Faye Alicia Brookes (born 3 September 1987) is an English actress. She is known for portraying the role of Kate Connor on the ITV soap opera ''

Coronation Street ''Coronation Street'' (colloquially referred to as ''Corrie'') is a British television soap opera created by ITV Granada, Granada Television and shown on ITV (TV network), ITV since 9 December 1960. The programme centres on a cobbled, terraced ...

''. In 2021, she competed in the thirteenth series of ''Dancing on Ice'', where she finished in second place.

Early life

Brookes was born on 3 September 1987 in

Stretford Stretford is a market town in Trafford, Greater Manchester, England, sited on flat ground between the River Mersey and the Manchester Ship Canal; the Bridgewater Canal bisects the town. The town is located south of Manchester, south of Salfo ...

Trafford Trafford is a metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England, with an estimated population of in . It covers and includes the area of Old Trafford (area), Old Trafford and the towns of Altrincham, Stretford, Urmston, Partington and Sa ...

. Whilst growing up, Brookes attended Flixton Junior School and Knutsford High School. She then expressed an interest in musical theatre, initially studying performing arts at Pendleton College from 2004 onwards, before later attending Guildford School of Acting. She graduated in 2010, after completing a Bachelor of Arts degree in Musical Theatre and being awarded the Principal’s Choice Award.

Career

Prior to appearing on television, Brookes starred in various theatre productions, including '' Grease'', ''

Shrek ''Shrek'' is a 2001 American animated fantasy comedy film directed by Andrew Adamson and Vicky Jenson, and written by Ted Elliott, Terry Rossio, Joe Stillman, and Roger S. H. Schulman, loosely based on the 1990 children's picture boo ...

'', ''

Legally Blonde ''Legally Blonde'' is a 2001 American comedy film directed by Robert Luketic and written by Karen McCullah Lutz and Kirsten Smith, based on Amanda Brown's novel. It stars Reese Witherspoon, Luke Wilson, Selma Blair, Matthew Davis, Victo ...

'' and ''

The Sound of Music ''The Sound of Music'' is a musical with music by Richard Rodgers, lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II, and a book by Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse. It is based on the 1949 memoir of Maria von Trapp, '' The Story of the Trapp Family Singers''. ...

''. In mid-2015, it was announced that the Connor family in ''

'' was being extended. The family first appeared in the street in 2006 and have featured in many storylines. Brookes was cast as Kate Connor and after her on-screen brother

Aidan Connor ''Coronation Street'' is a British soap opera first broadcast on 9 December 1960. The following is a list of characters that appeared in 2015, by order of first appearance. All characters are introduced by series producer Stuart Blackburn. Be ...

made his first appearance, played by ''

The X Factor ''The X Factor'' is a television music competition franchise created by British producer Simon Cowell and his company Syco Entertainment. It originated in the United Kingdom, where it was devised as a replacement for '' Pop Idol'' (2001–200 ...

'' winner

Shayne Ward Shayne Thomas Ward (born 16 October 1984) is an English singer and actor. He rose to fame as the winner of the second series of ''The X Factor''. His debut single, "That's My Goal", was released in the United Kingdom on 21 December 2005 a ...

, Brookes first appeared as Kate in October 2015. She won Best Newcomer for her portrayal of Kate in January 2017 at the

22nd National Television Awards The 22nd National Television Awards were held at The O2 Arena on 25 January 2017. The awards were hosted by Dermot O'Leary and Scarlett Moffatt. Until the 29th ceremony in 2024, this was the last time that the National Television Awards would ...

. In April 2019, it was announced that Brookes had decided to leave ''Coronation Street''. Her final scenes were to air later in 2019. On 24 September 2020, Brookes was announced as a contestant for the 2021 series of ''

Dancing on Ice ''Dancing on Ice'' is a British television series broadcast from 2006 to 2014 and then from 2018 to 2025. It was presented by Holly Willoughby and Stephen Mulhern. Other previous hosts include Phillip Schofield and Christine Lampard. The series ...

''. Brookes was originally partnered with Hamish Gaman; however, after he withdrew due to an injury in week 6, Brookes was re-partnered with

Matt Evers Matt Evers (born March 16, 1976) is an American pair skater, model and actor. He is the 1998 U.S. Junior champion, and was a professional skater on the ITV series ''Dancing on Ice'' (2006–2023). Career With his partner Heather Allebach, Eve ...

. She finished the competition in second place. In November 2021, it was announced that in 2022 Brookes would take over as

Roxie Hart Roxanne "Roxie" Hart is a fictional character. She is the main character of the 1926 play ''Chicago'' and its various remakes and derivatives. Development The playwright, reporter Maurine Dallas Watkins, was inspired by the trials, both of which ...

in the UK tour of the musical ''

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

''.

Personal life

In 2012, while appearing in a production of ''Legally Blonde'', Brookes met

Gareth Gates Gareth Paul Gates (born 12 July 1984) is an English singer-songwriter and actor. He was the runner-up in the first series of the ITV talent show ''Pop Idol'' in 2002. As of 2008, Gates had sold over 3.5 million records in the UK. He is ...

, who was portraying the role of her character's boyfriend. The pair began a relationship, and became engaged. The pair split in 2018. While together, the pair set up a stage school, Fates Academy. In August 2023, Brookes married ''

'' co-star Iwan Lewis.

Filmography

Stage

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Brookes, Faye 1987 births Actresses from Greater Manchester English soap opera actresses English television actresses Living people Actors from Stretford