes life’s biggest ups are closely followed by its biggest downs. But that’s the game,’ he shared.

‘I can’t find the words to describe the fun I had working on this project. What a cast, what a crew, what a privilege. Thank you everyone so so much. I absolutely can’t wait to see it.’

It also returned for a Christmas special last year (Picture: BBC/ Hat Trick Productions/ Adam Lawrence)

Last year Tyger spoke candidly about his struggle to secure acting work after being a child star.

‘I have done some good things but then there have been times that I’ve worked on building sites,’ he told The Sun.

‘I just dream of having constant acting work and I really hope the hype and the momentum of this special continues so that we can all have a really successful next year because the last three or four years have been tough for this industry.

‘For this to come back and give us good hope for next year I think is brilliant and that’s what I’m hoping for anyway,’ he added when promoting the latest Outnumbered special.

Around the same time, he spoke about the impact of finding fame young.

Tyger previously said he ‘dreamed of having constant acting work’ (Picture: Ben Whitley/ PA Wire)

‘I found it difficult at times – and I wasn’t a crazy teenager – but wanting to have a drink at 17,’ he shared during an appearance on This Morning.

‘And you couldn’t do that in public – people would take photos, but overall, it was positive.

‘But people taking pictures when I didn’t want them to was, yeah…’

He added that getting recognised in public frequently when he was younger was also ‘a lot’ at the time.

Outnumbered is streaming on BBC iPlayer. Jack the Ripper: Written in Blood starts on Tuesday on Sky.

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