Nicola Stapleton
Encyclopedia
Nicola Kathleen Stapleton (born 9 August 1974 in Elephant and Castle
, London
) is an English
actress. Stapleton began her career at an early age. She is most famous for her work on British television, in particular her roles as Mandy Salter
in BBC
's EastEnders and Janine Nebeski in ITV
's Bad Girls
.
in South London
. She and her younger brother Vince were born to working class
parents, Kate—a cleaner from Scotland
— and Vincent Stapleton, who ran a car hire business.
She attended the Townsend Primary School in South East London
, where her parents were advised by a teacher "to channel her energy into something positive." As a result they sent her to the Corona Theatre School
and Sylvia Young Theatre School
, where Denise Van Outen
, Dani Behr
and her future EastEnders co-star, Danniella Westbrook
, were among her contemporaries.
(1983). She made her TV debut in the detective series, Dempsey & Makepeace
(ITV
), in 1985 and she went on to have roles in feature films such as Little Shop of Horrors
(Geffen Pictures, 1986); Hansel and Gretel (MGM, 1987); Snow White
(MGM, 1987) and Courage Mountain (Paramount, 1990).
At age 12 she played the part of Sally in the 1987 Children's BBC production, Simon and the Witch
. She also had a minor role in the successful BBC sitcom, Bread
.
in the popular BBC
soap opera
EastEnders, which she played from 1992–1994. During her stint in the soap, Stapleton's character was featured in storylines about child and drug abuse, homelessness and prostitution.
Her EastEnders character was also featured in a special episode of the popular science fiction
series, Doctor Who
, which was entitled Dimensions in Time
(1993). The episode was specially screened as part of BBC's annual fund-raising event, Children in Need
. Viewers were asked to phone in and vote which EastEnders character, Mandy or 'Big' Ron, would appear in the show. Two versions were filmed for each voting outcome, but the Mandy version won with 56% of the vote.
Stapleton grew tired of all the attention she received from being in such a high-profile show, so she quit the role in 1994. In an interview in 2005 Stapleton commented: "Working on EastEnders was so high-profile it put me off working on soaps for a while…I've been asked a number of times to go back but I've done a lot of really credible stuff in theatre, and I thought, 'It took me a long time get here. I'm not ready to go back to Mandy just yet'…The publicity with something regarding EastEnders is huge and sometimes you end up feeling like a famous person rather than an actress - I wanted my work to be more fulfilling than that."
In June 2011 she announced that she would be returning to EastEnders later that year.
(ITV, 1993); The Thin Blue Line
(BBC, 1995); The Bill
(ITV, 2002); Casualty
(BBC, 1999) and Casualty@Holby City
(2004); Harry Enfield and Chums (BBC); Audrey and Friends (2000); Brinks Mat: The Greatest Heist (2003) and Jane Hall
(ITV, 2006), among others.
She has also appeared in feature films including: Urban Ghost Story (Living Spirit Pictures, 1998); The Killing Zone
(1999); It Was an Accident (2000); South West Nine (2001); Goodbye Charlie Bright (2001); Lava (2002) and Chunky Monkey (2001).
On stage she played the role of Peter Pan
in a musical version of the JM Barrie novel, which she then toured the UK alongside actors Terence Donovan
and Laurence Mark Wythe
who later become a composer and lyricist in musical theatre.
In 1998, she was cast in Channel 4
's successful Young Person's Guide to Becoming a Rock Star
. She played Joe Nardone, a sex-mad guitarist in a Scottish band, which goes from playing pubs to netting a record deal via a string of wild parties.
In 2002, Stapleton guest starred in her first of two roles of ITV1s cop show The Bill, She played tough talking young mum Tina Pope, who eventually becomes the second victim of the Sun Hill Serial Killer
.
Stapleton is more recently known for playing the prisoner Janine Nebeski in the seventh and eighth series of ITV prison drama Bad Girls
(2005–2006). In the final series, her character embarked on a romance with male prison officer, Donny Kimber who was played by her ex-EastEnders co-star, Sid Owen
.
On 4 November 2006, the Stapleton family appeared on Celebrity Family Fortunes, headed by Nicola and that same month, Stapleton guest-starred in the ITV police drama The Bill
; her second role in the programme to date. She acted alongside Birds of a Feather
star Linda Robson
, to form a drug-addicted mother-daughter duo. She played the role of Louise Parker in the 2007 Lynda La Plante
televised mini-series, The Commander: The Devil You Know, and appeared in BBC's The Last Enemy
in 2008.
On stage, Stapleton has appeared in Cockroach Who at The National Theatre
; Of Mice and Men
, which toured the UK; Scissor Happy at the Duchess Theatre
(1997); Essex Girls, Corner Boys and Four Star Hotel, which were all shown at the Royal Court Theatre
. Nicola also appeared on a TV Goodies/Baddies special of Weakest Link
. She was the 6th one voted off.
In August 2008, it was announced that she would play the role of Eli Dingle
's friend Danielle Hutch on the English soap opera Emmerdale
, her first scene will be shown in September 2008. Stapleton said of her role: "Danielle is such an intriguing character because there's more to her than meets the eye. I'm really looking forward to starting filming and I think viewers can expect some interesting encounters as we explore the relationship between Danielle and Eli." Emmerdale series producer Anita Turner
added: "I'm so pleased to welcome an actress with Nicola's calibre to the show. Eli likes to manipulate people, but Danielle is a different proposition and she'll definitely get under his skin." Her debut episode was transmitted on ITV1
, at 7pm BST (hour long episode), on Tuesday 23 September 2008. Her entrance was made by Eli Dingle speeding in one of Debbie Dingle
's taxis, and knocking her over in a country lane.
In September 2009, Nicola appeared in Channel 4
soap opera
Hollyoaks
spin-off Hollyoaks Later, as the friend of Cindy Cunningham
called Savannah.
In October 2009, Nicola appeared in the UK Film Council Funded short film Hands Solo, a mockumentary about the world's most famous Deaf porn star.
in order to keep her property in South Norwood
, which she had purchased from her father for £175,000 before his imprisonment for fraud. The prosecution claimed that the house had originally been purchased from "ill-gotten gains", and wanted to seize the property as part of the confiscation order. Stapleton maintains that she bought the property out of her earnings as an actress in 2000. The court found in favour of Nicola Stapleton.
+Website of new short film Hands Solo
Elephant and Castle
The Elephant and Castle is a major road intersection in south London, England, located in the London Borough of Southwark. It is also used as a name for the surrounding area....
, 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...
) is an English
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
actress. Stapleton began her career at an early age. She is most famous for her work on British television, in particular her roles as Mandy Salter
Mandy Salter
Mandy Salter is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Nicola Stapleton. Introduced on 12 March 1992, Mandy was portrayed as a teenage tearaway. She was featured in storylines about homelessness, child and drug abuse. Her relationship with Aidan Brosnan was one of the...
in 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...
's EastEnders and Janine Nebeski in ITV
ITV
ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...
's Bad Girls
Bad Girls (TV series)
Bad Girls is an award-winning British television drama series that was broadcast on ITV from 1999 to 2006. It is produced by Shed Productions, the company which later produced Footballers' Wives and Waterloo Road...
.
Early life
Stapleton grew up off East Street, which runs down the middle of the Old Kent RoadOld Kent Road
The Old Kent Road is a road in South East London, England and forms part of Watling Street, the Roman road which ran from Dover to Holyhead. The street is famous as the equal cheapest property on the London Monopoly board and as the only one in South London....
in South London
South London
South London is the southern part of London, England, United Kingdom.According to the 2011 official Boundary Commission for England definition, South London includes the London boroughs of Bexley, Bromley, Croydon, Greenwich, Kingston, Lambeth, Lewisham, Merton, Southwark, Sutton and...
. She and her younger brother Vince were born to working class
Working class
Working class is a term used in the social sciences and in ordinary conversation to describe those employed in lower tier jobs , often extending to those in unemployment or otherwise possessing below-average incomes...
parents, Kate—a cleaner from Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
— and Vincent Stapleton, who ran a car hire business.
She attended the Townsend Primary School in South East London
South East (London sub region)
The South East is a sub-region of the London Plan corresponding to the London Boroughs of Bexley, Bromley, Greenwich, Lewisham and Southwark. The sub region was established in 2008. The south east has a population of 1,300,000 and is the location of 500,000 jobs...
, where her parents were advised by a teacher "to channel her energy into something positive." As a result they sent her to the Corona Theatre School
Corona Theatre School
Corona Stage Academy was a successful British drama school founded by Rona Knight in the mid 1940s. The school started in Chiswick before later moving to 16 Ravenscourt Avenue, Hammersmith in 1955. The school produced many top names of the British stage and screen, but it closed in 1989 following...
and Sylvia Young Theatre School
Sylvia Young Theatre School
Sylvia Young Theatre School is an independent fee-paying stage school, in Westminster, London, named after its founder and Principal, Sylvia Young.-Outline:...
, where Denise Van Outen
Denise van Outen
Denise van Outen is an English actress, singer and television presenter. Her most notable roles to date are as a presenter on The Big Breakfast, and as Roxie Hart in the musical Chicago on both the West End and on Broadway.- Early life :Born Denise Kathleen Outen in Basildon, Essex, she is the...
, Dani Behr
Dani Behr
Dani Behr is an English singer, actress and television presenter.-Early life:Behr was born in Mill Hill London, of South African Jewish descent. Her father is a partner in London estate agents Behr & Butchoff...
and her future EastEnders co-star, Danniella Westbrook
Danniella Westbrook
Danniella Westbrook is an English actress and television presenter. She is known for being the original actress to play Samantha Mitchell in the popular BBC soap opera EastEnders from 1990–93, 1995–96, 1999–2000 and 2009–10. Away from EastEnders she has presented various shows, and was also a...
, were among her contemporaries.
Early career
Stapleton's career in showbusiness started at the early age of six and at the age of 9 she had a minor role as an extra in the Bond movie OctopussyOctopussy
Octopussy is the thirteenth entry in the James Bond series, and the sixth to star Roger Moore as the fictional MI6 agent James Bond. The film's title is taken from a short story in Ian Fleming's 1966 short story collection Octopussy and The Living Daylights...
(1983). She made her TV debut in the detective series, Dempsey & Makepeace
Dempsey & Makepeace
Dempsey & Makepeace is a British television crime drama made by London Weekend Television for ITV, created and produced by Ranald Graham...
(ITV
ITV
ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...
), in 1985 and she went on to have roles in feature films such as Little Shop of Horrors
Little Shop of Horrors (1986 film)
Little Shop of Horrors is a 1986 American comedy musical film adaptation of the off-Broadway musical comedy of the same name by composer Alan Menken and writer Howard Ashman, about a nerdy florist shop worker who raises a vicious plant that feeds on human blood...
(Geffen Pictures, 1986); Hansel and Gretel (MGM, 1987); Snow White
Snow White (1987 film)
Snow White is a 1987 musical film based on the classic fairytale and released as part of the "Cannon Movie Tales" series. Diana Rigg stars as the Wicked Queen.The film was released straight to video...
(MGM, 1987) and Courage Mountain (Paramount, 1990).
At age 12 she played the part of Sally in the 1987 Children's BBC production, Simon and the Witch
Simon and the Witch
Simon and the Witch is the name of a children's book by Margaret Stuart Barry, published by Collins, illustrated by Linda Birch. It is also generally used as the name of the series which follows on. Simon is a very sensible young schoolboy who has a friend who is a real witch...
. She also had a minor role in the successful BBC sitcom, Bread
Bread (TV series)
Bread was a British television sitcom, written by Carla Lane, produced by the BBC and screened on BBC1 from 1 May 1986 to 3 November 1991....
.
EastEnders
Stapleton is perhaps best known for her role as the wayward Mandy SalterMandy Salter
Mandy Salter is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Nicola Stapleton. Introduced on 12 March 1992, Mandy was portrayed as a teenage tearaway. She was featured in storylines about homelessness, child and drug abuse. Her relationship with Aidan Brosnan was one of the...
in the popular 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...
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, which she played from 1992–1994. During her stint in the soap, Stapleton's character was featured in storylines about child and drug abuse, homelessness and prostitution.
Her EastEnders character was also featured in a special episode of the popular science fiction
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
series, Doctor Who
Doctor Who
Doctor Who is a British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC. The programme depicts the adventures of a time-travelling humanoid alien known as the Doctor who explores the universe in a sentient time machine called the TARDIS that flies through time and space, whose exterior...
, which was entitled Dimensions in Time
Dimensions in Time
Dimensions in Time is a charity special crossover between the British science fiction television series Doctor Who and the soap opera EastEnders that ran in two parts on 26 and 27 November 1993. It was filmed on the EastEnders Albert Square set, and features several of the stars of that programme...
(1993). The episode was specially screened as part of BBC's annual fund-raising event, Children in Need
Children in Need
Children in Need is an annual British charity appeal organised by the BBC. Since 1980 it has raised over £500 million. The highlight of the Children in Need appeal is an annual telethon, held in November. A teddy bear named "Pudsey Bear" fronts the campaign, while Terry Wogan is a long...
. Viewers were asked to phone in and vote which EastEnders character, Mandy or 'Big' Ron, would appear in the show. Two versions were filmed for each voting outcome, but the Mandy version won with 56% of the vote.
Stapleton grew tired of all the attention she received from being in such a high-profile show, so she quit the role in 1994. In an interview in 2005 Stapleton commented: "Working on EastEnders was so high-profile it put me off working on soaps for a while…I've been asked a number of times to go back but I've done a lot of really credible stuff in theatre, and I thought, 'It took me a long time get here. I'm not ready to go back to Mandy just yet'…The publicity with something regarding EastEnders is huge and sometimes you end up feeling like a famous person rather than an actress - I wanted my work to be more fulfilling than that."
In June 2011 she announced that she would be returning to EastEnders later that year.
Other roles
Stapleton's subsequent TV credits have included; You Bet!You Bet!
You Bet! was a British game show based around the format of the German show Wetten, dass..? developed by Frank Elstner. You Bet! ran on ITV, mostly on Saturday nights but sometimes on Fridays, between 20 February 1988 and 12 April 1997, initially hosted by Bruce Forsyth from 1988 to 1990, then by...
(ITV, 1993); The Thin Blue Line
The Thin Blue Line (TV series)
The Thin Blue Line is a British sitcom starring Rowan Atkinson set in a police station that ran for two series on the BBC from 1995 to 1996...
(BBC, 1995); 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...
(ITV, 2002); Casualty
Casualty (TV series)
Casualty, stylised as Casual+y, is a British weekly television show broadcast on BBC One, and the longest-running emergency medical drama television series in the world. Created by Jeremy Brock and Paul Unwin, it was first broadcast on 6 September 1986, and transmitted in the UK on BBC One. The...
(BBC, 1999) and Casualty@Holby City
Casualty@Holby City
Casualty@Holby City is the name given to special crossover episodes of BBC medical dramas Casualty and Holby City. While Casualty was launched on 6 September 1986, and its spin-off Holby City was first aired on 12 January 1999, the first full crossover episode between the two programmes was not...
(2004); Harry Enfield and Chums (BBC); Audrey and Friends (2000); Brinks Mat: The Greatest Heist (2003) and Jane Hall
Jane Hall (TV series)
Jane Hall was a six-part British television comedy drama on ITV, written by Sally Wainwright and starring Sarah Smart and Stephen Mangan, revolving around Jane Hall's job training to be a bus driver and her home life in Hounslow, "the arsehole of London"....
(ITV, 2006), among others.
She has also appeared in feature films including: Urban Ghost Story (Living Spirit Pictures, 1998); The Killing Zone
The Killing Zone
The Killing Zone is an unauthorised James Bond novel by Jim Hatfield. It was privately published in paperback in 1985 under the guise that it was officially sanctioned by Glidrose Publications , the company that held the rights to publish James Bond literary works...
(1999); It Was an Accident (2000); South West Nine (2001); Goodbye Charlie Bright (2001); Lava (2002) and Chunky Monkey (2001).
On stage she played the role of Peter Pan
Peter Pan
Peter Pan is a character created by Scottish novelist and playwright J. M. Barrie . A mischievous boy who can fly and magically refuses to grow up, Peter Pan spends his never-ending childhood adventuring on the small island of Neverland as the leader of his gang the Lost Boys, interacting with...
in a musical version of the JM Barrie novel, which she then toured the UK alongside actors Terence Donovan
Terence Donovan (actor)
Terence Donovan , also known as Terry Donovan, is an English-born Australian actor and the father of fellow actor and entertainer Jason Donovan...
and Laurence Mark Wythe
Laurence Mark Wythe
Laurence Mark Wythe is an award winning English composer, lyricist and writer for West End and Off-Broadway musicals. He is principally known for the off-Broadway musical Tomorrow Morning and Through the Door seen in the West End at the Trafalgar Studios starring Julie Atherton...
who later become a composer and lyricist in musical theatre.
In 1998, she was cast in Channel 4
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...
's successful Young Person's Guide to Becoming a Rock Star
The Young Person's Guide To Becoming A Rock Star
The Young Person's Guide To Becoming A Rock Star was a successful British comedy series, which aired on Channel 4 in 1998.It was a six-part satirical take on the music industry, written by BAFTA award-winner Bryan Elsley...
. She played Joe Nardone, a sex-mad guitarist in a Scottish band, which goes from playing pubs to netting a record deal via a string of wild parties.
In 2002, Stapleton guest starred in her first of two roles of ITV1s cop show The Bill, She played tough talking young mum Tina Pope, who eventually becomes the second victim of the Sun Hill Serial Killer
Sun Hill Serial Killer
The Sun Hill Serial Killer was a major storyline from ITVs cop show The Bill. Known originally as the "River Murders", the storyline spanned several months in 2002 and served as the exit for popular cast regular Cass Rickman...
.
Stapleton is more recently known for playing the prisoner Janine Nebeski in the seventh and eighth series of ITV prison drama Bad Girls
Bad Girls (TV series)
Bad Girls is an award-winning British television drama series that was broadcast on ITV from 1999 to 2006. It is produced by Shed Productions, the company which later produced Footballers' Wives and Waterloo Road...
(2005–2006). In the final series, her character embarked on a romance with male prison officer, Donny Kimber who was played by her ex-EastEnders co-star, Sid Owen
Sid Owen
Sid Owen is an English actor, television presenter and former singer, most famous for playing the role of Ricky Butcher in the BBC One soap opera EastEnders, which he appeared in from 1988 until 2000, 2002 until 2004 and then again from March 2008.-Career:Prior to his role in EastEnders he had a...
.
On 4 November 2006, the Stapleton family appeared on Celebrity Family Fortunes, headed by Nicola and that same month, Stapleton guest-starred in 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...
; her second role in the programme to date. She acted alongside Birds of a Feather
Birds of a Feather
Birds of a Feather was a British sitcom that was broadcast on BBC1 from 1989 until 1998. Starring Pauline Quirke, Linda Robson and Lesley Joseph, it was created by Laurence Marks and Maurice Gran, who also wrote some of the episodes along with many other writers.The first episode sees sisters...
star Linda Robson
Linda Robson
Linda Patricia Mary Robson is an English actress. She played Tracey in the BBC comedy, Birds of a Feather from 1989 to 1998.-Personal life and education:...
, to form a drug-addicted mother-daughter duo. She played the role of Louise Parker in the 2007 Lynda La Plante
Lynda La Plante
Lynda La Plante, CBE is an English author, screenwriter and former actress, best known for writing the Prime Suspect television crime series....
televised mini-series, The Commander: The Devil You Know, and appeared in BBC's The Last Enemy
The Last Enemy (TV series)
The Last Enemy is a BBC TV series starring Benedict Cumberbatch and featuring Robert Carlyle and Max Beesley which first aired on 17 February 2008.-Plot:...
in 2008.
On stage, Stapleton has appeared in Cockroach Who at The 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...
; Of Mice and Men
Of Mice and Men
Of Mice and Men is a novella written by Nobel Prize-winning author John Steinbeck. Published in 1937, it tells the tragic story of George Milton and Lennie Small, two displaced migrant ranch workers during the Great Depression in California, USA....
, which toured the UK; Scissor Happy at the Duchess Theatre
Duchess Theatre
The Duchess Theatre is a West End theatre in the City of Westminster, London, located in Catherine Street, near Aldwych.The theatre opened on 25 November 1929 and is one of the smallest 'proscenium arched' West End theatres. It has 479 seats on two levels....
(1997); Essex Girls, Corner Boys and Four Star Hotel, which were all shown 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...
. Nicola also appeared on a TV Goodies/Baddies special of 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...
. She was the 6th one voted off.
In August 2008, it was announced that she would play the role of Eli Dingle
Eli Dingle
Eli Dingle is a fictional character from the British ITV soap opera Emmerdale, played by Joseph Gilgun. He first appeared on screen in the episode which aired on 13 July 2006 and made his last appearance on 30 April 2010.-Casting:...
's friend Danielle Hutch on the English soap opera Emmerdale
Emmerdale
Emmerdale, is a long-running British soap opera set in Emmerdale , a fictional village in the Yorkshire Dales. Created by Kevin Laffan, Emmerdale was first broadcast on 16 October 1972...
, her first scene will be shown in September 2008. Stapleton said of her role: "Danielle is such an intriguing character because there's more to her than meets the eye. I'm really looking forward to starting filming and I think viewers can expect some interesting encounters as we explore the relationship between Danielle and Eli." Emmerdale series producer Anita Turner
Anita Turner
Anita Turner is a British script editor, and television producer. From 2008 to 2009 Turner was the series producer of the British television soap opera Emmerdale.-Early career:...
added: "I'm so pleased to welcome an actress with Nicola's calibre to the show. Eli likes to manipulate people, but Danielle is a different proposition and she'll definitely get under his skin." Her debut episode was transmitted on 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...
, at 7pm BST (hour long episode), on Tuesday 23 September 2008. Her entrance was made by Eli Dingle speeding in one of Debbie Dingle
Debbie Dingle
Deborah "Debbie" Dingle is a fictional character in the British ITV1 soap opera Emmerdale. She is portrayed by Charley Webb...
's taxis, and knocking her over in a country lane.
In September 2009, Nicola appeared in Channel 4
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...
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,...
Hollyoaks
Hollyoaks
Hollyoaks is a long-running British television soap opera, first broadcast on Channel 4 on 23 October 1995. It was originally devised by Phil Redmond, who has also devised shows including Brookside and Grange Hill...
spin-off Hollyoaks Later, as the friend of Cindy Cunningham
Cindy Cunningham
Cindy Longford is a fictional character from the British Channel 4 soap opera Hollyoaks, played by Stephanie Waring...
called Savannah.
In October 2009, Nicola appeared in the UK Film Council Funded short film Hands Solo, a mockumentary about the world's most famous Deaf porn star.
Personal life
In October 2001, Stapleton's father was jailed for his part in an £11million VAT computer-chip fraud. Her brother was also fined £10,000, for helping in the fraudulent business, which involved importing VAT-exempt microchips from EU countries and selling them to firms with added VAT, before claiming money back from Customs and Excise. Nicola Stapleton provided the £125,000 bail for her brother during the trial. Mr Stapleton was eventually told by the Court of Appeal in September 2005 to pay a confiscation order of £1.6 million. In July 2008, Nicola Stapleton battled against the Customs Prosecution Office at the High CourtHigh Court of Justice
The High Court of Justice is, together with the Court of Appeal and the Crown Court, one of the Senior Courts of England and Wales...
in order to keep her property in South Norwood
South Norwood
South Norwood is an urban town and in south London, England, in the London Borough of Croydon. It is a suburban development 7.8 miles south-east of Charing Cross. South Norwood is an electoral with a resident population in 2001 of just over 14,000...
, which she had purchased from her father for £175,000 before his imprisonment for fraud. The prosecution claimed that the house had originally been purchased from "ill-gotten gains", and wanted to seize the property as part of the confiscation order. Stapleton maintains that she bought the property out of her earnings as an actress in 2000. The court found in favour of Nicola Stapleton.
Filmography
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1983 | Octopussy Octopussy Octopussy is the thirteenth entry in the James Bond series, and the sixth to star Roger Moore as the fictional MI6 agent James Bond. The film's title is taken from a short story in Ian Fleming's 1966 short story collection Octopussy and The Living Daylights... |
Little Girl at Circus (uncredited) | |
| 1985 | Dempsey and Makepeace | Debbie | Episode: "Hors de Combat" |
| 1987 | Snow White Snow White (1987 film) Snow White is a 1987 musical film based on the classic fairytale and released as part of the "Cannon Movie Tales" series. Diana Rigg stars as the Wicked Queen.The film was released straight to video... |
Snow White as a Child | |
| 1987 | Hansel and Gretel | Gretel | |
| 1988 | Simon and the Witch Simon and the Witch Simon and the Witch is the name of a children's book by Margaret Stuart Barry, published by Collins, illustrated by Linda Birch. It is also generally used as the name of the series which follows on. Simon is a very sensible young schoolboy who has a friend who is a real witch... |
Sally | 10 episodes |
| 1988 | Hannay Hannay (TV series) Hannay was a 1988 spin-off from the 1978 film version of John Buchan's novel The Thirty-Nine Steps which had starred Robert Powell as Richard Hannay.... |
Betty | Episode: "Act of Riot" |
| 1990 | Courage Mountain Courage Mountain Courage Mountain is a 1990 independent drama film sequel to Johanna Spyri's novel Heidi... |
Isla | |
| 1992 | 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... |
Mandy Salter Mandy Salter Mandy Salter is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Nicola Stapleton. Introduced on 12 March 1992, Mandy was portrayed as a teenage tearaway. She was featured in storylines about homelessness, child and drug abuse. Her relationship with Aidan Brosnan was one of the... |
115 episodes (1992–1994) |
| 1993 | Doctor Who: Dimensions in Time | Mandy Salter | TV short |
| 1995 | Episode: "Kids Today" | ||
| 1995 | Floozy | ||
| 1998 | Anne Ross | Episode: "The Bus Driver's Prayer" | |
| 1998 | Ladies & Gentlemen | Short film | |
| 1998 | Urban Ghost Story | Kerrie | |
| 1998 | Joe Nardone | TV series | |
| 1999 | Casualty Casualty (TV series) Casualty, stylised as Casual+y, is a British weekly television show broadcast on BBC One, and the longest-running emergency medical drama television series in the world. Created by Jeremy Brock and Paul Unwin, it was first broadcast on 6 September 1986, and transmitted in the UK on BBC One. The... |
Kay Larcombe | Episode: "Love Over Gold: Part 1" Episode: "Love Over Gold: Part 2" |
| 1999 | Dead on Time | Briana | Short film |
| 1999 | Kerry Wyman | ||
| 2000 | It Was an Accident It Was an Accident It Was an Accident is a 2000 British comedy film directed by Metin Hüseyin and starring Chiwetel Ejiofor, Max Beesley and James Bolam. An ex-convict, trying to go straight, accidentally gets mixed up in a fresh series of crimes.-Cast:... |
Kelly | |
| 2000 | Audrey and Friends | Audrey | TV series |
| 2001 | Chunky Monkey | Mandy | |
| 2001 | Goodbye Charlie Bright Goodbye Charlie Bright Goodbye Charlie Bright is a 2001 film directed by Nick Love and starring Paul Nicholls, Roland Manookian and Danny Dyer. The film is also known by the U.S. title Strong Boys.-Plot:... |
Julie | |
| 2001 | Lava | Julie | |
| 2001 | South West 9 | Sal | |
| 2002 | Tina Pope | 3 episodes | |
| 2003 | Secret History | Kathy Meacock | Episode: "Brinks Mat: The Greatest Heist - Part 2" |
| 2004 | Casualty Casualty (TV series) Casualty, stylised as Casual+y, is a British weekly television show broadcast on BBC One, and the longest-running emergency medical drama television series in the world. Created by Jeremy Brock and Paul Unwin, it was first broadcast on 6 September 1986, and transmitted in the UK on BBC One. The... |
Shirley Smith | Episode: "Casualty @ Holby City: Part 1" |
| 2004 | 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... |
Shirley Smith | Episode: "Casualty @ Holby City: Part 2" |
| 2004 | Jane Hall Jane Hall (TV series) Jane Hall was a six-part British television comedy drama on ITV, written by Sally Wainwright and starring Sarah Smart and Stephen Mangan, revolving around Jane Hall's job training to be a bus driver and her home life in Hounslow, "the arsehole of London".... |
Steph | Episode: "1.4" |
| 2004 | Gaby & the Girls | Donna | TV series |
| 2005 | Bad Girls Bad Girls (TV series) Bad Girls is an award-winning British television drama series that was broadcast on ITV from 1999 to 2006. It is produced by Shed Productions, the company which later produced Footballers' Wives and Waterloo Road... |
Janine Nebeski | 24 episodes (2005–2006) |
| 2006 | Julie Barnes | Episode: "460" | |
| 2007 | Louise Parker | TV movie | |
| 2008 | Caroline Scott | TV mini-series | |
| 2008 | Emmerdale Emmerdale Emmerdale, is a long-running British soap opera set in Emmerdale , a fictional village in the Yorkshire Dales. Created by Kevin Laffan, Emmerdale was first broadcast on 16 October 1972... |
Danielle Hutch | 14 episodes (2008–2009) |
| 2009 | Hands Solo | Bunny Comely | Short film |
| 2009 | Hollyoaks Later | Savannah Madeiros | 5 episodes |
| 2009 | Bunny Cummings | ||
| 2010 | Louise Gates | Episode: "Who Dares Wins" | |
| 2011 | 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... |
Mandy Salter Mandy Salter Mandy Salter is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Nicola Stapleton. Introduced on 12 March 1992, Mandy was portrayed as a teenage tearaway. She was featured in storylines about homelessness, child and drug abuse. Her relationship with Aidan Brosnan was one of the... |
Ongoing role |
External links
+Website of new short film Hands Solo