[1] He studied at Blackpool and The Fylde College before moving to London aged 17 to attend the Mountview Academy of Theatre Arts.

[2] Parkinson's early roles were small parts in long-running British television series such as Dalziel and Pascoe, The Bill, and Holby City.

He made his film debut in Control (2007), a biopic of Joy Division singer Ian Curtis in which he played the role of Tony Wilson.

[3][4] In 2009 he played the abusive care worker Ben in the television drama The Unloved, the directorial debut of Samantha Morton.

The Unloved also featured Lauren Socha, with whom Parkinson would later star alongside in Misfits, as well as his wife, Susan Lynch.

In 2010 Parkinson played twins Jimmy and Johnny Kray in the ITV television series Whitechapel.

[8] In 2012 he appeared as the Reverend Horace in the BBC supernatural thriller The Secret of Crickley Hall, adapted from the novel of the same name written by James Herbert.

The Guardian favourably reviewed the podcast, describing it as the "antithesis of a luvvie-darling discussion" and Parkinson himself as a "natural interviewer".

[13][14] The podcast is sometimes recorded at live events, such as Paddy Considine's episode at North by Northwich compered by The Charlatans.