Lisa Tamsin Faulkner (born 19 February 1972) is an English actress, presenter and television chef. She has had roles in '' The Lover'' (1992), '' Dangerfield'' (1995), '' Brookside'' (1997–1998), '' Holby City'' (1999–2001), '' Spooks'' (2002), '' Burn It'' (2003), '' Murder in Suburbia'' (2004–2005), '' New Street Law'' (2006–2007), '' Murdoch Mysteries'' (2010–2012), ''

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 ...

'' (2017) and '' The Girl Before'' (2021). Faulkner has also carved out a career as a television chef, having won '' Celebrity MasterChef'' as a contestant in 2010.

Early life

Faulkner was born in Merton, London, to David Faulkner and Julie (née Day). She lived in Esher and was educated at Tiffin Girls' School in Kingston upon Thames. When she was sixteen, her mother, Julie, died from throat cancer. Faulkner has since discussed her bereavement in a number of newspaper and magazine interviews.

Career

At the age of 16, Faulkner was approached by a modelling scout while she was waiting on the platform of a London tube station. In 1992, she made her first acting appearance in '' The Lover''. At age 23, Faulkner played the part of Alison Dangerfield in the TV drama '' Dangerfield''. She also starred in the 1995 film '' A Feast at Midnight''. In 1996, she appeared in ''And The Beat Goes On''. Two years later, she played Louise Hope 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 ...

soap '' Brookside''. Between 1999 and 2001, she played Victoria Merrick in '' Holby City''. In the TV show '' Spooks'', her character Helen Flynn was killed off in only the second episode of the first series, having her hand and face burnt in a deep fat fryer before being shot in the head at point-blank range. In 2004, she starred on ITV as D.S. Emma Scribbins ("Scribbs") in '' Murder in Suburbia'', in which she played a CID policewoman in company with Caroline Catz, who played her boss, D.I. Ashurst. The show returned for a second series in 2005, with Scribbs adopting the then popular fashion style of "

boho-chic Boho-chic is a style of fashion drawing on various Bohemianism, bohemian and hippie influences, which, at its height in late 2005 was associated particularly with actress Sienna Miller, model Kate Moss in the United Kingdom and actress/business ...

". In 2006, she starred in the TV series '' New Street Law''. From June 2008, Faulkner narrated the BBC One show '' Heir Hunters'', replacing Nadia Sawalha, until 2017. She regularly taught at Amanda Redman's Artists Theatre School. Faulkner was voted one of '' FHM''s " 100 Sexiest Women in the World" six times between 1999 and 2004. She regularly contributed to '' Big Brother's Little Brother'', a magazine programme about the reality UK TV show '' Big Brother'' on

. She was also a regular contributor to the Sky1 magazine show '' Angela and Friends''. In 2010, she won '' Celebrity Masterchef'', beating Christine Hamilton and Dick Strawbridge in the final. She appeared in the third series premiere of the Canadian series '' Murdoch Mysteries'' when the series filmed an episode in and around

Bristol Bristol () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, the most populous city in the region. Built around the River Avon, Bristol, River Avon, it is bordered by t ...

, England, that was broadcast in 2010, and she returned for her second guest appearance in the fourth series in 2011. She also appeared twice in the fifth series. She co-hosted ''Real Food Family Cook Off'' on Channel 5 with Matt Dawson. The series was broadcast in 2011. In 2013, she co-hosted the daytime

series '' What's Cooking?'' with Ben Shephard and, in 2015, was reunited with Shephard to co-host an episode of '' This Morning Summer''. In March 2017, it was announced that she would be joining ''

'' as Fi Browning, a "stylish and sophisticated" businesswoman. Fi was later revealed to be Sophie Willmott-Brown, the daughter of Kathy Beale's rapist James Willmott-Brown. In March 2019, Faulkner and John Torode were given a weekend cooking show. They host ''John And Lisa's Weekend Kitchen'' on Sunday mornings on ITV. In July 2019, Faulkner appeared on '' Celebrity Gogglebox'' alongside friend

Nicola Stephenson Nicola Stephenson (born 5 July 1971) is an English actress. She played the roles of Margaret Clemence in '' Brookside'', Julie Fitzjohn in '' Holby City'', Sarah Williams in '' The Chase'', Allie Westbrook in '' Waterloo Road'', and Tess Harr ...

Personal life

In 2005, Faulkner married Chris Coghill, one of her co-stars in the 2003 TV drama series '' Burn It'', in

Richmond Park Richmond Park, in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, is the largest of Royal Parks of London, London's Royal Parks and is of national and international importance for wildlife conservation. It was created by Charles I of England, Cha ...

, London. The couple adopted a fifteen-month-old girl who was born in 2006. The couple separated and divorced in 2011. In 2019 she married Australian chef John Torode, They worked together on presenting ''John and Lisa's Weekend Kitchen''.

Filmography

Awards and nominations

Books

* ''Recipes from my Mother for my Daughter'' ( Simon & Schuster Ltd, 2013) * ''The Way I Cook...'' ( Simon & Schuster Ltd, 2013) * ''Tea and Cake with Lisa Faulkner'' ( Simon & Schuster Ltd, 2015) * ''From Mother to Mother: Recipes from a family kitchen'' ( Simon & Schuster Ltd, 2018) * ''Meant to Be'' ( Ebury Publishing, 2019)

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Faulkner, Lisa 1972 births Living people 20th-century English actresses 21st-century English actresses English film actresses English television actresses English television presenters English voice actresses British soap opera actresses English television chefs People educated at the Tiffin Girls' School Actors from the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames Actresses from London Actors from the London Borough of Merton Reality cooking competition winners Actors from Esher Actresses from Surrey People from Kingston upon Thames