Inside Coronation Street star Jacqueline Leonard's life from soap rejection to EastEnders stint

22.02.2022 - 14:43 / ok.co.uk

Actress Jacqueline Leonard recently reprised her role as Linda Hancock in hit ITV soap Coronation Street. The soap star, 56, made a welcome return to our screens earlier this month, with Linda arriving in Weatherfield to see her grandson, Joseph Brown (William Flanagan). Her return had fans in a frenzy as they searched to find out where they recognised Jacqueline from, before uncovering her past stints on other rival soaps, including EastEnders.

Jacqueline has became a staple to our screens over the years, having starred in the likes of Holby City and Hollyoaks. As we welcome the actress back to our screens, here we take a look into Jacqueline's life and career... Get exclusive celebrity stories and fabulous photoshoots straight to your inbox with OK!'s daily newsletter Jacqueline, who hails from Lancashire, first shot to fame in the 1990s, having trained at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art when she was younger.

In 1992, she landed her first TV roles, and starred in May to December and A Time to Dance, before going on to join the cast of titles such as Inspector Morse and Peak Practice. Jacqueline was then cast as Lorraine Wicks in hit BBC One soap EastEnders, and she portrayed Lorraine from 1996 until 1997, starring in 170 episodes in total. She took a year off acting after her soap debut, as she returned to Lancashire to care for her mother, who was ill at the time.

A few years later, she joined the cast of Doctors as Dr. Caroline Powers, before going on to star in popular shows such as Holby City, The Bill, The Courtroom, and Goldplated. Jacqueline appeared in an episode of Hollyoaks in 2007 as Valerie Holden, and returned to Holby City in 2010 for five episodes, where she took on the role of Jackie Eddon.