Acting

In 1989, he starred as Mickey in the West End hit musical Blood Brothers. In 1990, he played Johann Strauss in the international mini-series, The Strauss Dynasty.^[5] In 1993, he created, co-produced and starred in the award-winning BBC drama The Hanging Gale. He portrayed the character of Sean Reynolds in Emmerdale from 1999 to 2002.^[6]

In 2003, he starred with Jamie Theakston in the hit West End play 'Art'.^[7][8] In 2006, he played the role of the Reverend Shaw in the original West End cast of the musical Footloose.^[9] He can currently be seen playing Dr. Turner in BBC TV series Call the Midwife.^[10]

Science communicator

In addition to his acting, McGann is a public speaker and science communicator. He graduated from Imperial College London with a Master's degree in Science Communication.^[11]

He was a guest speaker at the Cambridge Science Festival in March 2015.^[12] He published a guest essay in the Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine in April 2015, discussing issues of medical accuracy and communication in Call the Midwife.^[13]

In January 2016, McGann published a companion book to Call the Midwife called Doctor Turner's Casebook, in which he revisits key medical cases featured in the TV series and discusses their historical and social contexts.^[14] The BBC screened a documentary special based on the book, titled Call The Midwife: The Casebook, on 15 January 2017.^[15]

In July 2017, McGann published Flesh and Blood: A History of My Family in Seven Maladies, a personal history of his family over a century and a half as told through the medical ailments they suffered.^[16][17]

McGann was a member of the judging panel for the 2019 Royal Society Insight Investment Science Book Prize.^[18], and holds an honorary doctorate from the University of Liverpool and the University of Chester in recognition of his contribution to public health communication and drama^[19][20]