Linda Henry
Born
Linda Henry

(1959-08-24) 24 August 1959 (age 64)
Peckham, London, England
Other namesLinda Valiris[1]
OccupationActress
Years active1982–present
Notable workBad Girls
EastEnders
Spouse
Stavros Valiris
​
(m. 1992)​
Children1

Linda Valiris (née Henry; born 24 August 1959) is an English actress. She is known for her roles as Yvonne Atkins in the ITV prison drama series Bad Girls and Shirley Carter in the BBC soap opera EastEnders. She had previously appeared in EastEnders as the original Lorraine Salter, the mother of Mandy Salter (Nicola Stapleton), from 1991 to 1992. Her other acting credits include Cracker (1995), Prime Suspect (1997) and Trial & Retribution (1998). She has also appeared in the films Beautiful Thing (1996) and The Business (2005).

Early life

Henry was born on 24 August 1959[1][2] and was brought up in Peckham, London.[3] She spent some time with the Old Vic Youth Theatre, and at 17, she went to the Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art.[4]

Career

In 1996, Henry played Sandra in the film Beautiful Thing.[5] In 1999, Henry began portraying Yvonne Atkins in the ITV prison series Bad Girls. After the series ended in 2003, she appeared in various British television programmes including The Bill, Birds of a Feather, Touching Evil, Cracker, A Touch of Frost,[6] Trial & Retribution as Marilyn Spark and EastEnders, where she played Lorraine Salter, the mother of Mandy Salter (Nicola Stapleton). She also appeared in British film The Business, alongside Danny Dyer.[4]

On 8 September 2006, it was announced Henry would be returning to EastEnders in a different role, this time playing Shirley Carter, mother to Carly (Kellie Shirley) and Deano (Matt Di Angelo) and ex-wife of Kevin (Phil Daniels).[7] Dyer, who she had worked with previously, was cast in 2013 as Henry's son, Mick.[4] In late 2022, Henry embarked on an "extended break" from EastEnders. She is expected to return at some point in the future. [8]

Personal life

Henry married Stavros Valiris in 1992. Their daughter was born in 1993.[4]

In 2014, she was arrested for racially aggravated harassment.[9] Henry pleaded not guilty and stood trial on 11 February 2015 at Bexley Magistrates Court in south London.[10] She was later cleared of all charges.[11]

Filmography

Year Title Role Notes
1982 The Young Ones Girl at party Episode: "Interesting"
1988 Rockliffe's Babies Sharon Hagerty Episode: "A Trip to the Zoo"
1988 Screen Two
The Comic Strip Presents... Jackie
For Queen & Country Kim
1988–1990 Eurocops Linda Jackson 3 episodes
1989 Forever Green Doc Series 1 Episode 4
The Nineteenth Hole Council tenant Series 1 Episode 7
1990 The Play on One Carol Fairwater Episode: "Yellowbacks"
Birds of a Feather Viv McCarthy Episode: "Falling in Love Again"
1991–1992 EastEnders Lorraine Salter Guest role
1992 The Bill Carol Armfield Episode: "Part of the Furniture"
1993 Don't Leave Me This Way Janet Weir
Cracker Mrs. Perry Episode: "One Day a Lemming Will Fly Part 1"
The Bill Anne Riley Episode: "Desperate Remedies"
1994 Moving Story Sheila Roebuck Episode: "Charlotte, Emma, Bamber and Anne"
Casualty Diane Daw Episode: "Blood's Thicker"
1995 Prime Suspect: The Scent of Darkness Forensic Scientist Television film
An Independent Man Julie Read 4 episodes
The Bill Chrissie Root Episode: "For Services Rendered"
1996 A Touch of Frost Sue Venables Episode: "Playing the Price"
Beautiful Thing Sandra Gangel
1997 Touching Evil Justine Barber Episode: "Deadly Web: Part 2"
Born to Run Judith Series 1 Episode 3
1998 Trial & Retribution Marilyn Spark 2 episodes
1999–2003 Bad Girls Yvonne Atkins Main role
2005 The Business Shirley
2006–2022 EastEnders Shirley Carter Regular role
2008 Children in Need Housemaid Episode #1.29
2010 EastEnders: E20 Shirley Carter 5 episodes

Awards and nominations

Year Award Category Work Result Ref.
2003 9th National Television Awards Most Popular Actress Bad Girls Nominated [12]
2007 TVQuick & TVChoice Awards Best Soap Newcomer EastEnders Nominated [13]
2008 Digital Spy Soap Awards Best On-Screen Partnership (with Cheryl Fergison) EastEnders Nominated [14]
2008 British Soap Awards Best On-Screen Partnership (with Fergison) EastEnders Nominated [15]
2008 Inside Soap Awards Best Actress EastEnders Nominated [16]
2008 Inside Soap Awards Best Bitch EastEnders Nominated [16]
2009 Inside Soap Awards Best Bitch EastEnders Nominated [17]
2012 Inside Soap Awards Best Actress EastEnders Shortlisted [18]
2013 Inside Soap Awards Funniest Female EastEnders Nominated [19]
2014 2014 British Soap Awards Best Comedy Performance EastEnders Nominated [20]
2015 20th National Television Awards Serial Drama Performance EastEnders Nominated [21]
2022 2022 British Soap Awards Best Leading Performer EastEnders Shortlisted [22]

References

  1. ^ a b "EastEnders' Linda Henry cleared over 'racist abuse rant'". BBC News. 11 February 2015. Retrieved 2 February 2021.
  2. ^ "Cheryl Fergison - Twitter". Retrieved 31 May 2021.
  3. ^ "Shirley Carter". Holy Soap. Channel Five. Archived from the original on 3 July 2009. Retrieved 26 September 2010.
  4. ^ a b c d Cannon, Nicholas. "Linda Henry — things you didn't know about the 'EastEnders' star". What to Watch. (Future plc). Retrieved 13 June 2023.
  5. ^ "Linda Henry". MTEDB. Archived from the original on 10 August 2007. Retrieved 26 September 2010.
  6. ^ "BBC – EastEnders – Characters – Shirley Carter played by Linda Henry". BBC Online. BBC. Retrieved 26 September 2010.
  7. ^ "Former Bad Girl to join EastEnders – RTÉ Ten". RTÉ.ie. 11 September 2006. Archived from the original on 26 October 2012. Retrieved 26 September 2010.
  8. ^ Knight, Lewis (29 December 2022). "Has Shirley Carter left EastEnders for good after Mick's exit?". Radio Times. Retrieved 13 June 2023.
  9. ^ "BBC News – EastEnders actress to stand trial for harassment". BBC Online. 27 November 2014. Retrieved 28 November 2014.
  10. ^ Stenhouse, Ann (27 November 2014). "EastEnders star Linda Henry to stand trial accused of hurling racist abuse outside restaurant – 3am & Mirror Online". Daily Mirror. Retrieved 28 November 2014.
  11. ^ "EastEnders' Linda Henry cleared over 'racist abuse' rant". BBC. 11 February 2015. Retrieved 11 February 2015.
  12. ^ "National Television Awards 2003". ITV plc. Archived from the original on 1 August 2003. Retrieved 1 September 2010.
  13. ^ "Welcome to the TVQuick & TVChoice Awards 2007!". TV Quick. H Bauer Publishing. Archived from the original on 3 June 2007. Retrieved 19 July 2010.
  14. ^ Green, Kris (21 March 2008). "Digital Spy Soap Awards 2008: The Winners". Digital Spy. Retrieved 3 January 2017.
  15. ^ "The British Soap Awards 2008: The Winners". Digital Spy. Retrieved 26 January 2020.
  16. ^ a b "Inside Soap Awards 2008 – Nominations". MSN. Microsoft. 16 July 2008. Retrieved 31 August 2010.
  17. ^ "Inside soap awards nominations". 8 July 2009. Retrieved 15 June 2011.
  18. ^ Kilkelly, Daniel (17 September 2012). "'Coronation Street' leads Inside Soap Awards 2012 shortlist". Digital Spy. Retrieved 4 January 2013.
  19. ^ Dainty, Sophie (22 July 2013). "Inside Soap Awards 2013 - longlist nominees in full". Digital Spy. Retrieved 2 August 2013.
  20. ^ Kilkelly, Daniel; Dainty, Sophie (25 May 2014). "British Soap Awards 2014 – winners in full". Digital Spy. Hearst Magazines UK. Archived from the original on 3 January 2019. Retrieved 3 January 2019.
  21. ^ Kilkelly, Daniel (14 October 2014). "National Television Awards 2015 - Which soap stars made the long list?". Digital Spy. Retrieved 10 January 2015.
  22. ^ Kilkelly, Daniel; Warner, Sam (11 June 2022). "British Soap Awards 2022 winners list - updated live". Digital Spy. (Hearst Communications). Retrieved 11 June 2022.

External links

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