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Kellie Bright

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Kellie Bright
Bright in 2016
Born
Kellie Denise Bright[1]

(1976-07-01) 1 July 1976 (age 48)
Brentwood, Essex, England
EducationSylvia Young Theatre School
OccupationActress
Years active1986–present
Notable workEastEnders
Ali G Indahouse
The Upper Hand
Bad Girls
Rock & Chips
Strictly Come Dancing
Spouse
Paul Stocker
​
(m. 2014)​
Children3

Kellie Denise Bright (born 1 July 1976)[2] is an English actress. Her roles include Linda Carter in the BBC soap opera EastEnders, for which she won the 2015 British Soap Award for Best Actress and Best Dramatic Performance, Julie in Ali G Indahouse, Joanna Burrows in The Upper Hand (1990–1996), Cassie Tyler in Bad Girls (2002) and Joan Trotter in Rock & Chips (2010–2011). In 2015, she was the runner-up in the 13th series of the BBC One show Strictly Come Dancing.

Career

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Early career

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Bright has been acting since she was 11, appearing on stage in shows such as Annie and Les Misérables, before landing a place at the Sylvia Young Theatre School where she became friends with Emma Bunton and Keeley Hawes.[3] As a child actress, she appeared in several different series' on British television in the late 1980s and the 1990s, including T-Bag and Maid Marian and Her Merry Men. In 1990, at the age of 13, Bright was cast as Joanna Burrows in TV series The Upper Hand alongside William Puttock, Joe McGann, Diana Weston and Honor Blackman which ran for six years.

After The Upper Hand had finished, Bright has said that she struggled to make ends meet. She says, "I didn't have any acting work, so I got a job waiting on tables to pay the mortgage, but it was while The Upper Hand was still on air. Next thing I know, a customer had called a newspaper saying I was there and some photographers appeared out of the blue snapping away."[4] She also worked as a receptionist at a nightclub in London. She continued, "I was getting rejected from one job after another and no matter how much I tried not to take it personally, a part of me couldn't help but think: 'I was too ugly to get that part'."[4] Bright played Kate Madikane (née Aldridge) in Radio 4's The Archers, and was with the series from 1995 until 2004.[5]

Mainstream success

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Bright has also had main roles in Bad Girls[6] and has also guest starred in Da Ali G Show and made an appearance in the film Ali G Indahouse. Bright has made several guest appearances on British television programmes, her credits include Holby City, Casualty, The Catherine Tate Show and Vera.[7]

Bright appeared as Joan Trotter in the Only Fools and Horses prequel, Rock and Chips, from 2010 until 2011.[8]

EastEnders

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Main article: EastEnders

In October 2013, Bright was cast as Linda Carter in the BBC soap opera EastEnders.[9] Linda made her first on screen appearance on 19 December 2013, but officially arrived on Albert Square with her husband, Mick (played by Danny Dyer) and her children on 26 December 2013. The Carter family were created by the show's executive producer Dominic Treadwell-Collins who planned to completely revamp the show. Since her arrival, Bright's character Linda has been a part of some of the show's biggest storylines such as struggling to accept that her son Johnny (Sam Strike) is gay. In October 2014, Linda was involved in a controversial storyline where she was raped by Dean Wicks (Matt Di Angelo). On filming this particular storyline, Bright stated that "It is a challenging storyline, but it is an important storyline and I feel honoured to have been given it".[10] Bright was praised for her performance during this storyline. Bright won the 2014 Digital Spy's Readers Award for Best Female Soap Actress.[11] Along with Dyer, Bright was nominated for "Best On-screen Partnership" at The British Soap Awards 2014 for the relationship between Mick and Linda. In 2015, she was nominated for the "Serial Drama Performance" award at the National Television Awards,[12] however the award was won by Dyer.[13] She has been nominated for Best Actress and Best Dramatic Performance at The British Soap Awards 2015; Bright won both. On 12 March 2015, Bright revealed that she had received "personal letters" from rape victims who had been affected by Linda's story, leaving her feeling "humbled" by the audience's response.[14]

Other ventures

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In 1992, Bright voiced the character of Beauty in the Bevanfield Films production of Beauty and the Beast. She has also voiced several video game characters, including the Hero of Brightwall in the game Fable III in 2010. In 2011, Bright did voicework for Nintendo and Monolith Soft's Xenoblade Chronicles as the medic Sharla.[15]

Bright took part in the BBC's Children in Need appeal in 2014 along with Danny Dyer and the rest of the EastEnders cast who performed a Grease medley titled "Grease Enders". Bright appears as Linda though dressed up as Sandy Olsen. She performed in "You're the One That I Want" and "We Go Together".[16]

In September 2015, Bright joined the thirteenth series of Strictly Come Dancing on BBC One.[17] Bright chose to continue playing Linda Carter on EastEnders while competing on Strictly Come Dancing, working all day at EastEnders and rehearsing for Strictly in the evening. Paired with professional dancer Kevin Clifton, she was described by head judge Len Goodman as a "great all round dancer". On 19 December the pair reached the final three and topped the leaderboard with a score of 119. Their score including two maximum scores of 40 for their tango to "You Really Got Me" by The Kinks and their showdance to "The Ding-Dong Daddy of the D-Car Line" by Cherry Poppin' Daddies. Their final dance, a Charleston to "Cantina Band" from Star Wars, scored 39, but the public voted Jay McGuiness and Aliona Vilani as the competition winners.

Personal life

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In December 2011, Bright gave birth to her first son.[18] Bright married her long-term partner and father of her children, Paul Stocker, in Trelill, Cornwall on 5 July 2014.[19] She gave birth to her second son on 21 November 2016.[20] Her second son was conceived through IVF, and following his birth, the couple froze three embryos. After two failed attempts at conceiving in 2020, Bright announced in March 2021 that she was pregnant with the couple's third son, who was born on 22 July.[21][22][23]

Filmography

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Film

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Year Title Role Notes
2002 Ali G Indahouse "Me Julie" Main role
2003 How (Not) to Make a Short Film Stefania Short film
2005 Imagine Me and You Terri
Kinky Boots Jeannie
2012 Ashes Lisa

Television

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Year Title Role Notes
1986 EastEnders Bridesmaid 1 episode; uncredited
1989 T-Bag and the Revenge of the T-Set Sally Simpkins/Anastasia 10 episodes
The Bill Mr. Carmody's daughter Uncredited
Maid Marian and Her Merry Men Little girl Main cast
T-Bag's Christmas Carol Sally Simpkins Television film
1990 T-Bag and the Pearls of Wisdom Sally Simpkins 10 episodes
Brush Strokes Child
1990–1996 The Upper Hand Joanna Burrows Series 1–7 (main cast, all 94 episodes)
1991 The Grove Family Daphne Grove One-off re-make to celebrate closure of Lime Grove Studios
Family Fortunes Herself Participant[24]
1992 Beauty and the Beast Beauty
1996 Scenes Clare Episode: Alison
1997 Blackrock Leesha
1998 The Bill Lianne Clark 1 episode
2000 Nature Boy Katy 1 episode
Cor, Blimey! Viola Television film
The Thing About Vince Sally
2001 Outriders Julia's Mother 2 episodes
2002 Bad Girls Cassie Tyler Series 4 (main cast, 12 episodes)
The House That Jack Built Lisa Squire 6 episodes
Silent Witness DC Mona Westlake
2005 Jericho WPC Penny Collins
The Alice Lynette 1 episode
2006 Vital Signs Yvonne 1 episode
Two Women Woman 1 episode
2007 The Catherine Tate Show Kelly Christmas Special
2008 New Tricks Sarah Madeley 1 episode
Horne & Corden Various roles 5 episodes
2009 Hotel Babylon Meredith Sutton 1 episode
Holby City Joy Miller 2 episodes
2010 Come Rain, Come Shine Joanne Mitchell Television film
2010–2011 Rock & Chips Joan Trotter Main cast
2012 One Night Dawn 2 episodes
2013 Great Night Out Shona 1 episode
Casualty Tina Caffola 1 episode
Pointless Celebrities Herself Participant
2013–present EastEnders Linda Carter Series regular
2014 Vera Vanessa Barnes 1 episode
Children in Need 2014 Linda Carter Grease Enders – EastEnders cast do Grease
2015 Strictly Come Dancing Herself Participant
Strictly – It Takes Two Herself Weekly guest
2016 All Star Mr & Mrs Herself Participant
EastEnders: Back to Ours Herself 1 episode
2020 The Queen Vic Quiz Night Linda Carter Spinoff appearance
EastEnders: Secrets from the Square Herself 2 episodes
2023 EastEnders: The Six Herself 2 episodes
2024 Tracey: A Day in the Life Linda Carter 1 episode

Radio

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Year Title Role Notes
1995–2004 The Archers Kate Madikane Main role

Video games

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Year Title Role
2010 Fable III Hero of Brightwall – Female / Elise
2011 Dragon Age II Grace/Idunna/Guardsman Brennan/Ella/Ginnis
Xenoblade Chronicles Sharla
2020 Xenoblade Chronicles: Definitive Edition Sharla

Web

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Year Title Role Notes
2014 On Set With...Kellie Bright[25] Herself EastEnders web series
2015 Ramsay Square[26] Linda Carter Neighbours 30th Birthday Tribute
2016 EastEnders: Back To Ours Herself Web series

Theatre credits

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Year Title Role Notes
1993–1994 Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs Snow White Central Theatre, Chatham
1994–1995 Beauty and the Beast The Princess Hayes Beck Theatre
1995–1996 Beauty and the Beast The Princess The Civic, Barnsley
1996 The Taming of the Shrew Bianca Eye Theatre, Suffolk
1998–1999 Peter Pan Wendy New Victoria Theatre, Woking
2000 Snake in Fridge Caddie Royal Exchange, Manchester
2003 The Seagull Masha Royal Exchange, Manchester
2003 Cold Meat Party Amanda Royal Exchange, Manchester
2006 Mary Barton Mary Barton Royal Exchange, Manchester
2007 Whipping it Up Maggie UK Tour

Awards and nominations

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Year Award Category Work Result
2014 The British Soap Awards Best On-Screen Partnership (with Danny Dyer) EastEnders Nominated
Digital Spy Reader's Award Best Female Soap Actor Won
2015 National Television Awards Outstanding Serial Drama Performance Nominated
The British Soap Awards Best Actress Won
Best Dramatic Performance Won
2016 Inside Soap Awards Best Actress Nominated
2018 Inside Soap Awards Best Partnership (with Danny Dyer) Won
National Television Awards Serial Drama Performance Nominated
I Talk Telly Awards Best Soap Partnership (with Danny Dyer) Nominated
2019 TRIC Awards Best Soap Actor Won
2020 TV Choice Awards Best Soap Actress Nominated
Inside Soap Awards Best Actress[27] Nominated

References

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  1. ^ "England & Wales births 1837–2006; transcription of Kelly Denise Bright, Brentwood, Essex, 1976; volume 9; page 2162". Retrieved 3 December 2015 – via Find My Past.
  2. ^ "10 totally true facts about Kellie Bright". Inside Soap. 2018 (15): 48. 14–20 April 2018.
  3. ^ 5 things you didn't know about EastEnders' Kellie Bright – Showbiz News – Best Daily Archived 26 December 2014 at the Wayback Machine
  4. ^ a b "I thought that I was too ugly to work again; From the acting scrapheap to being able to pick and choose parts, Kellie Bright has come back from the brink, says TIM RANDALL". thefreelibrary.com. Retrieved 13 March 2016.
  5. ^ "BBC Radio 4 – The Archers – Kate Madikane". BBC. Retrieved 13 March 2016.
  6. ^ "Bad Girls – the Official site of the Award Winning drama". Archived from the original on 23 December 2011. Retrieved 30 June 2014.
  7. ^ "Oscar nominee Brenda Blethyn stars in police drama Vera, written by Ann Cleeves – Western Morning News". Western Morning News. Archived from the original on 10 August 2014.
  8. ^ "BBC – Press Office – Rock & Chips press pack: Q&A with Kellie Bright". BBC.
  9. ^ "Danny Dyer and Kellie Bright to join EastEnders". BBC.
  10. ^ "EastEnders' Kellie Bright: 'Linda Carter rape storyline is a challenge'". Digital Spy. 9 September 2014. Retrieved 25 October 2015.
  11. ^ Kilkelly, Daniel (24 December 2014). "EastEnders sweeps the board in 2014 Digital Spy Reader Awards". Digital Spy.
  12. ^ "National Television Awards 2015: Nominations in full as Mary Berry battles Simon Cowell". The Independent. 21 January 2015. Retrieved 21 January 2015.
  13. ^ Westbrook, Caroline (21 January 2015). "National Television Awards 2015: Danny Dyer pays tribute to EastEnders co-star Kellie Bright as he beats her to acting prize". Metro. Retrieved 21 January 2015.
  14. ^ "poet". Write Out Loud. Retrieved 12 December 2015.
  15. ^ "Behind The Voice Actors – Kellie Bright". Behind The Voice Actors.
  16. ^ Ahmed, Tufayel (14 November 2014). "Children in Need 2014: Watch Danny Dyer and the EastEnders cast cover Grease in hilarious musical number". Daily Mirror. Retrieved 7 April 2020.
  17. ^ Walker-Arnott, Ellie. "Strictly Come Dancing 2015: Craig Revel Horwood reveals who he thinks will win series 13". Radio Times. Retrieved 17 April 2016.
  18. ^ "EastEnders actress Kellie Bright is the third confirmed Strictly Come Dancing contestant". Hello!. 12 August 2015. Retrieved 7 April 2020.
  19. ^ Eames, Tom (8 July 2014). "EastEnders star Kellie Bright marries longterm partner". Digital Spy. Retrieved 25 October 2015.
  20. ^ "EastEnders Kellie Bright announces she's had her second baby". Closer. 16 January 2017.
  21. ^ Quinn, Angie (10 September 2021). "EastEnders star Kellie Bright and husband 'thrilled' as they welcome third child". MyLondon News. Retrieved 11 September 2021.
  22. ^ "EastEnders star Kellie Bright confirms third son's name". Digital Spy. 20 September 2021.
  23. ^ "EastEnders star Kellie Bright is pregnant with her third child". Digital Spy. 22 March 2021.
  24. ^ "Episode dated 27 December 1991". IMDb. Retrieved 6 September 2018.
  25. ^ "BBC One – EastEnders, On set with... Kellie Bright". BBC. 27 January 2014. Retrieved 13 March 2016.
  26. ^ Ramsay Square – EastEnders: Neighbours 30th Anniversary tribute – BBC One. 17 March 2015. Archived from the original on 19 December 2021 – via YouTube.
  27. ^ "Coronation Street's Shelley King and Emmerdale's Emma Atkins receive Inside Soap Award nominations". Digital Spy. 12 September 2020.
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