#1Film, TV & Stage
Sue Barker
born 1956English television presenter and former professional tennis player
29 Wikipedia languagesRead more ↗
Famous people · Paignton, Devon
Performers stand out among the 28 famous people born in Paignton
Best known of all is Sue Barker, written about in 29 languages. Close behind are Chris Read and Graham Booth. In the 20th century, 16 were born, the most of any period. From Samuel Chapin in 1598 to Connor Riley-Lowe in 1996, the births cover 398 years.
Born here
28
notable people
Best known
Sue Barker
in 29 Wikipedia languages
First
1598
Samuel Chapin
Youngest
1996
Connor Riley-Lowe
Most common field
Sports
11 people
What stands out about Paignton’s famous people
★ What stands out · Through the years
When Paignton’s famous people were born
The 1940s alone account for 4 of the births charted here.
SportsFilm, TV & StagePolitics & LawWriting & ArtsMusicMilitaryScience & MedicineNotable
Each dot is a person, stacked by the decade they were born.
Known for
What Paignton is known for
Paignton has 1.7× the usual share of performers.
The usual town: the share across everyone listed across UK towns. Tap a field to see its people.
The best known
Born in Paignton
Ranked by languages covered: Sue Barker with 29, then Chris Read with 9 and Graham Booth with 9.
#1
#2GB#3
Everyone
Everyone else born in Paignton
The other 25 span the years 1598 to 1996.
Hilary Robinson
born 1962Children’s author, broadcaster, radio producer and feature writer
Writing & ArtsWikipedia ↗
Glen Michael
1926–2025British television presenter and entertainer (1926–2025)
Film, TV & StageWikipedia ↗
No one matches both filters.
Next door
Famous people from the towns next door
Torquay has the longest list next door: 117.
Questions about famous people from Paignton
Who is the most famous person from Paignton?
Sue Barker (English television presenter and former professional tennis player) is the best known by our measure: Wikipedia has an article about them in 29 languages. Next come Chris Read and Graham Booth.
How many famous people were born in Paignton?
28 people born in Paignton have an English Wikipedia article that confirms the town as their birthplace. Wikidata places 31 people here; the rest aren’t listed because their article names somewhere else, or no town.
What is Paignton known for?
Among its famous people, athletes: 11 of the 28. That is 39% of the town’s list, against 49% across UK towns.
Who is the earliest-born famous person from Paignton?
Samuel Chapin, born in 1598. The youngest on the list was born in 1996.
Who counts as from Paignton?
People Wikidata records as born in a place inside Paignton’s built-up area (the ONS 2022 boundary), a hospital or district within it included, whose English Wikipedia article agrees. People who only lived here, adult performers and people known mainly for crimes aren’t listed.
Why is someone missing?
Their Wikidata birthplace may be a bigger area (“London”), another town, or missing, or their article may give no birthplace. We only list people both sources agree on; editing Wikidata or Wikipedia changes this page at the next refresh.
From Wikidata (CC0: birthplaces, descriptions, years, occupations) and English Wikipedia (each person’s article confirms the birthplace; linked, not quoted). Birthplaces are placed in the town by the ONS 2022 built-up-area boundary (Office for National Statistics, Open Government Licence v3.0). Ranked by how many Wikipedia languages cover each person. Fields are read from Wikidata’s description and occupations. “The usual town”: everyone listed across UK towns. Portraits: each person’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
Photo credits (13)
- Sue Barker: Flickr user Steve Punter, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Chris Read: Blnguyen, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- John Gosling: Geoff, CC BY 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Adrian Sanders: Shoehorn Media, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Augustus F. Goodridge: Henry Mott, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Hilary Robinson: Joke De Winter, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Patrick Brind: Royal Navy official photographer : Ware, C J (Lt), Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Samuel Chapin: Detroit Publishing Co., Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Glen Michael: Okonski, CC BY 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Agatha Christie: Joop van Bilsen for Anefo, CC0, Wikimedia Commons
- Ian Bryce: Mass Communications Specialist 1st Class Steve Owsley, USN, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Dan Gosling: https://www.flickr.com/photos/ingythewingy/, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Ian Diamond: DFID - UK Department for International Development, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Contains HM Land Registry data © Crown copyright and database right 2026. Contains OS data © Crown copyright and database right 2026 (ONS boundaries). Northern Ireland: Source: NISRA; contains Land & Property Services data and Ordnance Survey of Northern Ireland information, © Crown copyright, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Scotland: contains National Records of Scotland data, Registers of Scotland data and SEPA data, © Crown copyright / © SEPA 2025, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.