[3] Gascoyne also spent a significant part of his early life in Gateshead in the North East living with his mother and grandparents.

Since then, he has acted in numerous television dramas, including playing opposite Warren Clarke in The Locksmith and Timothy Spall in The Thing About Vince.

[2][7] While working in film Gascoyne played the part of a New York Cop in My Last Five Girlfriends starring Michael Sheen.

[10] He returned briefly in 2015 following the death of his co-star Anne Kirkbride,[11][12] with Gascoyne stating, "Coming back was like a healing process, we laughed a lot".

[13] On 10 July 2023, ITV confirmed that Gascoyne will be leaving the soap after playing Peter Barlow after 23 years, to pursue other acting projects and to spend more time with his family.

After graduating from Central, he joined the Richard Ayre Company at The National Theatre where he performed in The David Hare Trilogy, including Racing Demon, Murmuring Judges and the Absence of War (alongside John Thaw, Michael Bryant and Mark Strong).

More recently, Gascoyne played Ray Say in Jim Cartwright's classic, The Rise and Fall of Little Voice at the West Yorkshire Playhouse/ Birmingham Repertory Theatre.