Carolyn Jane Onslow How (born 21 December 1950) is an English actress with a range of television, film, and stage credits. She is best known for her role as

Jan Hammond The following is a list of characters that first appeared in the BBC soap opera '' EastEnders'' in 1986, by order of first appearance. All characters were introduced by the show's co-creator Julia Smith. The first character to be introduced du ...

, the mistress of

Den Watts Dennis "Den" Watts is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera '' EastEnders'', played by actor Leslie Grantham. He became well known for his tabloid nickname, "Dirty Den". Den was the original landlord of The Queen Victoria public house ...

in ''

EastEnders ''EastEnders'' is a Television in the United Kingdom, British soap opera created by Julia Smith (producer), Julia Smith and Tony Holland which has been broadcast on BBC One since February 1985. Set in the fictional borough of Walford in the Ea ...

''. She appeared in the programme regularly from 1986 to 1987 and also made brief return appearances in 2002 and 2003, the latter leading up to Den's return to the show.

Career

After training at the

Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art Webber may refer to: *Webber, Kansas, a US city *Webber Township, Jefferson County, Illinois, USA *Webber Township, Lake County, Michigan, USA *Webber International University, in Babson Park, Florida, USA *Webber (surname) Webber (/ˈwɛbər/) i ...

, where she won the Rodney Millington Award, she spent several years in provincial theatre. Other roles include two series of "The Spoils of War ", ''

War and Remembrance ''War and Remembrance'' is a novel by Herman Wouk, published in October 1978 as the sequel to Wouk's ''The Winds of War'' (1971). ''The Winds of War'' covers the period 1939 to 1941, and ''War and Remembrance'' continues the story of the extended ...

'', ''

A.D. The terms (AD) and before Christ (BC) are used to label or number years in the Julian and Gregorian calendars. The term is Medieval Latin and means 'in the year of the Lord', but is often presented using "our Lord" instead of "the Lord", ...

'', "Anglo Saxon Attitudes", "The Cazalet Chronicles", "Zoya", "Love in a Cold Climate", another famous mistress,

Camilla Parker Bowles Camilla (born Camilla Rosemary Shand, later Parker Bowles, 17 July 1947) is Queen Consort of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms as the wife of King Charles III. She became queen consort on 8 September 2022, upon the acc ...

, in the TV movie '' Charles and Diana: Unhappily Ever After'' (1992). She has also appeared in ''

The Citadel The Citadel, The Military College of South Carolina, commonly known simply as The Citadel, is a Public college, public United States senior military college, senior military college in Charleston, South Carolina. Established in 1842, it is one ...

'', ''

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 ...

'', ''

Judge John Deed ''Judge John Deed'' is a British legal drama television series produced by the BBC in association with One-Eyed Dog for BBC One. It was created by G.F. Newman and stars Martin Shaw as Mr Justice Deed, a High Court of Justice, High Court judge wh ...

'', "Byron", '' Bad Girls'', "Love Soup", "Armadillo", ''

Agatha Christie's Poirot ''Poirot'' (also known as ''Agatha Christie's Poirot'') is a British mystery drama television programme that aired on ITV from 8 January 1989 to 13 November 2013. David Suchet starred as the eponymous detective, Agatha Christie's fictional Her ...

'', "Daniel Deronda", as well as in four series of the sitcom '' Don't Wait Up'' as Helen with

Nigel Havers Nigel Allan Havers (born 6 November 1951) is an English actor. His film roles include Lord Andrew Lindsay in the 1981 British film ''Chariots of Fire'', which earned him a BAFTA nomination; as Dr. Rawlins in the 1987 Steven Spielberg war drama ...

. Her first television credit was in the 1973 ''

Doctor Who ''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series depicts the adventures of a Time Lord called the Doctor, an extraterrestrial being who appears to be human. The Doctor explores the u ...

'' story ''

Planet of the Daleks ''Planet of the Daleks'' is the fourth serial of the tenth season of the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'', which was first broadcast in six weekly parts on BBC1 from 7 April to 12 May 1973. Continuing from the events of t ...

''. Her films include '' AKA'' (2002), '' A Good Woman'' (2004), '' The Best Man'' (2005), ''

Miss Potter ''Miss Potter'' is a 2006 Biographical film, biographical Drama (film and television), drama film directed by Chris Noonan. It is based on the life of children's author and illustrator Beatrix Potter, and combines stories from her own life with ...

'' (2006) and '' 1st Night'' (2010). In the West End, she has appeared for the R.S.C. in '' The Return of A. J. Raffles'', as Larita in

Noël Coward Sir Noël Peirce Coward (16 December 189926 March 1973) was an English playwright, composer, director, actor, and singer, known for his wit, flamboyance, and what ''Time'' magazine called "a sense of personal style, a combination of cheek and ...

's '' Easy Virtue'' at The Garrick, she was in the original cast of ''

Don't Dress for Dinner ''Don't Dress for Dinner'' is an adaptation of a two-act play titled ''Pyjama Pour Six'' by French playwright Marc Camoletti, who wrote '' Boeing-Boeing.'' It ran in London for six years and opened on Broadway in 2012. Productions After a succes ...

'' at The Apollo, ''Home and Beauty'' at the Lyric and ''Top People'' at the Ambassadors Theatre. How has also played Lady Punnett in the highly successful ''

Half a Sixpence ''Half a Sixpence'' is a 1963 musical comedy based on the 1905 novel ''Kipps'' by H. G. Wells, with music and lyrics by David Heneker and a book by Beverley Cross. It was written as a vehicle for British pop star Tommy Steele. Background The ...

'', which opened in the Noël Coward Theatre on 17 November 2016 and had its last performance on Saturday 2 September 2017 after 347 performances. In 2009, How appeared as a finishing school teacher in a commercial for

Go Compare Go.Compare (formerly GoCompare.com) is a British financial services comparison company based in Newport, Wales. Its website provides comparison details for financial products including car insurance, home and pet insurance and breakdown cover. ...

insurance, while in March 2010 she appeared briefly as hospital executive Zara Merrick in the BBC1 drama series ''

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 ...

''. In 2014, she played the role of Joan Rogerson in '' Fatal Attraction'', at the

Theatre Royal Haymarket The Theatre Royal Haymarket (also known as Haymarket Theatre or the Little Theatre) is a West End theatre on Haymarket in the City of Westminster which dates back to 1720, making it the third-oldest London playhouse still in use. Samuel Foot ...

. In 2018, she played the role of Florence Boorman in ''

Her Naked Skin ''Her Naked Skin'' is a 2008 play by Rebecca Lenkiewicz, and was the first original play by a female writer to be produced at the Olivier Theatre at London's Royal National Theatre (two earlier plays written by women had been adaptations: Pam Gem ...

'' at the

Salisbury Playhouse Salisbury Playhouse is a theatre in the English city of Salisbury, Wiltshire. It was built in 1976 and comprises the 517-seat Main House and the 149-seat Salberg, a rehearsal room and a community & education space. It is part of Arts Council En ...

Personal life

In 1977, she married actor Mark Burns; they had a son, Jack, in 1981 and divorced in 1983. She later married actor

Richard Durden Mark Richard Durden-Smith (born 8 February 1944), known as Richard Durden, is an English actor, with a range of television, film and stage credits. Personal life Durden-Smith was educated at Haileybury and Imperial Service College and Merton ...

, in 1996. She has been chairwoman of the charity the Theatrical Guild since 2011, having been involved with the committee for many years.

References

External links

* English television actresses English soap opera actresses Living people 1950 births {{UK-tv-actor-1950s-stub