Clare Perkins | |
|---|---|
| Born | 18 August 1965 |
| Occupation | Actress |
| Years active | 1985–present |
Clare Perkins (born 18 August 1965) is an English actress who is known for her roles as Denise Boulter in Family Affairs and Ava Hartman in EastEnders.[1]
Perkins' first role was as Opal in the 1991 TV film 'Hallelujah Anyhow' in the Screen Two strand. On TV she has appeared in Family Affairs, All in the Game, Pig Heart Boy, Casualty, EastEnders, Men Behaving Badly, Big Women and Clapham Junction.[2]
She has appeared in many theatres, such as the Royal Court, Young Vic, National Theatre and Soho Theatre.
Her film credits include Jill in the Palme d'Or-winning Ladybird, Ladybird (Ken Loach), Secrets & Lies (Mike Leigh), Bullet Boy (Saul Dibb) and 7 Lives.
Clare was part of the BBC production Pig Heart Boy, which won a Children's BAFTA for Best Drama. Clare has worked in theatre, film, TV and radio, she has been a member of the BBC Radio Drama Company and played the character of Mel for 8 years in the World Service soap Westway. Clare played Beverly in the acclaimed film Bullet Boy which opened the London Film Festival in 2004; she won Best Actress for this role at the Screen Nation Awards.
In 2011 she turned to performing in many radio dramas for Radio 4 including The Winter House, Landfall, Corrinne Come Back and Gone and Best Intentions. Since 2021 she has played Denise Metcalf, a veterinary nurse, in the long-running soap opera The Archers.[3][4]
Clare was in two West End productions in 2019 - Emilia which transferred from The Globe, and Sweat which transferred from the Donmar Warehouse, with the consequence that at one point her face was on the front of two West End theatres simultaneously for a month, The Vaudeville and The Gielgud; it is believed that she is the only actress to achieve this. Clare played Kerene Nagashi in the Amazon fantasy series The Wheel of Time. She appeared in the horror film Censor, and was one of the stars of the TV comedy-drama The Outlaws.
She was educated at the Rose Bruford College from 1983–1985, and is the mother of Kali Perkins (who appeared in the TV programme The Undateables). She is based in Greater London.
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1994 | Ladybird, Ladybird | Jill | |
| 1996 | Secrets & Lies | Hortense's Sister-in-Law | |
| 2004 | Bullet Boy | Beverley | |
| 2006 | Shoot the Messenger | Mary Gibbs | |
| 2007 | Deadmeat | De Costa | |
| 2009 | Normal: The Düsseldorf Ripper | Nurse Susan | |
| 2011 | 7 Lives | Kids Mum | |
| 2016 | Kaleidoscope | Launderette Assistant | |
| 2018 | Been So Long | Snowqueen | |
| 2021 | Censor | Anne | |
| 2022 | Medusa Deluxe | Cleve | |
| TBA | Love Without Walls | Faye | Post-production |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1991 | Screen Two | Opal | Episode: "Hallelujah Anyhow" |
| 1993 | Grange Hill | Marcia | Episode: "Series 16, Episode 10" |
| 1994 | The Bill | Delia Fisher | Episode: "Skinning Cats" |
| 1996 | My Wonderful Life | Bridget Groves | |
| 1997 | Men Behaving Badly | Deborah's Friend | Episode: "Stag Night" |
| EastEnders | Darts Team Leader | 1 episode | |
| 1998 | Big Women | Cleo | Episode: "A Nest of Randy Vipers" |
| 1999 | Pig Heart Boy | Cathy Kelsey | Main role |
| 2000 | Whole New Heart | Cameron's Mother | TV film |
| 2001 | Always and Everyone | Gloria Edmunds | Episode: "Series 3, Episode 10" |
| Merseybeat | Joy Patterson | Episode: "Deep End" | |
| Casualty | Bernice Healey | Episode: "On the Edge" | |
| 2002 | Doctors | Miriam Akinbiyi | Episode: "Happy Days Are Here Again" |
| 2003–2005 | Family Affairs | Denise Boulter | Main role |
| 2006 | Holby City | Gabrielle Horner | Episode: "Brother's Keeper" |
| All in the Game | Mrs. Lamone | TV film | |
| 2007 | The Bill | Olivia Vaughan | Episode: "Day of Reckoning" |
| Talk to Me | Childminder | Episode: "The Wedding" | |
| Clapham Junction | Dolly | TV film | |
| 2008 | Casualty | Rachel O'Hara | Episode: "Sex and Death" |
| 2011 | Holby City | Simone Tait | Recurring role, 7 episodes |
| Doctors | Lorraine Greenhall | Episode: "Hitting the Wall" | |
| 2012 | BBC Learning: True Stories | Rosa Parks | Episode: Episode 1.2 |
| 2012–2013 | EastEnders | Ava Hartman | Series regular |
| 2018 | Doctors | Ellen Morrison | Episode: "The Woman Who Runs" |
| Death in Paradise | Fabienne Jordan | Episode: "The Healer" | |
| 2020 | Flack | Shirelle | Episode: "Sofi" |
| The Crown | Social Worker | Episode: "Fagan" | |
| 2021 | The Outlaws | Myrna Okeke | Main role |
| The Wheel of Time | Kerene Nagashi | Main role |
| Year | Play | Role | Venue | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990 | Meridian | Meridian | Contact Theatre, Manchester | |
| 1996 | Mules | Bridie | Royal Court Theatre, London | with Clean Break |
| 1997 | Ready or Not | Various roles | Theatre Royal Stratford East, London | |
| 2001 | Generations of the Dead | Lenore | Young Vic, London | |
| 2002 | Cyrano de Bergerac | Lise/Mother/Usherette | Nuffield Theatre, Southampton | |
| Our Country's Good | Liz Morden/Lieutenant Dawes | Nuffield Theatre, Southampton | ||
| 2006 | Fabulation | Mother/Caseworker/Inmate | Tricycle Theatre, London | |
| How Long Is Never? Darfur - A Response | Tricycle Theatre, London | |||
| 2008 | A Fag Burning the Carpet | King's Head Theatre, London | ||
| Any Which Way | Sylvia | Only Connect Theatre, London | ||
| 2009 | The Hounding of David Oluwale | Alice/Patience | West Yorkshire Playhouse, Leeds | with "Eclipse Theatre" |
| The Caucasian Chalk Circle | West Yorkshire Playhouse - Leeds, Richmond Theatre - London, Nottingham Playhouse - Nottingham & Unicorn Theatre - London | with Shared Experience | ||
| 2010 | Welcome to Thebes | Helia/Aglaea | Olivier Theatre, London | |
| 2012 | Neighbours | Manny | HighTide Festival, Aldeburgh | |
| The Rover | Moretta | Hampton Court Palace, London | with "Artluxe Ltd" | |
| 2014 | How to Be Immortal | Henrietta Lacks/Deborah Lacks/Loretta Pleasant | UK tour | with "Penny Dreadful Theatre" |
| The House That Will Not Stand | Marie Josephine | Tricycle Theatre, London | ||
| Twelve | Teacher | UK tour | with "Kali Theatre" | |
| Little Revolution | Elaine | Almeida Theatre, London | ||
| 2015 | The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time | Mrs Shears/Mrs Gascoyne | Cottesloe Theatre, London | also, UK tour |
| 2016 | Play On | Almeida Theatre, London | ||
| Removal Men | Beatrice | The Yard Theatre, London | ||
| 2017 | The Convert | Mia Tamba | Gate Theatre, London | |
| Roundelay | Ring Mistress | Southwark Playhouse, London | ||
| Primetime | Various roles | Royal Court Theatre, London | also, UK tour | |
| Nora | Krista | Project Arts Centre, Dublin | ||
| Three Mothers | Khady | Waterloo East Theatre, London | ||
| Daisy Pulls It Off | Monica/Belinda | Park Theatre, London | ||
| 2018 | The Immigrant | Ama | Hoxton Hall, London | |
| Genesis Inc | Larissa/Sharon | Hampstead Theatre, London | ||
| Mrs Dalloway | Clarissa Dalloway | Arcola Theatre, London | ||
| 2019 | Sweat | Cynthia | Donmar Warehouse, London | |
| Emilia | Emilia | Vaudeville Theatre, London | ||
| 2021 | The Wife of Willesden | Alvita | Kiln Theatre, London |