Charlene Emma Brooks (born 3 May 1981) is an English actress, best known for her role of

Janine Butcher Janine Butcher (also Evans, Malloy and Carter) is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'', introduced in 1989. The character is played by Rebecca Michael, Alexia Demetriou and Charlie Brooks respectively. Brooks initially d ...

in the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

soap opera ''

EastEnders ''EastEnders'' is a British television 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 East End of London, the ...

''. Brooks has also performed in British television shows ''

The Bill ''The Bill'' is a British police procedural television series, broadcast on ITV (TV network), ITV from 16 October 1984 until 31 August 2010. The programme originated from a one-off drama, "Woodentop (The Bill), Woodentop" (part of the ''Storyb ...

'', ''

Wired Wired may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * ''Wired'' (Jeff Beck album), 1976 * ''Wired'' (Hugh Cornwell album), 1993 * ''Wired'' (Mallory Knox album), 2017 * "Wired", a song by Prism from their album '' Beat Street'' * "Wired ...

'' and ''

Bleak House ''Bleak House'' is a novel by English author Charles Dickens, first published as a 20-episode Serial (literature), serial between 12 March 1852 and 12 September 1853. The novel has many characters and several subplots, and is told partly by th ...

'', as well as portraying Anna Fallmont in the

Network 10 Network 10 (commonly known as the 10 Network, Channel 10 or simply 10) is an Australian commercial television network. It is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Paramount Global's UK & Australia division and is one of the five national free-to-a ...

drama '' Lie With Me''. Brooks has also appeared on several reality television shows, winning the ''

Strictly Come Dancing ''Strictly Come Dancing'' (commonly referred to as ''Strictly'') is a British dance contest show in which celebrities partner with professional dancers to compete in mainly Ballroom dance, ballroom and Latin dance, Latin dance. Each couple is ...

Christmas Special Christmas themes have long been an inspiration to artists and writers. A prominent aspect of Christian media, the topic first appeared Christmas in literature, in literature and Christmas music, in music. Filmmakers have picked up on this wealth o ...

in 2011 and the twelfth series of '' I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here!'' in 2012. She appeared as a contestant on the seventeenth series of ''

Dancing on Ice ''Dancing on Ice'' is a British television series broadcast from 2006 to 2014 and then from 2018 to 2025. It was presented by Holly Willoughby and Stephen Mulhern. Other previous hosts include Phillip Schofield and Christine Lampard. The series ...

'' in 2025.

Early life

Charlene Emma Brooks was born on 3 May 1981, in

Ware WARE (1250 AM) is a commercial radio station broadcasting a classic hits format. Licensed to Ware, Massachusetts, United States, the station serves the Springfield radio market. The station is currently owned by Success Signal Broadcasting ...

Hertfordshire Hertfordshire ( or ; often abbreviated Herts) is a ceremonial county in the East of England and one of the home counties. It borders Bedfordshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the north-east, Essex to the east, Greater London to the ...

, England, and moved to

Barmouth Barmouth (formal ; colloquially ) is a seaside town and community in the county of Gwynedd, north-west Wales; it lies on the estuary of the Afon Mawddach and Cardigan Bay. Located in the historic county of Merionethshire, the Welsh form of t ...

Gwynedd Gwynedd () is a county in the north-west of Wales. It borders Anglesey across the Menai Strait to the north, Conwy, Denbighshire, and Powys to the east, Ceredigion over the Dyfi estuary to the south, and the Irish Sea to the west. The ci ...

when she was a child. Brooks attended Tower House School in Barmouth, and relocated to London to attend

Ravenscourt Theatre School Corona Theatre School (formerly Corona Academy) was founded in 1950 as a performing arts academy in west London. After the retirement of its owner, Rona Knight, it reopened as Ravenscourt Theatre School in 1989. History Corona Academy Rona ...

Hammersmith Hammersmith is a district of West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It is the administrative centre of the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, and identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London. It ...

Career

On television, Brooks has appeared in episodes of ''

'', '' London's Burning'', ''

Jonathan Creek ''Jonathan Creek'' is a long-running British mystery fiction, mystery crime drama series produced by the BBC and written by David Renwick. It stars Alan Davies as the title character, who works as a creative consultant to a stage magician whi ...

'' and '' The Demon Headmaster''. After her departure from ''

'' in 2004, Brooks's first role was in the BBC drama ''

'' as Jenny. Brooks has appeared in commercials and voiceovers in the United Kingdom, Europe and the US. In 2006, Brooks played

Beverley Allitt Beverley Gail Allitt (born 4 October 1968) is an English serial killer who was convicted of murdering four infants, attempting to murder three others, and causing grievous bodily harm to a further six at Grantham and Kesteven Hospital, Lincoln ...

in a

BBC1 BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's oldest and Flagship (broadcasting), flagship channel, and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includ ...

docu-drama Docudrama (or documentary drama) is a genre of television and film, which features dramatized re-enactments of actual events. It is described as a hybrid of documentary and drama and "a fact-based representation of real event". Docudramas typ ...

entitled ''Beverley Allitt: Angel of Death'', alongside

Ian Kelsey Ian Kelsey (born 17 December 1966) is an English actor. He is known for his roles as Dave Glover in the ITV (TV channel), ITV soap opera ''Emmerdale'', Patrick Spiller in the BBC One, BBC medical drama ''Casualty (TV series), Casualty'', DI Rich ...

. Producer Cathy Elliot said: "It's a very sensitive issue and of course it's terrible for the parents to have the whole thing brought up. Each time it's brought up it's painful, but a lot of parents realise it's important it's kept in the public domain and that people are aware that things have happened and that not a lot has been done since". She has guest starred in ''

Robin Hood Robin Hood is a legendary noble outlaw, heroic outlaw originally depicted in English folklore and subsequently featured in literature, theatre, and cinema. According to legend, he was a highly skilled archer and swordsman. In some versions o ...

'' and ''

Love Soup ''Love Soup'' is a British television comedy drama produced by the BBC and first screened on BBC One in the autumn of 2005. It stars Tamsin Greig as Alice Chenery (a role written especially for her) and Michael Landes as Gil Raymond (series 1 on ...

''. In theatre, Brooks, whilst on a break from ''EastEnders'' in 2003, appeared in the play ''Office Games'' alongside

Adam Rickitt Adam Peter Rickitt (born 29 May 1978) is an English actor and singer. He portrayed the part of Nick Tilsley on the British soap opera ''Coronation Street'' from 1997 to 1999, and again from 2002 to 2004. He later joined the New Zealand soap '' ...

. The play was Brooks' West End debut, and described as "a witty and intelligent political commentary". In 2007, she appeared in ''

Our Country's Good ''Our Country's Good'' is a 1988 play written by British playwright Timberlake Wertenbaker, adapted from the Thomas Keneally novel '' The Playmaker''. The story concerns a group of Royal Marines and convicts in a penal colony in New South Wales ...

'' at the

Liverpool Playhouse The Liverpool Playhouse is a theatre in Williamson Square in the city of Liverpool, England. It originated in 1866 as a music hall, and in 1911 developed into a repertory theatre. As such it nurtured the early careers of many actors and actre ...

''EastEnders''

When executive producer Matthew Robinson re-introduced the character of

in 1999, after Alexia Demetriou had left the role, Brooks secured the role. Brooks remained in the role until May 2004. In April 2008, Brooks returned to ''EastEnders'' for a guest stint. She was later confirmed to be coming back as a regular character. She said, "I had doubts to begin with, mainly because of Kiki er daughter as I know how full-on ''EastEnders'' can be, and then there's that stigma about going back to a soap. But I'm so pleased I did, it was the right decision. Especially with what's going on at the moment, I feel really lucky to have a job and I need the security because of Kiki. I was just going to go back for a year, but I had a meeting with the boss last week and we're going to go for another year. So lots more time to get up to much mischief". Executive producer

Diederick Santer Diederick Santer (born 3 July 1969) is a British television producer and is best known for his work on the popular BBC television soap opera ''EastEnders'', a post which he assumed on 23 October 2006 and left on 1 March 2010. He was Chief Execu ...

said, "I couldn't be more pleased that Charlie Brooks is re-joining ''EastEnders''. With her appearances last month, she reminded us what a fine actress she is, and what an intriguing, watchable and engaging character she plays as Janine". She temporarily departed in September 2012, and returned in April 2013 before departing again in March 2014. In April 2021, it was announced that Brooks had agreed to reprise the role once again for a "huge storyline" and would return later in the year. She made her on-screen return in September 2021. Brooks appeared in her 1,000th episode as Janine on 10 February 2022.

''All in a Row''

In January 2019, it was announced that

Alex Oates Alex Oates (born 1987 in Newcastle) is an English playwright from the North East. Background Born in Newcastle, Oates was born to a nurse and policeman and raised in Whitley Bay in the North East of England. He moved to London to attend Middl ...

's play '' All in a Row'', starring Brooks as Tamora, the mother, was going to be produced by Paul Virides Productions at the

Southwark Playhouse Southwark Playhouse is a theatre in London with two venues, both located between Borough and Elephant and Castle tube stations. History The Southwark Playhouse Theatre Company was founded in 1993 by Juliet Alderdice and Tom Wilson. They ident ...

. The play is based on Oates' ten years of experience caring for severely autistic children and adults, and won the Top Five Play Reading at the Bolton Octagon. The play is about the parents of a profoundly autistic eleven-year-old boy and how they are feeling the night before he is taken to a residential school, when social services feel he needs more support than can be given in their family home. Criticisms of the play started to emerge when a video trailer for the production was released showing the autistic character, Laurence, portrayed by a puppet. Journalist

Frances Ryan Frances Ryan FRSL is a British journalist, author, and activist for people with disabilities. In 2021 the Shaw Trust named her one of the UK's ten most influential disabilities activists. Global Citizen called her "a prominent voice for people ...

, without having seen it, criticised the play by calling it a "grotesque step backwards". The

National Autistic Society The National Autistic Society is a charity for autistic people and their families in the United Kingdom. Since 1962, the National Autistic Society has been providing support, guidance and advice, as well as campaigning for improved rights, ser ...

, who initially decided to help the production by providing consultation, reacted to the

Twitter Twitter, officially known as X since 2023, is an American microblogging and social networking service. It is one of the world's largest social media platforms and one of the most-visited websites. Users can share short text messages, image ...

furore by releasing a statement saying "while recognising some of the play's strengths, we decided we could not support the play overall due to its portrayal of autism, particularly the use of a puppet to depict the autistic character alone." Brooks responded by saying: "I understand people's concerns, but I do urge people to come and see the play first before they judge." She also claimed that having a puppet character is essential and that Laurence, the puppet, is very playful. During rehearsals, Brooks visited the Queensmill School for autistic children in

Shepherd’s Bush Shepherd's Bush is a suburb of West London, England, within the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham west of Charing Cross, and identified as a major metropolitan centre in the London Plan. Although primarily residential in character, its ...

, talking to the pupils, their teachers and carers. Brooks concluded by stating: "This is a story that is rarely told. I just hope people will come and see it instead of sitting at home getting angry."

Other ventures

Reality television

She won ''I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here!'' in 2012, beating campmate

Ashley Roberts Ashley Allyn Roberts (born September 14, 1981) is an American born, British based singer, dancer, and media personality. She was a member of the girl group The Pussycat Dolls (2003–2010, 2019–2021), who sold over 55 million records worldwide ...

. Brooks also narrated ''Botched Up Bodies'' on Channel 5. In 2025, Brooks is set to appear as a contestant on the seventeenth series of ''

''.

Fitness DVD

Her fitness DVD became the UK's best-selling fitness DVD release, and Brooks was transformed from "podgy Janine to a sexy new mum".

Filmography

Theatre and radio

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Brooks, Charlie 1981 births Living people English child actresses British television actresses British musical theatre actresses British stage actresses British soap opera actresses British radio actresses I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here! (British TV series) winners Actors educated at the Arts Educational Schools Actresses from Hertfordshire Actors from Ware, Hertfordshire 20th-century English actresses 21st-century English actresses People from Barmouth Actresses from Gwynedd