fiction.wikisort.org - Actor

Linda Varilis (née Henry; born 24 August 1959) is an English actress. She is known for her roles as Yvonne Atkins in the ITV drama Bad Girls and Shirley Carter in the BBC soap opera EastEnders, a role she has played since 2006. She had previously appeared in EastEnders as the original Lorraine Salter, the mother of Mandy Salter (Nicola Stapleton) from 1991 to 1992. Her other acting credits include Cracker (1995), Prime Suspect (1997) and Trial & Retribution (1998). She has also appeared in the films Beautiful Thing (1996) and The Business (2005).

Linda Henry
Born	Linda Henry (1959-08-24) 24 August 1959 (age 63) Peckham, London, England
Other names	Linda Varilis[1]
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1982–present
Notable work	Bad Girls (1999–2003) EastEnders (1991–1992, 2006–present)
Spouse	Stavros Valiris ​ (m. 1992)​
Children	1

Early life

Henry was born on 24 August 1959[1][2] and was brought up in Peckham, London.[3] She spent some time with the Old Vic Youth Theatre, and at seventeen she went to the Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art. Henry later set up a production company, Buster, which still exists although she is no longer involved with it.

Career

As well as her role in Bad Girls she is also remembered for her role as Sandra in the film Beautiful Thing[4] and has appeared in the British television programmes The Bill, Birds of a Feather, Touching Evil, Cracker, A Touch of Frost,[5] Trial & Retribution as Marilyn Spark and EastEnders, where she played Lorraine Salter, the prostitute mother of the teenage tearaway Mandy Salter (Nicola Stapleton).

She had a minor role in British film The Business as the character Shirley, which also starred Danny Dyer as the main character.

On 8 September 2006 it was announced Henry would be returning to EastEnders in a different role, this time playing Shirley Carter, mother to Carly (Kellie Shirley) and Deano (Matt Di Angelo) and ex-wife of Kevin (Phil Daniels).[6]

Shirley arrived in Walford in December 2006. Henry took part in the 2008 "WestEnders" Children in Need appeal where she sang alongside other EastEnders cast members. She is close friends with co-star Cheryl Fergison, who played her on-screen best friend Heather Trott. She also took part in a 2008 EastEnders edition of The Weakest Link and appears in the 2010 spin-off series EastEnders: E20.

Personal life

Henry married Stavros Valiris ​in 1992. Their daughter was born in 1993.

In 2014, she was arrested for racially aggravated harassment.[7] Henry pleaded not guilty and stood trial on 11 February 2015 at Bexley Magistrates Court in south London.[8] She was later cleared of all charges.[9]

Filmography

[10]

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1982	The Young Ones	Girl at party	Episode: "Interesting"
1988	Rockliffe's Babies	Sharon Hagerty	Episode: "A Trip to the Zoo"
1988	Screen Two
	The Comic Strip Presents...	Jackie
	For Queen & Country	Kim
1988-1990	Eurocops	Linda Jackson	3 episodes
1989	Forever Green	Doc	Series 1 Episode 4
	The Nineteenth Hole	Council tenant	Series 1 Episode 7
1990	The Play on One	Carol Fairwater	Episode: "Yellowbacks"
	Birds of a Feather	Viv McCarthy	Episode: "Falling in Love Again"
1991-1992	EastEnders	Lorraine Salter	4 episodes
1992	The Bill	Carol Armfield	Episode: "Part of the Furniture"
1993	Don't Leave Me This Way	Janet Weir
	Cracker	Mrs. Perry	Episode: "One Day a Lemming Will Fly Part 1"
	The Bill	Anne Riley	Episode: "Desperate Remedies"
1994	Moving Story	Sheila Roebuck	Episode: "Charlotte, Emma, Bamber and Anne"
	Casualty	Diane Daw	Episode: "Blood's Thicker"
1995	Prime Suspect: The Scent of Darkness	Forensic Scientist	Television film
	An Independent Man	Julie Read	4 episodes
	The Bill	Chrissie Root	Episode: "For Services Rendered"
1996	A Touch of Frost	Sue Venables	Episode: "Playing the Price"
	Beautiful Thing	Sandra Gangel
1997	Touching Evil	Justine Barber	Episode: "Deadly Web: Part 2"
	Born to Run	Judith	Series 1 Episode 3
1998	Trial & Retribution	Marilyn Spark	2 episodes
1999-2003	Bad Girls	Yvonne Atkins	56 episodes
2005	The Business	Shirley
2006-present	EastEnders	Shirley Carter	1,439 episodes
2008	Children in Need	Housemaid	Episode #1.29
2010	EastEnders: E20	Shirley Carter	5 episodes

Awards and nominations

Year	Award	Category	Work	Result	Ref.
2003	9th National Television Awards	Most Popular Actress	Bad Girls	Nominated	[11]
2008	Digital Spy Soap Awards	Best On-Screen Partnership (shared with Cheryl Fergison)	EastEnders	Nominated	[12]
2008	The British Soap Awards	Best On-Screen Partnership (shared with Fergison)	EastEnders	Nominated	[13]
2008	Inside Soap Awards	Best Actress	EastEnders	Nominated	[14]
2008	Inside Soap Awards	Best Bitch	EastEnders	Nominated	[14]
2009	Inside Soap Awards	Best Bitch	EastEnders	Nominated	[15]
2012	Inside Soap Awards	Best Actress	EastEnders	Shortlisted	[16]
2013	Inside Soap Awards	Funniest Female	EastEnders	Nominated	[17]
2014	The British Soap Awards	Best Comedy Performance	EastEnders	Nominated	[18]
2015	20th National Television Awards	Serial Drama Performance	EastEnders	Nominated	[19]
2022	The British Soap Awards	Best Leading Performer	EastEnders	Shortlisted	[20]

References

External links

• Linda Henry at IMDb 
• Linda Henry at AllMovie

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