Judith Jacob (born 13 December 1961) is a British actress best known for her role as the health visitor

Carmel Roberts Carmel Jackson (also Roberts) is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'', played by Judith Jacob from 5 June 1986 to 24 August 1989. Carmel, a health visitor, was initially introduced in a recurring, minor role in 1986, when ...

in the

BBC #REDIRECT 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 ex ...

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 ''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 ...

'', a role she played from 1986 to 1989.Larry Jaffee, "Judith Jacob Looks Back on Carmel", ''Walford Gazette'' interview with Judith Jacob
, Spring 2006. During her period in

Albert Square Walford is a fictional borough of east London in the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders''. It is the primary setting for the soap. ''EastEnders'' is filmed at Borehamwood in Hertfordshire, towards the north-west of London. Much of the location work i ...

, her character suffered from severe marital abuse and her husband's attempted murder and eventual separation. She was a founding member of

BiBi Crew BiBi Crew, founded in 1991, was the first British comedy troupe to consist entirely of Black actresses. Their work focuses on the Black British experience. History In 1991, Joanne Campbell, Judith Jacob, Janet Kay, Suzette Llewellyn, Josephine M ...

, Britain's first comedy troupe made up entirely of Black actresses, founded in 1991. She also launched at the

Hackney Empire Hackney Empire is a theatre on Mare Street, in the London Borough of Hackney. Originally designed by Frank Matcham it was built in 1901 as a music hall, and expanded in 2001. Described by ''The Guardian'' as ‘the most beautiful theatre in Lon ...

the live talk show ''Judith Jacob Yabba Yabbas With Friends''.

Career

Jacob attended London's

Anna Scher Theatre The Anna Scher Theatre is an independent and co-educational performing arts school based in Islington, Greater London. It was founded in 1968 by Anna Scher. It is considered among the first schools of its kind geared towards working class studen ...

, first going there at the age of 12, and making her first appearance on television at the age of 13 in the

series ''

Play for Today ''Play for Today'' is a British television anthology drama series, produced by the BBC and transmitted on BBC1 from 1970 to 1984. During the run, more than three hundred programmes, featuring original television plays, and adaptations of stage ...

''. Two of her drama school classmates were also future ''EastEnders'' actors,

Susan Tully Susan Tully (born 20 October 1967) is an English actress, television producer, and television director. Her most prominent television acting roles were those of rebellious teenager Suzanne Ross in ''Grange Hill'' and single mother Michelle Fowl ...

(who played

Michelle Fowler Michelle Fowler (also Holloway) is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'', played by Susan Tully from the show's first episode on 19 February 1985 up until the character's departure on 26 October 1995. She returned on 24 De ...

) and

Phil Daniels Philip William Daniels (born 25 October 1958) is an English actor, musician and singer, most noted for film and television roles playing Londoners, such as the lead role of Jimmy Cooper in ''Quadrophenia'', Richards in '' Scum'', Stewart in ''Th ...

(as

Kevin Wicks Kevin Wicks is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'', played by Phil Daniels. Kevin made his first appearance on February 17, 2006, when he was introduced onto the show alongside his two children, Carly (Kellie Shirley) a ...

). Before landing her role on ''EastEnders'', Jacob was a founding member of the Black Theatre Co-operative (BTC), a London collective that developed opportunities for actors, writers and directors to reflect a multi-cultural Britain through both stage work and television. Before her role in ''EastEnders'', Jacob had been a regular cast member in the hospital drama ''

Angels In various theistic religious traditions an angel is a supernatural spiritual being who serves God. Abrahamic religions often depict angels as benevolent celestial intermediaries between God (or Heaven) and humanity. Other roles include ...

'' (1979–81) and the

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned enterprise, state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a four ...

sitcom '' No Problem!'' (1983–85). Her other television credits include roles in the comedy sketch-show ''

The Real McCoy "The real McCoy" is an idiom and metaphor used in much of the English-speaking world to mean "the real thing" or "the genuine article", e.g. "he's the real McCoy". The phrase has been the subject of numerous false etymologies. History The phr ...

'' (1991); ''

The Queen's Nose ''The Queen's Nose'' is a children's novel by Dick King-Smith, first published by Gollancz in 1983 with illustrations by Jill Bennett. Set in England, where King-Smith lived, it features a girl who can use a fifty pence coin to make wishes. ...

'' (1995); ''

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 ...

'' (2003); ''

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 ** ...

'' (2003); and ''

My Family ''My Family'' is a British sitcom created and initially co-written by Fred Barron, which was produced by DLT Entertainment and Rude Boy Productions, and broadcast by BBC One for eleven series between 2000 and 2011, with Christmas specials broadc ...

'' (2004). In 1991, she was a founding member of

, Britain's first comedy troupe made up entirely of Black actresses. She featured as a prison guard in the 2006 drama '' Provoked'' (2006), which told the true story of a Punjabi woman named

Kiranjit Ahluwalia Kiranjit Ahluwalia (born 1955) is an Indian woman who fatally burned her husband in 1989 in the UK. She claimed it was in response to ten years of physical, psychological, and sexual abuse. After initially being convicted of murder and senten ...

, who left

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

to marry a London-based man, only to be badly abused, subsequently ending up in

prison A prison, also known as a jail, gaol (dated, standard English, Australian, and historically in Canada), penitentiary (American English and Canadian English), detention center (or detention centre outside the US), correction center, correc ...

for murdering her abusive husband. In May–June 2009, Jacob hosted ''Judith Jacob Yabba Yabbas with Friends'' in the Marie Lloyd Bar at the

, interviewing performing friends "to find out what makes them tick". The singers, actors and comedians participating included

Felix Dexter Felix Dexter (26 July 1961
Retrieved 22 October 2013

Janet Kay Janet Kay Bogle (born 17 January 1958) is an English actor and vocalist, best known for her 1979 lovers rock hit "Silly Games". Biography Janet Kay Bogle was born in Willesden, North West London. She was discovered singing impromptu at a rehea ...

Curtis Walker Curtis Walker is a British actor, writer and stand-up comedian. He starred in BBC comedy shows ''Paramount City'', CBBC sitcom ''Kerching!'', ''The Real McCoy "The real McCoy" is an idiom and metaphor used in much of the English-speaking wo ...

, Wayne Marshall, Victor Romero Evans,

Tameka Empson Tameka Empson (born 16 April 1977) is an English actress and comedian. She appeared as one of the three protagonists in the hidden-camera comedy sketch show ''3 Non-Blondes''. In 2009, she began portraying the role of Kim Fox in the BBC soap ...

and

Noel McKoy Noel McKoy ( – 3 November 2022) was a British soul music singer. His music was a collection of soul, gospel, funk and Northern soul. McKoy created, produced and presented the Dutch Pot new artist nights in London – which ran for five year ...

. Explaining her reason for launching the show, Jacob has said: "I wanted to find out the backstories of some of the people that I admired. People tend to see success, but they rarely get to see the work that people put in that enabled them to get to where they are." Her recent stage credits include joining the cast of

Barry Reckord Barrington John Reckord (19 November 1926 – 20 December 2011), known as Barry Reckord, was a Jamaican playwright, one of the earliest Caribbean writers to make a contribution to theatre in Britain. His brother was the actor and director Lloyd ...

's play ''White Witch'', at the

Bloomsbury Theatre The Bloomsbury Theatre is a theatre on Gordon Street, Bloomsbury, in the London Borough of Camden, owned by University College London. The Theatre has a seating capacity of 547 and offers a professional programme of innovative music, drama, come ...

in 2021. Jacob's daughter Aisha worked with her mother on ''EastEnders'' during her time on the series in the 1980s, playing her young niece

Aisha Roberts The following is a list of characters that first appeared in the BBC soap opera '' EastEnders'' in 1987, by order of first appearance. Tina Hopkins Tina Hopkins, played by Eleanor Rhodes, is introduced as Ian Beale's (Adam Woodyatt) girlfr ...

. She followed her mother's career path by also becoming an actress, and is now known as Aisha Jacob Williams.

References

External links

"Judith Jacob Interview"
YouTube * * Larry Jaffee

''Walford Gazette'', Issue 53, Spring 2006
Amarsh Productions, "Beating The Odds - Judith Jacob Part 1"
YouTube 1961 births Living people 20th-century British actresses 21st-century British actresses Alumni of the Anna Scher Theatre School Black British actresses British soap opera actresses British television actresses English people of Sierra Leonean descent {{UK-tv-actor-1960s-stub