Emmerdale star Alexander Lincoln: ‘When people lose their house, they can lose their humanity’

Actor Alexander Lincoln got his break playing Emmerdale‘s resident bad boy vet Jamie Tate. He appeared in 300 episodes of the Yorkshire-set soap between 2019 and 2021 before his character bowed out, spectacularly, by faking his own death. He did so by driving his car into a lake, which suggests a certain sense of style as well as a serious conniving streak. 

Alexander Lincoln, 30, then swapped scrubs for a rugby kit when he starred in the buzzy British indie film In from the Side. Released in cinemas in 2022 and now available on Netflix, it follows a clandestine romance between two rough-and-tumble teammates at a gay rugby club in South London. Though many viewers appreciated its warmth and unfussy naturalism, others felt it sidestepped important issues like homophobia and coming out while focusing too heavily on a group of conventionally attractive white gay men. 

Now Lambeth-born Lincoln is taking on a new challenge: running the London Marathon on Sunday (21 April) to raise money for Centrepoint, the UK’s leading youth homelessness charity. He says he has “always cared deeply” about the multifaceted issue of homelessness, but resolved to do more after getting to know members of the homeless community in Vauxhall, South London. “Speaking a lot to one guy in particular really made me want to change people’s perceptions of what homelessness actually is,” he says. 

To that end, Alexander Lincoln is co-writing and producing an upcoming independent film, Zavi & the Elder, that puts homelessness front and centre. “I think when people lose their house, they can lose their humanity, which is absolutely devastating,” he says. “And that’s really what we’re trying to show with his film.” To make sure their fictional story feels “as realistic as possible”, Lincoln and co-producer Charlie Lawrence spent “time on the ground” with St Basils, a Birmingham-based charity that works with young people who are homeless or at risk of homelessness. 

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A few days ahead of his 26.2-mile endurance test – “I’ve gone up to 17 miles in training, which I hope is enough” he says with a chuckle – Alexander Lincoln tells us why homelessness is the focus of his creative and athletic energies.  

Big Issue: What made you choose to run the London Marathon for Centrepoint?

Alexander Lincoln: Homelessness is an issue that’s close to my heart and I think the work Centrepoint does is integral: they’re not just fighting homelessness and getting young people out of homelessness, but also giving them the tools to stay out. Much as they’re a really big charity trying to influence policy in Westminster, they also do a lot of work on the ground.  

Is there any particular message about homelessness you’re keen to get across?

What I really want to do is spread awareness and change perceptions. I think there’s this sort of [perpetual] headline of: “Let’s fix rough sleeping – let’s get people off the street.” Which is absolutely what we need to do. But I also think it’s really important to remember that rough sleeping is just the tip of the iceberg. There are so many more people affected by [homelessness], especially now – families living in temporary accommodation, young people sofa-surfing because they’ve kind of been left by the wayside. 

And when we’re talking about rough sleeping, I think we need to be aware that [the figures] aren’t always accurate. It’s difficult to get a grip on how many young women are sleeping rough because the streets are dangerous, so it can be hard to reach out and find them. 

Homelessness has always been an issue that affects different communities in different ways. LGBTQ+ young people are still disproportionately at risk, for example.

Absolutely. The first story of [homelessness] I remember being told was by a man called Guy who I spoke to three or four times when I was passing through Bristol station. He was in his mid-40s at the time and told me that when he was 16, he came out to his dad. His dad just said “absolutely not” and kicked him out. After that, Guy just never really got on his feet again. I just found that absolutely heartbreaking and obviously Guy’s story isn’t an isolated one: it’s a lot of LGBTQ+ people’s stories. 

And I think what also really struck me about that story is how easy it is to fall into homelessness, and how it’s a repetitive cycle that’s so hard to get out of. Anyone can fall into it, but obviously there are some groups who are especially vulnerable. 

This week, London’s mayor Sadiq Khan has pledged to end rough sleeping in the capital by 2030 if he gets re-elected. He’s also pledged an additional £10m for so-called ‘Ending Homelessness Hubs’. What do you think of this?

“I mean, it’s not nearly enough money, but at the same time, it is money. And if it’s actually acted on – and not just a headline [grab] – then that is amazing news for London. I mean, I don’t want to be too London-centric, but when you’re walking around London you do see the scale of the problem – it’s really, really physical. And as much as rough sleeping isn’t the whole issue – it absolutely isn’t – the sentiment behind this pledge is wonderful. I like Sadiq and his policies generally; I’d love to see him get in [as mayor] again. 

What do you want to hear about homelessness from the major political parties in the run-up to the general election?

A lot of things! And this is maybe bigger than homelessness, but I want to see a move from talking about economics – how the country is gonna get a better GDP – to talking about people. With austerity and the growing need for food banks, I would love to see more policy based on actual social infrastructure and social care. I think we desperately need to get those fundamentals in place. 

What story are you hoping to tell with your upcoming film Zavi & the Elder, and how did it take shape? 

Weirdly, I woke up one night, couldn’t get back to sleep and the whole story came out – I wrote it all down on my voice notes. But obviously it’s changed a lot since then as me and my producer learn more about the issue. It’s about a young, directionless young man called Zavi who finds himself homeless just before Christmas. He meets this enigmatic, eccentric, entrenched homeless man, the Elder, who kind of leads him on this journey of self-discovery. 

Zavi also has a female friend who’s facing homelessness because, like a lot of young people, she’s stuck with an abusive partner. So though it’s [primarily] about youth homelessness, the aim is really to show the full scope of the issue. 

How far along into pre-production are you? Without wishing to be too corny, getting an independent film made must feel like a different type of marathon.

It really is. We’re still in development, but the script is now completed. We’re in the funding stage, which is a slog, but we potentially have some exciting news in the next couple of weeks. Me and my producer care so deeply about the issue that going out and pitching [the film] is… I don’t want to say joyful, but certainly something we have a lot of energy for. 

​​Finally, ahead of the actual marathon, what would you like to say to any young person who is facing homelessness at the moment?

I would say: if you don’t know where you’re going to sleep tonight and you feel like you don’t have a support network, there is always someone you can call. Centrepoint do great outreach work and I’ve seen first-hand that St Basils in Birmingham work very closely with the police to help homeless young people. There are always charities you can call who can give you advice and hopefully start to make your situation a bit better. 

Alexander Lincoln is running the London Marathon 2024 to raise money for Centrepoint, the UK’s leading youth homelessness charity. You can sponsor him here.

Actor Christopher Eccleston is also running the London Marathon to raise money for the Big Issue. You can sponsor him here.