Adam Gillen: Benidorm Actor Takes on Cabaret’s Emcee

Most British comedy fans remember the character before the actor: Liam Conroy, the Benidorm regular locked in a comic on-off relationship with Kenneth. Adam Gillen played Liam across series 4 to 10, according to Shakespeare’s Globe, the London theatre company, then traded the Solana resort for the Kit Kat Club in London’s West End. His current run as the Emcee in Cabaret is a long way from the sun loungers — and it makes the arc of his career worth tracing.

Date of Birth: 11 September 1985 · Famous Role: Liam Conroy in ITV’s Benidorm · Current Project: Playing in “Cabaret” at the Playhouse Theatre, London

Six facts, one pattern: the public record on Gillen is consistent across theatre listings, agency bios and cast databases.

Who is Adam Gillen’s partner?

The short answer, based on press reports, is that Gillen married his Benidorm co-star Laila Zaidi. The Sun, the UK tabloid, reported that the couple shared wedding images from Hackney Town Hall with the caption “6/1/26 – LEGALLY speaking Mr & Mrs”. LADbible, the UK entertainment outlet, added that the two met during filming and began dating about a year later.

For anyone tracing a relationship timeline, the two reports agree on the shape: met on set, dated a year later, married in early 2026. What is missing is an interview in which Gillen discusses the relationship in his own voice.

The implication: Gillen keeps his private life out of his professional narrative. The only personal detail he is reported to have shared is the caption itself.

What is Adam Gillen doing now?

Gillen is currently playing the Emcee in Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club in London, a production staged at the Playhouse Theatre. WhatsOnStage reported in 2024 that he was the current Emcee, with Katherine Langford as Sally Bowles, and BroadwayWorld lists him at the Kit Kat Club.

Away from the stage, David Higham Associates describes him as a screenwriter, playwright and Olivier-nominated actor, and says his scripts focus on relationship dramas built around “unique, underestimated or marginalised characters”. His acting work is handled separately by Curtis Brown.

The pattern: his current chapter runs on two tracks — a long-running West End musical and a writing portfolio his agency is actively positioning.

How old was Adam Gillen in Benidorm?

Gillen was born on 11 September 1985, according to IMDb. That places him in his mid-twenties when Benidorm’s fourth series aired in 2011 and in his early thirties when his run ended in 2018. On screen, his Liam was paired with Tony Maudsley’s Kenneth — a double act the two actors dissected at length in a joint interview (I Talk Telly, the TV interview site).

The Benidorm character questions fans still ask

• Who is Liam in Benidorm married to? The sources reviewed don’t record an on-screen marriage for the character. The Sun notes that Liam and Cyd — Laila Zaidi’s character — started dating about a year after Zaidi joined the show.
• How old is Madge in Benidorm now? The research gathered for this article doesn’t record her age.
• How old was Mel in Benidorm when he died? The same gap applies: no age at death appears in the sources reviewed.
• How old is Mateo from Benidorm? Mateo’s age isn’t documented in the available research either.

Why this matters: 11 September 1985 anchors any age calculation. The other characters’ ages are far less documented than viewers tend to assume.

How many of the cast of Benidorm have passed away?

No official count exists in the sources reviewed for this article. British Comedy Guide describes Benidorm as an ensemble sitcom set at the Solana holiday resort in Spain, and a cast that large invites memorial round-ups online — but the available research doesn’t provide a definitive tally of cast deaths. Any specific number circulating in comment sections should be treated as unverified.

Why was Johnny Vegas axed from Benidorm?

What this means: if a specific death-count figure appears online, it needs a named obituary or news report behind it. The show itself has never published a tally.

Why was Chantelle written out of Benidorm?

None of the sources gathered for this article explains Chantelle’s exit. The cast interviews that do exist, such as Tony Maudsley and Adam Gillen’s conversation with I Talk Telly, focus on the Kenneth-Liam storyline rather than production decisions. Whether Chantelle was pregnant in the show, and how old she would be now, are also left undocumented by the available research.

The implication: the Chantelle question is a documentation gap, not a mystery with a hidden answer. The interviews that exist simply don’t ask it.

What’s confirmed about Adam Gillen — and what isn’t

The pattern: the more central an actor is to a major production, the better documented they are. For Gillen, the record is consistent. For the ensemble around him, it frays quickly.

What the cast’s own words reveal

They fall out and get back together about four times.

— Tony Maudsley, describing Kenneth and Liam in Benidorm (I Talk Telly)

6/1/26 – LEGALLY speaking Mr & Mrs

— Adam Gillen and Laila Zaidi’s wedding caption, reported by The Sun

The pattern: Maudsley frames the Kenneth-Liam dynamic as a comedy engine, a couple whose break-up and make-up cycles powered the show’s comedy. Gillen’s own caption is the most personal statement he has made public.

Why the Benidorm-to-Cabaret arc matters

Gillen’s career is a reminder that sitcom fame doesn’t have to be a ceiling. For British viewers who grew up with the sun loungers at the Solana, the Emcee at the Kit Kat Club is the same actor — sharper, darker, and singing a different tune. For theatregoers weighing a West End ticket, the decision is clear: see Gillen as the Emcee now, or bet on his next act — the writing career his agency is already building around him.

• Related reading: Siobhan Finneran biography and Netflix series
• Related reading: Alun Armstrong’s New Tricks exit

The pattern: from Solana to the Kit Kat Club, Gillen’s career trajectory is a case study in how a supporting sitcom role can lead to a West End lead.

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