Lisa Maria Geoghan (born 1 June 1966 in Southwark, London) is an English actress best known for playing PC

Polly Page ''The Bill'' is a long-running British television police procedural television series which ran from 16 August 1983 to the show’s cancellation on 31 August 2010, named after a slang term for the police. The Character (arts), characters are all ...

from 1992 to 2004 in the long-running police drama ''

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 ...

''.

Career

Geoghan trained at the Anna Scher Theatre School from the age of 12, and acted at the Old Vic Youth Theatre between 1978 and 1980. Her first TV appearance was a small role in

Trevor Preston Trevor Preston (1938–2018) was a British screenwriter."Trevor Preston o ...

's drama ''Fox'' in 1980. She has been well known in the UK since appearing at 16, as Sarah Gill, in ''

Tucker's Luck ''Tucker's Luck'' is a British television drama series made by the BBC between 1983 and 1985. The series is a spin-off from the school drama ''Grange Hill'' and capitalised on the popularity of one of the series' original characters – Peter " ...

''. Other leading roles were three seasons in ''The Bill'' creator's

Geoff McQueen Geoffrey McQueen (24 July 1947 – 6 July 1994) was a British television screenwriter. He is best known for creating Thames Television's long-running police procedural ''The Bill'' and the popular comedy-dramas '' Give Us a Break'', '' Big Deal ...

's gambling drama '' Big Deal'' (with Ray Brooks) and 20 episodes of ''

Desmond's ''Desmond's'' is a British television sitcom broadcast by Channel 4 from 5 January 1989 to 19 December 1994. Conceived and co-written by Trix Worrell, and produced by Charlie Hanson and Humphrey Barclay, ''Desmond's'' stars Norman Beaton as b ...

'' between 1989 and 1992.

The Bill

After a guest appearance in the episode 'Breakout' in late 1991, Geoghan became a cast regular as WPC Polly Page in ''The Bill'' from 1992 to 2004, a role she played for 12 years. As Page, she made 601 episodes of the long running TV series. Long running storylines included a relationship with colleague

Dave Quinnan ''The Bill'' is a long-running British television police procedural television series which ran from 16 August 1983 to the show’s cancellation on 31 August 2010, named after a slang term for the police. The characters are all police officers o ...

(played by

Andrew Paul Andrew Paul (born Paul Andrew Herman; 17 March 1961 in Mile End, London) is an English actor, known for portraying PC Dave Quinnan in the ITV drama ''The Bill'' for 13 years. He is also known for his other roles in ''EastEnders as'' Maxwell ...

) and, after she joined the Community Safety Unit, a murder plot involving PC Cathy Bradford. Geoghan took a year off from the police drama after her son was born and, after returning for a while, she decided to leave permanently to concentrate on her role as a mother.

Later

Geoghan guest-starred in ''Casualty'' in 2015, in her first return to acting in ten years. In 2019 she appeared on stage at the Theatre Peckham's 30th anniversary celebration of ''

'' first ever episode. Also in 2019, Geoghan shared her memories of her career in a two-part interview for The Bill Podcast. In December 2021 Geoghan made a guest appearance in ''

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 ...

'' playing Paula, a barmaid in the pub owned by

Linda Carter Linda Carter is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'', played by Kellie Bright. She first appeared on 19 December 2013 and her casting was announced alongside her on-screen partner, Mick Carter (Danny Dyer). Linda was ...

's (

Kellie Bright Kellie Denise Bright (born 1 July 1976) is an English actress. Her roles include Linda Carter in the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'', for which she won the 2015 British Soap Award for Best Actress and Best Dramatic Performance, Julie in '' Ali G ...

) mother

Elaine Peacock Elaine Peacock (also Knight) is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders''. Introduced as the mother of established character Linda Carter (Kellie Bright), Elaine is originally played by Maria Friedman from October 2014 until J ...

(

Maria Friedman Maria Friedman ( Freedman; born 19 March 1960) is a British actress and director, best known for her work in musical theatre. She is an eight-time Laurence Olivier Award nominee, winning three. Her first win was for her 1994 one-woman show, ' ...

Personal life

Geoghan grew up on a council estate in

Bermondsey Bermondsey ( ) is a district in southeast London, part of the London Borough of Southwark, England, southeast of Charing Cross. To the west of Bermondsey lies Southwark, to the east Rotherhithe and Deptford, to the south Walworth and Peckham, ...

, first meeting her future husband when she was 14. They met again when she was 20, and have been together since. The couple have two children, Oliver and Harry.

References

External links

* 1966 births English stage actresses English television actresses Living people Alumni of the Anna Scher Theatre School Actresses from London Actors from the London Borough of Southwark People from Southwark {{England-tv-actor-stub