Amanda Drew
Encyclopedia
Amanda Drew is a British
actress. Drew is best known for her role as the psychotic Dr. May Wright
in the BBC soap opera EastEnders
.
, Amanda Drew's mother was a nurse and Father was a Vicar
. When her parents moved to Leicestershire
for work, Drew was educated at Beauchamp College
in Oadby
where she joined a youth theatre, playing Charity in Sweet Charity
. She later attended King's School Ottery St Mary when her family moved to Devon
.
After graduating from RADA
in 1992, Drew made her name on stage at the Royal Court Theatre
and various other West End
productions in both drama and comedy roles. At the age of 32, in 2001, she joined the Royal Shakespeare Company
.
She has appeared on This Morning
twice and BBC Breakfast News once both for interviews, and also has attended a podcast interview for The Ugly One at the Royal Court Theatre
in 2008.
In March 2009 she starred in the UK premiere of Parlour Song at the Almeida Theatre
. In July 2009 she took the role of Claudia Roe, a fictional amalgamation of female executives of the failed Enron Corporation
, in ENRON
at the Minerva Theatre, Chichester
, transferring to Royal Court Theatre
in October 2009 and the West End
in January 2010.
in the BBC One
soap opera
EastEnders
.
Amanda was involved in one of largest storylines of the year, a love triangle between May, her husband Rob Minter
, and Dawn Swann
.
May's personality has earned her the nickname "Mad May" and "Psycho Doctor" from the media. Drew has described the role as "a gift of a role for any actor because of her complexity." Of her return to EastEnders, she has stated: "I'm so excited to be playing her again. It'd be a shame to give too much away, but she has changed in many ways." Executive producer Diederick Santer
has said: "It's great to have Amanda back. May is a hugely popular character. I'm sure viewers will be keen to see what she gets up to and how she's changed."
In May 2007, it was decided that the ending of a current storyline featuring characters of Dawn Swann
, Dr. May Wright
and Rob Minter
would be substantially rewritten due to the disappearance of toddler Madeleine McCann
. The storyline would have seen May ran off with Dawn and Rob's baby shortly after it had been born. The move has attracted some criticism as to how it relates directly to the disappearance of the toddler, but the BBC has defended its actions by stating that "In the current circumstances it was felt any storyline that included a child abduction would be inappropriate and could cause distress to our viewers."
In Amanda's final episodes, May holds Dawn hostage, intending to steal her baby by performing a caesarean section
. May is arrested and Drew left the series.
Trailers for Drew's return to EastEnders, had been shown in the weeks running up to her return on BBC
channels; on the 6 June 2008. She reprised her role as Dr. May Wright, under the assumed name of 'Jenny'. She was seen smoking a cigarette
and drinking Alcohol
, two new activities for the character. Her character was killed off in an explosion at the Miller's house on June 18.
Evening Standard
Theatre Awards
for her performance in Eastward Ho! at the Gielgud Theatre.
, Greater London
. She owns a greyhound
called Ron, which she adopted in 2007 from the Retired Greyhound Trust. She currently has no children.
s
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
actress. Drew is best known for her role as the psychotic Dr. May Wright
Dr. May Wright
Dr. May Wright is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders. Played by Amanda Drew, May first appeared on 25 September 2006. She left the show on 25 June 2007 but returned on 6 June 2008. She departed again on 18 June 2008, when Amanda's character was killed off...
in the BBC soap opera EastEnders
EastEnders
EastEnders is a British television soap opera, first broadcast in the United Kingdom on BBC One on 19 February 1985 and continuing to today. EastEnders storylines examine the domestic and professional lives of the people who live and work in the fictional London Borough of Walford in the East End...
.
Biography
One of four children born in LincolnshireLincolnshire
Lincolnshire is a county in the east of England. It borders Norfolk to the south east, Cambridgeshire to the south, Rutland to the south west, Leicestershire and Nottinghamshire to the west, South Yorkshire to the north west, and the East Riding of Yorkshire to the north. It also borders...
, Amanda Drew's mother was a nurse and Father was a Vicar
Vicar
In the broadest sense, a vicar is a representative, deputy or substitute; anyone acting "in the person of" or agent for a superior . In this sense, the title is comparable to lieutenant...
. When her parents moved to Leicestershire
Leicestershire
Leicestershire is a landlocked county in the English Midlands. It takes its name from the heavily populated City of Leicester, traditionally its administrative centre, although the City of Leicester unitary authority is today administered separately from the rest of Leicestershire...
for work, Drew was educated at Beauchamp College
Beauchamp College
The Beauchamp College is a comprehensive upper school and further education community college, in Oadby, a town on the outskirts of Leicester, England.-Admissions:...
in Oadby
Oadby
Oadby is a town within the borough of Oadby and Wigston, in Leicestershire, England. It is to the east of Wigston Magna, and to the southeast of Leicester. Oadby forms part of the Leicester Urban Area, and is situated on the A6 road....
where she joined a youth theatre, playing Charity in Sweet Charity
Sweet Charity
Sweet Charity is a musical with music by Cy Coleman, lyrics by Dorothy Fields and book by Neil Simon. It was directed and choreographed for Broadway by Bob Fosse starring his wife and muse Gwen Verdon. It is based on Federico Fellini's screenplay for Nights of Cabiria...
. She later attended King's School Ottery St Mary when her family moved to Devon
Devon
Devon is a large county in southwestern England. The county is sometimes referred to as Devonshire, although the term is rarely used inside the county itself as the county has never been officially "shired", it often indicates a traditional or historical context.The county shares borders with...
.
After graduating from RADA
Rada
Rada is the term for "council" or "assembly"borrowed by Polish from the Low Franconian "Rad" and later passed into the Czech, Ukrainian, and Belarusian languages....
in 1992, Drew made her name on stage at the Royal Court Theatre
Royal Court Theatre
The Royal Court Theatre is a non-commercial theatre on Sloane Square, in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. It is noted for its contributions to modern theatre...
and various other West End
West End of London
The West End of London is an area of central London, containing many of the city's major tourist attractions, shops, businesses, government buildings, and entertainment . Use of the term began in the early 19th century to describe fashionable areas to the west of Charing Cross...
productions in both drama and comedy roles. At the age of 32, in 2001, she joined the Royal Shakespeare Company
Royal Shakespeare Company
The Royal Shakespeare Company is a major British theatre company, based in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, England. The company employs 700 staff and produces around 20 productions a year from its home in Stratford-upon-Avon and plays regularly in London, Newcastle-upon-Tyne and on tour across...
.
She has appeared on This Morning
This Morning (TV series)
This Morning is a British daytime television programme broadcast on ITV. As of September 2011, its main presenters are Phillip Schofield and Holly Willoughby, and Ruth Langsford and Eamonn Holmes, with various other presenters standing in for illness or contributing to sections of the programme.The...
twice and BBC Breakfast News once both for interviews, and also has attended a podcast interview for The Ugly One at the Royal Court Theatre
Royal Court Theatre
The Royal Court Theatre is a non-commercial theatre on Sloane Square, in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. It is noted for its contributions to modern theatre...
in 2008.
In March 2009 she starred in the UK premiere of Parlour Song at the Almeida Theatre
Almeida Theatre
The Almeida Theatre, opened in 1980, is a 325 seat studio theatre with an international reputation which takes its name from the street in which it is located, off Upper Street, in the London Borough of Islington. The theatre produces a diverse range of drama and holds an annual summer festival of...
. In July 2009 she took the role of Claudia Roe, a fictional amalgamation of female executives of the failed Enron Corporation
Enron
Enron Corporation was an American energy, commodities, and services company based in Houston, Texas. Before its bankruptcy on December 2, 2001, Enron employed approximately 22,000 staff and was one of the world's leading electricity, natural gas, communications, and pulp and paper companies, with...
, in ENRON
ENRON (play)
ENRON is a 2009 play by the British playwright Lucy Prebble, based on the Enron scandal.-Productions:ENRON premiered at the Chichester Festival Theatre , before London transfers to the Jerwood Downstairs at the Royal Court Theatre from 17 September to 7 November 2009 and then the Noel Coward...
at the Minerva Theatre, Chichester
Minerva Theatre, Chichester
The Minerva Theatre is a studio theatre seating at full capacity 283. It is run as part of the adjacent Chichester Festival Theatre, located in Chichester, England, and was opened in 1989...
, transferring to Royal Court Theatre
Royal Court Theatre
The Royal Court Theatre is a non-commercial theatre on Sloane Square, in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. It is noted for its contributions to modern theatre...
in October 2009 and the West End
West End theatre
West End theatre is a popular term for mainstream professional theatre staged in the large theatres of London's 'Theatreland', the West End. Along with New York's Broadway theatre, West End theatre is usually considered to represent the highest level of commercial theatre in the English speaking...
in January 2010.
EastEnders
Between September 2006 and June 2007, Amanda played Dr. May WrightDr. May Wright
Dr. May Wright is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders. Played by Amanda Drew, May first appeared on 25 September 2006. She left the show on 25 June 2007 but returned on 6 June 2008. She departed again on 18 June 2008, when Amanda's character was killed off...
in the BBC One
BBC One
BBC One is the flagship television channel of the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom. It was launched on 2 November 1936 as the BBC Television Service, and was the world's first regular television service with a high level of image resolution...
soap opera
Soap opera
A soap opera, sometimes called "soap" for short, is an ongoing, episodic work of dramatic fiction presented in serial format on radio or as television programming. The name soap opera stems from the original dramatic serials broadcast on radio that had soap manufacturers, such as Procter & Gamble,...
EastEnders
EastEnders
EastEnders is a British television soap opera, first broadcast in the United Kingdom on BBC One on 19 February 1985 and continuing to today. EastEnders storylines examine the domestic and professional lives of the people who live and work in the fictional London Borough of Walford in the East End...
.
Amanda was involved in one of largest storylines of the year, a love triangle between May, her husband Rob Minter
Rob Minter
Robert "Rob" Minter is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Stuart Laing. He made his first appearance on 21 June 2006...
, and Dawn Swann
Dawn Swann
Dawn Roxanna Swann is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Kara Tointon, who first appeared on 26 September 2005...
.
May's personality has earned her the nickname "Mad May" and "Psycho Doctor" from the media. Drew has described the role as "a gift of a role for any actor because of her complexity." Of her return to EastEnders, she has stated: "I'm so excited to be playing her again. It'd be a shame to give too much away, but she has changed in many ways." Executive producer Diederick Santer
Diederick Santer
Diederick Santer is a British television producer and is best known for his work on the popular BBC television soap opera EastEnders, a post which he assumed on 23 October 2006 and left on 1 March 2010...
has said: "It's great to have Amanda back. May is a hugely popular character. I'm sure viewers will be keen to see what she gets up to and how she's changed."
In May 2007, it was decided that the ending of a current storyline featuring characters of Dawn Swann
Dawn Swann
Dawn Roxanna Swann is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Kara Tointon, who first appeared on 26 September 2005...
, Dr. May Wright
Dr. May Wright
Dr. May Wright is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders. Played by Amanda Drew, May first appeared on 25 September 2006. She left the show on 25 June 2007 but returned on 6 June 2008. She departed again on 18 June 2008, when Amanda's character was killed off...
and Rob Minter
Rob Minter
Robert "Rob" Minter is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Stuart Laing. He made his first appearance on 21 June 2006...
would be substantially rewritten due to the disappearance of toddler Madeleine McCann
Disappearance of Madeleine McCann
Madeleine McCann disappeared on the evening of Thursday, 3 May 2007. She was on holiday with her parents and twin siblings in the Algarve region of Portugal. The British girl went missing from an apartment, in the central area of the resort of Praia da Luz, a few days before her fourth...
. The storyline would have seen May ran off with Dawn and Rob's baby shortly after it had been born. The move has attracted some criticism as to how it relates directly to the disappearance of the toddler, but the BBC has defended its actions by stating that "In the current circumstances it was felt any storyline that included a child abduction would be inappropriate and could cause distress to our viewers."
In Amanda's final episodes, May holds Dawn hostage, intending to steal her baby by performing a caesarean section
Caesarean section
A Caesarean section, is a surgical procedure in which one or more incisions are made through a mother's abdomen and uterus to deliver one or more babies, or, rarely, to remove a dead fetus...
. May is arrested and Drew left the series.
Trailers for Drew's return to EastEnders, had been shown in the weeks running up to her return on BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
channels; on the 6 June 2008. She reprised her role as Dr. May Wright, under the assumed name of 'Jenny'. She was seen smoking a cigarette
Cigarette
A cigarette is a small roll of finely cut tobacco leaves wrapped in a cylinder of thin paper for smoking. The cigarette is ignited at one end and allowed to smoulder; its smoke is inhaled from the other end, which is held in or to the mouth and in some cases a cigarette holder may be used as well...
and drinking Alcohol
Alcohol
In chemistry, an alcohol is an organic compound in which the hydroxy functional group is bound to a carbon atom. In particular, this carbon center should be saturated, having single bonds to three other atoms....
, two new activities for the character. Her character was killed off in an explosion at the Miller's house on June 18.
Awards
Drew won the Outstanding Newcomer at the 2003 LondonLondon
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
Evening Standard
Evening Standard
The Evening Standard, now styled the London Evening Standard, is a free local daily newspaper, published Monday–Friday in tabloid format in London. It is the dominant regional evening paper for London and the surrounding area, with coverage of national and international news and City of London...
Theatre Awards
Evening Standard Awards
The Evening Standard Theatre Awards, established in 1955, are presented annually for outstanding achievements in London Theatre. Sponsored by the Evening Standard newspaper, they are announced in late November or early December...
for her performance in Eastward Ho! at the Gielgud Theatre.
Personal life
Drew presently lives in a flat in HackneyLondon Borough of Hackney
The London Borough of Hackney is a London borough of North/North East London, and forms part of inner London. The local authority is Hackney London Borough Council....
, Greater London
Greater London
Greater London is the top-level administrative division of England covering London. It was created in 1965 and spans the City of London, including Middle Temple and Inner Temple, and the 32 London boroughs. This territory is coterminate with the London Government Office Region and the London...
. She owns a greyhound
Greyhound
The Greyhound is a breed of sighthound that has been primarily bred for coursing game and racing, and the breed has also recently seen a resurgence in its popularity as a pedigree show dog and family pet. It is a gentle and intelligent breed...
called Ron, which she adopted in 2007 from the Retired Greyhound Trust. She currently has no children.
Film
She also appeared in these filmFilm
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
s
- The Other ManThe Other Man (2008 film)The Other Man is a British-American movie directed by Richard Eyre. It stars Liam Neeson and Antonio Banderas as competitors for a woman's love .-Plot:...
2008 - Between Us 2004
- This Year's LoveThis Year's LoveThis Year's Love is the title of a 1999 film set in and around Camden Town in London. It was written and directed by David Kane.-Cast:*Dougray Scott as Cameron*Jennifer Ehle as Sophie*Ian Hart as Liam*Sophie Okonedo as Denise...
1999 - Mrs DallowayMrs DallowayMrs Dalloway is a novel by Virginia Woolf that details a day in the life of Clarissa Dalloway in post-World War I England. It is one of Woolf's best-known novels....
1997 - Remember Me? 1997
Stage
- Hove
- Pericles
- The Memory of WaterThe Memory of WaterThe Memory of Water is a comedy written by English playwright Shelagh Stephenson, first staged at Hampstead Theatre in 1996.-Vi:Vi is the mother of the three sisters and whose funeral they are together for. She was a glamorous woman when younger, with whom all the men of the village were enamoured...
- The Good Times Are Coming (1994)
- The Libertine (1994)
- The Man of ModeThe Man of ModeThe Man of Mode, or, Sir Fopling Flutter is a Restoration comedy by George Etherege, written in 1676 and first performed March 2 of the same year. Gibbons argues that the play "offers the comedy of manners in its most concentrated form"...
(1994) - The Way of the WorldThe Way of the WorldThe Way of the World is a play written by British playwright William Congreve. It premiered in 1700 in the theatre in Lincoln's Inn Fields in London...
(1995) - John Gabriel BorkmanJohn Gabriel BorkmanJohn Gabriel Borkman is the penultimate composition of the Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen, written in 1896.-Plot:The Borkman family fortunes have been brought low by the imprisonment of John Gabriel who used his position as a bank manager to illegally speculate with his investors' money...
(1996) - Dona Rosita, The Spinster (1997)
- Taking SidesTaking Sides (play)Taking Sides is a 1995 play by British playwright Ronald Harwood, about the post-War U.S. denazification investigation of the German conductor and composer Wilhelm Furtwängler on charges of having served the Nazi regime. Harwood drew inter alia on a detailed diary kept by Furtwängler of his...
(1997) - Tamagotchi Heaven (1998)
- The School of NightThe School of NightThe School of Night is a modern name for a group of men centred on Sir Walter Raleigh that was once referred to in 1592 as the "School of Atheism." The group supposedly included poets and scientists such as Christopher Marlowe, George Chapman and Thomas Harriot...
(1999) - The House of Bernarda Alba (1999)
- Top GirlsTop GirlsTop Girls is a 1982 play by Caryl Churchill. It is about a woman named Marlene, a career-driven woman who is employed at the 'Top Girls' employment agency. The play examines issues of gender discrimination present in the Thatcherite society that it is set in...
(2000) - Mr.Kolpert (2000)
- Love in a Wood (2001)
- JubileeJubilee (musical)Jubilee is a musical comedy with a book by Moss Hart and music and lyrics by Cole Porter. It premiered on Broadway in 1935 to rapturous reviews. Inspired by the recent silver jubilee of King George V of Great Britain, the story is of the royal family of a fictional European country...
(2001) - Eastward Ho! (2002)
- The Island PrincessThe Island PrincessThe Island Princess is a late Jacobean tragicomedy by John Fletcher, initially published in the first Beaumont and Fletcher folio of 1647.-The play:...
(2002) - 100 (2002)
- Roman Actor (2002)
- The Malcontentant (2002)
- Madame Bovery - Breakfast with Emma (2003)
- Damages (2004)
- Blithe SpiritBlithe Spirit (play)Blithe Spirit is a comic play written by Noël Coward which takes its title from Percy Bysshe Shelley's poem "To a Skylark" . The play concerns socialite and novelist Charles Condomine, who invites the eccentric medium and clairvoyant, Madame Arcati, to his house to conduct a séance, hoping to...
(2004) - Play/Not I (2005)
- Otherwise EngagedOtherwise EngagedOtherwise Engaged is a bleakly comic play by English playwright Simon Gray. The play previewed at the Oxford Playhouse and the Richmond Theatre, and then opened at the Queen's Theatre in London on 10 July 1975, with Alan Bates as the star and Harold Pinter as director, produced by Michael Codron....
(2005) - Enemies (2006)
- The Ugly One (2007 & 2008)
- Chronic (2008)
- Chain Play II (2008)
- Faces In The Crowd (2008)
- After the Accident (2008)
- Parlour Song (2009)
- The Stone (2009)
- The Hotel Play (2009)
- EnronEnronEnron Corporation was an American energy, commodities, and services company based in Houston, Texas. Before its bankruptcy on December 2, 2001, Enron employed approximately 22,000 staff and was one of the world's leading electricity, natural gas, communications, and pulp and paper companies, with...
(2009 & 2010) - House of GamesHouse of GamesHouse of Games is David Mamet's 1987 film directorial debut. Mamet wrote the screenplay himself, from a story he devised with Jonathan Katz. The film's cast includes Lindsay Crouse, Joe Mantegna, Ricky Jay, and J. T. Walsh.-Plot:...
(2010) - Twelfth Night (2011)
Television
- Between The Lines 1992
- Full Stretch 1993
- PerformancePerformanceA performance, in performing arts, generally comprises an event in which a performer or group of performers behave in a particular way for another group of people, the audience. Choral music and ballet are examples. Usually the performers participate in rehearsals beforehand. Afterwards audience...
1993 - Paul Calf's Video Diary 1993
- Soldier SoldierSoldier SoldierSoldier Soldier is a British television drama series. The title comes from a traditional song of the same name.Produced by Central Television and broadcast on the ITV network, it ran for a total of seven series and 82 episodes from 1991 to 1997...
1994 - Degree's Of Love 1995
- Men Behaving BadlyMen Behaving BadlyMen Behaving Badly is a British comedy that was created and written by Simon Nye. It follows the lives of Gary Strang and his flatmates, Dermot Povey and Tony Smart It was first broadcast on ITV in 1992...
1998-(Wendy) - Tough Love 2000
- SpooksSpooksSpooks is a British television drama series that originally aired on BBC One from 13 May 2002 – 23 October 2011, consisting of 10 series. The title is a popular colloquialism for spies, as the series follows the work of a group of MI5 officers based at the service's Thames House headquarters, in a...
2002 - The BillThe BillThe Bill is a police procedural television series that ran from October 1984 to August 2010. It focused on the lives and work of one shift of police officers, rather than on any particular aspect of police work...
1995. 2003 - M.I.T.: Murder Investigation Team 2003
- No AngelsNo AngelsThe No Angels are an all-female pop trio from Germany, consisting of band members Lucy Diakovska, Sandy Mölling, and Jessica Wahls. Critically acclaimed, the band has won dozen of awards and prizes since their establishment in the early 2000s, including three ECHOs, a World Music Awards, a NRJ...
2004 - The Golden HourThe Golden Hour (TV series)The Golden Hour was an ITV drama series, first shown in 2005.The series centred on the activities of a specialist medical unit, HEMS which is based in London, operated by the London Ambulance Service, in dealing with emergency cases...
2005 - Holby Blue 2008
- EastEndersEastEndersEastEnders is a British television soap opera, first broadcast in the United Kingdom on BBC One on 19 February 1985 and continuing to today. EastEnders storylines examine the domestic and professional lives of the people who live and work in the fictional London Borough of Walford in the East End...
2006–2007, 2008 - Midsomer MurdersMidsomer MurdersMidsomer Murders is a British television detective drama that has aired on ITV since 1997. The show is based on the books by Caroline Graham, as originally adapted by Anthony Horowitz. The lead character is DCI Tom Barnaby who works for Causton CID. When Nettles left the show in 2011 he was...
2010