T4 presenter completely unrecognisable 20 years later after incredible transformation-Josie Copson-Entertainment – Metro

T4 was on TV for 1998 to 2012 (Picture: Getty)

Anthony Crank was once a baby-faced presenter on T4, and now, 20 years after the exclusive gig he’s looking quite different.

From 1998 to 2012, the Channel 4 youth show dominated weekends – each episode featured undeniably cool people interviewing big stars, often musicians, and on one occasion, Tony Blair, and having fun conversations with each other. They’d also introduce each show before it aired, often the Hollyoaks omnibus.

It was the launchpad for Miquita Oliver, June Sarpong, Steve Jones, Dermot O’Leary, Ben Shephard, Nick Grimshaw, Vernon Kay, and Jameela Jamil, who all took turns leading the ship.

Amongst the contributors was also Anthony, who appeared on the show between 2004 and 2005. During his run, he spoke with Angelina Jolie, Martin Scorsese, and the late Nelson Mandela. In one bonkers segment, he even got a ‘bottom reading’ by Jackie Stallone, who died in 2020.

Anthony was scouted for the job by a TV boss during a holiday to Ibiza – at the time he was working at OK! magazine in London.

‘It all kicked off from there, really,’ he reflected to Manchester Evening News. ‘T4 is like the Oxford and Cambridge of TV, you get to learn your craft so well there.’

Anthony was scouted for T4 while in Ibiza (Picture: Nils Jorgensen/REX/Shutterstock)

Anthony enjoying some chill time with his dog Monty (Picture: Instagram / Anthony Crank)

While he was on the show, Anthony wore his brown hair long, with a fringe that was flicked to the side and pulled forward into spikes. However, in 2025 he is sporting a much shorter cut and has ditched the clean shaven look in favour of a beard with a thick moustache.

That’s not the only change, Anthony is a devoted gym goer, often posting snaps of his workouts, and so has bulked up considerably.

The now 50-year-old went on to host for MTV, on BBC travel show Holiday, and for ITV’s Bingo Night Live before moving back to Manchester in around 2010.

Anthony’s dream job was Coronation Street (Picture: ITV/Danielle Baguley)

At the time he shared that his dream job was Coronation Street. ‘If I got on that I’d want to be a character who stays for the duration, like a new Ken Barlow,’ he stated. He got his wish in 2022 when he was cast as drug dealer Dean Turnbull, and while he’s not quite Ken level yet, he has popped up multiple times.

The actor, who has also appeared on Hollyoaks and Shameless, is an openly gay man, and has spoken out about how homophobia has impacted his life.

‘It was the AIDS epidemic for me, I remember, being a kid and worrying and being so aware of it,’ he explained to Liverpool ECHO.

‘The onslaught of the media and all the terrible reporting that they did at the time made everyone so scared and made the world a very homophobic place to live in.

‘It is very much an integrative part of my life and my life story, but because of the fear of it more than anything.’

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