Helen Pearson | |
---|---|
Born | Leicester, Leicestershire, England | 16 November 1959
Years active | 1986–present |
Television | EastEnders (1990) Emmerdale (2000–2001) Hollyoaks (2002–2017) |
Spouse | Paul Faulkner (m. 2013) |
Relatives | Richard Cadell (brother) |
Helen Pearson (born 16 November 1959) is a British actress who has been in three major soap operas, EastEnders (during 1990, as April McIntosh), Emmerdale (from 2000 to 2001, as Carol Wareing), and Hollyoaks (from 2002 until 2017, as Frankie Osborne).
Her first acting role was in 1987, playing a Nurse in The Growing Pains of Adrian Mole . She also played April in EastEnders in the early 1990s.
She has also appeared in the television dramas The Darling Buds of May and Murder in Mind .
Before making her Hollyoaks debut, she also played the character Mrs. Atkins in Attachments .
On Halloween 2017, after having been the longest-serving female on Hollyoaks as Frankie Osborne for 15 years, the character was killed off and Pearson left the show.
Pearson married Paul Faulkner in 2013. [1] In 2015, she was convicted of driving under the influence. [2] She is the older sister of Richard Cadell, the incumbent puppeteer for Sooty, and appeared with her brother in the 2013 episode "The Dance Competition".
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1987 | The Growing Pains of Adrian Mole | Nurse | 5 episodes |
1988 | Consuming Passions | Supermarket Assistant | Film |
1989 | Close to Home | Winnie | Episode: "Helen's Parents" |
1990 | EastEnders | April McIntosh | Recurring role, 14 episodes |
1991, 1993, 1994, 1996 | The Bill | Mrs. Styles / Sonia Philips / Jenny Clifford / Mrs. Beaty | 4 episodes |
1992 | The Darling Buds of May | Polly | Episode: "Le Grand Weekend" |
1996 | A Touch of Frost | Addie Parsons [3] | Episode: "Fun Times for Swingers" |
1997 | Holding On | Paula | Episode #1.1 |
2000 | Inspector Morse | Debbie Rep [4] | Episode: "The Remorseful Day" |
2000–2001 | Emmerdale | Carol Wareing | Series regular, 79 episodes |
2000, 2002 | Attachments | Mrs. Atkins | 2 episodes |
2002 | Murder in Mind | Sophie Cunningham | Episode: "Disposal" |
2002–2017 | Hollyoaks | Frankie Osborne [5] | Series regular |
2013 | Cold | Blonde Woman | Film |
2013 | Sooty | Dame Helena Pearsona | Episode: "The Dance Competition" |
2017 | Lorna | Lorna | Short |
2018, 2021 | Doctors | Beth Rundle / Regan Hoffman [6] | Episodes: "No Fury Like a Woman" and "The Unkindest Cut" |
2019 | Rome in Love | Vivien Daniels | Television film |
Hollyoaks is a British soap opera which originally began airing on Channel 4 on 23 October 1995. It was created by Phil Redmond, who had previously conceived the soap opera Brookside. From 2005 to 2023, episodes have aired on sister channel E4 a day prior to their broadcast on Channel 4. In 2023, Hollyoaks was removed from Channel 4's early evening schedule, but remains on E4 and Channel 4's on demand service with episodes now uploaded to YouTube. At its inception, the soap was targeted towards an adolescent and young adult audience but it has since broadened its appeal to all age groups. Hollyoaks has covered various taboo subjects rarely seen on British television, for which it has received numerous awards. It has won the award for Best British Soap twice, in 2014 and 2019; its first win broke the 15-year tie between rival soap operas EastEnders and Coronation Street. Beginning with a cast of 15 characters, it now has 37 regular cast members. The longest-serving actor is Nick Pickard, who has portrayed Tony Hutchinson since the first episode.
Nikki Sanderson is an English actress and former glamour model who is known for playing Candice Stowe in the television soap opera Coronation Street, Dawn Bellamy in Heartbeat and Maxine Minniver in Hollyoaks. During her time at Coronation Street and since, she has also been a television presenter on programmes such as CD:UK, Junior Eurovision: The British Final and Ministry of Mayhem.
Francine "Frankie" Osborne is a fictional character from the British Channel 4 soap opera Hollyoaks, played by Helen Pearson, making her first on-screen appearance on 20 August 2002. Frankie was once the longest-serving female character in the show. On 9 October 2017, Pearson announced that she would depart the show, and Frankie was killed off on 1 November 2017, after suffering a stroke, making her the second member of the Dean family to be killed off after her daughter Steph Cunningham in 2010. She made her final appearance on 27 November 2017, as a ghost to Jack Osborne.
Jack Osborne is a fictional character from the British soap opera Hollyoaks, played by Jimmy McKenna. The character debuted on-screen during the episode broadcast on 18 November 1996 and is the second longest featured character in the show. He was introduced as part of the Osborne family, which also consisted of Jack's wife Celia and their children Darren and Ruth. His storylines include an affair with Dawn Cunningham, four marriages and faking his own death in an insurance scam. For numerous years, Jack's role in the show is the landlord of the pub, The Dog in the Pond.
Roxanne McKee is a Canadian-born British actress. She is best known for playing Louise Summers in the Channel 4 soap opera Hollyoaks (2005–2008), Lou Foster in the BBC Three drama series Lip Service (2010), Doreah in the HBO fantasy drama series Game of Thrones (2011–2012) and Lady Claire Riesen in the Syfy apocalyptic supernatural series Dominion (2014–2015). She has also starred in films including Wrong Turn 5: Bloodlines (2012), Vendetta (2013) and The Legend of Hercules (2014).
Carley Stenson is an English actress and singer. She is known for her roles as Steph Cunningham in the Channel 4 soap opera Hollyoaks and Harriet Shelton in the BBC soap opera Doctors. For her role as Steph, she received numerous nominations at the British Soap Awards.
Jennifer Joanne Metcalfe is an English actress. She is known for her role as Mercedes McQueen in the Channel 4 soap opera Hollyoaks, which she has appeared in since 2006. Her portrayal of the character has led to her reprising the role in the programme's spin-off series Hollyoaks Later between 2008 and 2020. She appeared as a contestant in the sixth series of Dancing on Ice in 2011, where she finished in tenth place.
Johnno Dean is a fictional character from the British soap opera Hollyoaks, played originally by Mark Powley. He first appeared in November 2002, and from April 2003 was replaced by Colin Wells until his exit on 22 July 2005. The character returned on 26 to 31 October 2017 for a guest stint to coincide with the exit of his former wife, Frankie Osborne.
Emily Head is an English actress. Her breakout role was as Carli D'Amato in E4's sitcom The Inbetweeners and she later played Rebecca White in ITV soap opera Emmerdale and Colette Andrews in BBC drama, The Syndicate.
Hollyoaks Later is a British television spin-off of the Channel 4 soap opera Hollyoaks. The series allows for more sexual content, 'edgier' storylines and stronger language than Hollyoaks. The show was on hiatus from 2014 to 2020, where it returned on 6 January 2020 for a one-off episode focusing on the conclusion of Breda McQueen's serial killer storyline.
Stephanie Ann Davis is an English actress. She began her career with small roles in British television series, and in 2010, she competed in the BBC talent-search Over the Rainbow. She was then cast in the Channel 4 soap opera Hollyoaks, portraying the role of Sinead O'Connor between 2010 and 2015, and again from 2018 to 2019. In 2016, she was the runner-up in the seventeenth series of Celebrity Big Brother. In May 2023, Davis joined the cast of ITV soap opera Coronation Street as Courtney Vance.
Ruby Button is a fictional character from the British Channel 4 soap opera Hollyoaks, played by Anna Shaffer. Shaffer's casting was announced in December 2010 and it was revealed that Ruby would be introduced as the sister of Duncan Button. Shaffer originally auditioned for the role of Leanne Holiday, in which she was not successful. Shaffer began filming her scenes in late 2010 and relocated to Liverpool for filming. Ruby made her first appearance in the episode broadcast on 3 January 2011. In October 2013, it was announced that Shaffer had quit the role and would leave in February 2014. In October 2017, speculation emerged indicating Shaffer was to reprise the role very soon and on 16 November 2017, it was confirmed that Ruby would be back for Frankie Osborne's funeral later that month. She returned on 23 November 2017, departing in the following episode, broadcast on 24 November. She made another return for a guest stint at the end of April 2018, making her final appearance on 30 April.
"Enjoy the Ride" is a storyline from the British soap opera Hollyoaks, broadcast between 12 and 16 November 2012 on Channel 4. The storyline focuses on the double wedding of Tony Hutchinson and Cindy Cunningham alongside Ste Hay and Doug Carter. Jono and Ruby Button plan to elope to Gretna Green, so Maddie Morrison steals a minibus. Bart McQueen and Esther Bloom plan to stop the wedding. They momentarily distract Maddie, causing her to swerve off the road. Maddie is unable to stop due to the minibus' faulty brakes and crashes into the venue of the double wedding, endangering the wedding party and the occupants of the minibus. The minibus later explodes, causing further danger for the characters. The storyline was announced by the Daily Star on 21 October 2012. They reported that the disaster is the biggest in Hollyoaks yet. Steven Roberts, who plays George Smith, said that after the crash "no one will be the same, everyone is going to be affected by it in some way". To promote the storyline a televised advertisement was shown, featuring clips filmed specifically for the trailer. It revealed no details about the plot and was instead about the subtext of the storyline. Filming took place on location at Knowsley Hall, which Pickard described as a "very grand setting for a big Hollyoaks disaster". The scenes were filmed over a full week with two days dedicated to the stunt sequences. The filming of the stunts used dummies and stunt doubles and employed a mix of CGI effects and live action.
Diego Salvador Martinez Hernandez De La Cruz is a fictional character from the British Channel 4 soap opera Hollyoaks, played by Juan Pablo Yepez. The character made his first on-screen appearance on 16 November 2015. Diego was introduced as a new love interest of established character Myra McQueen following a chance meeting in Alicante, Spain. Yepez auditioned for the role then met with Barber-Lane and after a successful screen test was offered the part. It was his first regular British television role after moving to the country from Venezuela. The character's first scenes proved controversial due to his ownership of a Confederate flag at a time it was deemed socially unacceptable. Diego is also a Venezuelan national and he is characterised as a romantic person, with honest values and a fresh outlook on life. He also has a cheeky and charming personality.