Zöe Elizabeth Lucker[2] (born 11 April 1974[3]) is an English actress. She is known for her roles as Tanya Turner in the ITV drama series, Footballers' Wives; Vanessa Gold in the long-running BBC One soap opera, EastEnders; Carol Barry in the BBC One school-based drama series, Waterloo Road; and Reenie McQueen in the Channel 4 soap opera, Hollyoaks.

Zöe Lucker
Lucker at the Inside Soap Awards in 2010
Born
Zöe Elizabeth Lucker

(1974-04-11) 11 April 1974 (age 50)
OccupationActress
Years active1996–present
Spouse
Richard Forshaw
(m. 2001; div. 2001)
[1]
PartnerJames Herbert (2007–present)
Children1

Education

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Lucker was educated at Huddersfield New College.[4] She studied acting at Oscars Academy of Performing Arts in Huddersfield, and later at the Manchester Arden School of Theatre.

Career

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In 2002, Lucker began portraying the role of Tanya Turner on ITV drama series, Footballers' Wives. In 2004, she was nominated and won a TV Quick and TV Choice Award for Best Actress for her role of Tanya Turner; she was also nominated for a National Television Award in the category of Most Popular Actress for her work on Footballers' Wives.[5] In 2005, Lucker toured New Zealand extensively in the play Then Comes Love as the female lead Jane opposite Shane Cortese[6] and played the lead role in Bombshell for ITV1, although the series was ultimately only broadcast in New Zealand.[7] She also appeared in BBC drama series, HolbyBlue, playing the role of Kate Keenan.[8] In 2009, Lucker appeared on Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? alongside John Suchet, winning £150,000 for the Caron Keating Foundation[9]

In September 2009, Lucker was announced as a contestant for series 7 of Strictly Come Dancing. Her former Footballers Wives co-star, Laila Rouass also participated in the series.[10] She was partnered up with professional ballroom dancer James Jordan. Despite earning high scores and having the third highest average, the couple were eliminated on 31 October, after being in a dance-off against Ali Bastian and her partner Brian Fortuna. In November that year, it was confirmed that she would take part in the Strictly Come Dancing 2010 live tour at arenas across the UK.[11]

Week # Dance / Song Judges' score Result
Horwood Goodman Dixon Tonioli
2 Waltz / "Some Day My Prince Will Come" 7 8 7 8 Safe
Rumba / "Out of Reach" 8 7 8 8
3 Paso Doble / "You've Got The Love" 7 8 8 8 Safe
4 Foxtrot / "This Will Be (An Everlasting Love)" 8 9 8 8 Safe
5 Jive / "Tainted Love" 7 8 8 7 Bottom two
6 American Smooth / "My Girl" 8 8 9 8 Safe
7 Samba / "Boogie Nights" 7 8 9 8 Eliminated

In March 2010, Lucker joined the cast of BBC soap opera, EastEnders, to portray the role Vanessa Gold. She left in October 2011.[12] In June 2012, Lucker joined the cast of Waterloo Road, to play Carol Barry, the matriarch of the crime family from Liverpool.[13] In February 2015, Lucker joined the cast of Hollyoaks, to play Reenie McQueen. Reenie has been billed as "good-time party girl without an 'off' switch and can be exhausting company although deep down she is the most vulnerable of Nana's children" and hasn't set the best example to her children and has let them down in the past.[14] She made her first appearance on 16 April 2015. It was later announced in December 2015 that Lucker would be leaving the role at the conclusion of the child sexual abuse storyline, with Reenie making her final appearance on 30 June 2016.[15]

Personal life

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Lucker is engaged to her partner, film editor James Herbert, with whom she had a daughter in September 2008.[16]

Filmography

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Year Title Role Network Notes
1996 Coronation Street Sonya Leach ITV 2 episodes
Brazen Hussies Busty Babs BBC Two Television film
1997 Where the Heart Is Jane ITV Episode: "Summoned by Bells"
1998 Killer Net Carol Channel 4 Mini-series; 3 episodes
1999 Boyz Unlimited Kirsty Bellamy Episode 5
Barbara Karen ITV Episode: "Rivals"
2000 Doctors Sandy Hansen BBC One 1 episode
Trial & Retribution Catrina Roberts ITV 2 episodes
2002 Holby City Sharon Simons BBC One Episode: "Pawns in the Game"
2002–2006 Footballers' Wives Tanya Turner ITV Main role; 35 episodes (series 1–5)
2004 Bad Girls Guest role; 3 episodes (series 6)
2006 Bombshell Jenna Marston Main role; 7 episodes (series 1)
2007–2008 HolbyBlue Kate Keenan BBC One Main role; 20 episodes (series 1–2)
2009 Strictly Come Dancing Herself Series 7 contestant
2010–2011 EastEnders Vanessa Gold Regular role; 96 episodes
2013–2014 Waterloo Road Carol Barry Recurring role; 8 episodes (series 8)
Regular role; 15 episodes (series 910)
2015 24 Hours in the Past Herself Historical reality television series
2015–2016 Hollyoaks Reenie McQueen Channel 4 Regular role; 63 episodes

Awards

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References

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  1. ^ "TANYA'S TRANSFER; Footballers' Wives favourite bitch Zoe Lucker switches sides when she's jailed in the soccer soap and ends up behind bars in Bad Girls. - Free Online Library".
  2. ^ England & Wales births 1837-2006
  3. ^ "Zoe Lucker (profile)". Hello!. Archived from the original on 24 December 2008. Retrieved 12 October 2009.
  4. ^ "Huddersfield's Zoe Lucker set for EastEnders role". Huddersfield Examiner. 22 March 2010.
  5. ^ "Zoe in TV award dream". Huddersfield Daily Examiner. 19 July 2004. Retrieved 3 December 2016.
  6. ^ Herrick, Linda (5 September 2005). "Then Comes Love at Founders Theatre". NZ Herald. Retrieved 2 December 2016.
  7. ^ "Army drama lacks true trash power". NZ Herald. 3 May 2006. Retrieved 2 December 2016.
  8. ^ "Holby Blue: Characters & Actors :Station Reception Officer Kate Keenan". BBC. Retrieved 2 December 2016.
  9. ^ "John Suchet on Celebrity 'Who wants to be a Millionaire?'". Yorkshire & Humber Improvement Partnership. Archived from the original on 24 December 2012. Retrieved 2 February 2012.
  10. ^ Chivers, Tom (18 September 2009). "Strictly Come Dancing 2009: the contestants". The Telegraph. London. Retrieved 2 February 2012.
  11. ^ Douglas, Joanne (10 November 2009). "Lindley actress Zoe Lucker joins Strictly Come Dancing live tour". Huddersfield Daily Examiner. Retrieved 2 February 2012.
  12. ^ Kilkelly, Daniel (12 May 2011). "Zöe Lucker: 'More to come from Vanessa'". Digital Spy. London: Hachette Filipacchi UK. Retrieved 9 June 2011.
  13. ^ "Lindley's Zoe Lucker is back on TV as hell-raising mum in Waterloo Road". Examiner Live. Retrieved 8 February 2021.
  14. ^ Kilkelly, Daniel (6 February 2015). "Hollyoaks casts Zöe Lucker as newcomer Reenie McQueen". Digital Spy. Hearst Magazines UK. Retrieved 6 February 2015.
  15. ^ "Hollyoaks spoilers: First look at Reenie McQueen's final scenes". Metro. Retrieved 8 February 2021.
  16. ^ "Zoe Lucker: I don't want my child to see my TV sex scenes". Daily Mirror. Retrieved 8 February 2021.
  17. ^ "Stars battle it out for TV awards". London: BBC. 26 October 2004. Retrieved 3 August 2014.
  18. ^ "It's Zoe vs Nell". Huddersfield Daily Examiner. Huddersfield. 17 September 2004. Retrieved 3 August 2014.
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