Faye Alicia Brookes (born 3 September 1987) is an English actress. She is known for portraying the role of Kate Connor on the

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 ...

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 ...

''. In 2021, she competed in the thirteenth series of ''Dancing on Ice'', where she finished in second place.

Early life

Brookes was born on 3 September 1987 in

Stretford Stretford is a market town in Trafford, Greater Manchester, England. It is situated on flat ground between the River Mersey and the Manchester Ship Canal, south of Manchester city centre, south of Salford and north-east of Altrincham. Str ...

Trafford Trafford is a metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England, with an estimated population of 235,493 in 2017. It covers Retrieved on 13 December 2007. and includes the area of Old Trafford and the towns of Altrincham, Stretford, Ur ...

. Whilst growing up, Brookes attended

Flixton Junior School This is a list of schools in the Metropolitan Borough of Trafford in the English county of Greater Manchester. State-funded schools In the state-funded sector Trafford maintains a selective education system, with grammar schools assessed by the ...

and Knutsford High School. She then expressed an interest in musical theatre, initially studying performing arts at Pendleton College from 2004 onwards, before later attending

Guildford School of Acting Guildford School of Acting (GSA) is a drama school in Guildford, Surrey, England. It is an academic school in the University of Surrey. It is a member of the Federation of Drama Schools The Federation of Drama Schools functions to facilitate ...

. She graduated in 2010, after completing a Bachelor of Arts degree in Musical Theatre and being awarded the Principal’s Choice Award.

Career

Prior to appearing on television, Brookes starred in various theatre productions, including '' Grease'', ''

Shrek ''Shrek'' is a 2001 American computer-animated comedy film loosely based on the 1990 book of the same name by William Steig. It is the first installment in the ''Shrek'' franchise. The film was directed by Andrew Adamson and Vicky Jenso ...

'', ''

Legally Blonde ''Legally Blonde'' is a 2001 American comedy film directed by Robert Luketic in his List of directorial debuts, feature-length directorial debut, and scripted by Karen McCullah, Karen McCullah Lutz and Kirsten Smith (writer), Kirsten Smith from ...

'' and ''

The Sound of Music ''The Sound of Music'' is a musical with music by Richard Rodgers, lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II, and a book by Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse. It is based on the 1949 memoir of Maria von Trapp, '' The Story of the Trapp Family Singers''. Se ...

''. In mid-2015, it was announced that the Connor family in ''

'' was being extended. The family first appeared in the street in 2006 and have featured in many storylines. Brookes was cast as Kate Connor and after her on-screen brother

Aidan Connor '' Coronation Street'' is a British soap opera first broadcast on 9 December 1960. The following is a list of characters that appeared in 2015, by order of first appearance. All characters are introduced by series producer Stuart Blackburn. Beth ...

made his first appearance, played by ''

The X Factor ''The X Factor'' is a television music competition franchise created by British producer Simon Cowell and his company Syco Entertainment. It originated in the United Kingdom, where it was devised as a replacement for ''Pop Idol'' (2001–2003 ...

'' winner

Shayne Ward Shayne Thomas Ward (born 16 October 1984) is an English actor and singer. He rose to fame as the winner of The X Factor (British series 2), the second series of ''The X Factor (British TV series), The X Factor''. His debut single, "That's M ...

, Brookes first appeared as Kate in October 2015. She won Best Newcomer for her portrayal of Kate in January 2017 at the 22nd National Television Awards. In April 2019, it was announced that Brookes had decided to leave ''Coronation Street''. Her final scenes were to air later in 2019. On 24 September 2020, Brookes was announced as a contestant for the 2021 series of ''

Dancing on Ice ''Dancing on Ice'' is a British television series presented by Phillip Schofield alongside Holly Willoughby from 2006 to 2011, who then returned in 2018, and Christine Bleakley from 2012 to 2014. The series features celebrities and their profe ...

''. Brookes was originally partnered with

Hamish Gaman Hamish Gaman (born 20 April 1983) is an English former competitive pair skater. With partner Caitlin Yankowskas, he is the 2015 Challenge Cup silver medalist and 2015 British national champion. Since 2018, he has appeared on the ITV series ''Dan ...

; however, after he withdrew due to an injury in week 6, Brookes was re-partnered with

Matt Evers Matt Evers (born March 16, 1976) is an American pair skater, model and actor. He is the 1998 U.S. Junior champion, and has competed in every series of the ITV series ''Dancing on Ice''. Career With his partner Heather Allebach, Evers won the J ...

. She finished the competition in second place. In November 2021, it was announced that in 2022 Brookes would take over as

Roxie Hart Roxanne "Roxie" Hart is a fictional character. She is the main character of the 1926 play ''Chicago'' and its various remakes and derivatives. Development The playwright, reporter Maurine Dallas Watkins, was inspired by the trials, both of which ...

in the UK tour of the musical ''

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

''.

Personal life

In 2012, while appearing in a production of ''Legally Blonde'', Brookes met

Gareth Gates Gareth Paul Gates (born 12 July 1984) is an English singer-songwriter and actor. He was the runner-up in the first series of the ITV talent show ''Pop Idol'' in 2002. As of 2008, Gates had sold over 3.5 million records in the UK. He is ...

, who was portraying the role of her character's boyfriend. The pair began a relationship, and got engaged, which was later called off when the pair split in 2018. While together, the pair set up a stage school, Fates Academy.

Filmography

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Brookes, Faye 1987 births Actresses from Manchester English soap opera actresses English television actresses Living people People from Stretford