Jacqueline Leonard is an English actress. She is known for her various roles in British soap operas, including Lorraine Wicks in the BBC soap EastEnders, Caroline Powers in the BBC medical soap Doctors, Lydia Murdoch in the Scottish soap River City and Linda Hancock in the ITV soap Coronation Street. She also appeared in the ITV medical drama Peak Practice.

Jacqueline Leonard
Alma materLondon Academy of Music and Dramatic Art
OccupationActress
Television
SpouseAlex Mansfield

Early life

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She grew up near Bathgate and Falkirk.[1] 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.[2]

Career

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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.[3] 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.[4]

Leonard was then cast in the BBC medical soap opera Doctors, where she played one of the original characters, Caroline Powers from 2000 to 2001.[5] She then appeared in various other series including Nice Guy Eddie (2002), Holby City (2003), The Bill (2004), The Courtroom (2004), Goldplated (2006) Hollyoaks (2007) and Holby City (2010).[5] In 2007, Leonard joined the cast of the BBC Scotland soap opera River City playing Lydia Murdoch. She quit the role in 2010, before reprising it in 2017. Producers killed off her character in 2019, but in 2022, she reprised the role, with her return being explained as Lydia having faked her death.[6]

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.[7] In 2014, it was announced that she was joining Coronation Street as Linda Hancock, the ex-wife of established character Owen Armstrong and mother of Katie Armstrong and Izzy Armstrong.[8] She appeared in 2015, but reprised the role from 2022 to 2023.[9] 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.[5]

Filmography

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Year Title Role Notes
1992 May to December Mrs Colding Episode: "I'm Old Fashioned"
A Time to Dance Theresa Kennedy 3 episodes
Chaplin Yankee Doodle Dancer Film
Screen Two Gwen Episode: "Memento Mori"
1993 Full Stretch Lisa Nelkin Episode: "Ivory Tower"
Inspector Morse Miss Sarah Spillers Episode: "The Day of the Devil"
1993–1996 Peak Practice Sarah Preston Main role
1995 Ghosts Sara Episode: "Three Miles Up"
ID Jaq Film
1996 In Suspicious Circumstances Kathleen Smith Episode: "The Silent Witness"
1996–1997 EastEnders Lorraine Wicks Regular role
1999 Maisie Raine Sally Murphy Episode: "Old Scores"
2000 There's Only One Jimmy Grimble Kath Film
2000–2001 Doctors Dr. Caroline Powers Regular role
2002 Nice Guy Eddie Norma 1 episode
2003 Holby City Gwen Baker Episode: "Mum's the World"
2004 The Bill Tina Taylor 1 episode
2006 Goldplated Faye Blonde Main role
2007 Hollyoaks Valerie Holden 1 episode
2007–2012, 2017–2019, 2022–present River City Lydia Murdoch Regular role
2010 Holby City Jackie Eddon Guest role
2011 Waterloo Road Pamela Dunbar 1 episode
The Wicker Tree Lady Delia Morrison Film
2012 Stepping Up Miss Pearce Episode: "Home Games"
2014 Casualty Judith Miles Episode: "Born Lucky"
2015, 2022–2023, 2024 Coronation Street Linda Hancock Recurring role

References

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  1. ^ "Jacqueline Leonard on going back to her roots and a surprise return to River City". 10 April 2022.
  2. ^ Lark, Claire (22 March 2023). "14 Blackpool celebrities and the schools and colleges they attended including David Thewlis, Chris Lowe and Lucy Fallon". Blackpool Gazette. Retrieved 26 July 2023.
  3. ^ Jones, Gemma (17 February 2022). "Coronation Street Corrie's Jacqueline Leonard's soap star past as she returns as Linda Hancock". Liverpool Echo. Retrieved 26 July 2023.
  4. ^ "Doctors go on call". BBC. 23 March 2000.
  5. ^ a b c "Inside Coronation Street star Jacqueline Leonard's life away from Linda Hancock role". Heart. 17 February 2022. Retrieved 26 July 2023.
  6. ^ Meehan, Abbie (15 January 2023). "River City's Jacqueline Leonard urges people to 'speak out' after sexual assault storyline". Glasgow Live. Retrieved 26 July 2023.
  7. ^ Eames, Tom (4 June 2011). "Jacqueline Leonard 'almost landed Corrie role'". Digital Spy. Retrieved 27 March 2019.
  8. ^ Kilkelly, Daniel (18 November 2014). "Corrie: Jacqueline Leonard joins cast". Digital Spy. Retrieved 27 March 2019.
  9. ^ Anderton, Joe (10 February 2022). "Coronation Street star Jacqueline Leonard discusses possible permanent return for Linda Hancock". Digital Spy. Retrieved 26 July 2023.
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