Roberta Alexandra Kerr (born 24 May 1952) is an English actress. She is known for her various roles in British soap operas including Sally Haynes in '' Brookside'',

Wendy Crozier The following is a list of characters that first appeared in the ITV soap opera ''Coronation Street'' in 1989, by order of first appearance. Alison Oakley Alison Oakley, played by Helen Swift in 1989 and Shelley Willetts in 1998 is a woman w ...

in ''

Coronation Street ''Coronation Street'' is an English soap opera created by ITV Granada, Granada Television and shown on ITV (TV network), ITV since 9 December 1960. The programme centres around a cobbled, terraced street in Weatherfield, a fictional town based ...

'' and Jan Glover in ''

Emmerdale ''Emmerdale'' (known as ''Emmerdale Farm'' until 1989) is a British soap opera that is broadcast on ITV1. The show is set in Emmerdale (known as Beckindale until 1994), a fictional village in the Yorkshire Dales. Created by Kevin Laffa ...

'', as well as portraying several characters in '' Doctors''.

Life and career

Kerr was born in

Southampton Southampton () is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire, S ...

, England on 24 May 1952. She began her acting career in 1984 when she joined the

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned enterprise, state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a four ...

soap opera '' Brookside'' as Sally Haynes. She portrayed the character on a recurring basis until 1985. The same year, she played another character named Sally in an episode of '' Travelling Man'' and in 1986, she played Mrs. Bennett in an episode of the

BBC Two BBC Two is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It covers a wide range of subject matter, with a remit "to broadcast programmes of depth and substance" in contrast to the more mainstream ...

drama anthology series ''

Screenplay ''ScreenPlay'' is a television drama anthology series broadcast on BBC2 between 9 July 1986 and 27 October 1993. Background After single-play anthology series went off the air, the BBC introduced several showcases for made-for-television, ...

''. In 1988, she made her film debut as Mrs. Dalton in ''The Nature of the Beast'' and also appeared in an episode of the mini-series ''Wipe Out'', where she played a civil servant. In 1989, Kerr joined the cast of the ITV soap opera ''

'' as

, a woman who works for the council and embarks on an affair with Ken Barlow ( William Roache), which led to his divorce from his wife,

Deirdre Deirdre ( , Irish: ; sga, Derdriu ) is the foremost tragic heroine in Irish legend and probably its best-known figure in modern times. She is known by the epithet "Deirdre of the Sorrows" (). Her story is part of the Ulster Cycle, the best-k ...

( Anne Kirkbride). She left the show in May 1990 following the conclusion of the storyline. In July 1994, Kerr portrayed Pam Blake in an episode of the ITV drama series ''

Medics A medic is a person involved in medicine such as a medical doctor, medical student, paramedic or an emergency medical responder. Among physicians in the UK, the term "medic" indicates someone who has followed a "medical" career path in postgradu ...

''. The following month, she was cast as Jan Glover in ''

'', the wife of Ned ( Johnny Leeze). During her time on the show, the character's major storylines included coming to terms with the deaths of her children

Dave Dave may refer to: Film, television, and theater * ''Dave'' (film), a 1993 film starring Kevin Kline and Sigourney Weaver * ''Dave'' (musical), a 2018 stage musical adaptation of the film * Dave (TV channel), a digital television channel in the ...

( Ian Kelsey) and Linda ( Tonicha Jeronimo), as well as suffering a nervous breakdown and being sectioned. Kerr departed the role after four years in 1998. In 1999, Kerr played Tania Sylvester in an episode of '' Casualty'' and in 2000, she portrayed Miss Robinson in the film ''Seeing Red''. In 2005, Kerr appeared in the BBC soap opera '' Doctors'' as Margaret Ellen. She went on to return to ''Doctors'' on two further occasions, portraying the roles of Sheila Mitchum and Joan Jonson in 2007 and 2020, respectively. Kerr also had minor guest roles in '' The Royal Today'', ''

Silk Silk is a natural protein fiber, some forms of which can be woven into textiles. The protein fiber of silk is composed mainly of fibroin and is produced by certain insect larvae to form cocoons. The best-known silk is obtained from the ...

'', ''

Downton Abbey ''Downton Abbey'' is a British historical drama television series set in the early 20th century, created and co-written by Julian Fellowes. The series first aired in the United Kingdom on ITV on 26 September 2010 and in the United States on ...

'' and ''

Hollyoaks ''Hollyoaks'' is a British soap opera which began airing on Channel 4 on 23 October 1995. It was created by Phil Redmond, who had previously conceived the soap opera ''Brookside''. Since 2005, episodes have been aired on sister channel E4 a da ...

''. In 2012, Kerr reprised her role of Wendy Crozier in ''

'' for a short stint, as part of a storyline where Wendy and Ken are reacquainted again after becoming governors at the same school. The character departed after her advances were rejected by Ken. Ten years later, in 2022, she reprised the role again as a regular character. The return saw Wendy as a foster carer involved in a storyline centred around Abi Franklin ( Sally Carman) attempting to gain custody of her son.

Filmography

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kerr, Roberta 1952 births 20th-century English actresses 21st-century English actresses English film actresses English soap opera actresses English television actresses Living people Actresses from Southampton