He was born in Upholland, Lancashire and divides his time between Haworth in West Yorkshire and Bristol. He started off life as a teacher before deciding that he wanted to become an actor, something which he would later joke forced his mother to take to her sickbed.
He has appeared in various programmes, including The Beiderbecke Affair, Inspector Morse, The Brittas Empire, Andy Capp, Soldier Soldier, All Creatures Great and Small and even as a photographer who got physical with Mike Baldwin on Coronation Street. However, Bleasdale was best known for his role as paramedic Josh Griffiths on the British Broadcasting Corporation television drama, Casualty. He was the second longest serving character in the show"s 20-year history, bettered only by Derek Thompson"s character Charlie Fairhead.
Josh first appeared in episode 1 of series 4 (1989) and started as a speaking extra.
He left the show on 3 November 2007 after 18 years. He took part in the 2009 series of Celebrity MasterChef.
He appeared for a short part in one of the last episodes of The Bill. In 2013 he made appearances in Doctors and Law & Order United Kingdom. Since leaving Casualty, Bleasdale has been presenting the British Broadcasting Corporation 1 show Hospital Heroes.
