Rachel Leskovac (born 5 June 1976) is an English actress and singer. She is known for portraying the roles of Kelly Yorke in the

BBC One BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's oldest and flagship channel, and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television b ...

medical drama A medical drama is a Television film, television movie or film in which events center upon a hospital, clinic, doctor's office, a paramedic, or any other medical topic or environment. Most recent medical drama (film and television), dramatic progra ...

series ''

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 '' ...

'' (2003–2004),

Natasha Blakeman Natasha Blakeman is a fictional character from the British ITV soap opera ''Coronation Street'', played by Rachel Leskovac. The character first appeared onscreen during the episode airing on 12 May 2008. On 29 April 2010, it was announced that ...

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 A soap opera (also called a daytime drama or soap) is a genre of a long-running radio or television Serial (radio and television), serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term ''soap opera'' originat ...

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 ...

'' (2008–2010, 2020–2021), and

Joanne Cardsley Joanne Cardsley is a Character (arts), fictional character from the Television in the United Kingdom, British Channel 4 soap opera ''Hollyoaks'', played by Rachel Leskovac. The character made her first on-screen appearance on 17 September 2015. Jo ...

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 opera ''

Hollyoaks ''Hollyoaks'' is a British soap opera which originally began airing on Channel 4 on 23 October 1995. It was created by Phil Redmond, who had previously conceived the soap opera ''Brookside (TV series), Brookside''. From 2005 to 2023, episodes h ...

'' (2015–2016). In 2022, she joined the revival of the BBC One school-based drama series '' Waterloo Road'' as English teacher Coral Walker. She has been nominated for a

Laurence Olivier Award The Laurence Olivier Awards, or simply The Olivier Awards, are presented annually by the Society of London Theatre to recognize excellence in West End theatre, professional theatre in London. The awards were originally known as the Society of We ...

Early life

Leskovac was born in

Bradford Bradford is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in West Yorkshire, England. It became a municipal borough in 1847, received a city charter in 1897 and, since the Local Government Act 1972, 1974 reform, the city status in the United Kingdo ...

, England.Leskovac has a younger sister, Sophie, and an older sister, Kate. Leskovac attended

St Joseph's Catholic College St. Joseph's Catholic College (formerly St Joseph's Comprehensive School) is a secondary school in Swindon, England. The school opened in 1958 and was the town's first Catholic school, offering education to students aged 11 to 16. Today it rem ...

in Bradford and during her youth was a member of local theatre group ''Scala Kids''. She later trained at the

Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts Liverpool is a port city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population of (in ), Liverpool is the administrative, cul ...

, graduating in 1998.

Acting career

Leskovac received critical acclaim for her performance as the young Viv in the musical ''

Spend Spend Spend ''Spend Spend Spend'' is a musical with book and lyrics by Steve Brown and Justin Greene and music by Brown. The musical is inspired by the life of Viv Nicholson. Productions Original Leeds production (1998) ''Spend Spend Spend'' premiered ...

'' and was nominated for the

Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actress in a Musical The Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actress in a Musical is an annual award presented by the Society of London Theatre in recognition of achievements in commercial London theatre. The awards were established as the Society of West End Theatre A ...

at the

2000 Laurence Olivier Awards The 2000 Laurence Olivier Awards were held in 2000 in London celebrating excellence in West End theatre by the Society of London Theatre. Winners and nominees Details of winners (in bold) and nominees, in each award category, per the Society of ...

. She played serial killer nurse Kelly Yorke on ''

''. In 2003, she played Ciara Pickering in the fourth series of ''

At Home with the Braithwaites ''At Home with the Braithwaites'' is a British comedy-drama television series, was created and written by Sally Wainwright (except for the final four episodes). The storyline follows a suburban family in Leeds, whose life is turned upside down ...

''. In 2006, she also starred in a TV movie called '' Losing Gemma'' for Granada TV. In April 2008, Leskovac was signed up to play

, a hairdresser on the ITV soap ''

''. She left the soap in 2010. In July 2020, it was announced that Leskovac would be reprising her role as Natasha, In 2021, Leskovac left ''Coronation Street'' as Natasha died from accidentally getting shot. Leskovac played Margaret, sister of Betty in the 1950s drama ''

A Passionate Woman ''A Passionate Woman'' is a British two-part drama miniseries that aired on BBC One from 11 to 18 April 2010. It was written by Kay Mellor, an adaptation of her 1992 stage play, inspired by her mother's life story. Plot In the 1950s Yorkshire, ...

'' alongside Billie Piper in 2010. In 2011, Leskovac starred in an episode of the Sky 1 sitcom ''

Trollied ''Trollied'' is a British television sitcom about employees in a fictional supermarket named "Valco", which debuted on Sky One on 4 August 2011 and ended on 23 December 2018. The series was filmed in a purpose-built replica supermarket in the B ...

'' as Leanne the deputy manager who was on maternity leave. In 2012, Leskovac played teacher Lara Heaton in the Channel 4 TV comedy drama series '' Shameless'', and she played Karen, a beauty therapist, in an episode of the

Jimmy McGovern James Stanley McGovern (born September 1949) is an English screenwriter and producer. He is best known for creating the drama series '' Cracker'' (1993–1995), for which he received two Edgar Awards from the Mystery Writers of America. He als ...

drama series '' Accused''. In 2013, she appeared in ''

Last Tango in Halifax ''Last Tango in Halifax'' is a British comedy-drama series that began broadcasting on BBC One on 20 November 2012 until its final episode which was broadcast on 15 March 2020. The series stars Derek Jacobi and Anne Reid as Alan and Celia. The ...

'' before returning to the role in 2020. In 2014, she played Susie Nightingale in the second series of ''

WPC 56 ''WPC 56'' is a British television police procedural series, created and partly written by Dominique Moloney and broadcast on BBC One. The stories feature the first woman police constables (WPC) to join the fictional Midlands Constabulary at Br ...

''. She also appeared in the 2014 crime drama '' Happy Valley'' as Julie, the wife of drug dealer-turned-kidnapper Ashley Cowgill. In 2015, she returned to the role of Susie in the third series of ''WPC 56''. In September 2015, she joined the cast of teenage soap opera ''

'' as regular

. Leskovac received critical acclaim for her role in ''Hollyoaks''. She left the role in December 2016 concluding a dramatic storyline with her.

Filmography

Film

Television

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Leskovac, Rachel 1976 births Living people English television actresses English soap opera actresses English stage actresses English musical theatre actresses English Shakespearean actresses English people of Croatian descent Alumni of the Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts Actresses from Bradford People educated at St. Joseph's Catholic College, Bradford 20th-century English actresses 21st-century English actresses