Lorna Fitzgerald | |
|---|---|
 Fitzgerald in 2016 | |
| Born | Lorna Katie Fitzgerald 17 April 1996 [1] [2] Northampton, England |
| Occupation | Actress |
| Years active | 2005–present |
Lorna Katie Fitzgerald (born 17 April 1996) [1] [2] is a British actress from Northampton. Her most notable role to date is that of Abi Branning in the BBC soap opera, EastEnders . Since leaving EastEnders in January 2018, Fitzgerald has developed her acting career on the stage and in movies.
Fitzgerald started attending Stagecoach Drama Classes at the age of four. [3] She has two older sisters and is a keen dancer. [4] Fitzgerald also plays the guitar. [4] [5]
In November 2009, Fitzgerald was involved in a charity project in Northampton called Talking With Hands, a charity for people with hearing impairments and deafness. The project featured on ITV's Anglia News , alongside deaf actor Alex Nowak, and Fitzgerald helped with this project. [6]
Fitzgerald has appeared in the Casualty episode "Animals", [4] [5] [7] and a short film called Big Girl, Little Girl . [3] [8] She also appeared in the ITV drama The Golden Hour , [5] as well as playing Sarah Lancashire's daughter Jade Cannings in Cherished , [4] [5] [9] and Young Bex in According to Bex . [10] She has appeared in adverts for Childline and Nescafe.
After attending acting classes, Fitzgerald joined the Stagecoach Theatre Arts School in Stony Stratford, and Derngate Theatre School. [3] Her agent put her forward for a role in BBC One soap opera EastEnders , and after attending three auditions [3] she was cast as Abi Branning. She made her first appearance as Abi in July 2006. [11] On 10 September 2017, it was announced that Fitzgerald would be leaving the role after almost 12 years, with her exit airing on 19 January 2018. [12]
Fitzgerald made her professional stage debut in February 2018, starring as Jackie Dimmock in the world premiere of Howard Brenton's The Shadow Factory in Nuffield Theatre, Southampton. [13] She won acclaim for her debut performance [14] [15] [16] and was shortlisted in the nominations for 'Best actress in a Play' at The Stage Debut Awards. [17] In October 2018, Fitzgerald played the role of Eve Douglas in the regional premiere of Her Naked Skin by Rebecca Lenkiewicz at Salisbury Playhouse [18] [19]
Sustaining an early 20th century theme, in 2019 Fitzgerald starred as Iris Henderson in a stage version of Alfred Hitchcock's The Lady Vanishes . Adapted for stage by Bill Kenwright, this was a seven month National Tour. [20] Later in 2019 Fitzgerald was cast alongside Joan Collins and Luke Goss in the UK Comedy Drama Movie The Loss Adjuster . Filming began in October 2019, with release due on 1 December 2020. [21] The movie is a straight to DVD release due to COVID-19.
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | Cherished | Jade Cannings | Television film |
| 2005 | According to Bex | Young Bex | TV series |
| 2005 | Casualty | Polly Farrell | Episode: "Animals" |
| 2005 | The Golden Hour | Jasmine Campbell | 1 episode |
| 2006–2018 | EastEnders | Abi Branning | Series regular; 917 episodes |
| 2019 | London Kills | Petra Roscoe | 1 episode |
| 2020 | The Loss Adjuster | Emeline | Film. [22] [23] |
| Year | Title | Role | Venue |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | The Shadow Factory | Jackie Dimmock | Nuffield Southampton Theatre |
| 2018 | Her Naked Skin | Eve Douglas | Salisbury Playhouse |
| 2019 | The Lady Vanishes | Iris Henderson | National Tour |
| Year | Ceremony | Award | Work | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | Inside Soap Awards | Best Young Actor [24] | EastEnders | Shortlisted |
| 2012 | British Soap Awards | Best Young Performance [25] | Won | |
| 2014 | Radio 1 Teen Awards | Best British Actor [26] | Won | |
| 2015 | Inside Soap Awards | Best Bad Girl [27] | Longlisted | |
| 2017 | Inside Soap Awards | Best Partnership (with Aaron Sidwell) [28] | Longlisted | |
| 2017 | Inside Soap Awards | Best Bad Girl [29] | Shortlisted | |
| 2018 | Inside Soap Awards | Best Exit [30] | Longlisted | |
| 2018 | The Stage Debut Awards | Best Actress in a Play [31] | The Shadow Factory | Shortlisted |
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