Jill Halfpenny
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| Jill Halfpenny | |
|---|---|
| Born | Jill Halfpenny 15 July 1975 Gateshead, Tyne and Wear, England |
| Occupation | Actress |
| Years active | 1989-present |
| Spouse | Craig Conway (2007-2010; separated) |
| Awards | TV Quick Award - Best Actress 2007 Waterloo Road - Izzie Redpath |
Jill Halfpenny (born 15 July 1975) is an English actress.
Halfpenny is best known for her roles as Rebecca Hopkins in the British soap opera Coronation Street from 1999–2000, and as Kate Mitchell (née Morton) in rival soap EastEnders, from 2002-2005. She has appeared on television regularly since the early 1990s in serials such as Byker Grove, Coronation Street, EastEnders, Waterloo Road and Wild at Heart.
She is the aunt of Emmerdale actress Chelsea Halfpenny.
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[edit] Early life
A native of Leam Lane, Gateshead, she attended St Edmund Campion RC school (now Cardinal Hume RC School) in Wrekenton. She is a former student of the Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art (1994–1996) and she also went to drama school First Act Theatre in Gosforth, Newcastle upon Tyne and to the Reavley Dance School in Felling, Gateshead, despite claiming on Strictly Come Dancing that she had received no previous training.
[edit] Career
Halfpenny had a part in The Round Tower as Rosie Cotton. She began her acting career in the BBC television children's drama series Byker Grove, set in the Benwell area of Newcastle upon Tyne. Her other work has included appearances in Dalziel and Pascoe, Barbara and Coronation Street for television and theatre with the acclaimed Hull Truck Theatre Company.
She took the major role of Kate Mitchell in the BBC One soap opera EastEnders in 2002. The character was introduced as a police officer sent to spy on Phil Mitchell, but after her cover was blown she quit the police force, married Phil and opened a nail salon, her final scenes were broadcast in January 2005.
In 2004 Halfpenny participated in the BBC One pro-celebrity ballroom dancing competition Strictly Come Dancing, dancing with professional Darren Bennett. The couple won the competition after receiving the full 40 marks from the judges in the final. On 14 December 2004, Halfpenny and Darren Bennett made an appearance on stage at the Royal Variety Performance which took place at the London Coliseum. In a special one-off Christmas programme which pitted the Strictly Come Dancing champions (and other top performing couples) from series one and two against each other, Jill and Darren were crowned as Champion of Champions.
In December 2004, it was announced that she would take the role of Roxie Hart in the West End musical, Chicago, starting in January 2005.
In 2005, Halfpenny appeared in The Bodies, a new play adapted from an Emile Zola novel by Peter Flannery at the Live Theatre, Newcastle, opposite her real-life husband, actor Craig Conway. In 2005 and 2006, Halfpenny appeared in hit pantomimes at the Theatre Royal, Newcastle.
Halfpenny was the guest presenter for and performed in the first show of the BBC four-part series The Sound of Musicals in January 2006 and played Roxy Ball in Shameless in an episode broadcast on 31 January 2006. In 2006, Halfpenny made a guest appearance in an episode of The Catherine Tate Show.
From spring 2006, Halfpenny appeared in the BBC One series Waterloo Road as teacher Izzie Redpath but was killed off at the end of the second series . Halfpenny has most recently been heard as the voice of a high-profile commercial campaign for Aunt Bessie's Yorkshire Puddings and the narrator of Freaky Eaters for BBC Three and Fat Man's Warning for Channel 4. Jill was also the narrator for a short film advertising how the national lottery helps the North East, created by students at the Lord Lawson of Beamish School as part of a competition. The film they created won the competition.
Halfpenny was invited to University of Sunderland where she presented the awards evening for Seaham School of Technology in November 2007.
From the beginning of February 2008,[1] a pregnant Halfpenny played Spike Milligan's long-suffering manager, Norma Farnes, alongside Michael Barrymore in Surviving Spike at the Theatre Royal, Windsor.
It was announced in mid - October 2008 that Halfpenny will be taking part in the 2009 live Strictly Come Dancing tour with her professional partner Darren Bennett. On Christmas Day 2008 she appeared in a Christmas special of Strictly Come Dancing and won (with Kelly Brook in second place). She also appeared as a special guest dancer on the episode which aired live from the Tower Ballroom, Blackpool on 7 November 2009.
Halfpenny starred in the West End production of Calendar Girls from 28 July 2009[2] and recently played the part of Paulette Bonafonté in the West End company of Legally Blonde, which opened January 2010 with previews beginning December 2009.[3] She played the part until late October 2010 and she was subsequently replaced by Denise van Outen. For this role Halfpenny won the whatsonstage.com Theatregoers' Choice Award for Best Supporting Actress in a Musical[4] and also won the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Performance in a Supporting Role in a Musical.[5]
She will make a guest appearance in the Canadian series, Murdoch Mysteries, during the series' fifth season, scheduled to air in 2012.[6]
[edit] Personal life
Married to fellow actor Craig Conway, the couple are presently separated, and have one child, a boy, Harvey-Rhys Halfpenny born 3 May 2008 (Craig took Jill's surname which was proved in an interview shortly after Harvey was born).[7]
Halfpenny is an ambassador to leading children's charity Kidscape.[8]
[edit] Filmography
[edit] Films
| Year | Film | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | How to Stop Being a Loser | Suzy |
| 2000 | Command Approved | Chopper pilot |
[edit] TV
| Year | Show | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1989–1992 | Byker Grove | Nicola Dobson | Series regular |
| 1997 | The Bill | Lisa Collett | 1 episode: Man Trap |
| Birds of a Feather | Brittany | 1 episode: Rising Damp | |
| The Lakes | Tina | 1 episode: 1.1 | |
| 1998 | The Round Tower | Rosie Cotton | |
| Heartbeat | Mitzi Wyler | 1 episode: Local Knowledge | |
| Touching Evil II | Annie Jordan | ||
| 1999 | Dangerfield | Shelley | 1 episode: Tying the Knot |
| Peak Practice | Kelly | Recurring; 7 episodes | |
| 1999–2000 | Coronation Street | Rebecca Hopkins | Series regular |
| 2001 | Dalziel and Pascoe | Tara Connolly | 1 episode: Home Truths |
| 2002 | Breeze Block | Various characters | 6 part series |
| 2002–2005 | EastEnders | Kate Mitchell | Series regular |
| 2003 | Barbara | Kirsty | 1 episode: Kirsty |
| 2005 | The Catherine Tate Show | Gina | 1 episode: 2.2 |
| 2005 | Shameless | Roxy Ball | 1 episode: 3.5 |
| 2006–2007 | Waterloo Road | Izzie Redpath | Series regular |
| 2007 | Blue Murder | Jackie Holroyd | 1 episode: Crisis Management |
| 2009 | Inspector George Gently | Cora Davidson | 1 episode: Gently with the Innocents |
| 2010 | Sainsbury's Adverts | Voice Over | |
| 2011 | Mount Pleasant | Emma | Guest; 3 episodes |
| 2012 | Wild at Heart | Fiona Lynch | |
| 2012 | Murdoch Mysteries[6] | TBA | 1 episode |
[edit] References
- ^ Street-Howe, Zoe (2008-02-08). "Jill Halfpenny is pregnant!". London: The Sun. http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/showbiz/tv/article779745.ece. Retrieved 2008-05-25.
- ^ http://www.hellomagazine.com/celebrities/200907211682/calendar-girls/jerry-hall/june-brown/1/
- ^ http://www.whatsonstage.com/news/theatre/london/E8831252574345/Davison+%26+Halfpenny+Go+Blonde+with+Final+Casting.html
- ^ Full List: 2011 Whatsonstage.com Award Winners whatsonstage.com, 20 February 2011
- ^ Legally Blonde, Into the Woods, Clybourne Park, After the Dance Among Olivier Award Winners in London
- ^ a b "Citytv killing ‘Murdoch Mysteries’ after upcoming season". theglobeandmail.com. http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/arts/television/citytv-killing-murdoch-mysteries-after-upcoming-season/article2182210/. Retrieved November 16, 2011.
- ^ McGrath, Nick (26 November 2010). "Jill Halfpenny: I'm only 5ft 2in, with boobs and hips, so Fifties-style clothes suit me". Daily Mail (London). http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-1332729/Jill-Halfpenny-I-m-5ft-2in-boobs-hips-Fifties-style-clothes-suit-me.html.
- ^ http://www.kidscape.org.uk/info/staffpatronlist.asp/
[edit] External links
| Preceded by Natasha Kaplinsky and Brendan Cole |
Strictly Come Dancing Champion (with partner Darren Bennett) Series 2 (Autumn 2004) |
Succeeded by Darren Gough and Lilia Kopylova |
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