Lucy Speed
Encyclopedia
Lucy Renee Speed is an English actress known for her television roles as Natalie Evans
in the BBC One
soap opera EastEnders
, and DS Stevie Moss in the ITV1
police drama series The Bill
.
, whom she would later work with in EastEnders. Speed spent two terms at the Italia Conti Academy of Theatre Arts.
. By the age of eight she was acting on stage at London's National Theatre
in Neap Tide, a controversial play about lesbianism and women's oppression. Speed has commented "Mum wasn't keen for me to be a child actress — she thought I'd be even more precocious than I already was… I worked constantly and I loved it."
Speed appeared in several films during her youth, which included playing the role of Josephine Stitch in the 1987 film Scoop
when she was eleven. She went on to secure the role of 'young Aurora' in the film Impromptu (1991), which was about French pianist Frédéric Chopin
and starred Hugh Grant
.
Speed made an early appearance on television when she filmed at Windsor Safari Park
with television presenter Johnny Morris
. She went on to have roles in legal drama Rumpole of the Bailey
in 1987, and later appeared in an episode of Saracen
in 1989. In 1991 she starred in the award winning Dodgem alongside actor Sean Maguire
. Dodgem was a six-part televised drama for children's BBC, written and adapted by Bernard Ashley
. Speed played Rose Penfold, a streetwise love interest for Maguire's character, Simon; they meet at a children's home and then run away to be together.
During 1992–93 Speed appeared as Beki Jenner in two series of Rides
, a BBC drama about an all-woman minicab firm, written by Carole Hayman. She later appeared in an episode of the BBC children's programme Parallel 9
, which aired in 1994.
in the BBC soap EastEnders. She played the brow beaten best friend of Bianca Jackson
(played by Patsy Palmer
), making her first appearance on-screen in January 1994. Speed quit the soap after a year as she felt overwhelmed and unprepared by all the press attention she received from being in such a high-profile show. Speed commented: “I was very frightened by it quite frankly and certainly unprepared for it. I didn't like at all the attention that came with being on such a high-profile show. It simply wasn't what I signed up for in the first place-all that craziness. I was very young and extremely shy, so it all became a huge difficulty for me…I honoured my initial one-year contract and then moved on…they did express their interest in signing me for another year, but I politely but firmly declined. They were a bit shocked. I tried to explain in the best way I could my reasons for leaving at the end of my contract and they ultimately understood, and so I left on good terms with them…I had some growing up to do and instinctively knew that growing up more or less in front of the British public for one year was enough!"
However, in 1999 Speed reprised the role of Natalie Price, four years after her initial departure. Her return was prompted by her friend and EastEnders co-star Ross Kemp
, who initiated contact between her and producer
Matthew Robinson. Speed commented "I have changed. I've grown up and I'm more confident. I've had more life experiences. I've had bad times, lived in different places. I'm a bit more grown up and settled now. And as I've grown older I appreciate that it's much nicer to have a regular job. When EastEnders asked me back, I thought, `Cool, I can pay the mortgage."
Speed decided to leave the soap once again in 2004. She commented "I'd been back for five years and had very little to do the year before. I quite like being busy and I could see the scriptwriters were struggling with Natalie and where to place her so it seemed like the right time to go. It's nice that they've left it open, I'd hate to think the door was shut behind me. Absolutely, I'd like to go back, never say never.”
in England, My England, a film about the composer Henry Purcell
. She made minor appearances in the films Metroland
(1997), Keep the Aspidistra Flying
(1997), and the Academy Award-winning film Shakespeare in Love
(1998).
Her television work includes roles in BBC drama Dangerfield
, BBC comedy Men Behaving Badly
, An Unsuitable Job for a Woman
, hospital drama Casualty and The New Adventures of Robin Hood, which was shot in Lithuania
. She also worked on a television series in America
called Unsolved Mysteries
. She appeared in the BBC hospital drama Holby City
in 2004, the Detective series Jericho in 2005, and in 2007 she filmed for the second series of the BBC comedy Love Soup
.
In October 2007 it was announced that Speed would be joining the cast of the ITV police drama, The Bill
. She plays Stevie Moss, a regular character who appeared on-screen from January 2008. Her third role in the long-running serial drama, Speed had appeared in guest roles in 1993 and 2006. Speed has commented, "I've always wanted to get the long term gig here so I'm pleased… [Stevie Moss comes] from an undercover unit. She's quite girly to look at I suppose; she's not trying to be a boy, but she's quite boyish — she gets stuck in with the fights and she's always got a cheeky answer to everything."
Away from acting, Speed has appeared in television game shows. These include Celebrity Ready, Steady, Cook, and Celebrity Weakest Link
hosted by Anne Robinson
. In 2007, Speed fronted the first self-protection instructional DVD, entiled "Stay Safe With Lucy Speed". The DVD features special forces and "martial arts guru" Andy Hopwood, and teaches various self-defence techniques.
, playing a four-month pregnant singer called Queenie. In 2004 she toured with the Vagina Monologues and in 2006 she starred in the Louise Roche play/musical Girls Night, which toured the UK. The comedy play follows five friends as they relive their past at a karaoke night. In 2007 Speed was one of several former soap stars to act in the stage play Soap at the Royal Theatre, which was a parody of TV soap operas written by Sarah Wood. The play also starred Coronation Street's Paul Fox
, Emmerdale's Janice McKenzie
and EastEnders Marc Bannerman
. In 2003 she performed in the Radio 4 play Elephants to Catch Eels
, with former Coronation Street star John Bowe, and she played the part of Silver in the radio play, Speed and Silver.
, west London
. Speed is good friends with Charlie Brooks
, the actress who played Janine Butcher, her on-screen adversary in EastEnders. Away from acting she enjoys horse riding, skiing and dance.
Natalie Evans
Natalie Evans is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Lucy Speed between 1994 and 2004. Natalie first appeared in January 1994, depicted initially as an unhappy, insecure teenager; she was among various regular characters brought in to increase the cast following the...
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 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...
, and DS Stevie Moss in the ITV1
ITV1
ITV1 is a generic brand that is used by twelve franchises of the British ITV Network in the English regions, Wales, southern Scotland , the Isle of Man and the Bailiwicks of Jersey and Guernsey. The ITV1 brand was introduced by Carlton and Granada in 2001, alongside the regional identities of their...
police drama series The Bill
The Bill
The 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...
.
Early life
Speed is the second of two children born to Sue (née Salter) and Sid Speed, having an older brother, Dan. Her career in performing began at the age of seven after her ballet teacher saw potential and advised her parents to get her an agent. She attended a local after-school theatre group in south Croydon alongside actor Nigel HarmanNigel Harman
Nigel Derek Harman is an English actor, most famous for his role as Dennis Rickman in the UK soap opera EastEnders. He has worked extensively in theatre, with the stage being described as his "first love"...
, whom she would later work with in EastEnders. Speed spent two terms at the Italia Conti Academy of Theatre Arts.
Early career
At the age of seven she modelled clothes for Kays catalogue and she went on to appear in commercials for Sunpat peanut butter, then for gas, paint, soup and the children's toy My Little PonyMy Little Pony
My Little Pony is a brand of toy ponies marketed primarily to girls produced by the toy manufacturer Hasbro. These ponies can be identified by their colorful bodies and manes and a unique symbol on one or both sides of their flanks...
. By the age of eight she was acting on stage at London's National Theatre
Royal National Theatre
The Royal National Theatre in London is one of the United Kingdom's two most prominent publicly funded theatre companies, alongside the Royal Shakespeare Company...
in Neap Tide, a controversial play about lesbianism and women's oppression. Speed has commented "Mum wasn't keen for me to be a child actress — she thought I'd be even more precocious than I already was… I worked constantly and I loved it."
Speed appeared in several films during her youth, which included playing the role of Josephine Stitch in the 1987 film Scoop
Scoop (1987 film)
Scoop is a 1987 TV film directed by Gavin Millar, adapted by William Boyd from the 1938 satirical novel Scoop by Evelyn Waugh. It was produced by Sue Birtwistle with executive producers Nick Elliott and Patrick Garland. Original music was made by Stanley Myers...
when she was eleven. She went on to secure the role of 'young Aurora' in the film Impromptu (1991), which was about French pianist Frédéric Chopin
Frédéric Chopin
Frédéric François Chopin was a Polish composer and virtuoso pianist. He is considered one of the great masters of Romantic music and has been called "the poet of the piano"....
and starred Hugh Grant
Hugh Grant
Hugh John Mungo Grant is an English actor and film producer. He has received a Golden Globe Award, a BAFTA, and an Honorary César. His films have earned more than $2.4 billion from 25 theatrical releases worldwide. Grant achieved international stardom after appearing in Richard Curtis's...
.
Speed made an early appearance on television when she filmed at Windsor Safari Park
Windsor Safari Park
Windsor Safari Park was a popular family attraction built on St. Leonards Hill on the outskirts of the English town of Windsor in Berkshire; it has since been converted into the site of Legoland Windsor...
with television presenter Johnny Morris
Johnny Morris
Ernest John "Johnny" Morris OBE ) was a Welsh television presenter. He is best known for narrating the imported, Canadian-produced Tales of the Riverbank series of stories about Hammy the Hamster, Roderick the Rat, GP the Guinea Pig, and their assorted animal friends along a riverbank and...
. She went on to have roles in legal drama Rumpole of the Bailey
Rumpole of the Bailey
Rumpole of the Bailey is a British television series created and written by the British writer and barrister John Mortimer which starred Leo McKern as Horace Rumpole, an ageing London barrister who defends any and all clients...
in 1987, and later appeared in an episode of Saracen
Saracen (TV series)
Saracen was a 1989 ITV action drama about a private security firm of that name.They operated both in the UK and abroad, usually Africa, but could only carry firearms when on foreign missions....
in 1989. In 1991 she starred in the award winning Dodgem alongside actor Sean Maguire
Sean Maguire
Sean Maguire is an English actor and singer, who rose to fame in 1988 when at the age of eleven he took on the role of "Tegs" Ratcliffe on the BBC children's drama Grange Hill, in which he remained until 1992...
. Dodgem was a six-part televised drama for children's BBC, written and adapted by Bernard Ashley
Bernard Ashley
Bernard Ashley may refer to:*Bernard Ashley - British businessman and engineer, former widower of Laura Ashley*Bernard Ashley , British, author of children's books...
. Speed played Rose Penfold, a streetwise love interest for Maguire's character, Simon; they meet at a children's home and then run away to be together.
During 1992–93 Speed appeared as Beki Jenner in two series of Rides
Rides (TV series)
Rides is a British television series produced by the BBC between 1992 and 1993. It lasted two series of six episodes each and was made by Warner Sisters, a UK based television production company based in Ealing....
, a BBC drama about an all-woman minicab firm, written by Carole Hayman. She later appeared in an episode of the BBC children's programme Parallel 9
Parallel 9
Parallel 9 was a British children's television entertainment show that broadcast from 1992 to 1994. A total of three series - one in each year - was produced, and each series ran for up to twenty-two weeks Parallel 9 (commonly known as 'P9') was a British children's television entertainment show...
, which aired in 1994.
EastEnders
Speed's big television break came in 1993 aged 17, when she won the part of Natalie PriceNatalie Evans
Natalie Evans is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Lucy Speed between 1994 and 2004. Natalie first appeared in January 1994, depicted initially as an unhappy, insecure teenager; she was among various regular characters brought in to increase the cast following the...
in the BBC soap EastEnders. She played the brow beaten best friend of Bianca Jackson
Bianca Jackson
Bianca Butcher is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Patsy Palmer. The character was introduced by executive producer Leonard Lewis and appeared initially from 1993 to 1999, when Palmer opted to leave. In 2002 executive producer John Yorke brought the character...
(played by Patsy Palmer
Patsy Palmer
Patsy Palmer is an English actress. Palmer made an early television appearance on the children's drama show Grange Hill, but is best known for playing Bianca Jackson in the popular British television soap opera EastEnders. Originally in the cast from 1993–1999, Palmer returned to EastEnders in...
), making her first appearance on-screen in January 1994. Speed quit the soap after a year as she felt overwhelmed and unprepared by all the press attention she received from being in such a high-profile show. Speed commented: “I was very frightened by it quite frankly and certainly unprepared for it. I didn't like at all the attention that came with being on such a high-profile show. It simply wasn't what I signed up for in the first place-all that craziness. I was very young and extremely shy, so it all became a huge difficulty for me…I honoured my initial one-year contract and then moved on…they did express their interest in signing me for another year, but I politely but firmly declined. They were a bit shocked. I tried to explain in the best way I could my reasons for leaving at the end of my contract and they ultimately understood, and so I left on good terms with them…I had some growing up to do and instinctively knew that growing up more or less in front of the British public for one year was enough!"
However, in 1999 Speed reprised the role of Natalie Price, four years after her initial departure. Her return was prompted by her friend and EastEnders co-star Ross Kemp
Ross Kemp
Ross James Kemp is a BAFTA award-winning British actor, author and journalist, who rose to prominence in the role of Grant Mitchell in the BBC soap opera, EastEnders...
, who initiated contact between her and producer
Television producer
The primary role of a television Producer is to allow all aspects of video production, ranging from show idea development and cast hiring to shoot supervision and fact-checking...
Matthew Robinson. Speed commented "I have changed. I've grown up and I'm more confident. I've had more life experiences. I've had bad times, lived in different places. I'm a bit more grown up and settled now. And as I've grown older I appreciate that it's much nicer to have a regular job. When EastEnders asked me back, I thought, `Cool, I can pay the mortgage."
Speed decided to leave the soap once again in 2004. She commented "I'd been back for five years and had very little to do the year before. I quite like being busy and I could see the scriptwriters were struggling with Natalie and where to place her so it seemed like the right time to go. It's nice that they've left it open, I'd hate to think the door was shut behind me. Absolutely, I'd like to go back, never say never.”
Other roles
In 1995 Speed played Nell GwynNell Gwyn
Eleanor "Nell" Gwyn was a long-time mistress of King Charles II of England. Called "pretty, witty Nell" by Samuel Pepys, she has been regarded as a living embodiment of the spirit of Restoration England and has come to be considered a folk heroine, with a story echoing the rags-to-royalty tale of...
in England, My England, a film about the composer Henry Purcell
Henry Purcell
Henry Purcell – 21 November 1695), was an English organist and Baroque composer of secular and sacred music. Although Purcell incorporated Italian and French stylistic elements into his compositions, his legacy was a uniquely English form of Baroque music...
. She made minor appearances in the films Metroland
Metroland (1997 film)
Metroland is a 1997 British film starring Christian Bale and Emily Watson. It was directed by Philip Saville and written by Adrian Hodges, based on the 1980 novel by Julian Barnes...
(1997), Keep the Aspidistra Flying
Keep the Aspidistra Flying
Keep the Aspidistra Flying, first published 1936, is a socially critical novel by George Orwell. It is set in 1930s London. The main theme is Gordon Comstock's romantic ambition to defy worship of the money-god and status, and the dismal life that results....
(1997), and the Academy Award-winning film Shakespeare in Love
Shakespeare in Love
Shakespeare in Love is a 1998 British-American comedy film directed by John Madden and written by Marc Norman and playwright Tom Stoppard....
(1998).
Her television work includes roles in BBC drama Dangerfield
Dangerfield (TV series)
Dangerfield is a British drama series about a small town doctor / police surgeon, which ran for 6 series, between 1995 and 1999. Originally Nigel Le Vaillant played the central role , but this character later left the series, the focus switching to his replacement, played by Nigel Havers.The BBC...
, BBC comedy Men Behaving Badly
Men Behaving Badly
Men 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...
, An Unsuitable Job for a Woman
An Unsuitable Job for a Woman
An Unsuitable Job For A Woman is the title of a 1972 detective novel by P. D. James - and also the title of a TV series of four dramas developed from that novel....
, hospital drama Casualty and The New Adventures of Robin Hood, which was shot in Lithuania
Lithuania
Lithuania , officially the Republic of Lithuania is a country in Northern Europe, the biggest of the three Baltic states. It is situated along the southeastern shore of the Baltic Sea, whereby to the west lie Sweden and Denmark...
. She also worked on a television series in America
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
called Unsolved Mysteries
Unsolved Mysteries
Unsolved Mysteries is an American television program, hosted by Robert Stack, from 1987 until 2002, and later by Dennis Farina, starting in 2008...
. She appeared in the BBC hospital drama Holby City
Holby City
Holby City, stylised as Holby Ci+y, is a British medical drama television series that airs weekly on BBC One.The series was created by Tony McHale and Mal Young as a spin-off from the established BBC medical drama Casualty, and premiered on 12 January 1999...
in 2004, the Detective series Jericho in 2005, and in 2007 she filmed for the second series of the BBC comedy Love Soup
Love Soup
Love Soup is a British television comedy-drama produced by the BBC and first screened on BBC One in the autumn of 2005. It stars Tamsin Greig as Alice Chenery and Michael Landes as Gil Raymond . The series is written by David Renwick of One Foot in the Grave fame, and was produced by Verity Lambert...
.
In October 2007 it was announced that Speed would be joining the cast of the ITV police drama, The Bill
The Bill
The 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...
. She plays Stevie Moss, a regular character who appeared on-screen from January 2008. Her third role in the long-running serial drama, Speed had appeared in guest roles in 1993 and 2006. Speed has commented, "I've always wanted to get the long term gig here so I'm pleased… [Stevie Moss comes] from an undercover unit. She's quite girly to look at I suppose; she's not trying to be a boy, but she's quite boyish — she gets stuck in with the fights and she's always got a cheeky answer to everything."
Away from acting, Speed has appeared in television game shows. These include Celebrity Ready, Steady, Cook, and Celebrity Weakest Link
Weakest Link
The Weakest Link is a British television quiz show, currently broadcast on BBC Two. It was devised by Mr Wilton and Euan Green and Cathy Dunning, and developed for television by the BBC Entertainment Department. It has since been replicated around the world. The UK version is hosted by Anne...
hosted by Anne Robinson
Anne Robinson
Anne Josephine Robinson is an English journalist and television presenter, known for her assertive views and acerbic style of presenting. She was one of the presenters on the long-running British consumer affairs series, Watchdog, from 1993 to 2001 before returning in 2009...
. In 2007, Speed fronted the first self-protection instructional DVD, entiled "Stay Safe With Lucy Speed". The DVD features special forces and "martial arts guru" Andy Hopwood, and teaches various self-defence techniques.
Stage and radio
Speed has appeared in stage and radio plays. In 2000 she starred in Be My Baby at London's Soho TheatreSoho Theatre
Soho Theatre is a theatre in the eponymous Soho district of the City of Westminster. It presents new works of theatre, together with comedy and cabaret....
, playing a four-month pregnant singer called Queenie. In 2004 she toured with the Vagina Monologues and in 2006 she starred in the Louise Roche play/musical Girls Night, which toured the UK. The comedy play follows five friends as they relive their past at a karaoke night. In 2007 Speed was one of several former soap stars to act in the stage play Soap at the Royal Theatre, which was a parody of TV soap operas written by Sarah Wood. The play also starred Coronation Street's Paul Fox
Paul Fox (actor)
Paul Fox is an English actor, known for portraying Mark Redman in Coronation Street and Dr Jeff Goodwin in The Royal.-Background:Born in Truro, Cornwall, Fox moved to Birkenhead whilst still a baby. He has one older brother, Christian...
, Emmerdale's Janice McKenzie
Janice McKenzie
Janice McKenzie is an English actress. She has appeared in Coronation Street as Mrs Paton , Family Affairs as Helen Cooper and most famously as Gloria Weaver/Pollard in Emmerdale . She has since appeared in televised dramas such as Holby City , The Royal and Doctors...
and EastEnders Marc Bannerman
Marc Bannerman
Marc Bannerman is a UK based actor. His most notable role has been his portrayal of Gianni di Marco in the BBC soap opera, EastEnders. Bannerman's character was introduced in 1998, but was axed three years later by the executive producer of EastEnders, John Yorke...
. In 2003 she performed in the Radio 4 play Elephants to Catch Eels
Elephants to Catch Eels
Elephants to Catch Eels was an historical situation comedy series broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2003 and 2004. It was written by Tom Jamieson and Nev Fountain and produced by Jan Ravens....
, with former Coronation Street star John Bowe, and she played the part of Silver in the radio play, Speed and Silver.
Personal life
Married to model and actor Spencer Hayler since September 2009, they live in FulhamFulham
Fulham is an area of southwest London in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, SW6 located south west of Charing Cross. It lies on the left bank of the Thames, between Putney and Chelsea. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London...
, west London
London
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...
. Speed is good friends with Charlie Brooks
Charlie Brooks
Charlene "Charlie" Brooks is a Welsh actress, best known for playing Janine Butcher on the BBC soap opera EastEnders.-Acting career:...
, the actress who played Janine Butcher, her on-screen adversary in EastEnders. Away from acting she enjoys horse riding, skiing and dance.