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Gemma Bissix (born 6 June 1983) is an English actress. She has been acting since the age of 9. Her most prominent roles have been in soap operas, as
Clare Bates Clare Bates (also Tyler) is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera '' EastEnders'', played by Gemma Bissix. Bissix originally played the character as a schoolgirl from 1993 to 1998. She left the serial with her screen stepfather Nigel Bat ...
in '' EastEnders'' (1993–1998, 2008) and
Clare Devine Clare Devine (also Cunningham) is a fictional character from the British Channel 4 soap opera '' Hollyoaks'', played by actresses Gemma Bissix and Samantha Rowley. Bissix reprised the role in 2009 for the culmination of Warren Fox (Jamie Lom ...
in ''
Hollyoaks ''Hollyoaks'' is a British soap opera which began airing on Channel 4 on 23 October 1995. It was created by Phil Redmond, who had previously conceived the soap opera '' Brookside''. Since 2005, episodes have been aired on sister channel E4 a ...
'' (2006–2007, 2009, 2013); she was awarded with two
British Soap Awards The British Soap Awards (BSAs) are an annual awards ceremony in the United Kingdom which honours the best moments in British soap operas. The ceremony is televised on ITV and has been presented by Phillip Schofield since 2006. The trophies gi ...
for the latter role. Away from soap opera, Bissix has appeared in various television programmes and she competed in the 2009 series of '' Dancing on Ice''. She has appeared in various
pantomime Pantomime (; informally panto) is a type of musical comedy stage production designed for family entertainment. It was developed in England and is performed throughout the United Kingdom, Ireland and (to a lesser extent) in other English-speaking ...
s. Bissix returned to ''Hollyoaks'' in 2013.


Personal life

Bissix was born in St Peter's Hospital in Chertsey, Surrey, UK, the eldest of five siblings. Her parents divorced when she was 11. She was brought up in Elmbridge, Surrey, and attended
Thames Ditton Thames Ditton is a suburban village on the River Thames, in the Elmbridge borough of Surrey, England. Apart from a large inhabited island in the river, it lies on the southern bank, centred 12.2 miles (19.6 km) southwest of Charing Cross ...
Middle School and
Hinchley Wood School Hinchley Wood School is a secondary school with academy status in Hinchley Wood Surrey, England. Overview Hinchley Wood School admits pupils from the age of eleven to between sixteen and eighteen. The school has a Sixth Form which provides a to ...
. She is a patron of the White Lodge Centre for disabled adults and children in Chertsey, and hosts charity auctions at her father's bar, Reds, in
Weybridge Weybridge () is a town in the Borough of Elmbridge in Surrey, England, around southwest of central London. The settlement is recorded as ''Waigebrugge'' and ''Weibrugge'' in the 7th century and the name derives from a crossing point of the ...
.


Career


Acting

Bissix began her acting career at a young age. At the age of nine, in 1993, she was cast as Clare Tyler (later Bates), the daughter of Debbie Tyler ( Nicola Duffett) and stepdaughter of Nigel Bates ( Paul Bradley), in the long-running
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. ...
...
soap opera A soap opera, or ''soap'' for short, is a typically long-running radio or television serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term "soap opera" originated from radio dramas originally being sponsored ...
, '' EastEnders''. Her first acting role, Bissix had received no formal training, and has since commented, "that was my training ..quite a lot of people ttenddrama school, I was trained by ''EastEnders''." Following her departure from ''EastEnders'', Bissix took a break from acting for a few years. After leaving school she ran a pub for two years, worked for her father's electrical wholesalers, and also worked in
Marks & Spencer Marks and Spencer Group plc (commonly abbreviated to M&S and colloquially known as Marks's or Marks & Sparks) is a major British multinational retailer with headquarters in Paddington, London that specialises in selling clothing, beauty, home ...
as a bra measurer. However, she still desired to act, and continued to audition for roles. In 2000 she guest starred in the '' Doctor Who''
radio drama Radio drama (or audio drama, audio play, radio play, radio theatre, or audio theatre) is a dramatized, purely acoustic performance. With no visual component, radio drama depends on dialogue, music and sound effects to help the listener imagine ...
, ''
The Fires of Vulcan ''The Fires of Vulcan'' is a Big Finish Productions audio drama based on the long-running British science fiction television series '' Doctor Who''. Plot The Seventh Doctor and Mel visit ancient Pompeii just before the Vesuvius tragedy is du ...
'', and in 2002 she returned to television, guest starring in an episode of the medical drama series ''
Doctors Doctor or The Doctor may refer to: Personal titles * Doctor (title), the holder of an accredited academic degree * A medical practitioner, including: ** Physician ** Surgeon ** Dentist ** Veterinary physician ** Optometrist *Other roles ** ...
''. She then played Sadie in 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 ...
show ''
The Crust ''The Crust'' is a British television series about a pizza parlour which was originally shown by CBBC. It was produced by Darrall Macqueen Darrall Macqueen is an independent children's television production company based in London, United ...
'' and also appeared in three pantomimes and various adverts. In April 2006, she joined the cast of the
Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a fourth television service ...
soap opera ''
Hollyoaks ''Hollyoaks'' is a British soap opera which began airing on Channel 4 on 23 October 1995. It was created by Phil Redmond, who had previously conceived the soap opera '' Brookside''. Since 2005, episodes have been aired on sister channel E4 a ...
'', playing
Clare Devine Clare Devine (also Cunningham) is a fictional character from the British Channel 4 soap opera '' Hollyoaks'', played by actresses Gemma Bissix and Samantha Rowley. Bissix reprised the role in 2009 for the culmination of Warren Fox (Jamie Lom ...
(later Cunningham). She took over the role from model/actress
Samantha Rowley Samantha Rowley (born 30 January 1988) is a British actress and model. She appeared on the first series of the reality TV show and model search '' Make Me A Supermodel'' on Five in March 2005, in which she came fourth. She also played the origin ...
, who had played the character since November 2005, but was subsequently axed because the producers wished to take the character, who had been cast as a likeable teenager until this point, into a darker and more "evil" persona, and Rowley did not want to play a villain. ''Hollyoaks'' producer
Bryan Kirkwood Bryan Kirkwood (born 1976) is a British television producer. He was the producer of the Channel 4 soap opera ''Hollyoaks'' from 2006 until 2009, and was the executive producer of the BBC soap ''EastEnders'' from 2010 until 2012. He returned as ...
commented, "Gemma was a fantastic asset to the ''Hollyoaks'' cast. Recasting Gemma in the role of Clare was the first thing I did when I joined Hollyoaks and it was a decision which paid off handsomely. She was excellent in the role of Clare Cunningham and I wish her all the best of luck..." On 19 September 2007, it was announced that Bissix would be reprising her role as
Clare Bates Clare Bates (also Tyler) is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera '' EastEnders'', played by Gemma Bissix. Bissix originally played the character as a schoolgirl from 1993 to 1998. She left the serial with her screen stepfather Nigel Bat ...
in '' EastEnders'', ten years after she had last appeared in the soap. She was reintroduced by the executive producer of ''EastEnders'',
Diederick Santer Diederick Santer (born 3 July 1969) is a British television producer and is best known for his work on the popular BBC television soap opera ''EastEnders'', a post which he assumed on 23 October 2006 and left on 1 March 2010. He was Chief Exec ...
, and returned on-screen on 1 February 2008. Of her decision to return to ''EastEnders'', Bissix has said "I'm ecstatic. It really is fantastic. Clare's a deeper character han Clare was in Hollyoaks– I've got more scope with her and it's more of a challenge. I'm back home...". It was announced on 23 May 2008 that Bissix was leaving the soap once again in Summer 2008. She returned to ''Hollyoaks'' as Clare Devine for a brief stint in May 2009. Discussing her soap opera roles in ''EastEnders'' and ''Hollyoaks'' Bissix said, "For me they're completely different. I prefer ''Hollyoaks'' Clare because she is just so much fun to play. I was saying to somebody that if she was in the real world, she'd be in prison or on death row. With the ''EastEnders'' Clare she was more realistic. We all know somebody like that – a little tart trying to get a bit of money where she can." On 5 February 2013 it was confirmed that Bissix would reprise her role as villain Clare Devine, and made her final appearance in the soap on 16 October 2013, after the character of Clare was killed off. Bissix appeared in the fourth episode of ITV musical drama series, ''
Britannia High ''Britannia High'' is a British musical drama television series co-produced by Granada Television and Globe Productions for the ITV network. The series focused on the lives of a group of teenagers and their mentors at a fictional London theatr ...
'', titled ''Fame''. She toured in Victor Leigh's stage play ''The Game Of Murder'' for two months, beginning August 2009. She appeared in pantomime as the Bad Fairy in ''
Sleeping Beauty ''Sleeping Beauty'' (french: La belle au bois dormant, or ''The Beauty in the Sleeping Forest''; german: Dornröschen, or ''Little Briar Rose''), also titled in English as ''The Sleeping Beauty in the Woods'', is a fairy tale about a princess cu ...
'' at the
Theatre Royal, Bath The Theatre Royal in Bath, England, was built in 1805. A Grade II* listed building, it has been described by the Theatres Trust as "One of the most important surviving examples of Georgian theatre architecture". It has a capacity for an audien ...
in December 2009. It was also reported in 2009 that she is the new face of Echo Falls wine. In 2010 she appeared in pantomime again as ''
Cinderella "Cinderella",; french: link=no, Cendrillon; german: link=no, Aschenputtel) or "The Little Glass Slipper", is a folk tale with thousands of variants throughout the world.Dundes, Alan. Cinderella, a Casebook. Madison, Wis: University of Wisconsi ...
'' at Fairfield Halls, Croydon, and in Spring 2011, she appeared in the murder mystery theatre production, ''Busybody''. She ended 2011 by making another pantomime appearance at the Grove Theatre,
Dunstable Dunstable ( ) is a market town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in Bedfordshire, England, east of the Chiltern Hills, north of London. There are several steep chalk escarpments, most noticeable when approaching Dunstable from the ...
in ''
Jack and the Beanstalk "Jack and the Beanstalk" is an English fairy tale. It appeared as "The Story of Jack Spriggins and the Enchanted Bean" in 1734 4th edition On Commons and as Benjamin Tabart's moralized "The History of Jack and the Bean-Stalk" in 1807. Henry Co ...
''. Bissix toured the UK as Shirley Smith in Mike Stott's comedy play, ''Funny Peculiar'', in 2012.


Other television work

On 14 March 2008, Bissix appeared on a ''
Sport Relief ''Sport Relief'' was a biennial charity event from Comic Relief, in association with BBC Sport, established in 2002. It was the idea of Kevin Cahill, CBE, who had joined Comic Relief in 1991 to establish a new department as Director of Educat ...
'' special of '' Strictly Come Dancing'', with
cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by str ...
er
Darren Gough Darren Gough (born 18 September 1970) is a retired English cricketer and former captain of Yorkshire County Cricket Club. The spearhead of England's bowling attack through much of the 1990s, he is England's second highest wicket-taker in one-da ...
, to raise money for the charity appeal. The pair scored 22 out of 30 points with their dance, the
American Smooth This is a list of dance terms that are not names of dances or types of dances. See List of dances and List of dance style categories for those. This glossary lists terms used in various types of ballroom partner dances, leaving out terms of highly ...
. She also appeared in an ''EastEnders'' special edition of ''
The Weakest Link ''Weakest Link'' (also known as ''The Weakest Link'') is a television game show which first appeared in the United Kingdom on BBC Two on 14 August 2000 and originally ended on 31 March 2012 when its host Anne Robinson completed her contract. ...
'', in June 2008. She was the 1st one voted off. Bissix appeared on '' Dancing on Ice'' in 2009. She was partnered with
Andrei Lipanov Professional skaters from the British television show ''Dancing on Ice'' are figure skaters who appear with celebrities in front of a panel of judges. Most of the professionals on the series are former ice dancers or pair skaters. Competit ...
, but became the first female to be eliminated after failing to win the judges support in the skate-off with
Melinda Messenger Melinda Jane Messenger (born 23 February 1971) is an English television presenter and former glamour model and Page Three girl. She presented the magazine programme ''Live from Studio Five'' and was formerly the co-presenter of the reality show ...
. 'Bissix said she was "absolutely gutted" at being voted off as she was the show's "biggest fan".' She later took part in the Sense City Ice Skate challenge in support of Sense-National Deafblind and Rubella Association. She was one of various celebrities to participate in BBC's ''
Celebrity MasterChef ''MasterChef'' is a competitive cooking reality show produced by Endemol Shine UK and Banijay and broadcast in 60 countries around the world. In the UK, it is produced by the BBC. The show initially ran from 1990 to 2001 and was revived in 2 ...
'', which aired in June 2009. She was selected by the judges to go through to the quarter-final. In October 2009 she appeared on the
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, ...
show '' Hole in the Wall''. She was a member of the winning team, donating the winnings to the White Lodge centre for disabled adults in
Chertsey Chertsey is a town in the Borough of Runnymede, Surrey, England, south-west of central London. It grew up round Chertsey Abbey, founded in 666 CE, and gained a market charter from Henry I. A bridge across the River Thames first appeared in t ...
, of which she is a Patron. In April 2011 she appeared on the Celebrity Edition of the
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, ...
show ''
Total Wipeout ''Total Wipeout'' is a British game show, hosted by Richard Hammond and Amanda Byram, which first aired on the BBC on 3 January 2009. In each episode, contestants competed in a series of challenges in an attempt to win £10,000. These challen ...
''. Since 2009, Bissix has been a panellist on some editions of the Channel 5 talk show ''
The Wright Stuff ''The Wright Stuff'' is a British television chat show which was hosted by former tabloid journalist Matthew Wright from 2000 until 2018. It aired on Channel 5 on weekday mornings from 9:15 to 11:15am. The series characterised itself as "Br ...
'' contributing to a newspaper review and topical debate.


Filmography


Awards


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bissix, Gemma 1983 births Living people Actresses from Surrey English child actresses English soap opera actresses People from Chertsey People from Walton-on-Thames