Saffron Marni Coomber (born 15 November 1994) is an English actress, best known for her role as
Sapphire Fox
This is a list of characters that were introduced in CBBC's ''Tracy Beaker Returns''. The series is based on The Story of Tracy Beaker by Jacqueline Wilson. It ran on for three series from 2010 to 2012. The series follows ''The Story of Tracy Bea ...
in ''
Tracy Beaker Returns
''Tracy Beaker Returns'' is a British television programme. Based upon the novels by Jacqueline Wilson, it is the sequel series to '' The Story of Tracy Beaker''. The series stars Dani Harmer reprising her role as protagonist Tracy Beaker. T ...
'' from 2010 to 2012. She also portrayed
Alexa Smith 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 ...
'' from 2012 to 2013.
Early and personal life
Coomber was born on 15 November 1994 in
Greenwich
Greenwich ( , ,) is a town in south-east London, England, within the ceremonial county of Greater London. It is situated east-southeast of Charing Cross.
Greenwich is notable for its maritime history and for giving its name to the Greenwich ...
,
London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
, to an
English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national ide ...
father and mother of
Jamaican descent. She attended
Blackheath High School
Blackheath High School is an independent day school for girls in Blackheath Village in southeast London, England. It was founded in 1880 as part of the Girls' Day School Trust; the Senior School occupied a purpose-built site in Wemyss Road for ...
and Theatre Street Performing Arts. She has a sister named Saskia, who is also an actress. Coomber also trained at the
Royal Academy of Dramatic Art
The Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA; ) is a drama school in London, England, that provides vocational conservatoire training for theatre, film, television, and radio. It is based in the Bloomsbury area of Central London, close to the Sen ...
.
Career
Television
In 2003, Coomber provided the voice for the
PlayStation 2
The PlayStation 2 (PS2) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Sony Computer Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on 4 March 2000, in North America on 26 October 2000, in Europe on 24 November 2000, and in Australia on 3 ...
video game, ''
EyeToy: Play''. She began her acting career in 2008 when she starred in the television movie adaptation of
Jacqueline Wilson
Dame Jacqueline Wilson (née Aitken; born 17 December 1945) is an English novelist known for her popular children's literature. Her novels have been notable for featuring realistic topics such as adoption and divorce without alienating her lar ...
's ''
Dustbin Baby
''Dustbin Baby'' is a children's novel by Jacqueline Wilson. It focuses on April, a fourteen-year-old girl who was abandoned by her mother in a dustbin when she was only a few minutes old. After a blazing row with her foster mother, she goes i ...
'' as Cathy. She also played Molly in three-part children's drama ''
Runaway'' in 2009, as well as guest roles in ''
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 ...
'' and ''
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
** ...
''.
In 2010, Coomber began playing the role of Sapphire Fox in 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 ...
children's television series ''
Tracy Beaker Returns
''Tracy Beaker Returns'' is a British television programme. Based upon the novels by Jacqueline Wilson, it is the sequel series to '' The Story of Tracy Beaker''. The series stars Dani Harmer reprising her role as protagonist Tracy Beaker. T ...
''. Sapphire was introduced as the care homes' eldest resident in the first series and was interested in art. Her character also often acted as a sister figure to many of the other residents. In the third series, Sapphire's storylines revolved around her moving out of The Dumping Ground and into her own flat, she made her final appearance in the last episode of ''Tracy Beaker Returns'' in 2012. She also appeared in the spin-off series, ''
Tracy Beaker Survival Files
''The Story of Tracy Beaker'' is a British children's drama media franchise that focuses on the lives and experiences of young people and their care workers in care. This is a list of spin-off's to the trilogy of CBBC children's drama series ''T ...
''. Coomber reprised her role of Sapphire in 2015 for the spin-off cooking series ''
The Dumping Ground Dish Up
The Dumping Ground Dish Up is a five-part CBBC miniseries featuring various previous Dumping Ground characters showing you how to cook different dishes, which aired online and on TV from 16–20 November 2015.
Cast
Episodes
References
...
''.
In 2012, Coomber appeared in an episode of ''
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 ...
'' as Lauren Earnshaw, before joining the cast of ''
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 ...
'' as
Alexa Smith, an old friend of
Lola Pearce
Lola Pearce is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'', played by Danielle Harold. She is introduced as the granddaughter of Billy Mitchell (EastEnders), Billy Mitchell (Perry Fenwick) and Julie Perkins (Cathy Murphy), and a ...
(
Danielle Harold
Danielle Amy Louise Harold (born 30 May 1992) is an English actress. She is known for her role as Lola Pearce in the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'', which she played from 2011 to 2015, and reprised the role from 2019 to 2023.
Career
Before Har ...
) who Lola named her daughter
Lexi after. Alexa and Lola were in care together and Alexa initially appears to rekindle her friendship with Lola, however soon changes her mind as she believes Lola and her friend
Abi Branning
Abi Branning is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera '' EastEnders'', played by Lorna Fitzgerald. She was introduced by executive producer Kate Harwood on 3 July 2006 as an extension to the Branning family, along with father Max (J ...
(
Lorna Fitzgerald
Lorna Katie Fitzgerald (born 17 April 1996) is a British actress from Northampton. Her most notable role to date is that of Abi Branning in the BBC soap opera, ''EastEnders''. Since leaving ''EastEnders'' in January 2018, Fitzgerald has develope ...
are stuck up, starting a fight with them, which Alexa records and results in Lola's daughter being taken away by social services, however she later returns to and gives Lola a place to stay when she runs away with her daughter. In 2013, she played a Box Office Girl in ''
Youngers
''Youngers'' is a British comedy drama series created by Benjamin Kuffuor and Levi David Addai. It began airing on E4 on 20 March 2013. It is produced by Big Talk Productions.
The series has been picked up for international distribution by BBC ...
''. In 2014, Coomber played Rachel in the short film ''
Electricity
Electricity is the set of physical phenomena associated with the presence and motion of matter that has a property of electric charge. Electricity is related to magnetism, both being part of the phenomenon of electromagnetism, as described ...
''. In 2015, Coomber appeared in 3 episodes of ''
Cuffs'' as Bethany Hawkins.
In 2020, Coomber made guest roles in the television series' ''
Flack
Flack may refer to:
* ''Flack'' (TV series), a 2019 American-British TV series
* Flack, Virginia, the former name of Waynesboro
*Flack (or Flak), an informal term for a publicity manager
*Flacking, a self-coined term for the art created by Emem ...
'', ''Deceived'', and ''
Strike
Strike may refer to:
People
*Strike (surname)
Physical confrontation or removal
*Strike (attack), attack with an inanimate object or a part of the human body intended to cause harm
*Airstrike, military strike by air forces on either a suspected ...
''.
Theatre
In 2019, Coomber starred as Emilia in the
play of the same name
Play most commonly refers to:
* Play (activity), an activity done for enjoyment
* Play (theatre), a work of drama
Play may refer also to:
Computers and technology
* Google Play, a digital content service
* Play Framework, a Java framework
* Pla ...
, alongside Adelle Leonce and fellow ''EastEnders'' co-star
Clare Perkins
Clare Perkins (born 18 August 1965) is an English actress who is known for her roles as Denise Boulter in ''Family Affairs'' and Ava Hartman in '' EastEnders''.
Career
Perkins' first role was as Opal in the 1991 TV film 'Hallelujah Anyhow' in ...
, who played older versions of the character. Coomber's other stage credits include ''Sonnet Sunday'' and ''A New and Better You''.
Filmography
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Coomber, Saffron
1994 births
Living people
English film actresses
English television actresses
English child actresses
21st-century English actresses
People educated at Blackheath High School