Jennie Elizabeth McAlpine (born 12 February 1984) is an English television actress, comedian and businesswoman. She is known for her roles as Michelle Morley in Emmerdale and

Fiz Brown Fiz Brown (also Stape and Dobbs) is a fictional character from the Television in the United Kingdom, British ITV (TV channel), ITV soap opera ''Coronation Street''. Played by Jennie McAlpine, the character first appeared on screen on 20 April 2 ...

in the

ITV ITV or iTV may refer to: Television TV stations/networks/channels ITV *Independent Television (ITV), a British television network and company, including: **ITV (TV network), a free-to-air national commercial television network in the United Kingd ...

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 ...

''. She also took part in the seventeenth series of '' I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here!'' in 2017, where she finished in fourth place.

Early life

McAlpine was born and grew up in Bury.Rick Fulton, 'Fiz: I'm a Flaming Scot', ''

Scottish Daily Record The ''Daily Record'' is a Scottish national tabloid newspaper based in Glasgow. The newspaper is published Monday–Saturday and its website is updated on an hourly basis, seven days a week. The ''Record'' sister title is the '' Sunday Mail''. ...

'' (21 March 2008), p. 24. She is of

Scottish Scottish usually refers to something of, from, or related to Scotland, including: *Scottish Gaelic, a Celtic Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family native to Scotland *Scottish English *Scottish national identity, the Scottish ide ...

and Irish descent, with a grandfather from

County Kerry County Kerry () is a Counties of Ireland, county on the southwest coast of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, within the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster and the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern Region. It is bordered by two other countie ...

and a grandmother from

County Sligo County Sligo ( , ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Northern and Western Region and is part of the Provinces of Ireland, province of Connacht. Sligo is the administrative capital and largest town in ...

. As a young girl, she used to put on shows on the patio for the neighbours, charging them 50 pence apiece. She did song and dance routines, copying groups like

Bananarama Bananarama is an English pop group formed in London in 1980. The group, originally a trio, consisted of friends Sara Dallin, Siobhan Fahey, and Keren Woodward. Fahey left the group in 1988 and was replaced by Jacquie O'Sullivan until 1991, when ...

.Sue Crawford, 'Interview – Jennie McAlpine – Stand up and deliver', ''

Daily Mirror The ''Daily Mirror'' is a British national daily Tabloid journalism, tabloid newspaper. Founded in 1903, it is part of Mirror Group Newspapers (MGN), which is owned by parent company Reach plc. From 1985 to 1987, and from 1997 to 2002, the tit ...

'' (11 August 2001), p. 11. Her father Thomas McAlpine worked in mental health and was awarded the

OBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

for services to mental healthcare; he died in March 2017. With his encouragement, she took up amateur dramatics at the age of eight, when father and daughter appeared together in a

pantomime Pantomime (; informally panto) is a type of musical comedy stage production designed for family entertainment, generally combining gender-crossing actors and topical humour with a story more or less based on a well-known fairy tale, fable or ...

by the Bury Parish Players. She was the fairy and he was the dame. As a teenager she joined the Carol Godby Theatre Workshop. McAlpine's parents separated when she was young, after which she lived with her father. She has one brother.

Career

In 1997, at the age of 13, she entered a Young Comedian of the Year competition run by

Fanta Fanta () is an American-owned brand of fruit-flavored carbonated soft drinks created by Coca-Cola Deutschland under the leadership of German businessman Max Keith. There are over 200 flavors worldwide. Fanta originated in Germany as a Co ...

and came second in the final at the

Comedy Store The Comedy Store is an American comedy club opened in April 1972. It is located in West Hollywood, California, at 8433 Sunset Boulevard on the Sunset Strip. An associated club is located in La Jolla, San Diego, California. History The Com ...

in London. Jennie entered the competition again in 1998, also finishing second. From 1997 to 2001 she performed as a stand-up comedian at charity nights, galas and pub nights in and around Bury with her father. McAlpine played Michelle Morley in ''

Emmerdale ''Emmerdale'' (known as ''Emmerdale Farm'' until 1989) is a British television soap opera that is broadcast on ITV (TV network), ITV. The show is set in Emmerdale (known as Beckindale until 1994), a List of fictional towns and villages, fict ...

'' from 1999 to 2000. After leaving school, she enrolled at her local college,

Holy Cross Holy Cross or Saint Cross may refer to: * the instrument of the crucifixion of Jesus * Christian cross, a frequently used religious symbol of Christianity * True Cross, supposed remnants of the actual cross upon which Jesus was crucified * Feast o ...

, and began studying for her

A-levels The A-level (Advanced Level) is a subject-based qualification conferred as part of the General Certificate of Education, as well as a school leaving qualification offered by the educational bodies in the United Kingdom and the educational ...

.Claire Donnelly, 'Fiz Is the Biz' ''

'' (2 February 2005) At the age of 17 she auditioned for the part of

on ''

'', a role she has played since 2001. McAlpine auditioned for the role with her arm in a sling, after dislocating her shoulder in a fall two days earlier. She was originally hired for five episodes, and went back to studying for her A-levels and working part-time in

Boots The Chemist Boots UK Limited (formerly Boots the Chemists Limited) is a British health and beauty retailer and pharmacy chain that operates in the United Kingdom. It also operates internationally, including Ireland, Italy, Norway, the Netherlands, Thailand ...

. In November and December 2016, McAlpine covered for

Becky Want Rebecca Elizabeth Want (born 13 June 1961, Hyde, Cheshire) is a radio and television broadcaster, based in Manchester. Radio career Want has worked for the Manchester radio stations Piccadilly Radio and Key 103, where she co-presented the launc ...

BBC Radio Manchester BBC Radio Manchester is the BBC's local radio station serving Greater Manchester. It broadcasts on FM, DAB, digital TV and via BBC Sounds from studios at MediaCityUK in Salford Quays. According to RAJAR, the station has a weekly audience of ...

. In 2017, McAlpine was confirmed to be taking part in

season 17 A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperate and polar ...

of '' I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here!''. She finished in 4th place after spending 21 days in the jungle. In December 2020, she became the voice of the new

Burnley Bus Company The Burnley Bus Company operates both local and regional bus services in Greater Manchester and Lancashire, England. It is a subsidiary of Transdev Blazefield, which operates bus services across Greater Manchester, Lancashire, North Yorkshire an ...

Witchway buses running between

Burnley Burnley () is a town and the administrative centre of the wider Borough of Burnley in Lancashire, England, with a 2021 population of 78,266. It is north of Manchester and east of Preston, at the confluence of the River Calder and River B ...

, Rawtenstall and Manchester, providing onboard information and next stop announcements on the route.

Personal life

McAlpine married Chris Farr, a restaurant manager, in 2017. The couple have been together since 2005. On the subject of her

ancestry, and famous red hair she said: McAlpine gave birth to her first child in 2014. In 2018 she announced that she was pregnant with her second child, and gave birth to the child the same year.

Other projects

Since the age of 17, McAlpine has devoted her spare time to helping deprived children in Egypt through the Thebes Project in Luxor. She has also opened a restaurant in Manchester city centre, Annie's, with her husband Chris Farr. The restaurant serves modern British cuisine.

Filmography

Game show appearances

*''Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? (British game show), Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?'' (16 August 2008) – won £50,000 for charity *''The Cube (British game show), The Cube'' (2 January 2011) – won £1,000 for Mood Swings *''All Star Family Fortunes'' (11 September 2010) *''The Chase (British game show), The Chase'' (16 September 2012) – won £15,750 for Mood Swings *''All Star Mr & Mrs'' (22 May 2013) *''Tipping Point (game show), Tipping Point: Lucky Stars'' (28 July 2013) – won £6,700 for Mood Swings *''Pointless, Pointless Celebrities'' (30 November 2013) *''All Star Family Fortunes'' (28 December 2013) – on the ''

'' team, won £30,000 for Mood Swings and The Albert Kennedy Trust *''Countdown (game show), Countdown'' (8 – 12 February 2016) – Dictionary Corner *''You're Back in the Room'' (9 April 2016) *''Rolling In It'' (8 August 2020) *''Richard Osman's House of Games'' (2022)

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:McAlpine, Jennie English soap opera actresses English television actresses Living people English people of Scottish descent Anglo-Scots English people of Irish descent 1984 births Actresses from Bury, Greater Manchester People educated at Holy Cross College English women comedians Comedians from Greater Manchester