Samantha-Jane Beckinsale (born 23 July 1966), known professionally as Samantha Beckinsale, and Sam Beckinsale, is a British actress. She played firefighter Kate Stevens in '' London's Burning''.

Early life

Beckinsale is the only daughter of actor

Richard Beckinsale Richard Arthur Beckinsale (6 July 1947 – 19 March 1979) was an English actor. He played Lennie Godber in the BBC sitcom ''Porridge'' (along with its sequel series ''Going Straight'') and Alan Moore in the ITV sitcom ''Rising Damp''. He is the ...

and his first wife, Margaret ( Bradley). They divorced when Beckinsale was a young child and she did not see her father for years. Samantha was unaware that her father was Richard Beckinsale until she was 11. Beckinsale and her father reconnected and spent time together, prior to Richard's death in 1979. She is a stepdaughter of

Judy Loe Judith Margaret Loe (born 6 March 1947) is an English actress. She was married to actor Richard Beckinsale until his death in 1979, and later married director Roy Battersby. She is the mother of actress Kate Beckinsale, and the stepmother of Ka ...

and half-sister of Loe's daughter,

Kate Beckinsale Kathrin Romany Beckinsale (born 26 July 1973) is an English actress and model. After some minor television roles, her film debut was ''Much Ado About Nothing'' (1993) while a student at the University of Oxford. She appeared in British costume ...

. She studied drama at Clarendon College, Nottingham.

Television

In 1990, Beckinsale was chosen by

LWT London Weekend Television (LWT) (now part of the non-franchised ITV London region) was the ITV network franchise holder for Greater London and the Home Counties at weekends, broadcasting from Fridays at 5.15 pm (7:00 pm from 1968 un ...

to play firefighter Kate Stevens in ITV's drama series '' London's Burning'', which ran from 1986 to 2002. In 1989, Beckinsale guest-starred as WPC Martin in an episode of

Thames Television Thames Television, commonly simplified to just Thames, was a Broadcast license, franchise holder for a region of the British ITV (TV network), ITV television network serving Greater London, London and surrounding areas from 30 July 1968 until th ...

's ''

Never the Twain ''Never the Twain'' is a British sitcom that ran for eleven series from 7 September 1981 to 9 October 1991. It was created by Johnnie Mortimer, and was the only sitcom he ever created without his usual writing partner, Brian Cooke. Mortimer w ...

''. Shortly after this, she was given the role of Lesley in the final three series of Thames Television's ''Shelley''. In 1994, she was chosen by LWT to play the role of Gillian in the sitcom ''Time After Time'' which lasted two series. In 1997, Beckinsale starred as Jilly Howell in the short-lived sitcom '' Get Well Soon'' and in 1998 she was chosen by LWT to play the role of Gillian Monroe in the short-lived sitcom ''

Duck Patrol ''Duck Patrol'' was a short-lived British television comedy series that originally aired in 1998. Produced by LWT for the ITV network, it centred on a river police station by the River Thames. The series consisted of seven episodes: Flying C ...

'' with Richard Wilson.

Personal life

In 2022, Beckinsale came forward as a survivor of

domestic abuse Domestic violence (also known as domestic abuse or family violence) is violence or other abuse that occurs in a domestic setting, such as in a marriage or cohabitation. ''Domestic violence'' is often used as a synonym for ''intimate partner v ...

. She is a patron of the Broxtowe Women's Project, which offers support for women suffering from domestic abuse. She wrote and produced a docudrama titled ''Love?'' which deals with coercive control in relationships.

Television and film roles

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Beckinsale, Samantha English television actresses English soap opera actresses Actresses from Nottinghamshire 1966 births Living people Actresses from London English people of Burmese descent 20th-century English actresses 21st-century English actresses