Nicola Jane Cowper (born 21 December 1967) is a British actress. Cowper is the younger sister of twin actresses Gerry Cowper and Jackie Cowper. Cowper made an impression as a film actress in her early career, but she is best known for her work on British television, in particular her role as D.S Helen Diamond in

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 '' Dangerfield''.

Career

Cowper's career began in the 1980s. She made early appearances on television in programmes such as '' Break in the Sun'' (1981), ''S.W.A.L.K'' (1982), ''A Game of Soldiers'' (1983) and ''

Minder A minder is the person assigned to guide or escort a visitor, or to provide protection to somebody, or to otherwise assist or take care of something, i.e. a person who " minds". Government-appointed persons to accompany foreign visitors are of ...

'' (1984) and then went on to appear in several feature films. Her film credits include '' Winter Flight'' (1984), ''

Dreamchild ''Dreamchild'' is a 1985 British drama film written by Dennis Potter, directed by Gavin Millar, and produced by Rick McCallum and Kenith Trodd. The film, starring Coral Browne, Ian Holm, Peter Gallagher, Nicola Cowper and Amelia Shankley, ...

'' (1985); ''

Underworld The underworld, also known as the netherworld or hell, is the supernatural world of the dead in various religious traditions and myths, located below the world of the living. Chthonic is the technical adjective for things of the underworld. ...

'' (1985); '' Lionheart'' (1987) and ''

Journey to the Center of the Earth ''Journey to the Center of the Earth'' (), also translated with the variant titles ''A Journey to the Centre of the Earth'' and ''A Journey into the Interior of the Earth'', is a classic science fiction novel written by French novelist Jules Ve ...

'' (1989). Leading filmmakers

David Puttnam David Terence Puttnam, Baron Puttnam, CBE, HonFRSA, HonFRPS, MRIA (; born 25 February 1941), is a British-Irish film producer, educator, environmentalist and former member of the House of Lords. His productions include '' Chariots of Fire' ...

and

Francis Ford Coppola Francis Ford Coppola ( ; born April 7, 1939) is an American filmmaker. He is considered one of the leading figures of the New Hollywood and one of the greatest filmmakers of all time. List of awards and nominations received by Francis Ford Coppo ...

tipped Cowper "for the top" after she appeared in the American films ''Lionheart'' and ''Dreamchild''— her performance in ''Dreamchild'' has been described as "excellent" and "impressive".Rick, Hewett
"DANGERFIELD'S GIRL TO MARRY JAILED ROBBER"
''

Sunday Mirror The ''Sunday Mirror'' is the Sunday sister paper of the ''Daily Mirror''. It began life in 1915 as the ''Sunday Pictorial'' and was renamed the ''Sunday Mirror'' in 1963. In 2016 it had an average weekly circulation of 620,861, dropping marked ...

'', 15 September 1996 (Retrieved: 6 September 2009)"DREAMCHILD ****"
''Moria.co.nz'' (Retrieved: 6 September 2009) However, it has since been commented that Cowper "never went on to consolidate her career" and "fairly much vanished into occasional appearances on British television." Cowper has since appeared in a variety of British television series, which includes: ''

Inspector Morse Endeavour Morse, GM, is the namesake character of the series of "Morse" detective novels by British author Colin Dexter, a Detective Chief Inspector in the Thames Valley Police in Oxford, England. On television he was portrayed by John ...

'' (1991); '' Rides'' (1992–1993); ''

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 ...

'' (1992); ''

Holby City ''Holby City'' (stylised on-screen as HOLBY CIY) is a British medical drama television series that aired weekly on BBC One. It was created by Tony McHale and Mal Young as a Spin-off (media), spin-off from the established BBC medical drama '' ...

'' (2000); ''

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 ...

''; ''Devices and Desires'' (1990); as Deborah Wade in the BBC's ''Real Men'' (2003); as Edith West in ''The Grand'' (1998) and '' Judge John Deed'' (2007), among others. She has also played the recurring character Gina Williams—the sister of Cindy Beale (

Michelle Collins Michelle Danielle Collins (born 28 May 1962) is a British actress. She is known for her role as Cindy Beale 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 (r ...

)—in BBC'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 ...

'' on four occasions—she first appeared in 1998, then returned briefly in 1999 and 2007, before reprising the role for the latest time in 2014. However, Cowper is possibly best known for playing the abrasive D.S. Helen Diamond in four series of the

's police drama, '' Dangerfield'', between 1996 and 1999.

Personal life

Cowper is the younger sister of twin actresses Jackie Cowper and Gerry Cowper, the latter being most famous for playing Rosie Miller in BBC's ''EastEnders'' — though the Cowper sisters did not appear in the serial at the same time. Cowper was in a long-term relationship with Tony McCann, a convicted armed robber who served a 15-year jail sentence for holding up a

Lloyds Bank Lloyds Bank plc is a major British retail banking, retail and commercial bank with a significant presence across England and Wales. It has traditionally been regarded one of the "Big Four (banking)#England and Wales, Big Four" clearing house ...

and stealing £9,000 in 1988. Cowper's elder sister, Gerry, fell in love with and married McCann's accomplice in the robbery, Mark Foley, though they have since separated. Cowper and McCann have twin daughters (but not identical), Dora and Tilly, born in 1999, and they live in

Twickenham Twickenham ( ) is a suburban district of London, England, on the River Thames southwest of Charing Cross. Historic counties of England, Historically in Middlesex, since 1965 it has formed part of the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, who ...

, South West London. In April 2008 McCann was found guilty of murdering a 33-year-old man and sentenced to a minimum of 21 years imprisonment.Mostrous, Alexi
"Fiancee of Eastenders star Nicola Cowper faces life sentence for stabbing man to death"
'' TimesOnline.co.uk'' 21 April 2008 (Retrieved: 6 September 2009) Tony McCann died in prison of liver and kidney cancer on 19 October 2020.EastEnders star Nicola Cowper's murderer boyfriend dies in prison amid life sentence
''

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 ...

'', 20 October 2020. Retrieved 10 August 2021.

References and notes

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Cowper, Nicola 1967 births British soap opera actresses English television actresses Living people Actresses from London