Jennifer Joanne Metcalfe (born 4 September 1983) is an English actress. She is best known for her roles of Jade Nicholls in Emmerdale and Mercedes McQueen in the

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

soap opera ''

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 ...

'', which she has appeared in since 2006. Her portrayal of the character has led to her reprising the role in the programme's spin-off series ''

Hollyoaks Later ''Hollyoaks Later'' (originally ''Late Night Hollyoaks'') is a British television spin-off of the Channel 4 soap opera '' Hollyoaks''. The series allows for more sexual content, 'edgier' storylines and stronger language than ''Hollyoaks''. The ...

'' between 2008 and 2020. She appeared as a contestant in the sixth series of ''

Dancing on Ice ''Dancing on Ice'' is a British television series presented by Phillip Schofield alongside Holly Willoughby from 2006 to 2011, who then returned in 2018, and Christine Bleakley from 2012 to 2014. The series features celebrities and their prof ...

'' in 2011, where she finished in tenth place.

Early life

Metcalfe was born in

Bradford Bradford is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Bradford district in West Yorkshire, England. The city is in the Pennines' eastern foothills on the banks of the Bradford Beck. Bradford had a population of 349,561 at the 2011 ...

West Yorkshire West Yorkshire is a metropolitan and ceremonial county in the Yorkshire and Humber Region of England. It is an inland and upland county having eastward-draining valleys while taking in the moors of the Pennines. West Yorkshire came into exi ...

and grew up on the

Holme Wood Holme Wood (sometimes written as Holmewood) is a housing estate in Bradford, West Yorkshire, England. Geography and administration Holme Wood is situated off Wakefield Road in the south-east of the City of Bradford and borders Tyersal. It is ...

housing estate. She attended the Scala Kids drama school in her hometown. In between acting jobs, Metcalfe worked as a fitness instructor in Bradford.

Career

In her early roles, Metcalfe appeared in several television programmes, including the children's television series ''

My Parents Are Aliens ''My Parents Are Aliens'' is a British children's television sitcom that was produced for eight series by Yorkshire Television and aired on ITV from 8 November 1999 to 18 December 2006. Overview The show primarily follows the lives of three ...

'' and the ITV dramas '' Where The Heart Is'', ''

At Home with the Braithwaites ''At Home with the Braithwaites'' is a British comedy-drama television series, created and written by Sally Wainwright (except for the final four episodes). The storyline follows a suburban family in Leeds, whose life is turned upside down when ...

'' and soap opera ''

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 Laffan, ...

''. Metcalfe's breakthrough role occurred in 2006, when she was cast as Mercedes McQueen in the

soap opera ''

''. She had previously been considered for the role of

Claire Devine Clare Devine (also Cunningham) is a fictional character from the British Channel 4 soap opera ''Hollyoaks'', played by actresses Gemma Bissix and Samantha Rowley. Bissix reprised the role in 2009 for the culmination of Warren Fox (Jamie Lomas) ...

before her character was created. Metcalfe was the first actress to be cast in the soap by executive producer Bryan Kirkwood. Her role in ''Hollyoaks'' has led to her appearing in its late-night spin-off series ''

'', first appearing in the first series in 2008. It was announced in April 2010 that she would return to the series for its third series later that year, and continued to reprise the role for series 4 and

series 5 Series 5 may refer to: * Aston Martin V8 Series 5, an automobile model * BMW 5 Series, a line of automobiles * GeForce 5 Series, a line of video cards * Psion Series 5 The Psion Series 5 was a personal digital assistant (PDA) from Psion. It ...

. Despite the show concluding in 2013, a one-off special was broadcast in 2020, with Metcalfe returning, once again in a main role. On 19 December 2010, it was announced Metcalfe would take part in the sixth series of ITV

winter sports Winter sports or winter activities are competitive sports or non-competitive recreational activities which are played on snow or ice. Most are variations of skiing, ice skating and sledding. Traditionally, such games were only played in cold a ...

competition Competition is a rivalry where two or more parties strive for a common goal which cannot be shared: where one's gain is the other's loss (an example of which is a zero-sum game). Competition can arise between entities such as organisms, ind ...

''. She was partnered with

Sylvain Longchambon Sylvain Longchambon (born 30 July 1980 in Saint-Priest, France) is a French ice dancer. With Caroline Truong, he won two silver medals on the 1999–2000 ISU Junior Grand Prix series, bronze at the 2001 Ondrej Nepela Memorial, and bronze at the ...

and was the seventh celebrity eliminated from the competition, when she finished in the bottom two of the leaderboard along with fellow contestant

Vanilla Ice Robert Matthew Van Winkle (born October 31, 1967), known professionally as Vanilla Ice, is an American rapper, actor, and television host. Born in South Dallas, and raised in Texas and South Florida, Ice released his debut album, ''Hooked'', ...

, who was saved by the judging panel. Metcalfe quit ''Hollyoaks'' in August 2014. Her character appeared to have been killed off, departing on 18 November; unexpectedly, Metcalfe made a brief return in February 2015, where her character was revealed to be alive, with it confirmed that she would be returning on a permanent basis.

Personal life

Metcalfe confirmed her first pregnancy in February 2017 to former '' Geordie Shore'' star

Greg Lake Gregory Stuart Lake (10 November 1947 – 7 December 2016) was an English musician, singer, and songwriter. He gained prominence as a founding member of the progressive rock bands King Crimson and Emerson, Lake & Palmer (ELP). Born and ...

. She gave birth to a son on 20 June 2017, whom she named Daye Colmic Lake. Metcalfe and Lake split in 2020. She co-owns the clothing rental boutique, The Closet, in Liverpool with ''Hollyoaks'' co-stars

Claire Cooper Claire Elizabeth Cooper (born 26 October 1980) is a British actress, best known for portraying Jacqui McQueen in Channel 4 soap opera ''Hollyoaks'', a character she played from 2006 to 2013. Cooper co-owns clothing rental boutique The Closet ...

and

Leah Hackett Leah Hackett (born 15 August 1985) is an English actress, best known for her role as Tina Reilly in ''Hollyoaks''. Early life Hackett was born in Bolton, Greater Manchester to a mixed race ( English mother / African/American father) father an ...

, which opened in April 2010.

Filmography

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Metcalfe, Jennifer 1983 births Living people Actresses from Bradford English television actresses English soap opera actresses