Gillian Wright (born 5 May 1960) is an English actress, best known for portraying the role of

Jean Slater Jean Slater (also Walters) is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera, ''EastEnders'', played by Gillian Wright. Her first appearance is in the episode first broadcast in the United Kingdom on 16 December 2004. Having only been introduced ...

on the BBC soap opera ''

EastEnders ''EastEnders'' is a Television in the United Kingdom, British 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 Ea ...

'' since 2004, for which she has won a number of awards. She was a teacher and theatre director before occupying acting roles.

Career

Wright was originally signed for one episode on ''

'' in December 2004, but bosses brought her back into the series a year later for four more episodes. After guest starring in two episodes of rival soap opera ''

Coronation Street ''Coronation Street'' is an English soap opera created by Granada Television and shown on ITV since 9 December 1960. The programme centres around a cobbled, terraced street in Weatherfield, a fictional town based on inner-city Salford. Orig ...

'', she then returned to ''EastEnders'' on a recurring basis until her character moved into

Albert Square Walford is a fictional borough of east London in the BBC soap opera '' EastEnders''. It is the primary setting for the soap. ''EastEnders'' is filmed at Borehamwood in Hertfordshire, towards the north-west of London. Much of the location ...

in November 2007. In 2006, she collected a Mental Health Media Award for her portrayal of

, a person living with

bipolar disorder Bipolar disorder, previously known as manic depression, is a mental disorder characterized by periods of Depression (mood), depression and periods of abnormally elevated Mood (psychology), mood that last from days to weeks each. If the elevat ...

. Her departure from the series was announced in 2010, along with her on-screen daughter

Stacey Slater Stacey Slater (also Branning and Fowler) is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'', portrayed by Lacey Turner. She first appears in episode 2826, originally broadcast on 1 November 2004. The character is introduced as a fe ...

, played by

Lacey Turner Lacey Amelia Turner (born 28 March 1988) is an English actress. She is known for portraying the role of Stacey Slater on the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'' (2004–2010, 2014–present), for which she has won over thirty awards, including four ...

, but it was later confirmed that she would return in spring 2011. In 2012, she won the 'Best Actress' award at the ''Inside Soap'' Awards. She departed ''EastEnders'' again in 2013 and returned for a short stint in August 2014. She also guest starred in one episode of hospital drama, ''

Holby City ''Holby City'' (stylised on-screen as HOLBY CIY) is a British medical drama television series that aired weekly on BBC One. It was created by Tony McHale and Mal Young as a spin-off from the established BBC medical drama '' Casualty'', and ...

'' in early 2015. After making numerous guest appearances from 2015 to 2017, the character of Jean was reintroduced in 2018 by former executive consultant John Yorke. She also won 'Best Dramatic Performance' at the 2019 British Soap Awards.

Theatre

Wright is also an established theatre actress, and is a visiting director and workshop leader at

drama schools A drama school, stage school or theatre school is an undergraduate and/or graduate school or department at a college or university; or a free-standing institution (such as the Drama section at the Juilliard School); which specializes in the pr ...

, universities and with young people with special needs. She is a co-founder of

Pilot Theatre Pilot Theatre is an Arts Council England funded Theatre Company based in York, England. It was founded in by students from Bretton Hall College in Wakefield. The company was based in Wakefield and Castleford before moving to York in 2001. Histo ...

, at

York York is a cathedral city with Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire. The city has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a ...

's Theatre Royal. In December 2011, she played the

Fairy Godmother In fairy tales, a fairy godmother () is a fairy with magical powers who acts as a mentor or parent to someone, in the role that an actual godparent was expected to play in many societies. In Perrault's ''Cinderella'', he concludes the tale wit ...

in the pantomime '' Dick Whittington and His Cat'' at the

Aylesbury Waterside Theatre Aylesbury Waterside Theatre is a £47 million theatre in Aylesbury, England, presenting a range of West End and touring musicals and plays, along with performances of opera and ballet and a Christmas pantomime. History In 2003, Aylesbury Vale ...

, starring alongside

Jonathan Wilkes Jonathan Wilkes (born 1 August 1978) is an English television presenter and singer. Early life and career Jonathan Wilkes was born in Baddeley Green, Stoke-on-Trent, to Eileen Wilkes and Graham Wilkes, and spent most of his childhood in ...

. In September 2013, she appeared in the world premiere of five visceral new short plays, under the collective title ''Religion and Anarchy'', at the

Jermyn Street Theatre Jermyn Street Theatre is a performance venue situated on Jermyn Street, in London's West End. It is an off-west end studio theatre. History Jermyn Street Theatre opened in August 1994. It was formerly the changing rooms for staff at a Spaghetti ...

. From December 2013 to January 2014, she appeared as the Fairy Godmother in ''

Cinderella "Cinderella",; french: link=no, Cendrillon; german: link=no, Aschenputtel) or "The Little Glass Slipper", is a folk tale with thousands of variants throughout the world.Dundes, Alan. Cinderella, a Casebook. Madison, Wis: University of Wisconsi ...

'' at the Gordon Craig Theatre in Stevenage. She also performed at the

Theatre Royal, Norwich The Theatre Royal is an art-deco theatre in Norwich, Norfolk, England. It is one of the country's oldest established theatres. It hosts a large range of touring productions. The theatre had a £10m refurbishment in 2007, designed by Tim Foster ...

during a production of ''

Sleeping Beauty ''Sleeping Beauty'' (french: La belle au bois dormant, or ''The Beauty in the Sleeping Forest''; german: Dornröschen, or ''Little Briar Rose''), also titled in English as ''The Sleeping Beauty in the Woods'', is a fairy tale about a princess cu ...

'' in 2017.

Filmography

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* 1960 births Living people English soap opera actresses English television actresses Alumni of Bretton Hall College {{UK-tv-actor-1960s-stub