Kellie Bright

 Kellie Bright  (born 1 July 1976)[ 1 ] is an English actress who plays Linda Carter in the BBC soap opera EastEndersand has had roles as Joanna Burrows in The Upper Hand, Cassie Tyler in Bad Girls, Julie in Ali G Indahouse, and Joan Trotter in Rock and Chips.

Early years
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[ 1 ] whose alumni also include Denise Van Outen, Samantha Janus and Danniella Westbrook. As a child actress, she appeared in several different series' on BritishTELEVISION 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 Joe McGann, Diana Weston and Honor Blackman. The series 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 aJOB 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."[ 2 ] She also worked as a receptionist at a nightclub in London. She continued, "I was getting rejected from oneJOB 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'." [ 2 ] Bright played Kate Madikane (née Aldridge) in Radio 4's The Archers, and was with the series from 1995 until 2014.[ 3 ]

Recent work
Bright has also had main roles in Bad Girls[ 4 ] and BBC radio programme The Archers.[ 5 ] She 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 BritishTELEVISION programs, herCREDITS include Holby City, Casualty, The Catherine Tate Show and Vera.[ 6 ]

Bright also starred as Joan Trotter in the Only Fools and Horses prequel, Rock and Chips, from 2010 until 2011.[ 7 ]

<span class="mw-headline" id="2013.E2.80.93present:_EastEnders" style="box-sizing:border-box;">2013–present: EastEnders
<p style="box-sizing:border-box;margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:15px;">In October 2013, Bright was cast as Linda Carter in the BBC soap opera EastEnders.<span class="reference" id="cite_ref-8" style="box-sizing:border-box;font-size:0.53em;line-height:0;position:relative;top:-0.5em;">[ 8 ] 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".<span class="reference" id="cite_ref-9" style="box-sizing:border-box;font-size:0.53em;line-height:0;position:relative;top:-0.5em;">[ 9 ] Bright was praised for her performance during this storyline. Bright won the 2014 Digital Spy's Readers Award for Best Female Soap Actress.<span class="reference" id="cite_ref-10" style="box-sizing:border-box;font-size:0.53em;line-height:0;position:relative;top:-0.5em;">[ 10 ] 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,<span class="reference" id="cite_ref-National_Television_Awards_11-0" style="box-sizing:border-box;font-size:0.53em;line-height:0;position:relative;top:-0.5em;">[ 11 ] however the award was won by Dyer.<span class="reference" id="cite_ref-Westbrook_12-0" style="box-sizing:border-box;font-size:0.53em;line-height:0;position:relative;top:-0.5em;">[ 12 ] She has been nominated for "Best Actress" and "Best Dramatic Performance" at The British Soap Awards 2015. Bright won both.

<p style="box-sizing:border-box;margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:15px;">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" be the audience's response.

<span class="mw-headline" id="2015:_Strictly_Come_Dancing" style="box-sizing:border-box;">2015: Strictly Come Dancing
<p style="box-sizing:border-box;margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:15px;">On 12 August 2015, it was announced on The Chris Evans Breakfast Show that Bright would be participating in the upcoming thirteenth series of Strictly Come Dancing on BBC One.<span class="reference" id="cite_ref-13" style="box-sizing:border-box;font-size:0.53em;line-height:0;position:relative;top:-0.5em;">[ 13 ] The series will begin in September 2015.

<span class="mw-headline" id="Voice_work" style="box-sizing:border-box;">Voice work
<p style="box-sizing:border-box;margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:15px;">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.<span class="reference" id="cite_ref-14" style="box-sizing:border-box;font-size:0.53em;line-height:0;position:relative;top:-0.5em;">[ 14 ]

<span class="mw-headline" id="Other_work" style="box-sizing:border-box;">Other work
<p style="box-sizing:border-box;margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:15px;">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 entitled "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"

<span class="mw-headline" id="Personal_life" style="box-sizing:border-box;">Personal life
<p style="box-sizing:border-box;margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:15px;">Bright married her long-term partner, Paul Stocker, in Trelill, Cornwall on 5 July 2014; the couple have a son.<span class="reference" id="cite_ref-15" style="box-sizing:border-box;font-size:0.53em;line-height:0;position:relative;top:-0.5em;">[ 15 ] She has previously dated actor Ross McCall, whom she has known since she was 11.<span class="reference" id="cite_ref-thefreelibrary.com_2-2" style="box-sizing:border-box;font-size:0.53em;line-height:0;position:relative;top:-0.5em;">[ 2 ]