Jennie McAlpine

Jennie Elizabeth McAlpine (born 12 February 1984) is an English television actress, comedian and businesswoman. She is known for her roles as Michelle Morley in Emmerdale and Fiz Brown in the ITV soap opera Coronation Street. She also took part in the seventeenth series of I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here! in 2017, where she finished in fourth place.

Jennie McAlpine
Born
Jennie Elizabeth McAlpine

(1984-02-12) 12 February 1984
Bury, Greater Manchester, England
Occupation(s)Actress, comedian, businesswoman
Years active1997–present
Spouse
Chris Farr
​
(m. 2017)​
Children2

Early life

McAlpine was born and grew up in Bury.[1] She is of Scottish and Irish descent, with a grandfather from County Kerry and a grandmother from County Sligo. As a young girl, she used to put on shows on the patio for the neighbours, charging them 50 pence apiece. She did song and dance routines, copying groups like Bananarama.[2]

Her father Thomas McAlpine worked in mental health and was awarded the OBE for services to mental healthcare; he died in March 2017. With his encouragement, she took up amateur dramatics at the age of eight,[1] when father and daughter appeared together in a pantomime by the Bury Parish Players.[2] She was the fairy and he was the dame.[1] As a teenager she joined the Carol Godby Theatre Workshop.[2] McAlpine's parents separated when she was young, after which she lived with her father. She has one brother.[2]

Career

In 1997, at the age of 13, she entered a Young Comedian of the Year competition run by Fanta and came second in the final at the Comedy Store in London. Jennie entered the competition again in 1998, also finishing second.[2] From 1997 to 2001 she performed as a stand-up comedian at charity nights, galas and pub nights in and around Bury with her father.[2] McAlpine played Michelle Morley in Emmerdale from 1999 to 2000. After leaving school, she enrolled at her local college, Holy Cross, and began studying for her A-levels.[3] At the age of 17 she auditioned for the part of Fiz Brown on Coronation Street, a role she has played since 2001. McAlpine auditioned for the role with her arm in a sling, after dislocating her shoulder in a fall two days earlier. She was originally hired for five episodes,[2] and went back to studying for her A-levels and working part-time in Boots The Chemist.[1][2]

In November and December 2016, McAlpine covered for Becky Want on BBC Radio Manchester. In 2017, McAlpine was confirmed to be taking part in season 17 of I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here!.[4] She finished in 4th place after spending 21 days in the jungle.

In December 2020, she became the voice of the new Burnley Bus Company Witchway buses running between Burnley, Rawtenstall and Manchester, providing onboard information and next stop announcements on the route.

Personal life

McAlpine married Chris Farr, a restaurant manager, in 2017. The couple have been together since 2005.[1] On the subject of her Scottish ancestry, and famous red hair she said:

I'm very proud of my Scottish roots and definitely love coming up to Scotland. When I'm in England I really stand out because of my red hair but when I come up to Scotland I feel normal because there are so many people with my colouring. I definitely feel different having red hair, but in a good way. Even though I may sound it, I am no way English. My granddad Alan was Scottish and my grandmother was Irish. My other granddad was born in England but his parents were Scottish.[1]

McAlpine gave birth to her first child in 2014.[5] In 2018 she announced that she was pregnant with her second child, and gave birth to the child the same year.[6]

Other projects

Since the age of 17, McAlpine has devoted her spare time to helping deprived children in Egypt through the Thebes Project in Luxor.[7] She has also opened a restaurant in Manchester city centre, Annie's, with her husband Chris Farr. The restaurant serves modern British cuisine.

Filmography
Year Title Role Notes
1999–2000 Emmerdale Michelle Morley 3 episodes
2001–present Coronation Street Fiz Brown Series regular
2008 Coronation Street: Out of Africa Coronation Street spin-off film
2010 The Door Contestant Two-part celebrity series
2010, 2015, 2017 Loose Women Guest panellist 3 episodes
2017 I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here! Contestant Series 17
2019–2020 Supermarket Sweep Voiceover Game show

Game show appearances

Awards and nominations
Year Award Category Result Ref.
2002 The British Soap Awards Best Newcomer Nominated [8]
2002 TV Quick Awards Best Soap Newcomer Nominated [9]
2007 Inside Soap Awards Best Actress Nominated [10]
2008 14th National Television Awards Serial Drama Performance Nominated [11]
2011 TV Choice Awards Best Soap Actress Nominated [12]
2013 The British Soap Awards Best Actress Shortlisted [13]
2013 The British Soap Awards Best On-Screen Partnership (shared with Alan Halsall) Nominated [13]
2021 Inside Soap Awards Best Actress Nominated [14]
2022 I Talk Telly Awards Best Soap Partnership (shared with Halsall) Nominated [15]

See also

References
  1. Rick Fulton, 'Fiz: I'm a Flaming Scot', Scottish Daily Record (21 March 2008), p. 24.
  2. Sue Crawford, 'Interview – Jennie McAlpine – Stand up and deliver', Daily Mirror (11 August 2001), p. 11.
  3. Claire Donnelly, 'Fiz Is the Biz' Daily Mirror (2 February 2005)
  4. "Coronation Street spoiler: Jennie McAlpine to leave as Fiz faces family tragedy". HOLA. 12 December 2017. Retrieved 14 February 2018.
  5. "Corrie's Jennie McAlpine has baby boy". Made for Mums. Retrieved 12 February 2021.
  6. "Jennie McAlpine on Twitter". Twitter. Retrieved 31 October 2018.
  7. Crawford, Sue (27 November 2005). "People.co.uk – Archive – Other – CARE-ONATION STREET". The People. Retrieved 25 June 2011.
  8. Welsh, James (16 May 2002). "British Soap Awards 2002: Nominations". Digital Spy. Hearst Communications. Retrieved 30 April 2019.
  9. "Welcome to the TVQuick Awards 2002!". TV Quick. H Bauer Publishing. Archived from the original on 23 May 2002. Retrieved 19 July 2010.
  10. Green, Kris (3 July 2007). "Inside Soap Awards 2007: The Nominations". Digital Spy. Hachette Filipacchi (UK) Ltd. Archived from the original on 21 June 2011. Retrieved 31 August 2010.
  11. "National Television Awards 2008 - Voting now open". digitalspy.co.uk. 6 July 2008.
  12. Wightman, Catriona (18 May 2011). "In Full: TV Choice Awards 2011 – Nominees". Digital Spy. Retrieved 26 May 2011.
  13. Kilkelly, Daniel (22 April 2013). "'Coronation Street' leads British Soap Awards shortlist". Digital Spy. Retrieved 22 April 2013.
  14. Alexander, Susannah (28 September 2021). "Inside Soap Awards announces 2021 longlist as voting opens – here's who's up for prizes". Digital Spy. (Hearst Magazines UK). Archived from the original on 2 October 2021. Retrieved 28 September 2021.
  15. Gonzalez, Elliot (12 November 2022). "Mo Gilligan leads the I Talk Telly Awards 2022 Nominations". I Talk Telly.
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