Carol Harrison (born 8th June 1954) is an English actress and writer. She is known mostly for her work on British

television Television (TV) is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. Additionally, the term can refer to a physical television set rather than the medium of transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertising, ...

, in particular her role as

Louise Raymond Louise Raymond is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'', played by Carol Harrison from May 1998 to April 1999. Louise is the estranged mother of the characters Tiffany and Simon Raymond ( Martine McCutcheon and Andrew ...

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

's ''

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 ...

''.

Career

Harrison made her acting debut in 1976, in the

police The police are Law enforcement organization, a constituted body of Law enforcement officer, people empowered by a State (polity), state with the aim of Law enforcement, enforcing the law and protecting the Public order policing, public order ...

drama, '' Softly Softly'', which was a spin-off from an earlier show, ''

Z-Cars ''Z-Cars'' or ''Z Cars'' (pronounced "zed cars") is a British television police procedural series centred on the work of mobile uniformed police and CID detectives in the fictional town of Newtown, based on Kirkby, near Liverpool. Produced by ...

''. In 1980 she made her film debut, securing a minor role in the 1980 adaptation of ''

The Elephant Man Joseph Carey Merrick (5 August 1862 – 11 April 1890) was an English man known for his severe physical deformities. He was first exhibited at a freak show under the stage name "The Elephant Man", and then went to live at the London Hospital, ...

''. She went on to appear in a number of television programmes including ''

The Gentle Touch ''The Gentle Touch'' is a British police procedural drama series made by London Weekend Television for ITV which began on 11 April 1980 and ran until 24 November 1984. The series is notable for being the first British series to feature a fema ...

'' (1982); ''

Q.E.D. Q.E.D. or QED is an initialism of the List of Latin phrases (full), Latin phrase , meaning "that which was to be demonstrated". Literally, it states "what was to be shown". Traditionally, the abbreviation is placed at the end of Mathematical proof ...

'' (1982); '' The Cleopatras'' (1983); '' Minder'' (1984); ''

Casualty Casualty may refer to: *Casualty (person), a person who is killed or rendered unfit for service in a war or natural disaster **Civilian casualty, a non-combatant killed or injured in warfare * The emergency department of a hospital, also known as ...

'' (1987, 1996 & 2008); Dorothy in '' London's Burning'' from 1988 to 1989; '' Kavanagh QC'' (1995); ''

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 ...

'' (1995) and ITV's '' A Touch of Frost'' (1997). One of her most notable and long running roles, was playing the part of Gloria in the BBC

sitcom A sitcom (short for situation comedy or situational comedy) is a genre of comedy produced for radio and television, that centers on a recurring cast of character (arts), characters as they navigate humorous situations within a consistent settin ...

'' Brush Strokes'' (1986–1991); remaining in the role for five series. However, it is her role in the BBC

soap opera A soap opera (also called a daytime drama or soap) is a genre of a long-running radio or television Serial (radio and television), serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term ''soap opera'' originat ...

'' (1998–1999) that she is most remembered for. Harrison played

, the selfish mother of Tiffany ( Martine McCutcheon) and Simon ( Andrew Lynford). Harrison's character was involved in several storylines, including an affair with her daughter's husband Grant ( Ross Kemp). This role was not the first time Harrison had appeared in the soap. She had previously had an earlier role in 1986, playing the mother of a young boy who was rescued from a speeding lorry by Andy O'Brien ( Ross Davidson). Harrison left ''EastEnders'' in 1999 so she could take a master's degree in screenwriting. In 2006 she began teaching Script and Screen at Brighton Film School. Harrison's other acting credits include the films '' Tank Malling'' (1989) and '' Human Traffic'' (1999), and the ITV police drama ''

'' (1995 & 2002). In 2005 she also took part in the

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by Channel Four Television Corporation. It is state-owned enterprise, publicly owned but, unlike the BBC, it receives no public funding and is funded en ...

series '' Extreme Celebrity Detox''. She took part in TV series '' Celebrity Coach Trip'' partnered with friend Ingrid Tarrant. In 2016, Harrison wrote and produced the mod musical ''All or Nothing'', based on the life of

Steve Marriott Stephen Peter Marriott (30 January 1947 – 20 April 1991) was an English actor, musician, guitarist, singer and songwriter. He was a student at the Italia Conti Academy of Theatre Arts in London and appeared in the West End, before taking a r ...

, of whom she had been a fan since 1965 when he appeared with the

Small Faces Small Faces were an English Rock music, rock band from London, founded in 1965. The group originally consisted of Steve Marriott, Ronnie Lane, Kenney Jones and Jimmy Winston, with Ian McLagan replacing Winston as the band's keyboardist in 1966 ...

at a concert in

Chesterfield, Derbyshire Chesterfield is a market town, market and industrial town in the county of Derbyshire, England. It is north of Derby and south of Sheffield at the confluence of the River Rother, South Yorkshire, Rivers Rother and River Hipper, Hipper. In 2011 ...

. Her musical toured around the country in 2016 and 2017, receiving positive reviews, before closing early after a short run at the Ambassadors Theatre in London's West End.
. The show was revived after the

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...

pandemic lockdown, with the cast undertaking a nationwide tour.

Personal life

Harrison was born in Chatham not long after she was born her father Vic left and Carol was raised in

West Ham West Ham is a district in East London, England and is in the London Borough of Newham. It is an inner-city suburb located east of Charing Cross. The area was originally an ancient parish formed to serve parts of the older Manor of Ham, a ...

in a

working class The working class is a subset of employees who are compensated with wage or salary-based contracts, whose exact membership varies from definition to definition. Members of the working class rely primarily upon earnings from wage labour. Most c ...

, single parent family by her mother Frances.The screenwriting tutor
, ''The Guardian''. URL last accessed on 12 July 2007. She failed her 11-plus exams in her youth and later discovered that she is

dyslexic Dyslexia (), previously known as word blindness, is a learning disability that affects either reading or writing. Different people are affected to different degrees. Problems may include difficulties in spelling words, reading quickly, writ ...

. Harrison was once married to the actor Jamie Foreman, son of the 1960s London gangster Freddie Foreman.Family Business – Jamie Foreman is Marky Brooker
, ''BBC''. URL last accessed on 12 July 2007. They have a son named Alfie.
", ''Walford Gazette''. URL last accessed on 12 July 2007.

References

External links

*

{{DEFAULTSORT:Harrison, Carol 1955 births Living people English television actresses English film actresses English soap opera actresses English dramatists and playwrights Screenwriting instructors Actors from the London Borough of Newham Actors with dyslexia Writers with dyslexia English writers with disabilities Actresses from Essex People from West Ham Writers from the London Borough of Newham