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Amanda Jane Mealing (born 22 April 1967) is an English actress, director and producer, known for portraying the role of

Connie Beauchamp Connie Beauchamp is a fictional character from the BBC medical dramas ''Holby City'' and '' Casualty'', portrayed by actress Amanda Mealing. She first appeared in the series six, episode 35, "In at the Deep End", broadcast on 1 June 2004, and ...

in the

BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...

...

medical dramas ''

Holby City ''Holby City'' (stylised on-screen as HOLBY CIY) is a British medical drama television series that aired weekly on BBC One. It was created by Tony McHale and Mal Young as a spin-off from the established BBC medical drama ''Casualty'', and pr ...

'' and ''

Casualty Casualty may refer to: *Casualty (person), a person who is killed or rendered unfit for service in a war or natural disaster **Civilian casualty, a non-combatant killed or injured in warfare * The emergency department of a hospital, also known as ...

''.

Early life

The only adopted member of her family, Mealing was the youngest of four children, with two sisters and an elder brother. She grew up in

Dulwich Dulwich (; ) is an area in south London, England. The settlement is mostly in the London Borough of Southwark, with parts in the London Borough of Lambeth, and consists of Dulwich Village, East Dulwich, West Dulwich, and the Southwark half of ...

South London South London is the southern part of London, England, south of the River Thames. The region consists of the Districts of England, boroughs, in whole or in part, of London Borough of Bexley, Bexley, London Borough of Bromley, Bromley, London Borou ...

, with her adoption being a secret. Although very much part of a strong and loving family, she was always aware that she looked nothing like her siblings and was left feeling that she did not quite fit in. Despite a yearning to know more about her biological parents, Mealing was concerned that looking for them would upset her family. When she was 15 years old, Mealing's brother died after using

heroin Heroin, also known as diacetylmorphine and diamorphine among other names, is a potent opioid mainly used as a recreational drug for its euphoric effects. Medical grade diamorphine is used as a pure hydrochloride salt. Various white and brow ...

. Although Stephen was 14 years her senior, they were very close and it affected her deeply. Realising that "life can be short... there's no point sitting around", she was influenced to "do stuff".Cook, Emma
"My real hospital drama"
'' TimesOnline.co.uk'', 1 March 2008 (Retrieved on 16 July 2009)

Career

Originally known as Mandy Mealing, her first professional performance was in a

Julie Andrews Dame Julie Andrews (born Julia Elizabeth Wells; 1 October 1935) is an English actress, singer, and author. She has garnered numerous accolades throughout her career spanning over seven decades, including an Academy Award, a British Academy Fi ...

special on

...
television at the age of six. She then started Saturday classes at the

Italia Conti Academy The Italia Conti Academy of Theatre Arts is a performing arts conservatoire based in Woking, England. It was founded in 1911 by Italia Conti, an actress. The first production at Italia Conti Academy was the play ''Where the Rainbow Ends''. For ...

, before enrolling full-time at the age of nine. Parts in ''

Just William ''Just William'' is the first book of children's short stories about the young school boy William Brown, written by Richmal Crompton, and published in 1922. The book was the first in the series of William Brown books which was the basis for ...

'', '' The Morecambe & Wise Show'' and ''Premiere'' followed, before she was cast as comprehensive-school pupil Tracy Edwards in

Phil Redmond Sir Philip Redmond (born 10 June 1949) is an English television producer and screenwriter from Huyton, England. He is known for creating the television series ''Grange Hill'', ''Brookside'' and ''Hollyoaks''. Early life Redmond took the 11-pl ...

's long-running

BBC One BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television bulletins, p ...

children's drama series ''

Grange Hill ''Grange Hill'' is a British Children's television series, children's television drama series, originally produced by the BBC and portraying life in a typical Comprehensive school (England and Wales), comprehensive school. The show began its ru ...

.'' Mealing appeared in '' The Darling Buds of May'', ''

Four Weddings and a Funeral ''Four Weddings and a Funeral'' is a 1994 British romantic comedy film directed by Mike Newell. It is the first of several films by screenwriter Richard Curtis to feature Hugh Grant, and follows the adventures of Charles (Grant) and his circle ...

'', ''In Deep'', ''

Capital City A capital city or capital is the municipality holding primary status in a country, state, province, Department (country subdivision), department, or other subnational entity, usually as its seat of the government. A capital is typically a city ...

'', ''

The Bill ''The Bill'' is a British police procedural television series, first broadcast on ITV from 16 August 1983 until 31 August 2010. The programme originated from a one-off drama, '' Woodentop'', broadcast in August 1983. The programme focused on ...

'', ''

Midsomer Murders ''Midsomer Murders'' is a British crime drama television series, adapted by Anthony Horowitz and Douglas Watkinson from the novels in the '' Chief Inspector Barnaby'' book series (created by Caroline Graham), and broadcast on two channels of I ...

'', and Delise in the 1990 mini series ''

The Gravy Train ''The Gravy Train'', also commonly known as ''The Dion Brothers'', is a 1974 American crime-comedy film directed by Jack Starrett, written by Terrence Malick (under the pseudonym David Whitney) and Bill Kerby, and starring Stacy Keach and Fred ...

''. She appeared in the TV miniseries, ''Jake's Progress'', as Robert Lindsay's love interest, in 1995. She played Ruth Manning in the first series of Russell T Davies' 1920s period drama series ''

The Grand The Grand may refer to: Buildings Official names * The Grand (Calgary), a theatre in Alberta, Canada *The Grand (Ellsworth, Maine), an arts center in Maine, U.S. * The Grand Doubletree, condominium and hotel skyscraper in Miami, U.S. * The Grand C ...

'' in 1997, and JoJo in

Jimmy McGovern James Stanley McGovern (born September 1949) is an English screenwriter and producer. He is best known for creating the drama series '' Cracker'' (1993–1995), for which he received two Edgar Awards from the Mystery Writers of America. He als ...

's '' The Lakes'' in 1999.

Alan Bleasdale Alan George Bleasdale (born 23 March 1946) is an English screenwriter, best known for social realist drama serials based on the lives of ordinary people. A former teacher, he has written for radio, stage and screen, and has also written novels. ...

wrote the part of Katie in "Jake's Progress" for Amanda after working with her on GBH. Mealing appeared as cardiothoracic consultant

's medical drama series ''

'' from 1 June 2004Shepherd, Rose
"Best of times, worst of times: Amanda Mealing"
'' TimesOnline.co.uk'', 9 May 2004 (Retrieved on 16 July 2009) to 28 December 2010, announcing her decision to quit ''Holby City'' in October 2010. On 16 July 2010, Mealing appeared on

ITV ITV or iTV may refer to: ITV *Independent Television (ITV), a British television network, consisting of: ** ITV (TV network), a free-to-air national commercial television network covering the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man, and the Channel Islan ...

's '' The Five O'Clock Show'' with

Jason Donovan Jason Sean Donovan (born 1 June 1968) is an Australian actor and singer. He initially achieved fame in the Australian soap ''Neighbours'', playing Scott Robinson, before beginning a career in music in 1988. In the UK he has sold over 3 mi ...

and

Corrine Bailey Rae Corinne Jacqueline Bailey Rae (; born 26 February 1979) is an English singer and songwriter. She is best known for her 2006 single "Put Your Records On". Bailey Rae was named the number-one predicted breakthrough act of 2006 in an annual BBC po ...

. In 2011, Mealing appeared in the

Sky1 Sky One was a British pay television channel operated and owned by Sky Group (a division of Comcast). Originally launched on 26 April 1982 as Satellite Television, it was Europe's first satellite and non-terrestrial channel. From 31 July 1989, ...

series '' Strike Back: Project Dawn'' as Colonel Eleanor Grant. In 2013, Mealing appeared in an episode of the BBC series '' Death in Paradise''. Mealing also appeared in the latest series of

ITV's ITV is a British free-to-air public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast television network. It was launched in 1955 as Independent Television to provide competition to BBC Television (established in 1936). ITV is the ol ...

'' Law and Order: UK'' playing a solicitor. On 29 March 2014, Mealing reprised her role as

in ''Holby Citys sister show ''

''. After seven years on ''Casualty'', she announced in March 2021 that she would be taking an "extended break" from the series, but confirmed that she would return in the future.

Directing

On 26 February 2016, when being interviewed on ''This Morning'', Mealing was asked about directing, and about her directing three episodes of ''Casualty''. She also directed a short film titled ''Another Man's Shoes''. In 2019, Mealing directed an episode of the

CBBC CBBC (initialised as Children's BBC and also known as the CBBC Channel) is a British free-to-air Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast children's television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is also the bran ...

series ''

The Dumping Ground ''The Dumping Ground'' (also informally referred to as ''The DG'') is a British children's television drama series that focuses on the lives and experiences of young people who live in a children's home with their care workers in care. The ser ...

''. In 2021, while on her extended break from ''Casualty'', Mealing joined the

soap opera ''

Coronation Street ''Coronation Street'' is an English soap opera created by Granada Television and shown on ITV since 9 December 1960. The programme centres around a cobbled, terraced street in Weatherfield, a fictional town based on inner-city Salford. Origi ...

'' as a director. On 20 April 2022, Mealing announced via Instagram she has joined Waterloo Road as a director.

Personal life

Mealing has been married to screenwriter Richard Sainsbury since 1998, they have two sons, Otis and Milo. The family originally lived on a farm in

Lincolnshire Lincolnshire (abbreviated Lincs.) is a county in the East Midlands of England, with a long coastline on the North Sea to the east. It borders Norfolk to the south-east, Cambridgeshire to the south, Rutland to the south-west, Leicestershire ...

,Simpson, Richard
"Portrait of a driver: Amanda Mealing"
''

Telegraph.co.uk ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a national British daily broadsheet newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed across the United Kingdom and internationally. It was fo ...

'', 12 March 2005 (Retrieved on 16 July 2009) but when filming of ''Casualty'' moved to

Cardiff Cardiff (; cy, Caerdydd ) is the capital and largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Dinas a Sir Caerdydd, links=no), and the city is the eleventh-largest in the United Kingd ...

from Bristol the family relocated to

South Wales South Wales ( cy, De Cymru) is a loosely defined region of Wales bordered by England to the east and mid Wales to the north. Generally considered to include the historic counties of Glamorgan and Monmouthshire, south Wales extends westwards ...

Paul O'Grady Paul James O'Grady Order of the British Empire, MBE Deputy Lieutenant, DL (born 14 June 1955) is an English comedian, broadcaster, actor, writer and former drag queen. He achieved notability in the London gay scene during the 1980s with his d ...

and

Charlie Condou Charlie Condou, (born 8 January 1973) is a British actor, columnist and LGBT rights activist. Condou secured a series of television movie roles during his teenage years in the 1980s. He later had guest roles in British television series during th ...

are close friends of Mealing and are godfathers to her sons. She has appeared on ''

The Paul O'Grady Show ''The Paul O'Grady Show'' is a British comedy chat show presented by comedian Paul O'Grady, first shown on 11 October 2004. The programme is a teatime chat show consisting of a mixture of celebrity guests, comic stunts, musical performances, an ...

'' on several occasions, sometimes with her sons. Mealing is the godmother of TV presenter

Miquita Oliver Miquita Billie Alexandra Oliver (born 25 April 1984) is a British television presenter and radio personality. With Simon Amstell, she co-hosted Channel 4's '' Popworld'' from 2001 to 2006. Miquita then went on to present on T4 from 2006 to 201 ...

. After the birth of her first son, the desire to find out more about her background became "hard to ignore"; she also wanted him to "know his heritage". Investigations took Mealing to New York, where she eventually found her birth mother, a model for

Biba Biba was a London fashion store of the 1960s and 1970s. Biba was started and primarily run by the Polish-born Barbara Hulanicki with help of her husband Stephen Fitz-Simon. Early years Biba's early years were rather humble, with many of the ou ...

in London during the

swinging sixties The Swinging Sixties was a youth-driven cultural revolution that took place in the United Kingdom during the mid-to-late 1960s, emphasising modernity and fun-loving hedonism, with Swinging London as its centre. It saw a flourishing in art, mus ...

. She discovered that her biological father was a half-Ghanaian poet and activist. She gets on well with her mother and takes the children to visit her in New York but her father died some years earlier. She also found out that she has a sister, a year younger, also adopted in Britain. Her sister did not know of the relationship until she was 16, but had watched Mealing in ''

'', with people saying 'you look like that girl on TV'. Now close, when they first met their similarities were unbelievable — "we talk the same, walk the same, even our actions are the same". With a desire to reconnect with her roots and acknowledge her father, and as an ambassador, Mealing has worked with

Save the Children The Save the Children Fund, commonly known as Save the Children, is an international non-governmental organization established in the United Kingdom in 1919 to improve the lives of children through better education, health care, and economic ...

Sierra Leone Sierra Leone,)]. officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country on the southwest coast of West Africa. It is bordered by Liberia to the southeast and Guinea surrounds the northern half of the nation. Covering a total area of , Sierra ...

. She filmed a documentary about Kroo Bay — a slum built on the rubbish discarded by

Freetown Freetown is the capital and largest city of Sierra Leone. It is a major port city on the Atlantic Ocean and is located in the Western Area of the country. Freetown is Sierra Leone's major urban, economic, financial, cultural, educational and p ...

— saying: "It’s the worst place in the world you could grow up as child. One child in four will die before they reach five years old." The day after giving birth to her second son, Mealing was diagnosed with breast cancer in August 2002.Rayner, Clare
"Portrait of an honest woman"
''

Guardian.co.uk TheGuardian.com, formerly known as Guardian.co.uk and ''Guardian Unlimited'', is a British news and media website owned by the Guardian Media Group. It contains nearly all of the content of the newspapers ''The Guardian'' and ''The Observer'', ...

'', 11 June 2003 (Retrieved on 16 July 2009) Mealing was asked to be an ambassador for Breast Cancer Care in early 2010. She has developed a close bond with the charity. "When I was diagnosed the first leaflet I received was from Breast Cancer Care. They have been there for me ever since. I am deeply honoured to be given a chance to give something back to them." After losing a close friend to breast cancer early the same year Amanda decided to dedicate a JustGiving page to raise money in memory of her friend. She ran the 2012 London Marathon on her 45th birthday for Breast Cancer Care. Since 2015, Mealing has been a Patron to the Nationwide Association of Blood Bikes.

Filmography

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Mealing, Amanda 1967 births Living people People from Dulwich British people of Irish descent British adoptees Alumni of the Italia Conti Academy of Theatre Arts British child actresses British television actresses British people of Ghanaian descent