Roberta Kerr

Roberta Kerr
Born
Roberta Alexandra Kerr

(1952-05-24) 24 May 1952 (age 72)
Southampton, Hampshire, England
OccupationActress
Years active1984–present
Known forBrookside
Coronation Street
Emmerdale

Roberta Alexandra Kerr (born 24 May 1952) is an English actress. She is known for her various roles in British soap operas including Sally Haynes in Brookside, Wendy Crozier in Coronation Street and Jan Glover in Emmerdale, as well as portraying several characters in Doctors.

Life and career

Kerr was born in Southampton, England on 24 May 1952.[1][2][3][4] She began her acting career in 1984 when she joined the Channel 4 soap opera Brookside as Sally Haynes.[5] She portrayed the character on a recurring basis until 1986. In 1985 she played another character named Sally in an episode of Travelling Man and in 1986, she played Mrs. Bennett in an episode of the BBC Two drama anthology series ScreenPlay.[6] In 1988, she made her film debut as Mrs. Dalton in The Nature of the Beast and also appeared in an episode of the mini-series Wipe Out, where she played a civil servant.[6]

In 1989, Kerr joined the cast of the ITV soap opera Coronation Street as Wendy Crozier, a woman who works for the council and embarks on an affair with Ken Barlow (William Roache), which led to his divorce from his wife, Deirdre (Anne Kirkbride).[3] She left the show in May 1990 following the conclusion of the storyline.[7] In July 1994, Kerr portrayed Pam Blake in an episode of the ITV drama series Medics. The following month, she was cast as Jan Glover in Emmerdale, the wife of Ned (Johnny Leeze).[8] During her time on the show, the character's major storylines included coming to terms with the deaths of her children Dave (Ian Kelsey) and Linda (Tonicha Jeronimo), as well as suffering a nervous breakdown and being sectioned. Kerr departed the role after four years in 1998.[9] In 1999, Kerr played Tania Sylvester in an episode of Casualty and in 2000, she portrayed Miss Robinson in the film Seeing Red.[6] In 2005, Kerr appeared in the BBC soap opera Doctors as Margaret Ellen.[10] She went on to return to Doctors on two further occasions, portraying the roles of Sheila Mitchum and Joan Jonson in 2007 and 2020, respectively.[11] Kerr also had minor guest roles in The Royal Today, Silk, Downton Abbey and Hollyoaks.[6][12]

In 2012, Kerr reprised her role of Wendy Crozier in Coronation Street for a short stint, as part of a storyline where Wendy and Ken are reacquainted again after becoming governors at the same school.[13][14] The character departed after her advances were rejected by Ken.[15] Ten years later, in 2022, she reprised the role again as a regular character.[16][17] The return saw Wendy as a foster carer involved in a storyline centred around Abi Franklin (Sally Carman) attempting to gain custody of her son.[18][19][20][21]

Filmography

Year Title Role Notes Ref.
1984–1985 Brookside Sally Haynes Recurring role [5]
1985 Travelling Man Sally Episode: "The Quiet Chapter" [6]
1986 ScreenPlay Mrs. Bennett Episode: "Brick is Beautiful" [6]
1988 The Nature of the Beast Mrs. Dalton Film role [6]
1988 Wipe Out Civil servant Mini-series [6]
1989–1990, 2012, 2022 Coronation Street Wendy Crozier Series regular [18]
1994 Medics Pam Blake Episode: "Consequences" [6]
1994–1998 Emmerdale Jan Glover Series regular [9]
1999 Casualty Tania Sylvester Episode: "Free Fall" [6]
2000 Seeing Red Miss Robinson Film role [6]
2001 EastEnders Anne Fletcher 1 episode [6]
2005 Doctors Margaret Ellen Episode: "The Girl Who Came Back" [6]
2006 The Write Kit Mrs. Larkin Video role [6]
2007 Doctors Sheila Mitchum Episode: "Protection" [6]
2008 The Royal Today Caroline Whitefield 1 episode [6]
2012 One Last Walk Sheila Graham Short film [6]
2012, 2017 Hollyoaks Judge Barrett 2 episodes [12]
2014 Silk Magistrate 1 episode [6]
2014 Downton Abbey Chemist's assistant 1 episode [6]
2020 Doctors Joan Jonson Episode: "Too Proud" [11]

References

  1. ^ "Roberta A. KERR". FreeBMD. Archived from the original on 6 August 2022. Retrieved 6 August 2022.
  2. ^ "Roberta Alexandra KERR". Gov.uk. Archived from the original on 6 August 2022. Retrieved 6 August 2022.
  3. ^ a b "Who plays Wendy Crozier in Coronation Street?". Heart. 19 July 2022. Archived from the original on 2 August 2022. Retrieved 6 August 2022.
  4. ^ "One on One - Roberta Kerr". BBC. 26 August 2015. Archived from the original on 6 August 2022. Retrieved 6 August 2022.
  5. ^ a b "Coronation Street star Roberta Kerr: Who did she play in Brookside and Emmerdale?". Entertainment Daily. 15 July 2022. Archived from the original on 15 July 2022. Retrieved 6 August 2022.
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s "Roberta Kerr". Spotlight. Archived from the original on 6 August 2022. Retrieved 6 August 2022.
  7. ^ "'Coronation Street' Ken's returning ex-lover: Who is Wendy Crozier?". Digital Spy. 16 July 2012. Archived from the original on 13 June 2022. Retrieved 6 August 2022.
  8. ^ "Johnny Leeze, former Emmerdale actor, dies at 78". BBC News. 26 October 2020. Archived from the original on 4 January 2021. Retrieved 6 August 2022.
  9. ^ a b "Ex-Emmerdale actress Roberta Kerr makes shock return to Coronation Street after 10 years away". Leeds Live. 7 June 2022. Archived from the original on 13 June 2022. Retrieved 6 August 2022.
  10. ^ "Doctors, BBC One, 26th May 2005". BBC. 26 May 2005. Archived from the original on 6 August 2022. Retrieved 6 August 2022.
  11. ^ a b "Doctors, Series 21, Too Proud". BBC. 5 May 2020. Archived from the original on 17 January 2021. Retrieved 6 August 2022.
  12. ^ a b "Judge's verdict - Roberta is a re-Kerr-ing actress in soapland". Inside Soap. 4 April 2017. Archived from the original on 6 August 2022. Retrieved 6 August 2022 – via Pressreader.
  13. ^ "'Coronation Street' return for Ken Barlow's former lover Wendy Crozier". Digital Spy. Archived from the original on 1 May 2020. Retrieved 6 August 2022.
  14. ^ "Ken's ex-lover returns". ITV. 13 July 2012. Archived from the original on 17 July 2012. Retrieved 6 August 2022.
  15. ^ "'Coronation Street' returnee Roberta Kerr teases Wendy, Ken plot". Digital Spy. 18 September 2012. Archived from the original on 6 August 2022. Retrieved 6 August 2022.
  16. ^ "Coronation Street star Roberta Kerr teases new Barlow tensions as Wendy returns". Digital Spy. 9 June 2022. Archived from the original on 9 June 2022. Retrieved 6 August 2022.
  17. ^ "Coronation Street star Roberta Kerr reveals more on Wendy's return in Abi twist". Digital Spy. 8 June 2022. Archived from the original on 9 June 2022. Retrieved 6 August 2022.
  18. ^ a b "Wendy Crozier Returns!". ITV. 7 June 2022. Archived from the original on 2 August 2022. Retrieved 6 August 2022.
  19. ^ "Coronation Street plans surprise return for Wendy Crozier". Digital Spy. 10 May 2022. Archived from the original on 13 June 2022. Retrieved 6 August 2022.
  20. ^ "Coronation Street's Roberta Kerr teases explosive drama for Wendy and Tracy". Radio Times. 7 June 2022. Archived from the original on 28 July 2022. Retrieved 6 August 2022.
  21. ^ "Coronation Street's Abi learns of Wendy's sordid affair". Radio Times. 20 June 2022. Archived from the original on 19 July 2022. Retrieved 6 August 2022.