Tracey Childs (born 30 May 1963) is an English actress known for playing Lynne Howard in the 1980s drama series ''

Howards' Way ''Howards' Way'' is a television drama series produced by BBC Birmingham and transmitted on BBC1 between 1 September 1985 and 25 November 1990. The series deals with the personal and professional lives of the wealthy yachting and business com ...

''. Her other television roles include

Marianne Dashwood Marianne Dashwood (eventually Marianne Brandon) is a fictional character in Jane Austen's 1811 novel ''Sense and Sensibility''. The 16-year-old second daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Henry Dashwood, she mostly embodies the "sensibility" of the title, a ...

in ''

Sense and Sensibility ''Sense and Sensibility'' ( working title; ''Elinor and Marianne'') is the first novel by the English author Jane Austen, published in 1811. It was published anonymously: ''By A Lady'' appears on the title page where the author's name might h ...

'' (1981), Linda Cosgrove in ''

Born and Bred ''Born and Bred'' is a British light-hearted 1950s-set medical drama series aired on BBC One which ran from 21 April 2002 to 3 August 2005. It was created by Chris Chibnall and Nigel McCrery. Initially the cast was led by James Bolam and Mic ...

'' (2002–05), Patty Cornwell in ''

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 ...

'' (2003–04) and Elaine Jenkinson in ''

Broadchurch ''Broadchurch'' is a British crime drama television series broadcast on ITV for three series between 2013 and 2017. It was created by Chris Chibnall, who acted as an executive producer and wrote all 24 episodes; it was produced by Kudos in a ...

'' (2013).

Career

Born in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, Childs’ first on-screen role was in the '' Upstairs, Downstairs'' episode, ''

Wanted - a Good Home Wanted may refer to: Law enforcement * Fugitive, a person wanted by the authorities * Wanted poster, a poster put up to inform the public of one or more criminals whom authorities wish to apprehend Film * ''Wanted!'', a 1937 British comedy film ...

''. She also appeared in '' The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie'' as Rose Stanley, ''

'', ''

The Scarlet Pimpernel ''The Scarlet Pimpernel'' is the first novel in a series of historical fiction by Baroness Orczy, published in 1905. It was written after her stage play of the same title (co-authored with her husband Montague Barstow) enjoyed a long run in Lo ...

'' and the 1982 '' Bergerac'' episode "A Perfect Recapture". She appeared as Pompeiian citizen Caecilius's wife Metella in "

The Fires of Pompeii "The Fires of Pompeii" is the second episode of the Doctor Who (series 4), fourth series of the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. It was broadcast on BBC One on 12 April 2008. Set shortly before and during the 79 eruption ...

", in the fourth series of the

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 ''

Doctor Who ''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series, created by Sydney Newman, C. E. Webber and Donald Wilson (writer and producer), Donald Wilson, depicts the adventures of an extraterre ...

''. Childs was married to her ''Howards' Way'' co-star

Tony Anholt Anthony Anholt (19 January 1941 – 26 July 2002), was a British television actor, known for several television roles over several decades. he is perhaps best known as Charles Frere in the BBC drama series ''Howards' Way'' (1985–90). Early li ...

, from 1990 to 1998 and toured with him,

Marc Sinden Marcus Andrew Sinden (born 9 May 1954) is an English actor, director and producer. Sinden has worked in film and theatre (mainly in London's West End) as both actor and producer and directed the documentary series '' Great West End Theatres'' ...

and

Gemma Craven Rita Gemma Craven (born 1 June 1950) is a retired Irish actress. She is best known for her roles as Cinderella in the film '' The Slipper and the Rose'' (1976) and as Joan Parker, the frigid wife of Arthur ( Bob Hoskins), in the BBC TV drama ' ...

Noël Coward Sir Noël Peirce Coward (16 December 189926 March 1973) was an English playwright, composer, director, actor, and singer, known for his wit, flamboyance, and what ''Time (magazine), Time'' called "a sense of personal style, a combination of c ...

's ''

Private Lives ''Private Lives'' is a 1930 comedy of manners in three acts by Noël Coward. It concerns a divorced couple who, while honeymooning with their new spouses, discover that they are staying in adjacent rooms at the same hotel. Despite a perpetuall ...

'' throughout 1991 and into 1992. She starred opposite

Matthew Kelly Matthew Kelly (born David Allan Kelly, 9 May 1950) is an English actor and television presenter. Having been trained as a theatre actor, he first came to public prominence as a television sitcom actor, game-show panellist and television prese ...

Edward Albee Edward Franklin Albee III ( ; March 12, 1928 – September 16, 2016) was an American playwright known for works such as ''The Zoo Story'' (1958), ''The Sandbox (play), The Sandbox'' (1959), ''Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?'' (1962), ''A Delicat ...

's ''

Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? ''Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?'' is a play by Edward Albee first staged in October 1962. It examines the complexities of the marriage of middle-aged couple Martha and George. Late one evening, after a university faculty party, they rece ...

'' at the

Trafalgar Studios Trafalgar Theatre is a West End theatre in Whitehall, near Trafalgar Square, in the City of Westminster, London. The Grade II listed building was built in 1930 with interiors in the Art Deco style as the Whitehall Theatre; it regularly staged ...

in London in March 2009. In 2010 and 2012, she appeared in BBC One's afternoon drama series ''Doctors''. In 2013 she appeared in Series 1 of the ITV drama ''Broadchurch'' as Chief Superintendent Elaine Jenkinson, head of the Broadchurch police. Childs currently works as Executive Producer at the Mercury Theatre Colchester.

Doctor Who audio plays

In October 2001, Childs appeared in the Big Finish Doctor Who audiobook ''

Colditz Colditz () is a small town in the district of Leipzig (district), Leipzig, in Saxony, Germany. It is best known for Colditz Castle, the site of the Oflag IV-C prisoner-of-war camp, POW camp for officers in World War II. Geography Colditz is situa ...

''. This audiobook introduced Childs as the character of

Elizabeth Klein Elizabeth Johnson Klein is an American lawyer who served as the director of the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management from 2023 to 2025. She was previously a senior counselor to the United States secretary of the interior with an emphasis was on wate ...

. In the story, the

Seventh Doctor The Seventh Doctor is an incarnation of the Doctor, the protagonist of the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. He is portrayed by Scottish actor Sylvester McCoy. Within the series' narrative, the Doctor is a centuries-o ...

and

Ace An ace is a playing card, die or domino with a single pip. In the standard French deck, an ace has a single suit symbol (a heart, diamond, spade, or a club) located in the middle of the card, sometimes large and decorated, especially in the ...

are caught intruding in

Colditz Castle Colditz Castle (or ''Schloss Colditz'' in German) is a Renaissance architecture, Renaissance castle in the town of Colditz near Leipzig, Dresden and Chemnitz in the States of Germany, state of Saxony in Germany. The castle is between the towns o ...

in October 1944, where they meet Klein, a Nazi scientist. Childs then returned to the part of Klein a further three times: in January–March 2010, for a trilogy of stories featuring the Seventh Doctor; in October 2012 for '' UNIT: Dominion''; and in July–September 2013 for another trilogy of tales. She reprised the role again in the story ''Warlock's Cross'', which was released in November 2018.

Selected filmography

* '' Richard's Things'' (1980) * ''

'' (1981) * ''

Jane Eyre ''Jane Eyre'' ( ; originally published as ''Jane Eyre: An Autobiography'') is a novel by the English writer Charlotte Brontë. It was published under her pen name "Currer Bell" on 19 October 1847 by Smith, Elder & Co. of London. The firs ...

'' (1983) * ''

A Talent for Murder A, or a, is the first letter and the first vowel letter of the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, and others worldwide. Its name in English is '' a'' (pronounced ), plural ''aes''. It is similar in shape to the Ancient ...

'' (1984, TV film)

Audio work

Audiobook performances for

Big Finish Productions Big Finish Productions is a British company that produces books and radio drama, audio plays (released straight to compact disc and for download in MP3 and m4b format) based, primarily, on science fiction properties. These include ''Doctor Who'' ...

: * ''

'' (2001) * ''

A Thousand Tiny Wings ''Doctor Who: The Monthly Adventures'', formerly subtitled as the ''Main Range'', is a series that consists of full-cast audio dramas based on the British science fiction television programme ''Doctor Who''. They are produced by Big Finish Prod ...

'' (2010) * " Klein's Story" (2010) * ''

Survival of the Fittest "Survival of the fittest" is a phrase that originated from Darwinian evolutionary theory as a way of describing the mechanism of natural selection. The biological concept of fitness is defined as reproductive success. In Darwinian terms, th ...

'' * ''

The Architects of History ''Doctor Who: The Monthly Adventures'', formerly subtitled as the ''Main Range'', is a series that consists of full-cast audio dramas based on the British science fiction television programme ''Doctor Who''. They are produced by Big Finish Prod ...

'' (2010) * '' UNIT: Dominion'' (2012) * ''Persuasion'' (2013) * ''Starlight Robbery'' (2013) * ''Daleks Among Us'' (2013) * ''Warlock's Cross'' (2018)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Childs, Tracey 1963 births Living people English television actresses English soap opera actresses Actors educated at the Elmhurst School for Dance 20th-century English actresses 21st-century English actresses Actresses from London English child actresses English film actresses English stage actresses English radio actresses