Day started his career as part of a comedy cabaret trio when he was 17. He also worked as a
Butlin's redcoat for a season. He later went solo and auditioned for BBC's talent show
Opportunity Knocks in 1987 and appeared on the show in 1988, introduced by host
Bob Monkhouse. He won several heats and came fourth in the final. Day made his breakthrough as an actor in London's West End theatre, starring in
Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat when he replaced the departing
Phillip Schofield. Day has appeared in many touring stage musicals, including
Summer Holiday,
Grease,
The Rocky Horror Show,
Hello Dolly and
Great Expectations. In 2007, Day made a guest appearance in July on
ITV's police drama
The Bill. In 2001, he appeared in ''
Lily Savage's Blankety Blank, and in 2002, he appeared in the first series of the reality television show I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here!'' In 2007, Day returned to pantomime at
the Lowry,
Salford as King Rat in
Dick Whittington. In 2009 he changed management and was then cast in the musical,
We Will Rock You, alongside
Kevin Kennedy, which toured the UK. From October 2010 to January 2011, Day played soap villain
Danny Houston in the popular series
Hollyoaks. In early 2012, Day took on the role of American author Paul Sheldon in a production of
Misery. The production was nominated for a Time Out Theatre Award. In Autumn 2012, he played HIV-positive gospel singer Gideon in the European premiere of the award-winning USA musical
The Last Session, for which he was nominated for Best Actor in the Off West End Awards ("The Offies"). In September 2013, he starred in the new musical comedy "Stand Up" with
Lionel Blair and Billy Pearce. In 2014, he revisited his cabaret roots when he stepped in for his old friend, Joe Longthorne, who was ill. He then guested on the
Holby City Christmas Special, playing panto dame Michael Evans. In 2015, he toured his solo cabaret internationally. On 5 January 2016, Day entered the
Celebrity Big Brother house as a housemate. On 5 February, he reached the final and finished in third place. On 27 July 2016 it was announced that Day would head the cast of the new
Robert J. Sherman musical
Bumblescratch at the
Adelphi Theatre on 4 September 2016. The event was in aid of Variety and Day was named a Celebrity Ambassador for the charity. In February 2016, Day released
This is the Moment, an album of his favourite musical theatre songs. He joined the tour of
Priscilla, Queen of the Desert in the same month, sharing the role of Tick/Mitzi with
Duncan James and
Jason Donovan. The feature film
White Island in which he plays villain Rik Searle was premiered in London on 10 October 2016. A regular in
pantomime, in 2016 he played Captain Hook at the Alhambra Bradford, and reprised the role in 2017 at the Hull New Theatre. In March 2017, Day toured in
Grease in the role of Teen Angel, a revival of the show in which he had previously played Danny Zuko. In October 2017, he joined the cast of the Sky 1 show,
Stella, playing new family member Will Morgan. Darren returned to pantomime in 2022 starring in Peter Pan as Captain Hook at the
Regent Theatre, Ipswich In 2021 and 2025, Day toured the UK and Ireland in
Chicago: The Musical playing the role of lawyer
Billy Flynn. In the 2025–26 pantomime season, Day appeared as Fitzwarren in
Dick Whittington and His Cat at the Gordon Craig Theatre, Stevenage. ==Personal life==