Meet Brooke Kinsella, EastEnders star. See photos, video and a biography here of the memorable former cast member of Britain’s long running soap opera.
Brooke Kinsella is in the news today because she has just won a settlement of more than £50,000 (U.S. $ 70,900) damages after falling down a dark spiral staircase in Soho Theatre Company, a West End theatre, in 2005 and fracturing her elbow. The accident took place right before a scheduled performance which the actress, in the literal spirit of ‘the show must go on’ did not bow out of, despite pain.
In the aftermath, Brooke Kinsella’s devastating accident necessitated two surgical operations and left her in pain and unable to work for more than a year. She missed out on roles crucial to the continued success of her acting career, including a role in the reality TV show The Games, and potential roles in Sky TV’s Dream Team and the movie Permanent Vacation.
The actress has also been in the news in the last several months because of the tragic, fatal knife stabbing of her 16 year-old brother, Ben, by a gang of youths in a London street. He was the 17th teenager killed in London in 2008, and his death spearheaded public awareness and protests of the widespread crisis and crime of knifing deaths in the U.K.
As a biography, Brooke Kinsella was born on July 17, 1983 so her age is 25. Her measurements are 5′0,’ (1.54 m). She was raised by her mother and stepfather in Islington, North London where she grew up as the oldest of four children.
She has been acting since she was a young child. When she was only six years old, she began studying the craft at the Anna Scher Theatre School and remaining there until she was 16 years old.
She made her television acting debut at age 9 in MUD, the BBC children series. Thereafter she made numerous TV appearances in The Vice, Sunburn, The Bill, NCS Manhunt, Maisie Rain, Kid In The Corner and other programs.
Brooke Kinsella completed the first year of a degree in English, Media and Drama at Buckinghamshire New University before she was cast, in 2001 as Kelly Taylor in EastEnders. The popular daytime drama chronicles the lives of characters in the fictitious London Borough of Walford in the East End of London.
She was a full-time member of the cast from 2002-2004 and her character famously endured a number of tumultuous life experiences including prostitution, unsuccessful relationships and confusion over her sexual identity precipitated by a lesbian kiss with best friend Zoe Slater (Michelle Ryan). The kiss was widely panned in the media as a sensationalistic gimmick to boost the program’s ratings.
Former executive producer of the show, Louise Berridge, made the decision to eliminate Brooke Kinsella’s character in 2004 so as to allow more character development of Zoe Slater. Kinsella has said publicly that she would like to return to EastEnders.
The actress has been dating Ray Panthaki (who played Ronny Ferreira in EastEnders) since 2005; the couple have also worked together professionally.
Brooke Kinsella is also a writer; her debut novel, ‘Friendship Is A Funny Thing’ is forthcoming.
More photos and a video of Brooke Kinsella are below.
Photos: Wenn.com