Jacqueline Leonard
Jacqueline Jackie Leonard is a Scottish actress. She is known for playing Sarah Preston in the ITV drama Peak Practice from 1993 to 1996, Lorraine Wicks in the BBC soap opera EastEnders from 1996 to 1997, Dr. Caroline Powers in the BBC medical drama Doctors from 2000 to 2001, Lydia Murdoch in the Scottish soap opera River City from 2007 to 2010, 2017 to 2019 and again in 2022. And as Linda Hancock in the ITV soap opera Coronation Street in 2015 and again in 2022.
Jacqueline Jackie Leonard | |
|---|---|
| Born | Blackpool, Lancashire, England |
| Occupation | Actress |
| Television | Peak Practice (1993–1996) EastEnders (1996–1997) Doctors (2000–2001) River City (2007–2010, 2017–2019, 2022) Coronation Street (2015, 2022) |
| Spouse | Alex Mansfield |
Early life
Leonard was born in Blackpool, Lancashire, England. She grew up near Bathgate and Falkirk.[1] She was a pupil at Greenlands High School in Blackpool.[2] Leonard trained at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art and was the winner of the Michael Warre Award for Best Actress in 1988.
Career
Leonard has been appearing on British television since the early 1990s. She has had roles in May to December in 1992, A Time to Dance in 1992, Inspector Morse in 1993 and Peak Practice 1993 to 1996, where she played Sarah Preston for four series. Following this she was cast as Lorraine Wicks in the BBC soap opera EastEnders, a role she played from 1996 to 1997. She took a year off work when she left EastEnders to move from London to Lancashire and care for her sick mother.[3]
Leonard subsequently appeared in television series including Doctors where she played one of the original characters Dr. Caroline Powers from 2000 to 2001, Nice Guy Eddie (2002), Holby City (2003), The Bill (2004), The Courtroom (2004), Goldplated (2006) and Hollyoaks (2007), Holby City (2010). In 2007, Leonard joined the cast of Scottish soap opera River City playing Lydia Murdoch. She quit the role in 2010. In 2017 Leonard reprised the role of Lydia Murdoch, she then quit the role again in 2019 when her character was accidentally killed by her husband Lenny. Although her character was killed off, Leonard continued to appear in the show several times as a ghost only visible to her widower Lenny. Leonard's final appearance was on 30 September 2019. Leonard reprised the role of Lydia Murdoch again in April 2022 after it was confirmed Lydia didn't actually die in the shooting accident. Leonard appeared on screen again from Monday 11th April 2022.
Her film credits include Chaplin (1992), ID (1995), There's Only One Jimmy Grimble (1999) and The Wicker Tree (2011). On stage she has appeared in Look Back in Anger, The Taming of the Shrew,A Midsummer Night's Dream, A Clockwork Orange, Wuthering Heights and Behind the Green Curtain.
In 2011, Leonard auditioned and was shortlisted for the role of Stella Price in Coronation Street but lost out to former EastEnders actress Michelle Collins.[4]
In 2014, it was announced that she was joining the cast as Linda Hancock, the ex-wife of established character Owen Armstrong and mother of Katie Armstrong and Izzy Armstrong.[5] She made her first appearance in February 2015.
Filmography
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1992 | May to December | Mrs Colding | 1 Episode, Episode Titled: "I'm Old Fashioned", Episode Dated: 22 March 1992 |
| A Time to Dance | Theresa Kennedy | 3 Episodes | |
| Chaplin | Yankee Doodle Dancer | Film Role | |
| Screen Two | Gwen | 1 Episode, Episode Titled: "Memento Mori", Episode Dated: 19 April 1992 | |
| 1993 | Full Stretch | Lisa Nelkin | 1 Episode, Episode Titled: "Ivory Tower", Episode Dated: 5 January 1993 |
| Inspector Morse | Miss Sarah Spillers | 1 Episode, Episode Titled: "The Day of the Devil", Episode Dated: 13 January 1993 | |
| 1993–1996 | Peak Practice | Sarah Preston | Series Regular, 17 Episodes |
| 1995 | Ghosts | Sara | 1 Episode, Episode Titled: "Three Miles Up", Episode Dated: 18 February 1995 |
| ID | Jaq | Film Role | |
| 1996 | In Suspicious Circumstances | Kathleen Smith | 1 Episode, Episode Titled: "The Silent Witness", Episode Dated: 5 August 1996 |
| 1996–1997 | EastEnders | Lorraine Wicks | Series Regular, 166 Episodes |
| 1999 | Maisie Raine | Sally Murphy | 1 Episode, Episode Titled: "Old Scores", Episode Dated: 25 June 1999 |
| 2000 | There's Only One Jimmy Grimble | Kath | Film Role |
| 2000–2001 | Doctors | Dr. Caroline Powers | Series Regular, 157 Episodes |
| 2002 | Nice Guy Eddie | Norma | 1 Episode, Episode Dated: 14 July 2002 |
| 2003 | Holby City | Gwen Baker | 1 Episode, Episode Titled: "Mum's the World", Episode Dated: 3 June 2003 |
| 2004 | The Bill | Tina Taylor | 1 Episode, Episode Dated: 3 March 2004 |
| 2006 | Goldplated | Faye Blonde | Regular Role, 8 Episodes |
| 2007 | Hollyoaks | Valerie Holden | 1 Episode, Episode Dated: 6 September 2007 |
| 2007–2010, 2017–2019, 2022- | River City | Lydia Murdoch | Series Regular, (2007–2010), Recurring (2017–2019) |
| 2010 | Holby City | Jackie Eddon | 5 Episodes |
| 2011 | Waterloo Road | Pamela Dunbar | 1 Episode, Episode Dated: 11 May 2011 |
| The Wicker Tree | Lady Delia Morrison | Film role | |
| 2012 | Stepping Up | Miss Pearce | 1 Episode, Episode Titled: "Home Games", Episode Dated: 4 September 2012 |
| 2014 | Casualty | Judith Miles | 1 Episode, Episode Titled: "Born Lucky", Episode Dated: 4 October 2014 |
| 2015, 2022 | Coronation Street | Linda Hancock | Recurring Role, 25 Episodes |
References
- ^ "Jacqueline Leonard on going back to her roots and a surprise return to River City". 10 April 2022.
- ^ Philip Smith, Bispham High School Librarian, 29 May 2009.
- ^ "Doctors go on call". BBC. 23 March 2000.
- ^ Eames, Tom (4 June 2011). "Jacqueline Leonard 'almost landed Corrie role'". Digital Spy. Retrieved 27 March 2019.
- ^ Kilkelly, Daniel (18 November 2014). "Corrie: Jacqueline Leonard joins cast". Digital Spy. Retrieved 27 March 2019.
External links
- Jacqueline Leonard at IMDb
- . Daly Pearson Associates. Archived from the original on 17 May 2008.
- "Characters – Lydia Murdoch". River City. BBC.
- "Characters – Lorraine Wicks". EastEnders. BBC.
- "Characters - Linda Hancock". Coronation Street. ITV.