September is the month that our city welcomes back the students after the summer break. Around 50,000 university students live in Nottingham each year and many of them end up doing remarkable things during and after their time here. Here’s ten former students from each of our local universities whom you may have heard of or recognise for what they’ve done after they graduated…
University of Nottingham
Myles Smith (singer-songwriter)
Myles Smith is a British singer and songwriter best known for his 2024 singles Stargazing and Nice to Meet You. In 2025 he supported Ed Sheeran on his stadium tour, won a Brit Award and was named as one of the world’s most influential people in 2025 by Time Magazine. He graduated in 2019 after studying a degree in Sociology & Social Policy and also spent a year working as Equal Opportunities and Welfare officer for the students union.
Theo James (actor)
Theo James is an English actor who studied a degree in Philosophy and graduated in 2007. A few years after graduating his TV and film career began in earnest and he had roles in Downton Abbey, The Inbetweeners Movie and Golden Boy. His big break came when he starred in Divergent, a 2014 film based on Veronica Roth's novel of the same name. Since then he’s had lead roles in major TV shows such as The White Lotus, The Time Traveler's Wife and Guy Ritchie’s The Gentlemen.
Ruth Wilson (actor)
Ruth studied History, graduating in 2003 and got involved in acting at the New Nottingham Theatre. In 2006 she landed the lead role in a TV adaptation of Jane Eyre. From 2010-2013 she played Alice Morgan in the BBC psychological crime drama Luther. Then from 2014-2018 she played Alison Lockhart in the Showtime drama The Affair, a role for which she won a Golden Globe. She’s also won two Olivier awards for her roles on stage. Most recently she starred in His Dark Materials (2019-22), The Woman in the Wall (2023) and A Very Royal Scandal (2024).
Clive Tyldesley (sports commentator)
The television sports broadcaster was ITV's senior football commentator from 1998 until 2020. In that role he led the team at five World Cups, five European Championships and was the lead commentator on seventeen UEFA Champions League finals and nine FA Cup finals for ITV. He studied Industrial Economics at the University of Nottingham in the 1970s and even started his career at the now defunct Radio Trent, which led to a closeness between him and football legend Brian Clough.
Tim Martin (Wetherspoons founder)
He might not be everyone’s cup of tea (or £1.99 pint), but Wetherspoons founder Tim Martin studied a Law degree in 1970s Nottingham before he went on to create that well-known pub chain. In 2018 he told the Nottingham Post that while living in Beeston, he would visit local pubs and drink real ale. It was soon after this when he took over the lease of a pub in Muswell Hill, which became the very first Wetherspoons. Fast forward 45 years and there are now 800+ Wetherspoons pubs in the UK, including fifteen in Notts.
Nottingham Trent University
GK Barry (internet personality)
Grace Keeling, known professionally as GK Barry, is an English internet personality, social media influencer and TV presenter. She studied film and graduated from NTU in 2021. She found fame via Tiktok in 2020 and in 2022 she launched her weekly Saving Grace podcast, which has since toured UK theatres. These days she’s a regular panellist on ITV’s Loose Women and has appeared on various reality TV shows including 2024’s I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here!
Jack Saunders (radio DJ)
Jack studied Broadcast Journalism and graduated in 2014. While at uni he was station manager of the student’s union radio platform Fly FM and led them to winning seven national awards. After graduation he moved to Kerrang Radio and Radio X, before being taken on by BBC Radio 1 in 2018. In 2023 he was announced as the host of the Radio 1 flagship new music show. He’s also done various TV work including MTV, Top of the Pops and Glastonbury festival.
Bobby Friction (DJ)
Bobby Friction, aka Paramdeep Sehdev, is a DJ, television presenter and radio presenter. He studied Creative Arts at NTU in the 1990s, during which he made art from cages and ghetto blasters. After graduating he started to make various appearances as a nightclub DJ, before landing a regular slot on Radio 1 in 2001 alongside DJ Nihal. He moved over to the BBC Asian Network in 2005 and nowadays he makes TV documentaries.
Matt Berry (actor and comedian)
This funny bloke has appeared in classics such as What We Do In The Shadows, The Mighty Boosh and The IT Crowd, as well as winning a BAFTA for the title role in Toast of London. He studied a degree here in Contemporary Arts in the early 1990s. Perhaps most famous for his booming voice, recently he’s done voiceover parts in The SpongeBob Movie (2020), The Minecraft Movie (2024) and is set to voice the fish in the 2026 film adaptation of The Cat in The Hat.
Paul Kaye (actor and comedian)
Paul graduated from Trent Polytechnic in 1987 with a first class degree in Theatre Design. He first found fame on screen in 1994 as the shock interviewer Dennis Pennis, pranking the likes of Hugh Grant, Robin Williams and Cindy Crawford on the red carpet. He later went on to a career as a serious actor, starring in dozens of films and TV shows including It’s All Gone Pete Tong, Dr Who, Game of Thrones, After Life and Pennyworth.
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