Lisa Tamsin Faulkner (born 19 February 1972)[1] is an actress, presenter and television chef. She has had roles in The Lover (1992), Dangerfield (1995), Brookside (1997–1998), Holby City (1999–2001), Spooks (2002), Burn It (2003), Murder in Suburbia (2004–2005), New Street Law (2006–2007), Murdoch Mysteries (2010–2012), EastEnders (2017) and The Girl Before (2021).
Lisa Faulkner | |
|---|---|
 Faulkner in 2012 | |
| Born | Lisa Tamsin Faulkner 19 February 1972 |
| Occupations |
|
| Years active | 1992–present |
| Spouses | |
| Children | 1 |
| Website | www |
Faulkner has also carved out a career as a television chef, having won Celebrity MasterChef as a contestant in 2010.
Early life
editFaulkner was born in Merton, London, to David Faulkner and Julie (née Day). She lived in Esher and was educated at Tiffin Girls' School in Kingston upon Thames.[2] When she was sixteen, her mother, Julie, died from throat cancer. Faulkner has since discussed her bereavement in a number of newspaper and magazine interviews.[3]
Career
editAt the age of 16, Faulkner was approached by a modelling scout while she was waiting on the platform of a London tube station.[4]
In 1992, she made her first acting appearance in The Lover. At age 23, Faulkner played the part of Alison Dangerfield in the TV drama Dangerfield. She also starred in the 1995 film A Feast at Midnight. In 1996, she appeared in And The Beat Goes On. Two years later, she played Louise Hope in the Channel 4 soap Brookside. Between 1999 and 2001, she played Victoria Merrick in Holby City.[5]
In the TV show Spooks, her character Helen Flynn was killed off in only the second episode of the first series, having her hand and face burnt in a deep fat fryer before being shot in the head at point-blank range.[6] In 2004, she starred on ITV as D.S. Emma Scribbins ("Scribbs") in Murder in Suburbia, in which she played a CID policewoman in company with Caroline Catz, who played her boss, D.I. Ashurst. The show returned for a second series in 2005, with Scribbs adopting the then popular fashion style of "boho-chic". In 2006, she starred in the TV series New Street Law. From June 2008, Faulkner narrated the BBC One show Heir Hunters, replacing Nadia Sawalha, until 2017.[7]
She regularly taught at Amanda Redman's Artists Theatre School.[8] Faulkner was voted one of FHM's "100 Sexiest Women in the World" six times between 1999 and 2004.[9] She regularly contributed to Big Brother's Little Brother, a magazine programme about the reality UK TV show Big Brother on Channel 4. She was also a regular contributor to the Sky1 magazine show Angela and Friends.[10]
In 2010, she won Celebrity Masterchef, beating Christine Hamilton and Dick Strawbridge in the final.[11] She appeared in the third series premiere of the Canadian series Murdoch Mysteries when the series filmed an episode in and around Bristol, England, that was broadcast in 2010, and she returned for her second guest appearance in the fourth series in 2011. She also appeared twice in the fifth series.[12] She co-hosted Real Food Family Cook Off on Channel 5 with Matt Dawson. The series was broadcast in 2011. In 2013, she co-hosted the daytime Channel 4 series What's Cooking? with Ben Shephard and, in 2015, was reunited with Shephard to co-host an episode of This Morning Summer. In March 2017, it was announced that she would be joining EastEnders as Fi Browning, a "stylish and sophisticated" businesswoman.[13] Fi was later revealed to be Sophie Wilmott-Brown, the daughter of Kathy Beale's rapist James Willmott-Brown. In March 2019, Faulkner and John Torode were given a weekend cooking show. They host John And Lisa's Weekend Kitchen on Sunday mornings on ITV.[14] In July 2019, Faulkner appeared on Celebrity Gogglebox alongside friend Nicola Stephenson. [15]
Personal life
editIn 2005, Faulkner married Chris Coghill, one of her co-stars in the 2003 TV drama series Burn It, in Richmond Park, London.[16] The couple adopted a fifteen-month-old girl who was born in 2006.[17] The couple separated and divorced in 2011;[18] she then (2019) married Australian chef John Torode.[19] and they worked together on presenting John and Lisa's Weekend Kitchen.[5]
Filmography
edit| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1992 | The Lover | Helene Lagonelle | Film |
| 1994 | A Feast at Midnight | Miss Charlotte | |
| Le péril jeune | Barbara | ||
| 1995 | Dangerfield | Alison Dangerfield | Series 1–2; 18 episodes |
| Casualty | Cassie Tolchard | Episode: "Not Waving But Drowning" | |
| 1996 | And the Beat Goes On | Christine Spencer | 1 series; 8 episodes |
| 1997–1998 | Brookside | Louise Hope | Regular role |
| 1999–2001 | Holby City | Victoria Merrick | Series 1–3; regular role, 45 episodes |
| 2002 | Spooks | Helen Flynn | 2 episodes |
| 2003 | Burn It | Emma | 2 series; 13 episodes |
| 2004–2005 | Murder in Suburbia | Det. Sgt. Emma "Scribbs" Scribbins | 2 series; 12 episodes |
| 2005 | New Tricks | Hannah Taylor | 1 episode |
| 2006–2007 | New Street Law | Laura Scammell | 2 series; 14 episodes |
| 2008–2016 | Heir Hunters | Narrator | Regular voiceover |
| 2010 | Celebrity MasterChef | Contestant | Won the series |
| 2010–2012 | Murdoch Mysteries | Anna Fulford | Canadian television series; 4 episodes |
| 2011 | Death in Paradise | Alex Owen | 1 episode |
| Real Food Family Cook Off | Co-presenter | 1 series; with Matt Dawson | |
| 2013 | What's Cooking? | 1 series; with Ben Shephard | |
| 2015 | This Morning | Guest presenter | 1 episode; with Ben Shephard |
| 2017 | EastEnders | Fi Browning | Regular role, 61 episodes |
| 2019–present | John and Lisa's Weekend Kitchen | Co-presenter | With John Torode |
| 2019 | A Confession (TV series) | Girlfriend | 2 episodes |
| 2019 | Celebrity Gogglebox | Herself | With Nicola Stephenson |
| 2021 | Murdoch Mysteries | Anna Fulford[20] | |
| The Girl Before | Tessa[21] | ||
| 2022 | Waterloo Road | Hannah King | |
| 2024 | The Madame Blanc Mysteries | Violet Oliver[22] | Episode: "Fashion" |
| John & Lisa's Food Trip Down Under | Herself | With John Torode |
Awards and nominations
edit| Year | Award | Category | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | Inside Soap Awards | Best Bad Girl | Nominated | [23] |
Books
edit- Recipes from my Mother for my Daughter (Simon & Schuster Ltd, 2013) ISBN 9780857206176
- The Way I Cook... (Simon & Schuster Ltd, 2013) ISBN 9780857206183
- Tea and Cake with Lisa Faulkner (Simon & Schuster Ltd, 2015) ISBN 9781471125607
- From Mother to Mother: Recipes from a family kitchen (Simon & Schuster Ltd, 2018) ISBN 9781471125621
- Meant to Be (Ebury Publishing, 2019) ISBN 9781529104141
References
edit- ^ Cineplex: Filmzitate – Kalender 2012, Aachen, Germany, Sept. 2011, p. 125.
- ^ "Lisa Faulkner Plays Victoria Merrick", Holby.tv
- ^ "Channel 4: Mummy Diaries- Celebs". Channel4.com. Archived from the original on 23 October 2009. Retrieved 14 November 2009.
- ^ "Drama Faces - Lisa Faulkner". BBC Drama. Archived from the original on 21 July 2012. Retrieved 12 December 2008.
- ^ a b "Actress Lisa Faulkner takes MasterChef title". f4group.co.uk. Retrieved 26 January 2023.
- ^ "Spooks: The show that is James Bond on a BBC budget", The Telegraph, 4 December 2008
- ^ productions/2008 Archived 27 July 2011 at the Wayback Machine Flame TV productions
- ^ "Lisa Faulkner – Angela & Friends". Archived from the original on 8 November 2009.
- ^ "FHM All-time Sexiest Women hall of fame". Listal. Retrieved 25 September 2017.
- ^ "Biography at Angela and Friends website". Archived from the original on 8 November 2009.
- ^ "Actress Lisa Faulkner takes MasterChef title". BBC News. 20 August 2010. Retrieved 21 August 2010.
- ^ "'Murdoch' mysteries revealed". TV Guide. Archived from the original on 6 July 2011. Retrieved 28 July 2010.
- ^ Harp, Justin (2 March 2017). "Celebrity MasterChef champ Lisa Faulkner joins the cast of EastEnders". Digital Spy. Hearst Magazines UK. Retrieved 2 March 2017.
- ^ "John Torode and Lisa Faulkner land weekend cooking show". BBC. 14 March 2019. Retrieved 28 July 2019.
- ^ "Who are Lisa and Nicola from Celebrity Gogglebox? Meet the TV duo!". Reality Titbit. 5 July 2019. Retrieved 13 July 2020.
- ^ "Wedding bash with Bangers and Mash". Manchester Evening News. 16 February 2007. Retrieved 12 March 2020.
- ^ Loose Women, 2 March 2012
- ^ "Lisa Faulkner and Chris Coghill separated in 2011, she is now married to John Torode". Global News 101.
- ^ "John Torode roasted by BBC for saying he and fellow MasterChef host Gregg Wallace aren't friends". The Telegraph. 7 May 2017. Retrieved 2 January 2019.
- ^ Snyder, Diane (23 April 2021). "Yannick Bisson Talks the Future of 'Murdoch Mysteries' Ahead of the Season 14 Finale".
- ^ "The Girl Before cast: Who is in the new drama and where have you seen them before?". Heart. 20 December 2021. Retrieved 20 December 2021.
- ^ "Fashion". 25 January 2024. Retrieved 25 January 2024.
- ^ Harp, Justin (22 August 2017). "Coronation Street, EastEnders, Emmerdale and Hollyoaks all make the Inside Soap Awards longlist". Digital Spy. Retrieved 21 August 2017.