BAFTA award winner Toby Jones and beloved Keele University figure Neil 'Nello' Baldwin enjoyed a "Marvellous" reunion together – almost 11 years since the BBC’s touching drama about the life of Neil was released.

Toby, who portrayed Neil in the 2014 award-winning film, returned to Keele to receive an honorary degree, recognising his extraordinary contribution to drama and acting, and a career that has led to him being widely regarded as one of the UK's most versatile actors.

Marvellous won three Baftas in 2015 including best single drama and was also showered with prizes from the Royal Television Society, Broadcasting Press Guild and Monte Carlo TV Festival. Neil, who has an honorary degree from Keele himself, was taken to the nation's heart thanks to the film, which used Keele’s campus as a filming location.

Toby, a critically acclaimed actor, who is known for his varied roles both on stage and screen, was made a Doctor of the University during this week’s summer graduation ceremonies, where more than 2,000 students have returned to campus to celebrate their achievements.

And there was time for Toby and Neil to have a catch-up and photograph together - an emotional and joyful moment for everyone who remembers the magic of Marvellous.

Describing the honorary degree from Keele as a 'great honour', Toby said: "Keele is such an extraordinary and unique place. I knew the campus from filming Marvellous here and I'm really pleased to have had the opportunity to come back and see Neil again.

"We shot Marvellous on this campus together, and I could never have predicted the success and impact it would have, but also that I would see Neil again in this context. He's a unique figure and any opportunity to see him is an improvement to my life really."

Toby still has fond memories of filming Marvellous in Stoke-on-Trent and North Staffordshire and seeing the film crew experiencing the ‘famous warmth’ of the local people. Toby’s Potteries-born father, Freddie Jones, was also a renowned actor who had an illustrious career in TV, theatre and film for five decades, and is the reason why he has supported Stoke City Football Club all his life.

He said: “Filming Marvellous was one of the happiest shoots I’ve ever been involved in, partly because of the famous warmth of the local people. The co-operation, welcome and hospitality the crew received was remarkable. It wasn’t particularly remarkable for me because I knew about the Potteries and how warm the people here are, but the crew were amazed by it.

"As with any project, I was sent a script for Marvellous and asked whether I was interested, and I couldn’t believe what I was reading. I hadn’t really met or heard about Neil, and yet there was his story set in Stoke-on-Trent where my father was from and centered around Stoke City Football Club, the team I have supported since I was a little boy because of my dad. It was a remarkable coincidence and people often assume I am a Stoke fan because of Marvellous, but that happened a long time before.

"Neil was on set all the time, rather characteristically, and was usually gravitating around the catering. It was fun and fantastic to have access to him all the time when I was playing him, but what’s great about Marvellous is the unique feature that he’s in too and we have dialogue between each other, and so in that sense it was indispensable to have Neil there."

Honorary degrees are the highest awards the University can offer. The University recognises individuals who have made a significant achievement or contribution on a local, regional, national and international level, and have a special affinity with the work and value of the University.

More recently, Toby portrayed the role of former sub-postmaster Alan Bates in the acclaimed ITV drama ‘Mr Bates vs The Post Office’, that put the Horizon IT scandal back in the national spotlight, earning him a BAFTA nomination for Best Actor. On the back of the drama airing, more than a million people signed a petition, and the government announced a new law.

Reflecting on the success of the programme, Toby said: “Nobody could have predicted the show, which told a complicated story involving computers and software, would have such an impact. The writer found a way to tell it in a way that made it so compelling. I am drawn to projects that give a wider purpose, but you can never bank on them having a big impact, so it is very satisfying to see the response it has had.” 

Toby has built an illustrious acting career spanning stage, film and television. Notable screen credits include Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, Frost/Nixon, The Hunger Games, Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, Detectorists and for his voice roles as Dobby in the Harry Potter films.   

Stage work includes his Olivier Award winning debut in The Play What I Wrote, and an Olivier-nominated performance in the titular role of Uncle Vanya at the Harold Pinter Theatre.  

Toby will next star in the highly anticipated ITV phone hacking drama series The Hack starring David Tennant and Robert Carlyle, Apple’s Hijack (S2) and Bharat Nalluri’s Flavia, and will be making a return to stage this October in Othello at Theatre Royal Haymarket in London.

Toby was made an OBE in 2022 for services to drama.