Laurie Brett (born 28 March 1969)
is a Scottish actress, best known for her roles as
Jane Beale
Lesley Jane Beale (also Clarke and Collins) is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera, ''EastEnders'', played by Laurie Brett. She made her first appearance on 22 June 2004. Brett took maternity leave in 2011 and departed on 19 May.
Sh ...
in 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, p ...
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 ...
'' and Christine Mulgrew in the BBC One school-based drama series ''
Waterloo Road''.
Early and personal life
Brett was born in
Hamilton, Lanarkshire
Hamilton ( sco, Hamiltoun; gd, Baile Hamaltan ) is a large town in South Lanarkshire, Scotland. It serves as the main administrative centre of the South Lanarkshire council area. It sits south-east of Glasgow, south-west of Edinburgh and nor ...
, Scotland
and studied at the
London Studio Centre
The London Studio Centre, in North Finchley, London, is a British dance and theatre school providing courses in classical ballet, contemporary dance, jazz dance, and musical theatre. It is accredited by the Council for Dance, Drama and Musical ...
. She is fluent in Spanish. Brett has admitted to being a bit of a wild child in her youth, drinking heavily for 20 years.
Brett speaks with a Scottish accent; however, on moving to London, she adopted a London accent – fitting for her ''EastEnders'' role.
She says she has always had a "knack" with accents
and has admitted that prior to appearing in ''Waterloo Road'' speaking with a Scottish accent became very handy when people would ask if she was Jane from ''EastEnders''. She has admitted that when asked that question she would then reply in her native Scottish accent and people then assumed they were mistaken.
Brett was in a relationship with musician Dave Evans for six years. The couple met on a
blind date
A blind date is a social engagement between two people who have not met, usually arranged by a mutual acquaintance.
Structure
A blind date is arranged for by a mutual acquaintance of both participants. The two people who take part in the blind ...
in 2001 and got engaged; however, they split in 2007 before the wedding.
[Grant Hodgson (11 February 2007)]
Laurie: it's the ender for me and my lover
. ''Sunday Mirror''. Brett revealed in January 2011 that she was pregnant with her first child.
She gave birth to Erin Anne Millie Brett in June 2011.
Career
Her first television role was as the officer manager in ''
London's Burning'' (1993). She later appeared 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 ...
'' in two roles: as Emma Gilmore (1996) and Irene Murray (1998), and also in ''
My Hero'' (2002) playing a female customer. Needing an
Equity Card to be a paid professional actress in the UK,
she replied to an advert in ''
The Stage
''The Stage'' is a British weekly newspaper and website covering the entertainment industry and particularly theatre. It was founded in 1880. It contains news, reviews, opinion, features, and recruitment advertising, mainly directed at those wh ...
'' and joined ''Circo Magico Italiano'', a
travelling circus
A circus is a company of performers who put on diverse entertainment shows that may include clowns, acrobats, trained animals, trapeze acts, musicians, dancers, hoopers, tightrope walkers, jugglers, magicians, ventriloquists, and unicycl ...
, in Mexico and Central America.
On her return, she appeared in various productions on London's West End Stage, including playing a prostitute in ''
Les Misérables
''Les Misérables'' ( , ) is a French historical novel by Victor Hugo, first published in 1862, that is considered one of the greatest novels of the 19th century.
In the English-speaking world, the novel is usually referred to by its original ...
'', appeared in the UK Tour of ''
The Rocky Horror Show
''The Rocky Horror Show'' is a musical with music, lyrics and book by Richard O'Brien. A humorous tribute to the science fiction and horror B movies of the 1930s through to the early 1960s, the musical tells the story of a newly engaged couple ...
'' as Magenta, starring alongside
Jason Donovan
Jason Sean Donovan (born 1 June 1968) is an Australian actor and singer. He initially achieved fame in the Australian soap ''Neighbours'', playing Scott Robinson, before beginning a career in music in 1988. In the UK he has sold over 3 mi ...
as Frank,
and appeared in the musical ''
Smokey Joe's Cafe Smokey Joe, Smokey Joe's or Smoky Joe's may refer to:
Nickname
* Joe Barton, Texan Congressman, nicknamed "Smokey Joe" for defending industries against pollution controls
* Smokey Joe Baugh (1932–1999), American rockabilly musician
* Happy Finne ...
''.
After being spotted in ''Les Misérables'' by ''
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 ...
'' casting director Kat Collins, she was given the part of
Jane Beale
Lesley Jane Beale (also Clarke and Collins) is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera, ''EastEnders'', played by Laurie Brett. She made her first appearance on 22 June 2004. Brett took maternity leave in 2011 and departed on 19 May.
Sh ...
.
She made her first appearance in June 2004, and initially signed a three-year contract, renewed in 2007. In 2010, she signed a further one-year contract.
She also appeared as Jane in the 2010 spin-off series ''
EastEnders: E20''. In May 2011, Brett left the soap briefly on maternity leave. It was revealed that she would return to her role in November 2011. In January 2012, her character departed from ''EastEnders''. Brett briefly reprised her role in January 2014, and returned permanently later in November. Brett departed ''EastEnders'' again in 2017; her final episode aired on 23 October 2017.
On 15 March 2012, it was announced Brett would be joining the
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. ...
...
). For the first time in Brett's career, she spoke in her native accent as the show had relocated to Scotland.
Brett's character then took over as acting headteacher at the end of the eighth series and was appointed as permanent headteacher at the beginning of series 9. Brett continued to appear in ''Waterloo Road'' in the second half of series 9, despite her return to ''EastEnders''. Brett confirmed via Twitter that she will continue filming on ''Waterloo Road'' in late spring 2014 and stayed in the role until the show ended.
On 24 December 2018, Brett took part in a one-off celebrity special of ''
'', and was crowned winner after receiving a score of 92. In January 2020, Brett starred as DC Gemma Darlington in the C4 crime drama ''
''. Then in 2022, she joined the cast of the BBC drama series ''
''.