Jessica Forrest

Jessica Forrest (born 1990) is a British actress and writer. She is from Colne, Lancashire and she studied Drama at Manchester University, but she did not like the course as she believed that it was not practical enough. In 2010, Forrest left her course after she was cast as Leanne Holiday in the British soap opera ''Hollyoaks''. Forrest remained in the role until 2013, when her character was killed-off. Forrest attributed her ''Hollyoaks'' experience to helping her learn about the industry and making her feel more comfortable on set. Following her departure, Forrest guest-starred in ''Playhouse Presents'', ''Coronation Street'' and '' Dani's Castle'', and she portrayed a main role in the third season of '' Dani's Castle''. In 2016 and 2018, Forrest portrayed Jasmine in the theatre production ''Chip Shop Chips'', and she co-wrote and performed in ''The Trolley Girls'' at the 2016 Edinburgh Fringe Festival. Forrest later moved to Italy and launched a project teaching children English through song and animation, and in 2022 she performed her one-woman show ''The Olive Tree'', which was a memoir of her life.

Early life

Jessica Forrest was born in 1990. She is from Colne, Lancashire. Forrest enjoyed theatre from a young age, pursuing acting in school and joining her local dramatic society. Forrest attended Ss John Fisher and Thomas More Roman Catholic High School and later Nelson and Colne College. Afterwards, she studied drama and screen studies at University of Manchester, but she did not like the course that she had chosen as she found it too academic and realised that she would rather perform. Forrest had wanted to act but felt that she had no proper experience.

Career

''Hollyoaks''

In July 2010, it was announced that 19-year-old Forrest had joined the cast of the British soap opera ''Hollyoaks''. Forrest's casting was announced alongside Sikander Malik as Jamil Fadel and PJ Brennan as Doug Carter, with the three characters being new university students. All three were the focus of the ''Hollyoaks'' online spin-off '' Hollyoaks: Freshers'', which aired weeks before they began reappearing in the main soap as regular characters. Forrest had won the role when she was talent scouted by a TV producer in the street and invited to audition; she then went to an open audition at the BBC in Oxford Street, Manchester and then was given a year long contract for ''Hollyoaks'' that same day, which led to her leaving her university course. Forrest was chosen out of thousands of candidates. ''Hollyoaks: Freshers'' debuted on 26 August of that year, with Forrest appearing in all six of its episodes. The spinoff allowed the backstories of the three characters to be explored prior to their debut on the main soap. Forrest initially commuted from Manchester to go to work, but she later moved and lived in Liverpool. Forrest had watched ''Hollyoaks'' when she was younger and thus believed that it was "great" to be cast in the soap. Forrest was scared as she had not worked in television before, but she ended up finding it the "least intimidating place" that she had worked in. Forrest also commented that she had learn quickly of working on a TV set and was grateful that she had filmed ''Hollyoaks: Freshers'' before the main show as it allowed her to understand her role and working on set.

Forrest believed that she had low confidence when she came into ''Hollyoaks'' but became less intimidated working on the soap due to finding the people that worked there very friendly, and commented that she found university "scarier". She found Leanne to be different from herself but believed that she had put her "own stamp" on the character. Forrest revealed that some viewers of the soap would recognise her when she is out, with some being nice to her and others giving her "some stick" due to Leanne's character being manipulative, though Forrest commented, "if they're giving me stick, I think I'm doing the right thing as that's what the character is there for". Forrest later lived with her castmates Bianca Hendrickse-Spendlove, Alice Barlow and Brennan. After the exit of Leanne's main love interest, Forrest was worried that she would be written off the soap, but new producer Gareth Philips assured her that he loved the character. Leanne was involved in several wedding storylines; Forrest revealed to ''Inside Soap'' in 2013 that she had never been to a wedding and thus found it strange that her only experiences of it were through the role, and called them her "highlight". Forrest joked that she would like to cast Justin Timberlake to portray a new love interest for Leanne as she believed that Leanne would not settle down with any current ''Hollyoaks'' characters. Forrest called Leanne an "absolute nightmare" that was always causing trouble, but she enjoyed playing her regardless. Forrest also portrayed Leanne in the 2012 Hollyoaks spinoff '' Hollyoaks: Chasing Rainbows''.

In October 2013, Leanne made her final appearance as Leanne when she was killed-off during the soap's 18th anniversary celebrations, being the last of five characters to die that week. Forrest's departure had not been announced beforehand. Forrest had filmed her exit scenes in August 2013, and had already filmed another project by the time her departure aired. Forrest felt good about leaving the soap as she had had an "amazing" experience there and felt ready to leave as she believed that she had done a lot with the character and was ready for change. Forrest believed that she could not have gotten a better departure storyline and enjoyed filming it, adding, "I was covered in blood and dust - which was definitely an experience! It felt real and there was an eerie vibe on set that day. We also had the deathbed wedding to film, and it doesn't get more tragic than that, really, does it?" She added that she and Joe Tracini, who portrayed Leanne's husband Dennis Savage, had worked hard during those 12-hour filming days for those scenes. Forrest's departure had been finalised in June 2013, but she kept it a secret so that viewers could be surprised. Forrest had a "circus-themed" leaving party, which she enjoyed and felt that it was a celebration of her three years on the soap. Forrest was happy that Leanne had been able to get married before her death as it was "all she's ever wanted", and Forrest found it fitting and well-written. As Leanne was primarily a comedic character, Forrest was glad to show a different side to her in her final scenes and it made her feel confidence due to now having experience in both fields.

Reflecting on her time in ''Hollyoaks'', Forrest said that she could not have wished for a better experience and also praised the social side and working side of the soap and commenting that she had met some of her best friends whilst working there. She believed that she had done a lot of growing up on the show and had changed a lot. She added that she would miss working with Tracini and other cast members, and that she had made some close friends that she would see daily even after she had left the soap. Forrest attributed her experience to helping her become confident on a television set, learning more acting skills and becoming more confident overall. In 2018, Forrest reflected, "I was pretty bad hen I began at ''Hollyoaks'' Looking back I realise how nervous I was. Being in ''Hollyoaks'' was like going to university for me. We went out twice a week and had a big house to share. It was just fun". Forrest believed that she would do much better if she got another regular role in a soap opera.

Since 2014

Following her ''Hollyoaks'' departure, Forrest took part in several auditions and commented that her agent was "really excited". Forrest said that she wanted to do some comedy and Children's television. Forrest then had a small role as Charlotte in the 2014 one-off Sky Arts comedy drama ''The Cruise'', part of Playhouse Presents. Forrest had filmed this project prior to the broadcast of her ''Hollyoaks'' exit in October 2013. Forrest later made a guest appearance as Siobhan Davies in an episode of rival soap opera ''Coronation Street'', which was broadcast on 25 June 2014. In 2015, Forrest portrayed leading character Clare in the third season of '' Dani's Castle'' (also known as '' Rich, Jimmy & Kait's Castle''). Whilst filming ''Dani's Castle'', Forrest stayed in a Holiday Inn hotel in Belfast for 10 weeks. Forrest has commented that she enjoys travelling for acting roles as she otherwise gets "itchy feet" if she stays in one place for too long.

After ''Dani's Castle'', Forrest took part in various theatre productions, which she believed changed her as an actress and led to seeing things differently. In 2016, Forrest portrayed teenager Jasmine in a five-week tour run o ''Chip Shop Chips'', which was an immersive play where venues in England would be transformed into Fish and chip shops for the performance. ''Chip Shop Chips'' was Forrest's theatre debut. Forrest's agent called her about the role, with Forrest commenting, "I was having a really busy week - acting is like buses, the parts all come along at once. But I liked the idea and wanted to do it". In 2016, Forrest wrote and performed in ''The Trolley Girls'' at the 2016 Edinburgh Fringe Festival with Olivia Nicholson, who is also from Colne; Forrest commented that she "really enjoyed" the writing side of the production. Forrest added that she used her experiences as inspiration for "new material". In 2018, Forrest reprised her role in ''Chip Shop Chips'' when the production returned for a 10-week run touring around England; Forrest praised the writing of the production and was happy to return as she wanted to develop her character further. In between acting jobs, Forrest worked as a nanny in London, where she had moved to prior to 2018, and she told the ''Lancashire Telegraph'' that she was developing a one-woman show based on her experiences in the job, commenting that nannying had "opened up a whole new world of characters" to her. Forrest also began to do stand-up comedy, which she enjoyed. In 2019, Forrest portrayed Bev in the pilot episode of ''Don't You Know Who I Am?''

In roughly 2021, Forrest moved to Foligno, Italy. In 2022, Forrest returned to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival and performed her one-woman show called ''The Olive Tree'', a memoir based on her experiences as an actress and nanny and her journey from Manchester to Italy. The show ran from 15–20 August and featured Forrest performing on stage underneath an olive tree branch. Vivien Devlin from ''Edinburgh Guide'' praised the 50-minute show, calling it "Nostalgic, lyrical, dreamlike" and "minimalist and magical journey through love and loss" that had "enchanting imagery".

Whilst living in Italy, Forrest launched a project called "Little English", which encourages the learning of the English language through song and animation. Speaking of the project, Forrest said, "I took the twist of teaching English through music, and I had the idea to develop the business to digital so it could reach everyone all over the world. English is such a universal language, and a lot of children want to speak it that don't". Forrest used her background as an educator and an entertainer to develop the project and create a curriculum with an academic side in addition to an entertainment side. Forrest had realised that she enjoyed working in the children's education side of entertainment when she worked on ''Dani's Castle'', with Forrest commenting, "Giving back to children in an educational way is so important". She worked with composer Filippo Ciccioli and illustrator Cath Appleton to develop the project, with other entertainers also contributing. Forrest called the experience "positive" and noted that children enjoyed it. Forrest wanted to ensure that the music in the project could also be enjoyed by adults in addition to children. In 2024, Forrest portrayed the role of Gilly in '' Brassic''.

Personal life

Forrest wore braces when she was cast on ''Hollyoaks''. In 2010, Forrest told ''OK!'' that she had a boyfriend who designed t-shirts. When Forrest joined ''Hollyoaks'', her parents were happy for her and her mother would often check in on her.

Philanthropy

In May 2013, it was announced that Forrest and television present Will Best had launched an anti-tobacco short-film competition. The competition was run by the Deborah Hutton Campaign and Smoke and Mirrors youth anti-tobacco project and asked young people in North West England to research and make a two-minute short film on tobacco marketing and smoking in their area.

Public image

Jack Stott from ''Lancashire Telegraph'' called Forrest "one of East Lancashire's most coveted actors". A writer from '' Burnley Express'' wrote that Forrest's time on ''Hollyoaks'' "has seen her develop not just as an actress, but as a woman".

Acting credits

Filmography

Theatre

References

External links

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Forrest, Jessica

Living people
1990 births
People from Colne
English television actresses
English soap opera actresses
English stage actresses
Actresses from Lancashire
Alumni of the University of Manchester
21st-century English actresses